New Laptop needed for Sims 4 [ Edited ]

[puzzlezaddict]

@smilelikemiles  A hard disk drive has parts that spin at 5400 or 7200 RPM, and it will have slower read and write speeds than a solid state drive of any kind.  But computers with SSDs are more expensive, of course, except perhaps for those with the small (128 GB) drives.  TS4 itself will run the same on any drive, once the game loads, and movies and music will play back the same as well.  You might notice a difference in other apps, but that would depend on how those apps are programmed.

All three laptop models I linked have good enough cooling for TS4.  These are gaming laptops, after all; they're supposed to be able to handle some stress.  They start to have issues with more hardcore games, but it doesn't sound like you're going to try to play those.

And yes, all these models come with Windows 10.  That's the only real option here, not that it sounds like you mind.

If you're into custom content, you may want to wait to see if you can find a laptop in your price range with an Nvidia 1060.  Again, the vanilla game doesn't really need it, but you might notice a difference, if not now than later.  This is of course assuming you want to play on high graphics settings.  Your budget is just below the level where I'd expect to be able to find a 1060 in a laptop, but as you can see in the third link, there are occasionally sales and rebates that would make such a purchase possible.  But there's really no way to predict when the laptop you want would be available; the only thing you can do is keep an eye out for good sales.

[smilelikemiles]

Ok so I am ready to purchase a laptop. Someone else was talking to me about cheaper laptops being able to handle the game and they said they know a lot about computers but idk if a $400 computer would run the game. I just purchased a 1TB external drive so I’ll be able to move stuff over to the new computer. I played sims through Origin as most of my game packs are digital. To download those again do I just download origin and then download the games through there? My base game is on disc. Do any of these have disc drives? I can always digitally buy them but I rather not spend more money on something I already own lol 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@smilelikemiles  There are two possibilities for that $400 laptop.  The first is a computer with much weaker hardware than you're looking for.  The minimum requirements for the TS4 base game are lower than the reqs for each the newer expansion packs, and that still doesn't account for the demands of running them all at the same time.  Besides, you're not looking for a computer that only meets the minimum reqs, i.e. that can technically run what you're asking of it, probably on the lowest settings.  You in all likelihood want a computer that will make TS4 look great, and that will allow you to play with the content you want for the forseeable future.

The other possibility is that the $400 computer is used.  That's just asking for trouble—you never know how the previous owner treated it.  Even a desktop is a huge risk, but a laptop could be broken or nearly so, and it's impossible to replace the hardware, with the exception of RAM.

I looked for deals again, and for around $700, I could only find two good options.  They both have an Intel i5-8300 processor, an Nvidia 1050 ti, and 8 GB RAM.  (You could add more RAM later, if you wanted.)  The first is cheaper, once you factor in the rebate, but it has only an HDD for storage.  The second has a hybrid (SSHD) drive, which will be faster than an HDD, but again, that won't affect how TS4 itself runs.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834155024

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834235023

Again, these computers will handle TS4 itself on the highest settings; the question is how much farther you can take them with custom content, now or later.  At the moment, it looks like a laptop with an Nvidia 1060 (3 GB or 6 GB) would cost at least $900, but prices may come down a bit.  For example, this one is over $1000 but comes with a rebate card that brings it to $880 net before taxes:

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

Anyway, there aren't ever going to be a whole lot of options in that price range, no matter what the sales look like.

As to your other question, most laptops these days don't come with a disc drive.  But as long as your content is registered in Origin, as TS4 has to be (even if you own it on disc), you can redownload it onto as many computers as you want, for free.  You can only play on one computer at a time, but your account has the right to run the game on any computer you choose.

The same is true for TS3 if your base game and packs are registered to your Origin account.  Otherwise, external disc drives can be as cheap as $30.

[smilelikemiles]

Thanks so much! I’m going to purchase and make my decision when I come home today. 

So my final question would be- the ones you have shared with me just now. I will be playing the sims 3 or sims 4 but will never have any other window open at the same time. I don’t play with a lot of custom content - mainly just hair. I don’t okay with mods generally either. I also use photoshop and a wacom drawing tablet and it works fine on my old laptop still even being 13 years old but I would like to introduce both eventually to the new laptop. I have a free version of photoshop I’m enjoying at the moment so I will continue to use that on my old one until my old laptop is in its time. Then I will start paying monthly for it if I have to. I’m sure these laptops would be able to handle both of these things as well. Again I won’t ever be using these at the same time as playing the sims. I want to play on a high setting with no slowness or game lag so I’m hoping to get the best for my money even though I know it won’t always be perfect. It took me a long while to save so I want to be sure I’m getting exactly what I want since I’m not exactly computer smart. I currently have a laptop with close to 300GB of data on and I plan to move most of it over to the new one. I also have iTunes and loads of music I’ll be moving over on my external hard drive. I will have to google how to do this efficiently. Just in the event the computer I have now decides to die I’ll need to have everything on the new one. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@smilelikemiles  In your first post, you mentioned maybe playing TS3, but it didn't seem to be your focus, so didnt' think about that game as much.  Both computers I linked would run the game just fine—the processor, RAM, and graphics card all meet the requirements to play on the highest settings.  But unlike for TS4, the SSHD would make a big difference to TS3.  Everything that requires loading data into or out of RAM would be faster.  This includes the initial loading screens, loading a new world during the travel transition, using CAS and Edit Town, saving sims or lots you've built, and of course saving the game itself.  So if you can, I'd definitely go for the second option.

When you do install TS3, you'll need to take steps to limit your in-game frame rates.  Unlike TS4, TS3 has no working limiter of its own, and your graphics card is strong enough to throw rates well into the hundreds if not capped.  But it's fairly simple to do, although there's no point until you're actually running the game.  Let me know (I'm in the TS3 section as well) when you've installed and are ready to monitor your frame rates.

I'm not sure whether the SSHD would make a difference to Photoshop (it certainly wouldn't hurt), but your other specs are at or above Adobe's recommended specs as well.

[smilelikemiles]

Thank you so much for your help! My main focus right now is sims 4 but I did spend the money a long while ago and there will be a time when I want to do sims 3 again but I would like to focus on sims 4 a bit right now. But if it’s a simple thing to do I might do the second option. 

[smilelikemiles]

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For now I’m going to play Sims 4. Currently installing on my new laptop. I’ll let you know how it goes. If I decide to play sims 3 I will ask you about what I have to do. I might install sims 3 now too but I’m going to play sims 4.