Need help with choosing a laptop/PC

by vaniquertamere
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Need help with choosing a laptop/PC

★ Novice

Hi everyone!

 

I'm looking into buying a new laptop/PC to play Sims 4 and am both overwhelmed by the choices and confused about the specs, so I would really appreciate some help.

 

I'd play with all expansion packs and some mods and CC. I would not play any other games or use the computer for anything else (I have a separate one for work and another one for personal use), I do not make CC, edit videos, or stream. All in all, I'm a run-of-the-mill player who would like to have a smooth experience while playing. 

 

A laptop would be preferable, as I'm usually playing while laying in bed. My budget is max 1000 USD and I live in Hungary. Some popular retailers are emag.hu and mediamarkt.hu. 

A free DOS unit is OK for me, I would manage to install an OS & drivers but it would be even better if it came with Windows already installed Standard smile.

 

I'm not completely opposed to getting a PC, but then a screen & keyboard & mouse would have to fit in the budget as well. 

 

Thank you so much in advance! 

 

 

Message 1 of 5 (471 Views)

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Re: Need help with choosing a laptop/PC

@vaniquertamere  I do think this laptop would be better, and the price is quite reasonable for the expected difference in performance.  The 1660 ti is a lot faster than the 1650, although Sims 4 won't use all that speed most of the time.  The real benefit is in making the game's inevitable slowdowns a bit less drastic: if framerates drop by 40% for whatever reason, it helps if the initial fps is higher.

 

The Omen is the kind of laptop I recommend when people have a bit more money to spend, although Omens are usually overpriced compared to other options with the same hardware.  It looks like that would also be true of this one were it not on sale.  The one thing to be careful of is heat: Omens do run somewhat hot, not in a dangerous way but enough that you'll want to make sure it's cooling itself properly.  Playing on a hard flat surface should be enough, but if not, get a laptop tray or cooling pad.

 

There are actually a number of options between your previous budget and the price of the Omen, if you're interested in a bit more shopping.  These two have an RTX 3050, which falls between the 1650 and 1660 ti in terms of performance.

 

https://www.emag.hu/asus-tuf-fx506hcb-hn145w-15-6-fullhd-gamer-laptop-intel-core-i5-11400h-8gb-512gb...

https://www.emag.hu/acer-nitro-an515-55-15-6-fullhd-laptop-intel-core-i5-10300h-8gb-512gb-ssd-nvidia...

 

A 3050 ti is a bit faster than a 3050 but still not as fast as a 1660 ti, so I'm not sure whether these two are cost-effective.  Depending on the cost of a Windows 10 key, and you could of course buy a cheaper one that comes with an old install medium and create your own installer, these may be less expensive than the one you've linked:

 

https://www.emag.hu/lenovo-legion-5-15imh6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-10500h-processzorral-15-6-huv...

https://www.emag.hu/hp-pavilion-gaming-15-ec2000nh-15-6-fullhd-144hz-laptop-amd-ryzen7-5800h-oc-16gb...

 

The nice thing about the Pavilion is that it comes with 16 GB RAM, which is convenient if not strictly necessary.  All the other laptops can be upgraded if you want though.

 

Finally, this one's RTX 3060 is even faster than the 1660 ti.  You really don't need the extra power; I'm just mentioning it because I saw it and it might be around the same price as the Omen once you factor in the Windows 10 key.

 

https://www.emag.hu/acer-nitro-5-an515-15-6-144hz-full-hd-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-5600h-8gb-512gb-...

 

But really, if the Omen is what you want, go ahead and buy it.  I'd expect it to run Sims 4 beautifully with no significant issues outside what the game itself is responsible for.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.

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Message 4 of 5 (336 Views)

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Re: Need help with choosing a laptop/PC

@vaniquertamere  It looks like proper gaming laptops start at just under the equivalent of $1,000 U.S., at least according to the exchange rate as provided by Google.  These two would both run Sims 4 on ultra graphics settings, with some room to spare, and have plenty of room for all your content:

 

https://www.mediamarkt.hu/hu/product/_acer-nitro-5-nh-q7meu-01e-gamer-laptop-15-6-fhd-core-i5-8gb-51...

https://www.mediamarkt.hu/hu/product/_asus-tuf-gaming-a15-fa506ihr-hn019w-gamer-laptop-15-6-fhd-ryze...

 

This Acer model runs cooler overall, but the processor in the Asus produces less heat, so they're likely about the same in this regard.  The Acer's battery life is better, though neither's is great, and you wouldn't want to play while running on battery for performance reasons anyway.  The screens are about the same quality, and the other hardware is the same in both.  So between these two, you could just pick the one you liked more for whatever reasons matter to you.

 

This laptop's graphics card is somewhat faster than the GPU in the ones above, and it othewise has the same hardware as the Asus.  So purely in terms of performance, it would be the best choice.

