Laptop Purchase Advice

[puzzlezaddict]

@jjrose310  There are a few different components that you need to pay attention to in a laptop.  Unlike desktops, you won't have a choice of motherboard, cooling apparatus, or case, so it's much easier to keep track of the parts.

• Processor:  To keep things simple, I'll just say that you probably want an Intel i7-8750H.  The i5-8300 will also run TS4 well, and you can go with that option if you want to save money.  But the i7 is significantly stronger, and a better choice for the sake of futureproofing.  The next processor up (i7-8850) only comes in systems that are significantly more expensive, at least right now.
• Memory:  8 GB RAM is the absolute minimum you'd want in any system.  It's more than enough for TS4 and Windows 10, but not really enough to run other apps alongside the game.  16 GB is better, but again, more expensive.  Many laptops allow for RAM upgrades, so you could add more later if you wanted or needed to do so.
• Graphics card:  An Nvidia 1050 ti (with 4 GB VRAM) will run everything TS4 has to offer.  You might want a 1060 6 GB for Photoshop, as well as futureproofing, and laptops with 1060s have recently come down in cost, to the point that you'll probably be able to find one in your price range.  (The second laptop I linked has one.)
• Storage:  It sounds like you'd prefer at least 1 TB, which you'll only get in HDD or SSHD form, unless you want to pay a lot more.  An SSD will make Windows and certain programs load more quickly, but it won't help TS4 run any better.  It may help with Photoshop, although I'm not sure.  (You certainly won't lose anything by storing your work on an HDD, internal or external.)  An SSHD is a good compromise—a bit slower than an SSD, a bit more expensive than an HDD, but close enough to each.

Again, when you're ready to buy, I can find you some options that fit your needs and budget.  $1000 is more than enough if you take advantage of sales.  Just let me know when it's time.

[jjrose310]

Thank you so much!! This is very helpful! It’s been so long since I’ve shopped for computer stuff, it seems like a whole new world than it was even just a few years ago.

[jjrose310]

@puzzlezaddict any good sales that you know of right now?

[puzzlezaddict]

@jjrose310  This actually looks like a very good time to ask, at least for the type of performance you're looking for.  The custom options don't look great, but I found a few prebuilt options that would work well.

Given your preferred budget of "under $1000 if possible," I didn't include the cheapest options with 8 GB RAM and a single (very slow) mechanical hard drive.  I can look for those too, but I figured you'd want the ability to multitask that 16 GB RAM gives you, plus at least a small solid state drive for running Photoshop.  With a 256 GB SSD, you'd still need to install TS4 on the larger HDD, but that wouldn't affect the game's performance.

These models all have an i7-8750H processor, since it's significantly more powerful than the next level down (an i5-8300H), and the next level up (an i7-8850H) is much more expensive, at least right now.  The 8750H will handle TS4 and Photoshop, as well as almost anything else you'd want to do.

This is the least expensive good option, at $950, and it comes with a $100 rebate card.  It has an Nvidia 1050 ti for a graphics card, which will handle all of TS4 on high settings.  If you like lots and lots of custom content though, the 1050 ti might not quite keep up with the load on the highest graphics settings, depending on whether you tend to download the most demanding items.  (They're called high-poly count items, and they take more resources to render than other items, both EA and cc.)

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834155111

This one is $1050 but comes with a $150 rebate card.  Its 128 GB SSD is actually too small for much more than Windows 10, but it has the advantage of an Nvidia 1060, which will do better with both high-poly cc and Photoshop tasks.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154829

This one has a 256 GB SSD and an Nvidia 1060 6 GB, which will take anything TS4 custom content creators can throw at it, likely for the entire run of the game.  Its SSD is also faster than the others, although it might be hard to tell the difference in Photoshop, and of course it won't affect TS4 at all.  It's on sale on both Amazon and newegg; while Amazon is a bit cheaper ($1000 vs. $1030), you should check whether newegg charges tax in your state.

https://www.amazon.com/i7-8750H-Processor-GeForce-Gigabit-Windows/dp/B07F6K21HJ

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834235064&ignorebbr=1

If none of this is what you're looking for, please let me know.  And of course, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[jjrose310]

Thank you! I’ll look into those for sure. I was looking on that site and I found a couple that seem pretty good, but they aren’t sold through Newegg. Are those typically reputable?

example: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA65E8GC7721&ignorebbr=1

[puzzlezaddict]

@jjrose310  I'm only finding scattered reviews of this particular company, not enough to say for sure either way.  The problem with these third-party sellers in general is that they buy surplus and do their own upgrades, and they don't always do a good job.  Some companies have been known to mess up and break the computer (or have it break a few weeks into use).  There are stories of a company doing something ridiculous like stuffing a piece of styrofoam into the laptop to make the parts fit together.  If I had a choice, I'd never buy one of these products, especially because I don't have the skills to repair a laptop myself.

