Acer TimelineX 3820TG Owners Lounge. Info, benchmarks, tweaks, mods and upgrades

[luffytubby]

Would there be any performance gain by adding 8 GB of ram? I am wondering if it will be worth it... better multitasking, better gaming performance?

4GB ram DDR3 modules are still sorta expenssive!

[Just_a_Nick]

Would there be any performance gain by adding 8 GB of ram? I am wondering if it will be worth it... better multitasking, better gaming performance?

4GB ram DDR3 modules are still sorta expenssive!

I think, that the 8GB ram is just too expensiv for a few FPS more.

[Bronsky]

SpeedFan would be great for the 3820TG I remember back in the day my dell XPS M17 had such an app to control the fans it was great. Slience lovers will already liek this notebook as its pretty damn quite. My old EEE PC 1000HA makes more fan noise.

Somebody needs to adapt 1810 Tray to the 3820T.

Bronsky

[Hendrickson]

Would there be any performance gain by adding 8 GB of ram? I am wondering if it will be worth it... better multitasking, better gaming performance?

4GB ram DDR3 modules are still sorta expenssive!

I doubt it would be worth it to be honest, you would get a slight boost if it was 1333Mhz DD3 ram Vs the stock 1066Mhz

Also some things I haven't covered are 3dmark06 with default res 1280 x 1024 on my LG monitor is 83xx points. This is overclocked GPU.

Installing the latest Realtek HD audio drivers (Link on frist post) will increase the speak volume a little and mic seems slightly better too.

Wireless card is surprising good (using the Acer driver), it can hold better transfer rates than my Intel AGN card (300 mbps flat vs 200-300 variable on my intel) I can also pick up a few networks my other computers can't so I will not be upgrading to the 6200 AGN card i think. Not worth it.

*Note with the lid closed and using my monitor via hdmi, I see 3 bars off signal VS 5 with the lid is up. The rate is still transfer rate is 300mbps however.

battery life your looking at around 7 hours & 30 mins with the second lowest brightness and wifi on. Normal office and web surfing. I think my SSD has added maybe an extra 30mins? This is with the intel GFX of course. With the ATI card I say would 3 maybe 4 hours max.

The 9 cell version should get 10 hours I think. At least, if not more.

[Hendrickson]

Whoo hoo, backlit keyboard just arrived. Will post some photos in a short while, just need to finish some work here.

So far I can confirm 100% original size and style, matte keys and the quality seems better than the original added bonus.

Its missing the wifi on off logo on F3 no biggy if you ask me I'll just have to remember that its F3.

[Bronsky]

I doubt it would be worth it to be honest, you would get a slight boost if it was 1333Mhz DD3 ram Vs the stock 1066Mhz

I don't think the I5/I7 can use anything faster than 1066Mhz. The ram upgrade will boost performance only in a couple of really limited situations. It is the least bang you can get for your buck on this unit.

Bronsky

@Hendrcikson ... good news about the keyboard. Can't wait to see it post-surgery. Is your LG 24"

[luffytubby]

About 8 GB Ram - Well, what about video editing? Wont that benefit from 8 GB Ram... or will it benefit from having multiple applications open. Could that mean that I could use itunes, firefox, crysis, microsoft word and have all of them open and running at the same time, smoothly? every laptop I have ever had have always struggled with gaming + itunes open.. thats why I dont listen to music anymore when I game. it kills the FPS...



Hendrickson, could you post pictures of the entire process? I have no idea how you would do this without breaking it... I tried taking the keyboard off, of an older laptop I have, and I basically broke the keyboard... the keys where impossible to get on again after having them off.. i think that was a chicklet keyboard.
to get backlight you would have to do wirering with the motherboard and stuff like that?

[Ollollo]

Is there an undervolt tool that works with the 3820 TG? That, along with a fan control proggie would really rock.

[Hendrickson]

Ill see what i can do, i think i will need a service manual and practice soldering before i attempt this. i have no idea really when it comes to getting power to the backlit keyboard..

[Bronsky]

Ill see what i can do, i think i will need a service manual and practice soldering before i attempt this. i have no idea really when it comes to getting power to the backlit keyboard..

It's interesting to watch someone else doing this stuff first. Usually it's me. I must say that I prefer watching you do it.

Go slow on this one my friend. For now, I would just put the keyboard in and worry about the backlighting later when we have the chance to dig up an old 3810T and new 3820T manual. I really suspect that there is a residual plug somewhere. When I get my 3820TG, i'll crack it open and go exploring with ya. No hurry at the moment. If you're going ahead anyway ... be careful.

@luffytubby - multitasking is the one place you will probably see the difference. It's a lot of money for such a small gain. Video editing will not likely be appreciably faster.

@olloll0 - a modified 1810 tray would do this too.