The Official Arrandale Timeline Thread

i have been out of pocket for a few days so this may have been posted already (i only checked the thread 2 pages back)

i did find some usa e-tailers Today listing the timlineX (is it the timelinex or are they woofing? )thru Google shopping:

seems to be the 5820 if i read right

acer LX.PTG02.111 - Google Product Search

hopefully the 3820 is not far behind

 

Very nice find. That's the first Timeline sighted.

Bronsky

 

Hopefully my new 3820tg won't be a lemon. My Acer Aspire 4530 has bsod'ed, frozen, lagged, malfunctioned since day 1, it's getting worse now lol, about 2 bsod's a day.

 

Thanks B!

you made me remember further back as well...

i originally joined this forum due to the 2006 release of the aspire 5672 , which i also scoped in March 06 and bought at best buy June 2006 for 1200 bux (kind of an eerily similar timeline and expectations with the timelineX).
back then that was as lightweight as it got for the money, with some "gaming" ability


the overall experience with the 5672 is that my mom still uses it today and it is a "fast enough" laptop even by todays standards, 4+ years later!!!!. it's the best laptop value i ever purchased, bar none ( my first laptop i purchased was a no brand cyrix-powered, heavy thing back in 1995).

gaming wise the 5672 only held up for about a year, the radeon just ran out of room after that, with newer games and higher requirements. technically i could use it , but in reality it was just fail experience. i am still SUPER glad i got that radeon inside, because it allows my mom to run win 7 with full acceleration for 1080p content. the intel would NOT have been able to do that ( i have a dell laptop from same time period with intel gpu that chokes on 1080p content and stutters, and is mostly fail in win 7).

as i think more, the 2 experiences sure start to look similar, and thats what i am beginning to expect with the 3820....

 

I just ordered this for my future Acer TimelineX 3820TG,

 

Damn. Can't wait.

Btw, which one has the DVD drive? 38, 48, or 58? Also does anyone know for sure which CPU will be coming in the USA/North America versions?

 

4/5820 has the DVD drive..

 

This was your post in the other thread, Lee. But I'm going to reply to it in this thread because it prolly belongs here more than over there.

So if I'm planning to play SC2 on High and Ultra, which is the one I want? X820T or X820TG? Also, both T and TG models will have switchable graphics, right?

 

You would need at least X820TG, the one with HD5650.
T don't have switchable graphics since it only has one, intel GMA HD, while TG version, yes.

 

Ahh. The TG. Thanks man

 

For the US, also

here and here

There is a weird reference also for the Canadians here
The model number is the same

 

too lazy to read all the post,,,
anywhere to buy in the US yet?

 

Still no where to be found.

 

Acer and Asus doing the same SH*t..
takes forever to get these computer out.......
any estimate price for the 13inch with i5 ?

 

Well, at Singapore its USD$1200...
But price here usually higher than US...

 

No 13" uinits in the US yet. There are 14" - 15" Travelmate units being listed on some sites. The I5-520M sells for $925. I7-620M travelmate sells for $1024. Just saw an I3-350M Timeline 15.6" selling for $825. Don't ask about specs ... we have no idea yet. There is obviously no marketing plan for the US. Models are showing up helter-skelter.

Bronsky

 

I hope the two of you will be very happy together. To tell you the truth, I would consider living together first.

Bronsky

 

@anycolor

and be aware, there are a lot o guys here who are also looking after your fiancée... (me included)

 

I don't see how those are the 5820s... They state the resolution of the screen as 1280*800, which is wrong, no mention of graphics card (maybe 5820T?) and finally they say there is 4GB (MAX) of ram, shouldn't that be 4GB (8GB max?) since there should be two ram slots.

 

I understand. Nonetheless, there are 8 sites in the US that list the part number LX.PTG02.111, which is supposed to be the xx20.
Two of them ( this and this) say quite oddly "TimelineX" and the 1280 resolution.
Some others are very generic, although as said the part number should identify the product uniquely.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

EDIT: I'M GETTING CONFUSED! Now this review praises the excellent screen and reports a CONTRAST of 751:1 !!!! Quite a jump from 139:1.. Talking about a lower speced model, but still..

Can anybody get it?

 

Been lurking and posting here from the beggining. Since than I’ve realized I don’t need an internal ODD (in fact!), backlit keyboard, brand loyalty.

Waited patiently – still patient BTW -, now it might be decission time (and it’s not easier than playing the waiting game).