If you're looking for a large SSD and are willing to spend a bit more money, let me know and I can look further.  (I set a cap of $1100 in my earlier searches.)  But again, TS4 doesn't play any better on an SSD, and you can run Photoshop off a 256 GB drive; you'd just need to move your extra files to the larger HDD or an external drive when you weren't using them.  In terms of upgrades, the Nvidia 1060 is probably the better way to go for what you'd like to do with this laptop.

[jjrose310]

Thank you @puzzlezaddict , that’s what I was worried about. I don’t mind pushing the budget a little if I get something that will be reasonably better.

So, under $1500, the closer to 1k the better.

[puzzlezaddict]

@jjrose310  Honestly, there aren't any laptops with a 512 GB SSD with the other specs (and price) you're looking for.  The extremely high-end ones start at over $2,000, and customizing an Alienware would be about the same, once you added in the 16 GB RAM.  The only cheaper laptops with a large SSD are most definitely not built for gaming and wouldn't be able to handle TS4.

The truth is, with a 256 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD, you'll be able to do whatever you want on the computer.  Managing two drives is very easy once you have everything set up, and there's no drawback to having TS4 installed on the HDD.  However, the 1060 6 GB is definitely going to improve your performance, both for the game and for Photoshop.  Even if the prices were the same, it would be much better to buy a computer with a small SSD and a 1060 rather than a large SSD and a 1050 ti.

I wish I could find you exactly what you want, but the brands that make good gaming laptops just aren't producing the configurations you're looking for, at least not right now.  And it's almost impossible to predict when that would shift, so if you did decide to wait, it might be quite a while before you saw what you wanted.

[jjrose310]

That is just what I needed to hear! I’m not familiar with having dual drives, I currently only have a 1t hdd, but if it isn’t too hard to figure out the two then that makes it easier to find something!

im looking at a few right now... do you have any thoughts on these? They have basically the same specs, but is One better than the others or are they all about the same?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834235064&ignorebbr=1#fullInfo

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834235077&ignorebbr=1#close

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834154812

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834316433&ignorebbr=1

i really appreciate all of your help @puzzlezaddict !!

[puzzlezaddict]

@jjrose310 These models are all basically the same computer, plus or minus a couple of small details.  Putting aside the sales, these four are basically the same price, minus the requisite MSI markup.  I will say that Acer gaming laptops aren't always the best choice—sometimes they handle their workload fine, other times not.  The Predator line is usually fine though.

The first is the one I linked before (the one that's cheaper on Amazon unless newegg declines to charge tax).  The second one has a slightly bigger screen than the others, but I don't know that 17.3" is going to be so much better than 15.6" unless you really like large screens.  The laptop itself is also larger and weighs more, if that makes a difference.

The refresh rate is also a bit higher in the second computer, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 120 and 144 Hz.  Even a 60 Hz screen would be fine for TS4; the only games where a higher refresh rate helps are those that depend on reaction times, mostly first-person shooters.

The third model has a faster HDD than the others, but it's the only one with a SATA SSD instead of PCIe.  (The second link doesn't specify, but ASUS's site lists that model with a PCIe.)  PCIe SSDs are 3-5 times faster than SATAs.  So there's a tradeoff, but personally I'd prefer the faster primary drive and live with the slower HDD.

The first two models also have faster RAM than the others.  (Again, I have to go by the ASUS website's listed specs.)  There's only a small performance difference between 2400 and 2666 MHz RAM; you might or might not notice at all.  All four models have room for you to add memory if and when you want to, so that's not an issue either.

The bottom line is, all of these computers are pretty much the same, and they'd all handle TS4 and Photoshop very well.