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

[Just_a_Nick]

@Bronsky

If you are searching for a speaker for the 3820TG.

Simple call or write an email to Acer@MK-Electronic.de.

Tel: +49-7161-6066-160
Fax: +49-7161-6066-170

It's the german resailer shop for replacement parts for Acer Laptops and linked on the german Acer page.

If I buy it for you, you have to pay the german vat and 2 times the cost for the shipment.

[liath]

Ok, I got my 3820TG now. Its setting up right beside. Mine is also the silver version (very glad I got that one. It does attract fingerprints but not as much as the black). So far all seems fine.

I ran into a little problem tho. I was gonna by an external casing at my local store for the already installed 320gb drive cause I bought a separate Momentus XT. However in the manual for the external casing it says the drive needs 2 usb ports to be working (otherwise it doesnt get enough power). Im quite sure my girlfriend owns a drive that only need 1 usb port to be driven... However hers aint a casing with a drive put into it. She bought it directly as an external drive. Does anyone know if EVERY external casing needs 2 usb ports to be driven?

[Hendrickson]

Hey guys, are you experiencing stuttering of sound, especially music while multiple programs are open? (e.g. web browsing, plants vs zombies , and music player open) It's kinda annoying both on speakers and headphones as it literally kills the quality of sound. I experience this with some of the games I play as well (i.e BF2, COD6, Sniper Ghost Warrior) Thanks for your input!

Yes i posted about this a few days ago and now its lost in the depths of this thread. Its the sound drivers i think. I've updated the realtek HD driver and i think it has gone away for now at least.

An update on my i5 overclocking experiences. The first bios this unit came with seemed for stable for overclocking. I ran a crazy 176 bus for a while but 3 threads crashed in prime95. However I updated to the 5/24 1.13 bios silly me. Does anyone have a copy of the older March 1.13 bios or any older bios?

Anyway I've managed to find my maximum stable fsb at 168 Mhz, ran prime95 non stop while doing other stuff etc for over an hour and no thread errors or lock ups and she maxed out at 92 degrees. Not bad at all if you think about the overclock (Remember my ambient temps are in the low 30's, very hot)

So far I've reached 9912 3dmark06 points not sure if we can break the 10,000 mark here.

I'm really impressed with the how well and stable this unit overclocks. Just over 3Ghz at x 19 multiplier and at turbo boost 3.36ghz



ah and so far no glue effect Mac

Love this Acer

[zdanee]

Ok, I got my 3820TG now. Its setting up right beside. Mine is also the silver version (very glad I got that one. It does attract fingerprints but not as much as the black). So far all seems fine.

I ran into a little problem tho. I was gonna by an external casing at my local store for the already installed 320gb drive cause I bought a separate Momentus XT. However in the manual for the external casing it says the drive needs 2 usb ports to be working (otherwise it doesnt get enough power). Im quite sure my girlfriend owns a drive that only need 1 usb port to be driven... However hers aint a casing with a drive put into it. She bought it directly as an external drive. Does anyone know if EVERY external casing needs 2 usb ports to be driven?

Nope, on most laptops 1 USB is sufficent. However on desktops you may find the front USB-s to be underpowered to an external HDD, and either you need both of them, or you can connect it to the backside of the PC.

BTW can you post pics of the silver 3820tg?

[liath]

Nope, on most laptops 1 USB is sufficent. However on desktops you may find the front USB-s to be underpowered to an external HDD, and either you need both of them, or you can connect it to the backside of the PC.

BTW can you post pics of the silver 3820tg?

Ah really? So maybe in the manual they were talking about desktops and not laptops usbs ports? Maybe I should buy one and find out. But I really really dont want to end up using 2 of the 3 ports on this Acer for an external drive.

Edit: Yeah I might be able to upload some pics later but right now I dont know how to and installing my Acer also comes first .

[liath]

To: Hendrickson or anyone else who has switched hdds. How did you get the screws to release from the holes? Im having problems with one screw. I simply cant get it outta the hole. ;/

EDIT: NM DELETE OR DISREGARD ABOVE QUESTION .

[Prism]

Does anyone know if EVERY external casing needs 2 usb ports to be driven?

The power consumption is not related of the case, it's related to the drive you put inside. The more power-hungry the drive, the less likely it is to work on a single USB port. I don't know about the specific drive you intend to put in the case, but, for instance, 5400 RPM drives normally require less power than 7200 RPM ones.

[M4cr0s]

Ah really? So maybe in the manual they were talking about desktops and not laptops usbs ports? Maybe I should buy one and find out. But I really really dont want to end up using 2 of the 3 ports on this Acer for an external drive.

Edit: Yeah I might be able to upload some pics later but right now I dont know how to and installing my Acer also comes first .

A normal "2,5 laptop drive won't pull more power than a single USB port can deliver, that is, if the USB port deliver it's specified amp rating (~500 mAh). USB hubs and so forth tends to lower the power output in USB ports (shouldn't be the case on a laptop). The low power in USB ports is the reason mobile phones and similar takes longer to charge from such ports, than from a normal charger and a wall outlet. Larger "3,5 drives, especially older ones, may easily need more power than a single USB port can deliver, thats the reason they often have their own power supply.

Mac

[liath]

Nope, on most laptops 1 USB is sufficent. However on desktops you may find the front USB-s to be underpowered to an external HDD, and either you need both of them, or you can connect it to the backside of the PC.

BTW can you post pics of the silver 3820tg?

The power consumption is not related of the case, it's related to the drive you put inside. The more power-hungry the drive, the less likely it is to work on a single USB port. I don't know about the specific drive you intend to put in the case, but, for instance, 5400 RPM drives normally require less power than 7200 RPM ones.

A normal "2,5 laptop drive won't pull more power than a single USB port can deliver, that is, if the USB port deliver it's specified amp rating (~500 mAh). USB hubs and so forth tends to lower the power output in USB ports (shouldn't be the case on a laptop). The low power in USB ports is the reason mobile phones and similar takes longer to charge from such ports, than from a normal charger and a wall outlet. Larger "3,5 drives, especially older ones, may easily need more power than a single USB port can deliver, thats the reason they often have their own power supply.

Mac

Ok, that means that I can safely buy that external casing anyway . Thanks alot guys you are the best!

Edit: I also made recovery cds by using Virtual CD. Then I shared them on the 3820TG so I could grab them on to my desktop and burn em from there. Very nice .

[Prism]

By the way guys, real nice thread!

Am just about to buy my own 3820TG. The only model sold here in the Czech Republic is the 434G64MN (core i5 430M, HD 5650), I wish I could get the 450M but I guess it'll do... I can always swap it for an i7 620M in a year or so when prices go down!

Anyway I'll keep you guys posted when I get it regarding overclockability and all.