Gaming Laptop for The Sims 4 - Help

[simkreator]

I'm looking to buy a gaming laptop to play The Sims 4 because the one I have now can't support the game. I know nothing about computer specs and everytime I start searching for the best laptop I get bombarded with so much information that I'm afraid to choose the wrong one and get stuck with it.

I'm looking for something that I can play the game with the highest settings and I can use a LOT of CC. I don't really have a price point. Obviously if I can get the best specs without spending too much I would appreciate it.

Please help.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@simkreator  Without a budget, it's hard to say what your best options are.  But I can give you at least an idea of what's out there; you may or may not find a slightly cheaper price somewhere else.

All these laptops come with no operating system, or Linux.  The options with Windows 10 pre-installed are significantly more expensive, and there isn't much selection either.  This isn't really an issue, other than the extra expense (maybe €120) of buying a Windows 10 key—all you need to install Windows 10 is at least temporary access to a computer where it's already installed and a USB stick (at leat 8 GB storage) you don't mind erasing.  If you need help with this process, just ask, but it's something most people could handle once they knew where to start.

At the low end, price-wise, is this Lenovo, for €650.  Its graphics card, an Nvidia 1650, would run all current Sims 4 packs together on ultra graphics settings with some room to spare.  It's not clear whether a 1650 would run all future packs together on ultra settings too, since we don't know what those future packs will look like.  (It will probably be a close call either way.)  It has a 512 GB solid state drive, which is more than enough storage for most people.

https://www.novoatalho.pt/pt-PT/produto/41786/Portatil-Lenovo-Ideapad-L340-15IRH-Gaming-81LK01G2PG-/...

This one is €800 and has a significantly stronger processor, plus an Nvidia 1650 ti, which is a bit faster than the regular 1650.

https://www.novoatalho.pt/pt-PT/produto/41593/Portatil-Asus-TUF-FA506II-R54BT5PS1/90NR03M2-M03160.ht...

This is the cheapest laptop I saw with an Nvidia 1660 ti, which is significantly faster than the 1650 ti and is kind of overkill for Sims 4.  (A 1660 ti should always run the game on ultra with room to spare.)  It's €1,000 and has the same processor as the first laptop, 8 GB memory, and a 512 GB SSD.

https://www.pcdiga.com/portatil-acer-nitro-5-15-6-an515-54-55jk

If you really want to go overboard, you could get an even faster graphics card, or a stronger processor.  The extra power wouldn't make any difference to Sims 4, but if you're thinking of playing more demanding games, it might help.  For example, Cities Skylines is much more taxing on the processor and would run better on an Intel i7-9750H (or the slightly older 8750H), and Planet Zoo would benefit from the extra speed of the Nvidia 2060.

https://www.pcdiga.com/portatil-msi-15-6-gf65-thin-9sexr-257xpt

https://www.globaldata.pt/computadores/portateis/portatil-asus-tuf-156-fx505dv-r7-16gb-512gb-rtx-206...

https://www.globaldata.pt/computadores/portateis/portatil-msi-156-gl63-8sd-272xpt-i7-16gb-512gb-gtx-...

https://www.globaldata.pt/computadores/portateis/portatil-msi-156-gf65-thin-9sd094xpt-i7-16gb-1tb-gt...

These four also have 16 GB memory, which is nice for multitasking if not strictly necessary for Sims 4.  But the others could all be upgraded to add more RAM—like almost all gaming laptops, they have an empty slot for a second RAM stick.

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.  And if these aren't what you're looking for, let me know what details you'd like to see, and I'll take another look.

[puzzlezaddict]

@simkreator  The single most important component in determing how well a given computer will run most games, Sims 4 included, is the graphics card.  An Nvidia 1650 (mobile version, as in what you'd see in a laptop) will run all current Sims 4 packs together on ultra graphics settings, with some room to spare.  It may or may not be quite fast enough to run all current and future packs together on ultra settings—we don't know how demanding those future packs will be.  An Nvidia 1660 ti is significantly faster and should always handle ultra settings without any trouble.  The very new AMD RX 5500M seems to be a bit faster overall than the 1650, but results vary significantly from game to game, and I haven't seen any benchmarks for Sims 4 yet.

Custom content doesn't necessarily raise the demands of the game, other than increasing the loading time, which can't be avoided.  High-poly cc (high resolution content) is more demanding though, and if you like to use it, you may want a 1660 ti to give the laptop more room to accommodate those items.

The processor, memory, and storage matter too, but as a practical matter, any laptop with one of these graphics cards will have good enough other specs for Sims 4.  The processor will be more than strong enough; the computer will have at least 8 GB RAM, which is plenty for Sims 4; and aside from a few rare examples, storage should be fine too.  If you want to store other data besides Sims 4 and your massive cc collection on the computer, you may want more than a single 256 GB solid state drive: either a 512 GB SSD or a combination 256 GB SSD/1 TB HDD.  But it's easier to search by graphics card first and then narrow things down from there.

In terms of price, in the U.S., laptops with a 1650 usually start around $700-750, and those with a 1660 ti start around $900-950.  Prices are comparatively higher in other countries.  If you let me know what kind of hardware you want, or alternately how much you'd like to spend (and in what currency), I can look for some good options.  Or, if you'd prefer to search on your own, feel free to link the model(s) you're considering for a second opinion.

[simkreator]

I live in Portugal, so my currency is Euro. I don't really know about hardware I just know I'd like it to be laptop so I can carry it around. If you could please help me find some suitable option and possibly find something thinking about the future packs and updates and that it lasts more than a couple years! Thank you!

