can this lap

[elaurinec]

Hello! I am looking into buying this laptop but want to know if it will play casual games like the sims/sim city and some steam games on it? I am also looking to play planet zoo on it, but I don't think that will be possible. 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-12gb-memory-256gb-solid-sta...

I've attached the link, but specs are

8th intel i5 processor 

12GB memory 

256 SSD 

Intel UHD 620 Graphics 

[puzzlezaddict]

@elaurinec  That laptop would run Sims 4 on medium settings, really not more than that.  I can ask someone how it would handle SimCity, if you're interested.  I don't know about the other Steam games you have in mind, but Planet Zoo would probably be more than its hardware could handle, even on the lowest settings.

You can do a lot better for your money though, at least in terms of the strength of the hardware.  If you're curious, I posted a couple of lists of gaming laptops in this price range for other people recently:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Good-laptops-for-Sims-4/m-p/8945653#M171280

https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion-Feedback/New-laptop/m-p/8945984#M26232

At the very least, that might give you an idea of what's out there.  If you have questions about any of the laptops, or components in general, or you'd like help picking something out that matches your own preferences, please feel free to ask.

[elaurinec]

Thank you! 
I really appreciate you looking into the laptop. It was actually the look of the laptop I liked. Sleek and touch screen was kinda cool but touch screen is not important. I am coming from a MacBook Pro, and looking to get my first pc computer and I thought that the look was similar.  

some steam games I was looking at were the truckers stimulation game, and maybe rocket league. Otherwise I really only mainly play sims 4 and sim city. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@elaurinec  If you like the look of the Asus, these options would be better:

(one very long link)

(another very long link)

https://www.newegg.com/silver-asus-ux431fl-eh74/p/N82E16834235318?Item=N82E16834235318

The first one only has a small 256 GB hard drive, while the others have 512 GB.  The processor in the third one is a little stronger than the one in the other two, although that wouldn't make a huge difference.  But the key here is the graphics card: an Nvidia MX250 should run Sims 4 on high settings and is around 300% faster for gaming than the UHD 620 in the Asus you linked.

While the MX250 is good for Sims 4 and SimCity, it's still below the minimum requirements for Planet Zoo.  It's above the minimum but below the recommended reqs for Rocket League and the versions of Truck Simulator I checked, so both games should run fine on lower settings.

I did see touchscreen models that looked similar, but they all had integrated graphics cards that would be significantly slower than the MX250.  Still, if you want me to find some links, just ask.

[elaurinec]

Thank you again for helping me with this! 

I love the look of the second, it's definitely similar to what I'm used to. I found on Office Depot's website for $699 on sale instead of $849 on the ASUS website, but wanted to make sure it was the same one you sent before purchasing? I like the look of it and it has good reviews. My MacBook pro currently only has 128GB of space.. so 512 will feel like a dream!  

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/5968014/ASUS-VivoBook-S15-Laptop-156-Screen/?cm_mmc=PLA-_-Goo...

Also, do you think the screen pad  would be in the way and annoying? I've never used one before but it looks cool. Is there an ASUS laptop like this that doesn't have the screened as well but with the same graphics card? I was also wondering if it could play league of legends as well? 

[puzzlezaddict]

@elaurinec  That's an excellent price, and yes, it's the same graphics card as in the laptops as I linked.  Other than a very slightly weaker processor and a not quite as thin frame, it's essentially the same laptop as the third one I linked. (Maybe I should go back to checking Office Depot for laptops.)

League of Legends will run on just about anything, and this laptop is above the recommended requirements, so you should be fine.

As for the screenpad, I imagine it can be disabled if you don't like it.  It might even be disabled by default while you're doing certain tasks.  But there should be information on that in an Asus forum somewhere.  I'll look later if you really can't find any information about it.

[elaurinec]

Thank you for the information! 

I've also thought about going the complete opposite direction and getting the new MacBook air. I really don't use my computer much anymore besides sims, the other games were just maybes as well and not really important. I know that's the other end of the spectrum, but it has the following specs:

• Retina display with True Tone
• 1.1GHz dual-core 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor
• Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics
• 8GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory
• 256GB SSD storage¹
• Magic Keyboard
• Touch ID
• Force Touch trackpad
• Two Thunderbolt 3 ports

would it work just for the sims franchise? 

[puzzlezaddict]

@elaurinec  That MacBook Air would work with Sims 4, although not that well.  If it came with macOS Catalina installed, you'd need to buy SimCity from the App store, as the Origin version doesn't and probably never will run in Catalina.  And the other games would likely run only on low settings or not at all—I think League of Legends doesn't even have a Mac version.

I love Macs.  I love my Mac.  But it's not a gaming machine, and I would never recommend one for games.  The high-end MacBook Pros and iMacs handle Sims 4 quite well, but those have dedicated graphics cards and stronger processors and better cooling.  Still, if you want a Mac for other reasons, it's not like you couldn't play Sims at all.

[elaurinec]

yeah i figured it would be a long shot haha laptop buying is hard! I have one more that is the same price as the VivoBook, touch screen and doesn’t have the screen pad. I know nothing about the AMD Ryzen 5 or the Radeon Vega 8 that comes with it but it does say casual gaming in the description so I thought I would check? 

ASUS Q406DA - 14" FHD Touch - AMD Ryzen 5-8GB - 256GB SSD - Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08121F9W2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_fiQKEbDAGZ0TZ

[puzzlezaddict]

@elaurinec  The processor is fine for Sims 4, and so is its integrated graphics chip, but it's not as good as the MX250.  In terms of benchmarks, the MX250 is about twice as fast for gaming.  That's the difference between medium and high settings, or medium-high and high-ultra if you don't have all the demanding expansion packs installed.