My retailer has the 3820TG with 430M + HD5650 + 500G HDD + 6 Cell + 3 years warranty ready and waiting (860 EUR / 1072 USD), the question is: for me or not?
/Actually the 3 years warranty is a bonus, all models will be sold with 1 year warranty (hungarian Acers usually have 1 year warranty, one can purchase the additional 3 years warranty for like 89 EUR/112 USD)./

This config handles my bussines use laughin’.

I’d also do some video converting, mainly for iPod, that’s another thing the performance gain can be a question, though all the notebooks (T8400, P8400, P8700) I’ve owned before completed the task in a decent time (at least for me), so I think I’d be satisfied with the 430M regarding this issue, though I’m sure the 520/540M’s turbo boost would spice things up.

I’d do some gaming, not much, maybe 2-3 hours a week, maybe less, I’d play some football games, like Fifa, PES, and some other manager type of games that I’m sure of this notebook would have no problems with.

I’d also play some real time stratgey, and type of games, which can be tough on the CPU as well (I’d like to play Starcraft 2 and GTA IV for sure, maybe Maffia 2 - these are the games I know, haven’t played games since 3-4 years, hehe, but interested in playing 3D adventure type games, I’m not really into shooting anyways), so my concern is would I benefit from a 450M/520M/540M CPU compared to the 430M, so that I should wait a bit more (my retailer talked about somekind of refresh in June).
Are games like Gothic, and 3D adventure type of games CPU dependant as well (like GTA IV and Starcraft 2) BTW are games tough on the CPU as well knowadays? ( Sorry for noobish questions, I really haven’t played games for a long time, I’ve read games today require not only the GPU but the CPU as well to be top notch).

Keyboard: I think I’ll just have to get used to it, so no questions on that, BTW thanks Bronsky!

Screen: resolution is fine with me on a 13” size, my external monitor has the same resouliton as well, plus I don’t think I’d use it outdoors.

Build quality: I’m concerned. Actually I never wanted to buy ACER, ever - I’ve been using Dells before, some of them had good built quality, some of them weer just OK - but I don’t have time to wait for other brands to come up with a 13” powerhouse (I might wait a month, maybe two on tops). I’ll try to treat it gentle so it might last long.

So my question is, would I benefit from the performance gain regarding games, specially the mentioned games above.

Other hungarian owners told me the 430M squeezes everything out of the HD5650, and that’s what NBR members tend to say also, though noone of them/us were sure on this matter.

Please, help me decide whether this bullet is for me or not (@anycolour: Shall I buy the dress or not).

Advices much appreciated!

kiskapu

 

I will tell you ATI has a simple video codec conversion utility using ATIStream technology so I think this buy is pretty good not to mention the i5 kills.

 

From personal experience, only games I have seen performance decrease due to cpu were badly encoded flash and java games (and with the new flash, i think that's fixed)

Non personal experience, everything I have read here and elsewhere have convinced me that if I am concerned about gaming, the 5650 will be the bottleneck instead of the i5 430M

 

Your correct, most new games are GPU intensive rather than CPU.

@Kiskapu: The 5650 should be good for gaming with medium to high settings. Not maxed, with 8x AA etc. So don't expect to be playing GTA IV or Mafia 2 at 30+ fps with the highest settings. It will run ok but at reduced settings.

The 3820 is ideal for you.

 

The reviews keep coming and are positive overall. I remain sold on this pending a release date in the next month in the U.S.

From the Czech Republic:
NOTEBOOK.cz - Notebooky Recenze - Acer Aspire TimelineX 3820TG - výkon i výdr? v jednom

 

Yes ... nobody knows what they're talking about because Acer has not taken the time to do a proper release in the US.

Bronsky

 

Thanks a lot! I'm getting closer to biting the bullet.
I'm planning to buy a notebook cooler - wasn't satisfied with the previous one - I was looking at Zalman NC 1000, though it's bigger than the 3820 itself, anyone has any info about it? If someone could please recommend any decent coolers specifically for 13 inchers don' hesitate.

Thanks!

Edit: found a thread about notebook coolers, guess it's reading time...

 

the only bad aspect of the 3820TG is the lack of a docking station. This is a gamming machine with small screen, a docking station is a must.

 

True...guess You can't win'em all, right? When I would be gaming, the notebook would be sitting on a cooler, connected to an external monitor, and an additional keyboard...a jungle made of cables .

 

too complicated for me
only difference between on the go mode and gaming mode for me is power plugged in and mouse instead of touchpad

 

Great review, its all looking good.

