Laptop recommendations for Sims 4 and...

[riverdayspirit]

Hey! 

I'm planning to gift my niece a new laptop for her birthday in a couple of months and she's obsessed with the sims 4. My sister and I have been talking about a budget for the gift but we are open to hear recommendations for medium costs, we don't want to cross an expensive line of gaming computers that are super expensive, i read in the past forums of some asus vivobook(? that was for gaming and had a good cost, we want something in that range. My niece is a design student and  we want her to use the laptop for school too, for that its important for the pc have some characteristics (i don't know a lot about computers but she has talked about this a lot) like the display shows the colors with good quality, (the images show in good quality with good colors or something like that) she can download design softwares and all, memory, ram, and those things. It works for CC(?. I checked a Matebook D14-15 but it didn't have a good display quality i read from some sites and i dont want to make an error buying something she cannot use. 

Sorry for the long text, if i didn't explain well please tell me. Thanks in advance!

[puzzlezaddict]

@riverdayspirit  There are a lot of options in the "medium cost" range, even with your niece's needs taken into account.  Do you want to buy her something light and portable, with weaker hardware; or an entry-level gaming laptop, with better components but a bulkier chassis?  Are there specific other programs she wants to run that might be resource-intensive, or demanding tasks she might have in mind like video editing?  Much like games, these programs will run on lower-end hardware, but they'll run better on a stronger processor and faster graphics card.

Asus Vivobooks are generally good for what they are, but they come in many configurations, ranging from ones that wouldn't run Sims 4 well at all to some that are quite expensive.  There are other similar lightweight laptops for a similar price as well.  So it's easier to talk about the internal components available at a certain price point, rather than a specific model laptop or even manufacturer.

If you let me know at bit more about what kind of laptop you're looking to buy, and more or less how much you'd want to spend (and in what currency), I can give you a better idea of the hardware to look for.  Or, when you're ready to make the purchase, I can link some models for you to consider.  There's not much point in searching right now though, unless this is going to be an early birthday present.  Prices change quickly in the laptop market, sometimes more than once a week, as stock turns over; what's available now might be significantly more expensive than similar models in a month or two, or might be sold out entirely.

[riverdayspirit]

Thank you for answering, I kind of understand what you were talking about. I think a good hardware would be great, because she wants to use it for different stuff and multitasking while doing school work. I think at the start she uses things to edit images like Photoshop and illustrate(? But like you said, edit videos too and build/mold some things in 3D and all they do for graphic design. She always says she needs something that, at least for a while, she doesn't have to expand the capacity or she will buy a portable one (? I had to talk to her and she said she had looked at a nitro 5, but she had to say no because its a little expensive here (but shes searching some others that have those similar components to that one), a Asus tuf too. 

It is an early birthday present because there are three days between june and July where the government will have the 19% taxes off. The thing about our currency, Colombian peso COP, is that 1000USD that might seem little for people but here is 3.000.000, our maximun budget (between 3.000.000-3.100.000 in its real price). 

Thank you again. If you need some more info please ask and i will try to describe from what i know.

[riverdayspirit]

@riverdayspirit @puzzlezaddict i kind of missed what i said before! It needs to have good display(? Show a good image quality color quality(?

[puzzlezaddict]

@riverdayspirit  The last time I searched for computers in Columbia (out of two times total), I saw good options starting at 2.300.000, although with small hard drives that might not be sufficient for your niece.  Still, I should be able to find a few options in your price range that would work well.

The thing is, the laptops available now might not still be available in a month, or prices may have changed, or there might be a better option by then.  So there's not much point in doing a thorough search now.  When you're a few days away from being ready to buy, let me know, and I'll take a look.

