August 2020
I want to buy a new computer (laptop) for the SIms 3+4 and was wondering if these specs are good enough to run them on high to ultra graphics.
Processor
10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-10300H (8MB Cache, up to 4.5 GHz, 4 cores)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit English
Video Card (GPU)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6
Memory
8GB DDR4-2933MHz, 2x4G
Hard Drive
256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
LCD
15.6 inch FHD(1920x1080) 220nits WVA Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display(non-touch), 60Hz refresh rate
Thanks!
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August 2020
@apigaill I double-checked all the usual sites, looking for a laptop with an Intel processor, an Nvidia 1650 (or better), at least 512 GB storage, not made by Acer, and $1,000 or less... and found exactly one model, priced at $999 everywhere. Take your pick of sites:
https://www.newegg.ca/p/N82E16834235518?Item=N82E16834235518
https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1920_1923&item_id=172060
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00113181
The only other option I saw that fit the criteria is an open-box model from Best Buy. It's also an Asus, but from the ROG Strix line. That might matter on the high end, but for this category laptop, I don't think it makes any difference. Still, if you're curious:
August 2020
@apigaill The hardware in that laptop is good enough to run both games on ultra graphics settings, at least for now. By the time Sims 4 is out of development, an Nvidia 1650 may or may not be quite strong enough for ultra, but it should at least always be able to handle a mix of high and ultra.
The one potential issue though is the hard drive. While you can certainly store both games on a 256 GB drive, space may be tight, especially if you like to use a lot of custom content, keep a number of backups or screenshots, and/or want to store other data on the laptop. You can get a sense of what you might need by looking at the free and total storage on your current computer. Some data can be stored on an external drive, but you'll want both games and their user data folders on the internal one for best performance.
If you'd like to see other options, I can have a look around. Just list your budget and country, as well as any other details that matter. It's possible however that laptops with a larger hard drive will be significantly more expensive—I've seen ones with the specs you listed priced $100 (U.S.) cheaper than the cheapest equivalent with a 512 GB SSD. But there's no harm in looking.
August 2020 - last edited August 2020
@puzzlezaddict Yeah, that would be great. My budget is $1000 and I live in Canada. I would also prefer to use NVIDIA Geforce GTX. I don't really think storage is going to be a problem seeing as I don't use too much cc (I checked my current mods folder which has all the cc I want and it was 499MB). And the laptop I'm using is my father's which he has a lot of his documents on it but there is still 110GB free.
August 2020
@apigaill If you were comfortable with a 256 GB hard drive and its limitations, the drive size wouldn't be a reason to avoid buying a particular laptop. But for $900 CAD, you can get an equivalent model to the one you found except with a 512 GB SSD. The processor in this Acer is last year's version of the i5-10300H and therefore a bit weaker, but it's still more than strong enough for both Sims games and some multitasking.
The processor in this Asus, a 4600H, is essentially equivalent (within 1% on various measurements) to the 10300H but is stronger for other tasks that benefit from its extra cores, for example if you wanted to do your own 3D rendering. It also has a 512 GB SSD, and it's available on multiple sites:
https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1920_1923&item_id=165759
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX81037
There are a few other laptops that would do equally well, for example an Asus with last year's version of the 4600H, and a number of options for $50 or $100 more. If you want to see more choices, let me know. But there's not a lot of variety at this price point, and you're probably not going to find better specs for under $1,000. And of course if you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
August 2020 - last edited August 2020
@puzzlezaddictThanks so much for the feedback. I saw these computers while I was searching and didn’t choose them because I haven’t heard good things about the Acer computers and would much rather prefer Intel to Ryzen. As I’ve had it before and trust it’s capabilities.
August 2020 - last edited August 2020
@apigaill AMD processors have gotten dramatically better in the last couple of years. And while Intel still holds the lead overall for gaming, that's most apparent in the high-end desktop processsors. The difference between the 10300H and the 4600H is either minimal or nonexistent, depending on who's doing the tests. Here's a good overview of benchmarks:
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-10300H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-4600H/m1027882vsm1110331
And here are more benchmarks than you'd probably ever want, although most of them are irrelevant to gaming:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/R5-4600H-vs-i5-10300H_11679_11706.247596.0.html
Still, if you want an Intel CPU that isn't from an Acer, I did see a couple possibilities for $1,000. (Let me know if you want me to go back and look.) In the meantime, here's an overly detailed review of the Nitro 5, in case you're curious:
August 2020
August 2020
@apigaill I double-checked all the usual sites, looking for a laptop with an Intel processor, an Nvidia 1650 (or better), at least 512 GB storage, not made by Acer, and $1,000 or less... and found exactly one model, priced at $999 everywhere. Take your pick of sites:
https://www.newegg.ca/p/N82E16834235518?Item=N82E16834235518
https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1920_1923&item_id=172060
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00113181
The only other option I saw that fit the criteria is an open-box model from Best Buy. It's also an Asus, but from the ROG Strix line. That might matter on the high end, but for this category laptop, I don't think it makes any difference. Still, if you're curious:
August 2020