I do like this part (translated)

My heart is set on it. But I haven't much time left before I really need a better travel laptop. I can bear to use my little 1000HA again, atom and 1024x600 is just poos if you want to do more than check emails. Come on acer, don't make me buy a UL30vt. Still a very decent machine, but 2009 tech. The 13' has power to burn. Almost 7k in 3dmark06 is only 1.5k of my big gateway here running a 8800 GTS

 

That really sucks since i´m from Portugal too!!
What a disillusion!!! :cry:

 

Yea, only mouse and desktop keyboard for me.

 

With the I5-430M 3820TG, I would think that a notebook cooler is unnecessary. The dual fan system should not even break a sweat on the I5-430M.

Bronsky

I find it hard to believe that Acer is launching new lines when the Timelinex's are nowhere to be found here in the US. I almost wish Dell would release a killer XPS 13 so that I could tell Acer to go pound sand.

 

Just saw the Timeline 3820T/4820T at a local electronics store after work and overall I'm impressed. Don't let the promotional pics fool you, the notebooks look a lot classier in person. Not too flashy, a bonus for business users. Keyboard isn't quite as solid as the ASUS chiclets, but I can't complain.

Seeing how HP would take at least a month to release the refreshed dv6 here in Hong Kong, I might as well pick up one of these Acers.

The Timeline X notebooks are widely available in Hong Kong. I guess that's what we get for being so close to Taiwan hey lol..

 

hey I have to go there in a couple months staying at The Langham, Hong Kong
8 Peking Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Do u know any good computer stores close to there and whether the keyboard is English and whether I need some sort of adapter to use it in Canada?

 

I thought of that too, I just want to take precautions, so neither the CPU nor the GPU would even have the oppurtunity to reach higher temps when running games.
I guess You're right the cooler would be unneccesary, it's just me trying to treat gadgets as gentle as possible.

Same here, that's why I'm closer to pulling the trigger on the 430M, if I thought there was a relatively good chance of Acer shipping 450M/520M/540M to my country in the next 30-45 days, I would wait.

 

Anyway just for the record the FREE software for Video Conversion is called AVIVO Video Converter.
You have to download it from ATi gaming Website. Just google around you will find it eventually.
Supports Windows 7 32/64bit / Vista 32/64bit and XP.

 

Any sellers then selling from Hong Kong that would ship internationally?

(Starts google searching..)

 

Can you elaborate on this?

I've seen a ton of videos / reviews point out a bit of keyboard flex on asus laptops... I hope these new TimelineX's don't suffer from too much keyboard flex. (yes i know double sided tape can "fix" it, but i'd rather not have to do that on a $1K USD laptop)

 

Acer's Keyboard isn't true chiclet but instead it is a widely space keyboard layout.
Feels ok for me though.

 

Thanks!

I use E.M. Total Video Converter to convert movies for iPod Touch, powerfull, fast, it also burns subtitles, so far I'm satisfied with it.

Previously I used Videora iPod converter, but it couldn't burn subtitles, and was way slower then the mentioned one above.

I remember reading about Avivo, but never tried it though, maybe I'll give it a shot, thanks again!

 

I've checked a Timeline 5810 yesterday, it's keyboard had some flex when pressure was applied, OK, I admit I pushed it a bit hard , I wanted to make sure.

 

Don't be too happy will work only with ATi Graphics Adapters.

 

i'm curious why do people care so much about keyboard and screen flex?
those two things really don't bother me at all.

 

Yes I'm very curious as well to all this alarms about keyboard or screen flexing...

I would have thought that something that's made with a good amount of plastics would "flex" a little... unless the laptop is made with mostly steel or iron...

 

I don't know why as well.
It seems people like to believe a tough feeling laptop is a reliable laptop because it is the only differentiating factor people can make at first contact.
However if you open it up you will find the tough exterior doesn't really matter at all.
How it operates internally is more important.
I don't think you are expecting to treat your laptop like a Frisbee either.

 

Well, you can look up a place called "Golden Computer Centre" in the Sham Shui Po district. They've got the best comp deals there. MTR train station exit D if I remember correctly, shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

Yes, they do flex quite a bit. Not so much it gets irriating, but typing on the Acers quickly reminds you the machine's built with value in-mind. The ASUS (tested the K42jr) keyboard had a noticeably firmer touch, if that makes any sense.

 

screen flex i dont mind

but keyboard flex irritates me. i type at 90-95wpm and i like to have a solid keyboard

it's great that neither bothers you (not being sarcastic).

are we talking about the same flex here?

ofcourse the material in itself may flex.. in this case plastic

but im talking about the actual keyboard giving out under pressure. this usually happens because underneath the keyboard isn't a completely solid surface. theres usually lots of gaps / spaces... RAM module slot.. etc

dammit.. double sided tape here i come...

thanks for the feedback cy!