Is this a good laptop for the Sims with packs, mods, and cc?

[Brennea]

I've been looking at buying a laptop for the Sims 4 and I think I may have found the one, but the price seems lower than I expected so I'm suspicious. I'm not great with computers, but I think this meets the specs.

Acer Aspire 5 A515-45-R74Z Slim Laptop 

Please help me!!

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Brennea  Your link doesn't work, but I believe this particular model has a Ryzen 5 5500U processor, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB storage?  If so, then it's fine for Sims 4: it probably won't run all your content on ultra graphics settings, but medium-high settings should absolutely be doable.  256 GB isn't a lot of storage, but it can hold all current Sims 4 packs plus a large collection of custom content; the problem would be if you were also installing other large games or storing another large data collection.

As for the price, I can't comment on that, but I do see laptops like this on sale for around $450 U.S. on a regular basis.  This is the standard configuration for a laptop that's good enough for light gaming and schoolwork but isn't even an entry-level gaming laptop in either hardware or price.  And as such, there are a lot of options that aren't too expensive even before the regular sales hit.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Brennea  Your link doesn't work, but I believe this particular model has a Ryzen 5 5500U processor, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB storage?  If so, then it's fine for Sims 4: it probably won't run all your content on ultra graphics settings, but medium-high settings should absolutely be doable.  256 GB isn't a lot of storage, but it can hold all current Sims 4 packs plus a large collection of custom content; the problem would be if you were also installing other large games or storing another large data collection.

As for the price, I can't comment on that, but I do see laptops like this on sale for around $450 U.S. on a regular basis.  This is the standard configuration for a laptop that's good enough for light gaming and schoolwork but isn't even an entry-level gaming laptop in either hardware or price.  And as such, there are a lot of options that aren't too expensive even before the regular sales hit.

[Brennea]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so much! I'm only planning to use this for the Sims 4 and some school work if I need it. I'm not sure why the link isn't working, but you are correct!

If you have any recommendations for laptops under 650 in the U.S, I'd love to hear them, but from what you're saying this laptop sounds good for me and I think I'll get it!

[puzzlezaddict]

@Brennea  If you're in the U.S., here are a few other equivalent options worth considering:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-aspire-vero-green-pc-laptop-15-6-full-hd-12th-gen-intel-core-i5-12...

https://store.acer.com/en-us/aspire-3-laptop-a315-59-50r2

https://www.walmart.com/ip/259696422

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3525-laptop/nn3525fj...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/769419322

The fourth one (the Dell) has the same graphics chip as the one in an R5 5500U processor, and since the graphics chip will be the limiting factor for Sims 4, performance should therefore be the same.  The others have graphics chips that are a bit faster.  But the difference is really only a few percentage points, not enough to say they're definitively better than the one you found if you like that other one best.

What these all do have is twice the storage.  Again, 256 GB is enough for Sims 4, but if you'd like more storage for other reasons, or you think you might want it in the future, these are worth thinking about.

[Brennea]

@puzzlezaddict I'm looking at the Dell one and do you know the difference between the Intel model and the AMD model? 

[puzzlezaddict]

@Brennea  Sorry for the late reply.  The graphics chip in an Intel i5-1235U* is a bit faster than the chip in an AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, which is the same as the chip in an R5 5500U.  The difference is only a few percentage points, so not really worth crossing off the AMD option on its own, but I did want to mention it.  The R7 5700U has a slightly faster chip, one that's on par with the Intel chip.

These processors themselves are all fast enough to easily handle Sims 4 and some light multitasking, so their relative strength isn't an issue here.  And that's a whole can of worms anyway—Intel and AMD CPUs each have clear strengths over the other in the kinds of professional workloads you're probably never getting anywhere near on this machine.

*For anyone else reading, not all i5-1235U processors are paired with Xe graphics, so not all will have the particular graphics chip I'm describing.  Some will have a slower non-Xe graphics chip instead; this depends on the choice of the laptop manufacturer.  The laptops I listed do all have Xe graphics.