3820TG Owner's Lounge - Part Two

[Bronsky]

This Dell sure has me excited though.

It all depends on the GPU they put in it.

Too bad about the keyboard, thought I found a place to get rid of my old french KBs.

While you're waiting on Dell, check out the Gigabyte ultrabook. HD+ display and GT640M. Thin and Light 11-14 notebooks gaming worth compendium 2013 update Gigabyte is not known for its build quality or high end materials selection but it's a start. Who knows, it could be a real sleeper. Note the dual vent cooling design.

[Damarious25]

Thanks for the link Bronsky. That Gigabyte looks good... Decent. After checking some bench marks comparing both GPUs I don't think it's a big enough jump for me to upgrade. It's VERY nice to see the market recognizing the 13"/14" form factor with a powerful dedicated GPU though. For a while I was thinking the 3820TG was going to be a hidden gem that was never repeated.

Nice to see dual cooling too. Would like to open it up to have a look at how it compares to the 3820TGs cooling.

Not sure why but I have an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that the Gigabytes "dual cooling" won't be as separated/distanced as the 3820TG. I'm thinking it'll be similar to this (and therefore a bonus, but slightly not as efficient as ours)

[Bronsky]

Nice to see dual cooling too. Would like to open it up to have a look at how it compares to the 3820TGs cooling.

Not sure why but I have an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that the Gigabytes "dual cooling" won't be as separated/distanced as the 3820TG. I'm thinking it'll be similar to this (and therefore a bonus, but slightly not as efficient as ours)

When I read the description as dual vent, I wondered if it even had dual fans. I'm sure the reviewers will have at it. Still, it is nice to see someone trying to improve the things that made the 3820TG so great. The improved resolution is really something I would like on the Acer. Mine is still going strong after nearly 2 years of constant use. I have had it back for a shorted webcam and have had not the hint of a problem since. I have a 3 year warranty on my 3820TG, so I am not really looking to replace it ATM. My company asks us to replace our primary notebooks every 2 years, so I may get another work notebook and keep the 3820TG at home.

[Dr. K6]

For those interested, figured out my downclocking problem. In one of the drivers I installed, "Plugged In" performance got set to "Maximum Battery Life," and therefore PowerPlay wouldn't clock up the card.

[Bronsky]

For those interested, figured out my downclocking problem. In one of the drivers I installed, "Plugged In" performance got set to "Maximum Battery Life," and therefore PowerPlay wouldn't clock up the card.

I disabled power play altogether because it kept turning off my wireless card when my 3820TG was on battery power, no matter how I manipulated the settings. After a clean install, I didn't even reinstall it.

[bhav2k1]

Whenever I am in power saving mode I am unable to watch any sort of flash videos (youtube and other sites show green pixelated videos). Anyone else have this problem?

Is the solution as simple as reinstalling the Intel HD graphics driver? If so, anyone know if there an acer specific one?

Sorry if this was already answered. I cannot search this thread for some reason.

P.S. I am unable to get my FPS in BF3 above 30. Is this normal?

[Damarious25]

P.S. I am unable to get my FPS in BF3 above 30. Is this normal?

I have have trouble peeking 40 on med in BFBC 2 with the i5 6550 (I don't overclock). Not sure which model you have or what settings you play at but 30 might be normal with BF 3?

[Bronsky]

I cannot search this thread for some reason.

P.S. I am unable to get my FPS in BF3 above 30. Is this normal?

The search function has not worked for some time. What kind of clocks are you running on your HD6550 and what settings are you using in BF3?

[bhav2k1]

Medium/Low settings. Default clocks, but sometimes a very slight OC.

I might try some paste on it this weekend.

Any idea with the video issue on the intel graphics chip? I am thoroughly confused how to install graphics drivers properly on this machine. I have been installing the latest AMD drivers by switching to discrete mode and then installing (I assume that is correct).

[Bronsky]

Medium/Low settings. Default clocks, but sometimes a very slight OC.

I might try some paste on it this weekend.

Any idea with the video issue on the intel graphics chip? I am thoroughly confused how to install graphics drivers properly on this machine. I have been installing the latest AMD drivers by switching to discrete mode and then installing (I assume that is correct).

Everyone seems to have their own installation method but I installed the Acer video driver first, then switched to dedicated and installed the latest AMD. I run mine overclocked to the max when playing BF3. It gets a bit hot but runs the game smoothly on med-high at 35 FPS or better.