Laptop recommendation Sims 4

[puzzlezaddict]

@PixieSDimples  Sorry about the currency; I should have checked.  However, in terms of prices at least, the situation is basically the same.  The only difference is I found a couple of gaming laptops at a heavier discount than you'd see in the U.S.:

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8440710?clickPR=plp:20:120

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9375482?clickPR=plp:34:120

The graphics card in the second one is somewhere in the range of 50% faster than the GPU in the first, which for F1 is the difference between playing comfortably at medium settings vs. high, give or take your father's personal preferences for framerates and various graphics settings.  I'd also be hesitant to buy a laptop with only 256 GB storage, but if your dad really isn't doing anything other than playing F1 and various tasks that don't take up internal storage (browsing the web, streaming music, etc.), it should be fine.

In terms of the options I mentioned before, this laptop is the cheapest among those that have the highest-end graphics chip.  I actually didn't cover it because laptops that have this processor are usually more expensive, but it's a little better than the i7 I mentioned overall and somewhat faster than the i7 in F1 2021.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hp-15seq2510sa-15.6-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-silver-10225070....

The graphics card in the first option above is still faster than the chip in this one, but the gap in F1 2021 is not all that large on medium or high settings.  (It doesn't run great on high settings on either GPU; on low settings, the Nvidia 1050 is a lot faster.)

I didn't find any laptops with an i7-1165G7 that were cheaper than the option immediately above.  I did see an option with an i5-1135G7 for £500:

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/acer-aspire-5-a51454-14-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-102...

As I mentioned before, you'd be looking at low graphics settings, but it looks like the game does run.

I also left out some cheaper options with the i5 and 256 GB storage: you'd be saving £50 at most, and the extra storage will probably be useful at some point.  But those options are out there as well.

If you want to do some shopping on your own, just look for the same processors as are in the models above, or the graphics cards in the case of the first two.  The newer Nvidia 3050 is even faster than the 1650, but the cheapest option I saw for one of those was £700.

[PixieSDimples]

Thank you again! 

If we were to go for a laptop which covers the recommended requirements, would you be able to suggest an option on the cheaper end of the spectrum, which would fit those specs?

I think the two we were looking at from your options above covered everything apart from the ram? Would those same ones be available at a higher ram or should we be looking at different options? 

I so appreciate your help, the specs baffle me but you’re really helping me begin to make sense of it all! 

[puzzlezaddict]

@PixieSDimples  Most laptops these days, other than the very cheapest models, have upgradable memory, and most cheaper laptops that come with 16 GB installed are more expensive than the difference in RAM would call for.  So if you want to get the best machine possible for your budget, you're better off buying something with 8 GB and installing the extra yourself.  A matching 8 GB module might cost you £40-50 depending on the market.

Are you now thinking about the minimum requirements or the recommend ones?  Those are two different levels, with recommended meaning what you can expect to run the game on high or ultra graphics settings.  For those options, prices have actually improved a lot in the last month but still may be more expensive than you'd prefer.  As an example:

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-legion-5-15.6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-rx-6600m-512-gb-ssd...

From the benchmarks I can see, this graphics card would run F1 well above 60 fps on ultra graphics settings and faster than the laptop's screen can even display on high.  It's also a quality laptop in general.

This one is technically under the recommended specs but should still run the game reasonably well on ultra settings and above 100 fps on high, and it's also £700:

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hp-victus-16e0514na-16.1-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-rx-5500m-512-gb...

I didn't do a thorough search because I wasn't sure exactly what you were looking for; these were to give you an idea of what you could get for your money.

The cheapest options with a dedicated graphics card are still going to be in the £650 range, other than the one for under £600 I mentioned before.  (It looks like that's still available too.)  Below that, you're looking at not meeting the minimum requirements and what that means, as we discussed before.

Point is, let me know your preferred budget and I'll take another look.  But there really is a line below which performance starts to drop off a cliff.

[PixieSDimples]

I’d like it to play at the recommended settings and if it’s going to take so much just to get to minimum settings I think it makes sense to save up the extra to get to the recommended settings.

Does that mean the first link would be best?

So we’re looking at a budget of about £700 to £800, definitely no more than £900. 

I really can’t thank you enough for your help!

[puzzlezaddict]

@PixieSDimples  I think the first link should work out very well.  As for the price, I don't know how long you're going to wait to buy or what will be available at that time.  If this particular laptop ends up being more expensive than you'd like, feel free to come back when you're ready to purchase, and I'll do another search.  Regardless of timing, there should always be some very good options available in the £850 range, and hopefully more like £800.

[puzzlezaddict]

@PixieSDimples  Hey, if you're ready to spend £650 now, I just saw this laptop on sale:

https://www.box.co.uk/81Y6005SUK-Lenovo-Legion-5i-Intel-Core-i5-8GB-RAM-5_2938435.html

Its graphics card is roughly equivalent to the one in this model:

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-legion-5-15.6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-rx-6600m-512-gb-ssd...

that we previously discussed as likely running F1 on ultra settings at 60 fps or higher.  And its memory is user-upgradable too, in case you're wondering.  So it would be a great option for your dad.

[PixieSDimples]

We went for the Lenovo yesterday while it was on sale. Your help has been so appreciated!