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@simkreator  Without a budget, it's hard to say what your best options are.  But I can give you at least an idea of what's out there; you may or may not find a slightly cheaper price somewhere else.

All these laptops come with no operating system, or Linux.  The options with Windows 10 pre-installed are significantly more expensive, and there isn't much selection either.  This isn't really an issue, other than the extra expense (maybe €120) of buying a Windows 10 key—all you need to install Windows 10 is at least temporary access to a computer where it's already installed and a USB stick (at leat 8 GB storage) you don't mind erasing.  If you need help with this process, just ask, but it's something most people could handle once they knew where to start.

At the low end, price-wise, is this Lenovo, for €650.  Its graphics card, an Nvidia 1650, would run all current Sims 4 packs together on ultra graphics settings with some room to spare.  It's not clear whether a 1650 would run all future packs together on ultra settings too, since we don't know what those future packs will look like.  (It will probably be a close call either way.)  It has a 512 GB solid state drive, which is more than enough storage for most people.

https://www.novoatalho.pt/pt-PT/produto/41786/Portatil-Lenovo-Ideapad-L340-15IRH-Gaming-81LK01G2PG-/...

This one is €800 and has a significantly stronger processor, plus an Nvidia 1650 ti, which is a bit faster than the regular 1650.

https://www.novoatalho.pt/pt-PT/produto/41593/Portatil-Asus-TUF-FA506II-R54BT5PS1/90NR03M2-M03160.ht...

This is the cheapest laptop I saw with an Nvidia 1660 ti, which is significantly faster than the 1650 ti and is kind of overkill for Sims 4.  (A 1660 ti should always run the game on ultra with room to spare.)  It's €1,000 and has the same processor as the first laptop, 8 GB memory, and a 512 GB SSD.

https://www.pcdiga.com/portatil-acer-nitro-5-15-6-an515-54-55jk

If you really want to go overboard, you could get an even faster graphics card, or a stronger processor.  The extra power wouldn't make any difference to Sims 4, but if you're thinking of playing more demanding games, it might help.  For example, Cities Skylines is much more taxing on the processor and would run better on an Intel i7-9750H (or the slightly older 8750H), and Planet Zoo would benefit from the extra speed of the Nvidia 2060.

https://www.pcdiga.com/portatil-msi-15-6-gf65-thin-9sexr-257xpt

https://www.globaldata.pt/computadores/portateis/portatil-asus-tuf-156-fx505dv-r7-16gb-512gb-rtx-206...

https://www.globaldata.pt/computadores/portateis/portatil-msi-156-gl63-8sd-272xpt-i7-16gb-512gb-gtx-...

https://www.globaldata.pt/computadores/portateis/portatil-msi-156-gf65-thin-9sd094xpt-i7-16gb-1tb-gt...

These four also have 16 GB memory, which is nice for multitasking if not strictly necessary for Sims 4.  But the others could all be upgraded to add more RAM—like almost all gaming laptops, they have an empty slot for a second RAM stick.

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.  And if these aren't what you're looking for, let me know what details you'd like to see, and I'll take another look.

[simkreator]

About storage, most of these have 512GB of SSD, do you think that's enough for playing with a lot of CC? Also, when I was first exploring looking for some options I found info about SSD and HDD and that left me with some questions as apparently SSD doesn't have as long a life-span as HDD. Since all the options you gave me had SDD I was wondering if it's because that's the best one for gaming and specifically for playing The Sims 4.

[puzzlezaddict]

@simkreator  A 512 GB SSD is more than enough for Sims 4 and all the custom content you could ever use.  A 256 GB is enough, although maybe not by a wide margin, depending on your other uses.  If you install all current packs together, the game's program files take up about 40 GB.  Given the sizes of current packs and the recent patterns, that will probably rise into the low 50s by the time the game is out of development, maybe 60 GB at most.  If you add another 50 GB of custom content, 10 GB of saves, screenshots, and random files you don't feel like cleaning up, plus Windows itself, a 256 GB drive would still be barely half full.

It's true that solid state drives don't last as long as mechanical drives.  But the lifespan of SSDs is still more than long enough for normal use.  How much data can be written to an SSD before it wears out depends on its size and type, as well as the manufacturer.  To give you an idea though, if you were planning on downloading and deleting a couple of large games every week, or a comparable amount of data, the SSD might wear out in a few years.  For normal use, i.e. downloading a couple games and playing them, the SSD should still be fine long after the rest of the laptop is obsolete.

Solid state drives are better for gaming because everything loads so much faster on an SSD.  Sims 4 runs just fine on a mechanical drive, but it takes longer to load, so it's more convenient to have it installed on the SSD.  Most gaming laptops have an empty 2.5" drive bay as well, so you could add a second hard drive (SSD or HDD, any 2.5" model should fit) later if you wanted.  But you might not ever find it necessary.

[simkreator]

Thank you so much for everything, I'm gonna take everything you explained into consideration when choosing my laptop!

[simkreator]

I'm sorry to keep bothering you but I was wondering if the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 that is in one of the options you sent me superior to the NVIDIA 1660 ti you mentioned in the previous replies?

[puzzlezaddict]

@simkreator  You're not bothering me at all.  Yes, an Nvidia 2060 is faster than a 1660 ti, maybe 5% overall in gaming.  It won't make any difference to Sims 4 though: the game doesn't come close to maxing out a 1660 ti and probably never will.  I just mentioned the 2060 in case you had other games in mind, and because the price isn't so much higher for a 2060 than a 1660 ti.

[simkreator]

No, I understand that, but because the price point is the best considering all the other requirements (16gb ram and 512gb storage) and I could end up playing other games that laptop seems the best! 
Again, thank you so much!!