In the interim, here are a few examples of the different laptops available, so you know what's out there.  This one has the kind of hardware that would run Sims 4 in medium-high settings, and it's lightweight and portable.  You'd need to buy a Windows 10 key and install it, but that's pretty simple and doesn't take a lot of time.

https://www.exito.com/portatil-asus-x409fjbv070-core-i58265u-mx230-ssd-512gb-endless-100522731-mp/p

This is a gaming laptop, capable of running Sims 4 on ultra settings, although only barely.  It has an IPS screen, the highest quality category for monitors.

https://www.exito.com/computador-portatil-r5-8gb-512gb-ssd-fx505dy-bq-955102/p

This one has a much faster graphics card, capable of running Sims 4 on ultra settings with some room to spare, and otherwise the same hardware, including an IPS screen.

https://www.exito.com/portatil-r5-8gb-512-ssd-573451/p

So yes, you should be able to find what you want when you're ready to buy.

[riverdayspirit]

Thank you for these recommendations! I will have them in mind for these days while i wait for the date.

[riverdayspirit]

@puzzlezaddict Hey! We've moved the purchase date and are open to buy this weekend/next week. If you can do us the favor, recommendations, we will be really thankful.

PD: can you please explain to me about the ACER Nitro/An515? That was the first we saw but aren't really sure. Your other recommendations too! We are looking onto them.

Thank you again.

[puzzlezaddict]

@riverdayspirit  What Acer Nitro are you looking at?  It comes in a few different configurations, like most gaming laptop models.  It would be easier if you linked a specific product page, so I know the components in the particular model you're considering.

And are you looking for a true gaming laptop, or something lighter that would run Sims 4 decently well?  As examples of what's available now, this is a true gaming laptop, capable of running Sims 4 on ultra graphics settings:

https://www.exito.com/computador-portatil-asus-156-pulgadas-gaming-i5-8gb-1tb-fx504ge-en-108662/p

This is smaller and lighter, with an entry-level graphics card that would probably handle high settings well enough at the computer's native resolution:

https://www.exito.com/portatil-asus-x409fjbv070-core-i58265u-mx230-ssd-512gb-endless-100522731-mp/p

If you want more info about the various options, please feel free to ask.

[riverdayspirit]

@puzzlezaddict i don't remember well but it was a nitro 5 with 12gb ram and 1TB, i can't find it but it was like this one kind of

https://www.exito.com/computador-portatil-acer-gaming-ci5-8gb-1tb-42924/p

About what you said just now, i don't really know, or how to explain it. I want a laptop that she can use with a good hardware for her school work in editing programs like Photoshop and illustrator, edit videos too and build/mold some things in 3D and all they do for graphic design. Something that, at least for a while, she doesn't have to expand the capacity and has a good screen/display that shows a good image quality/color quality. Alongside it runs the sims 4 in all of its expansions (understood last time about the high/ultra settings) and its able to play with all the content she wants. 

If thats a good quality game computer i don't really know but i guess it has to have good components for everything. But I heard SSD is good for this kind of tasks (?

Thank you again, I have looked onto the TUF one and we like that one too like you said it has the display and everything. Something like that is what we're searching.

[puzzlezaddict]

@riverdayspirit  What I was asking was more along the lines of, are you okay with a big bulky laptop that's not as easy to carry around?  Becuase other than a few high-end models, gaming laptops are bulky, and lightweight laptops have weaker hardware.  It's still usually possible to find a lightweight laptop that would run Sims 4 on high graphics settings, just not ultra, again uness you get into a really high price range.

Solid state drives make things like photo and video editing go much faster for sure, as does having a stronger processor.  The processor isn't as much of an issue in the very new lightweight laptops: the better CPUs are actually reasonably powerful considering their intended uses.  There are still differences among the various models, but it's a matter of how quickly a task gets accomplished, not whether it can be done at all.

The other consideration is that on the various Colombian sites I checked, inventory seems to be lower than I remember.  I didn't see any laptops with an Nvidia 1650 for under 3.000.000; the one with the 1050 ti was the best graphics card I found.  And I also didn't see any models with a gaming graphics card and a large solid state drive—the choices were an SSD that's probably too small (256 GB) or 1 TB mechanical drive.  It looks like inventory might be turning over, although I don't know how long it would take for the stores to restock.

I can still look for the best options possible, it's just that those best options aren't as good as they looked even a few weeks ago.