 

https://www.emag.hu/dell-inspiron-g5-5505-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-4600h-15-6-8-gb-ram-512-gb-ssd-amd-rade...

 

To be clear, Sims 4 should run fine on ultra settings on any of these, but you'd probably notice an improvement in performance on the faster GPU specifically when the game started to lag, which it would and does on any computer.  But if you don't particularly like the Dell, one of the others is a reasonable choice.

 

Since you have other laptops for everything besides gaming, I only looked closely at gaming laptops.  But if you'd prefer something smaller, lighter, or cheaper, there are plenty of options, for example these should all be about equivalent in terms of performance, running the game on at least medium-high if not high settings:

 

https://www.emag.hu/lenovo-v15-g2-15-6-fullhd-laptop-amd-ryzen7-5700u-8gb-256gb-ssd-amd-graphics-win...

https://www.emag.hu/hp-250-g8-laptop-core-i5-1135g7-2-4ghz-8gb-ram-512gb-pcie-hp-wifi-bt-intel-iris-...

https://www.emag.hu/hp-14s-dq2000nh-14-fullhd-laptop-intelr-coretm-i5-1135g7-8gb-512gb-ssd-intel-iri...

 

If you do want one of these, let me know what your priorities are, for example weight, screen size, or anything else along those lines.  Since there are so many more options in this class of laptop, you can be more discerning.

 

If you have more questions, either about these specific laptops or in general, please feel free to ask.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 5 (431 Views)

Re: Need help with choosing a laptop/PC

★ Novice

Oh my goodness! 

Thank you for the super detailed response! I'm about to place the order but thinking of increasing the budget a lil bit.

Do you think this one would be better

https://www.emag.hu/hp-omen-15-ek0001nh-15-6-fullhd-144hz-gamer-laptop-intel-core-i5-10300h-8gb-512g...

(as in worth the difference in price)?

 

So far I like the name and logo haha, since it looks a lit like the plumbob but I figured I'd better ask whether it is worth it :D!

Message 3 of 5 (346 Views)

Re: Need help with choosing a laptop/PC

@vaniquertamere  I do think this laptop would be better, and the price is quite reasonable for the expected difference in performance.  The 1660 ti is a lot faster than the 1650, although Sims 4 won't use all that speed most of the time.  The real benefit is in making the game's inevitable slowdowns a bit less drastic: if framerates drop by 40% for whatever reason, it helps if the initial fps is higher.

 

The Omen is the kind of laptop I recommend when people have a bit more money to spend, although Omens are usually overpriced compared to other options with the same hardware.  It looks like that would also be true of this one were it not on sale.  The one thing to be careful of is heat: Omens do run somewhat hot, not in a dangerous way but enough that you'll want to make sure it's cooling itself properly.  Playing on a hard flat surface should be enough, but if not, get a laptop tray or cooling pad.

 

There are actually a number of options between your previous budget and the price of the Omen, if you're interested in a bit more shopping.  These two have an RTX 3050, which falls between the 1650 and 1660 ti in terms of performance.

 

https://www.emag.hu/asus-tuf-fx506hcb-hn145w-15-6-fullhd-gamer-laptop-intel-core-i5-11400h-8gb-512gb...

https://www.emag.hu/acer-nitro-an515-55-15-6-fullhd-laptop-intel-core-i5-10300h-8gb-512gb-ssd-nvidia...

 

A 3050 ti is a bit faster than a 3050 but still not as fast as a 1660 ti, so I'm not sure whether these two are cost-effective.  Depending on the cost of a Windows 10 key, and you could of course buy a cheaper one that comes with an old install medium and create your own installer, these may be less expensive than the one you've linked:

 

https://www.emag.hu/lenovo-legion-5-15imh6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-10500h-processzorral-15-6-huv...

https://www.emag.hu/hp-pavilion-gaming-15-ec2000nh-15-6-fullhd-144hz-laptop-amd-ryzen7-5800h-oc-16gb...

 

The nice thing about the Pavilion is that it comes with 16 GB RAM, which is convenient if not strictly necessary.  All the other laptops can be upgraded if you want though.

 

Finally, this one's RTX 3060 is even faster than the 1660 ti.  You really don't need the extra power; I'm just mentioning it because I saw it and it might be around the same price as the Omen once you factor in the Windows 10 key.

 

https://www.emag.hu/acer-nitro-5-an515-15-6-144hz-full-hd-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-5600h-8gb-512gb-...

 

But really, if the Omen is what you want, go ahead and buy it.  I'd expect it to run Sims 4 beautifully with no significant issues outside what the game itself is responsible for.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 5 (337 Views)

Re: Need help with choosing a laptop/PC

★ Novice

Thank you so much for all your help!

I've just placed the order for the Omen! 

Message 5 of 5 (324 Views)