Laptop for 3 & 4

[Wixomrie]

I have been looking at this laptop and just wanted to know if it's any good for The Sims 2, 3, and 4 with CC and mods for all three. I also wanted to know how high I could put my settings with it. Thanks in advance

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Laptop-NVIDIA-Processor-i7-9750H-Windows-RGB-882-Intel-System-GeForce-RTX...

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Wixomrie  That's an impressive laptop, definitely overkill for both Sims games, not that that's a bad thing.  It should handle all content for both games on ultra graphics settings, minus the two Sims 3 settings, water and high detail lots, that the game engine doesn't handle well.  (I keep those on the second or third setting and 2, respectively.)  The description is unclear about it, but from the reviews, it looks like the laptop has a 512 GB SSD in addition to its 1 TB HDD, which is also great for loading times, among other things.

If you like the laptop, it should do everything you want.  But if you'd like to see other options, just let me know what features you're looking for, and now much you're willing to spend.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Wixomrie  That's an impressive laptop, definitely overkill for both Sims games, not that that's a bad thing.  It should handle all content for both games on ultra graphics settings, minus the two Sims 3 settings, water and high detail lots, that the game engine doesn't handle well.  (I keep those on the second or third setting and 2, respectively.)  The description is unclear about it, but from the reviews, it looks like the laptop has a 512 GB SSD in addition to its 1 TB HDD, which is also great for loading times, among other things.

If you like the laptop, it should do everything you want.  But if you'd like to see other options, just let me know what features you're looking for, and now much you're willing to spend.

[Wixomrie]

@puzzlezaddict Thanks so much! I don't have much computer knowledge so I'm always unsure about what to look for. All I know is I'd like a laptop with lots of storage space and a reliable cooling system because I fried my last pc :'( $2000 is as high as I can go...

[puzzlezaddict]

@Wixomrie  Wow, $2,000 is quite a budget, and much more than you'd need to pay to be able to play Sims 4 on ultra graphics settings, even with all the high poly custom content you could ever download.  You could pay half that and still get a really good computer.  Or you could pay a bit more (still far under your budget) to get other features that matter to you.  There are really too many options in your price range to list, so here are a few examples to give you an idea of what's out there.

This MSI has a stronger processor and a faster graphics card than the one you saw at Walmart and the same storage.  It does only have 16 GB memory, but that's more than enough for Sims 4, even if you like to multitask; or you could add more when you wanted.  This one is also $100 cheaper.  To be clear, it's massive overkill for Sims games, but maybe there are other games you'll want to play that would benefit from the extra power.

https://www.newegg.com/black-msi-gl-series-gl75-10sfk-029-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834155401?Ite...

Are you comfortable adding a second hard drive to a laptop, or having a store add one?  The laptops in the $1,000-1,000 range almost all come with a single 512 GB SSD at a max, but their chassis usually have an empty 2.5" drive bay that would accommodate the hard drive of your choice.  In terms of price, it's the most efficient choice: pay a few hundred less for a laptop that's still overkill for Sims 4, then pay $50-120 for the second drive of your choice.

These are a couple of examples.  The second has a much stronger processor and (I think; I'll check later) a slightly faster graphics card than the first.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-g-15-6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-16gb-memory-nvidia-g...

https://www.newegg.com/fortress-gray-asus-tuf-gaming-a15-tuf506iu-es74-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16...

For a bit more, you could get a 1 TB solid state drive.  The first has otherwise the same hardware as the Asus immediately above; the second has a faster graphics card.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558023-REG/asus_tuf706iu_as76_tuf_a17_gaming_laptop.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558022-REG/asus_tuf506iv_as76_tuf_a15_gaming_laptop.html

There are also other features to consider, like screen size (15 or 17", or possibly 14") and weight, if those matter to you.  Let me know what you think, or if you don't care about these details, and I'll start checking reviews for things like battery life and temperature control.  (You wouldn't want to play on battery, but it might be convenient for other reasons.)  There are also a few sites that let you customize a laptop, if you're not comfortable adding more storage after you buy it, but not all manufacturers support this.

[Wixomrie]

@puzzlezaddict Wow, it's overkill? I thought that The Sims 3/4 is just as demanding as the other games since there's all those packs. I plan on (hopefully) owning all the packs for both which I forgot to mention in my original post. I do play other games (Skyrim is one example) which is why storage space is my main concern.

I don't trust myself or a store to add anything to it XD I do like how there's two drives instead of one. Are there any options for a 2 tb? Or a reasonably pretty display? I'm sorry for being so broad I was trying to be narrow >_<

[puzzlezaddict]

@Wixomrie  Sims 3 doesn't require more than an Nvidia 1050 ti (mobile) or regular 1050 (desktop) to run on ultra settings.  Even with a lot of high poly custom content, the game will still run on ultra on a 1650, or perhaps a 1060 mobile.  Sims 4 is still in developement, and of course future packs might be significantly more demanding than the current ones.  But a 1050 will run all current packs together on ultra settings.  The way the game has developed so far, it certainly seems like even an Nvidia 1660 ti would be overkill for Sims 4, not that it's a bad thing.

There are plenty of computers with dual hard drives, but there are a lot more with an empty slot for a second hard drive of your choice.  Are you willing to get one of those and add that second drive yourself, or have a store do it?  If not, that's fine; it just narrows things down somewhat.  There are far fewer options with a 2 TB HDD, if you really want that specifically, but I'm sure I can find a few.  And in your price range, you really can get almost whatever you want.

All these laptops have reasonably pretty displays.  IPS is the highest quality screen, and almost any gaming laptop other than the very cheapest options will have one.  Of course, not all manufacturers' products are created equal.  If not for the current situation, I'd suggest you go to a physical store (Best Buy is always a good bet) and have a look at the monitors, especially if you can find a few gaming laptops.  You might find that you like the look of, say, MSI and Asus screens, but not Dell or Acer screens.  That's somewhat subjective though.

If you're not sure what you like, try to think of screens you've thought looked good, or any you didn't enjoy staring at, and list them.  I'll try to find valid comparisons to current laptops and sort them that way.  Or, if you really have no idea, I'll just find the ones with well-reviewed screens and go from there.

[Wixomrie]

@puzzlezaddict I feel more comfortable with the parts already being assembled. I really do want a dual drive laptop with a SSD and HDD and that I can run the games on Ultra. Will an i9 processor run the games faster?

[puzzlezaddict]

@Wixomrie  Sorry for the small delay.  I poked around a bit more, then kind of got lost in a couple custom build sites, and it took me a while to wander back.

All of the computers I'm linking you would run Sims 4 on ultra.  Any of them with at least an Nvidia 2060 should be able to run the game at or near 144 fps on ultra, at least at the 1920x1080 resolution of the laptop screens.  So that's not a concern at all.

An i9 CPU won't do anything except heat up your laptop more quickly.  All that power is completely lost on Sims 4; the game doesn't even come close to maxing out a 9750H.

Personally, I'd prefer a single large SSD to the dual setup, but everyone has their own preferences.  The combination 500 GB SSD/2 TB HDD does narrow things down considerably though.  I think your best bet would be to get a custom laptop, either from Lenovo (the only mainstream manufacturer that offers the options you want), or from a third party site that will add the components of your choice.

This Lenovo is the cheapest among the many options I could find.  Configured with a 9750H, an Nvidia 2060, 16 GB RAM, a 512 GB SSD and a 2 TB HDD, plus the high-end 144 Hz screen, it's $1,415.  It would take a while to ship, but that's not a surprise given it has to be assembled.

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/legion-laptops/legion-y-series/Lenovo-Legion-Y540-15/p/81SXCTO1...?

The same configuration but with a 17" screen would cost $1,455:

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/legion-laptops/legion-y-series/Lenovo-Legion-Y540-17IRH/p/81Q4C...?

I checked a few custom build sites, and XoticPC was the only one I saw that has what you want and isn't overly expensive.  For comparison, this is the same laptop you originally linked; with a 500 GB SSD/2 TB SSHD and otherwise the same specs, it's $1,453:

https://xoticpc.com/collections/advanced-series-gaming-laptops/products/msi-ge63-raider-rgb-1050

(An SSHD is a hybrid drive: faster than a conventional HDD but not much more expensive for the same storage.  XoticPC doesn't offer HDDs.)

This MSI Leopard would be $1,560 with an i7-10750H (a bit faster than a 9750H), an Nvidia 2070, 16 GB RAM, and a combo 512 GB SSD/2 TB SSHD.  It is a pre-order though.

https://xoticpc.com/collections/extreme-series-gaming-laptops/products/msi-gp65-leopard-10sfk-047

There are also a number of configurations of Sager laptops available.  For example, this one has an Intel i7-10875H (somewhat faster than a 10750H), an Nvidia 2060, a 15" 144 Hz screen, plus 16 GB RAM by default; customizing it with the dual drives you want and adding Windows 10 puts the price at $1,371.

https://xoticpc.com/collections/advanced-series-gaming-laptops/products/sager-np7858dw-clevo-nh58ddw

The 17" version is $1,420:

https://xoticpc.com/collections/advanced-series-gaming-laptops/products/sager-np7877dw-clevo-nh77ddw

The version with a 15" screen and an Nvidia 2070 is $1,662:

https://xoticpc.com/collections/extreme-series-gaming-laptops/products/sager-np8358f2-clevo-pb51df2

I know these are a lot of links, but they're really only the same few options over and over, with slightly different configurations.  Once you decide what hardware you want, things get a lot simpler.

[youtubefurslaafd]

@Wixomrie it will almost be too good :O

[Wixomrie]

@puzzlezaddict omg xoticpc seems amazing...! they are a good seller? I really like that preorder leopard...