Will buying a better laptop reduce CPU usage? [ Edited ]

[asuramaru-bae]

I love playing the Sims, but I can only ever play it for a few minutes at a time before it starts using up anywhere between 80-200% CPU (usually around 115%), my laptop heats up and the fan(?) makes so much noise it sounds like it's trying to fly away.

I play on my 2017 (purchased in 2018) Macbook Pro, macOS 10.14.5 (Mojave) with these specs:
Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory: 8GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Garphics 40 1536 MB

I have 4 expansion packs, 3 game packs, and 1 stuff pack installed.

If I buy a better laptop (I guess a gaming laptop?) will it reduce the CPU usage? Or is that an issue with the game / the % usage will be the same regardless of what I'm playing it on?

And if anyone has any recommendations for budget gaming laptops that will work better, please let me know -I really want to buy another laptop if it will allow me to play the Sims for more than 10 minutes at a time.

Thanks guys

(Edit: I don't know if this makes any difference, but I also only have 15.5GB out of 250GB left of storage space. I've heard people say that if you only have a little bit of storage left it makes your device run slower, so maybe this has an impact as well?)

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@asuramaru-bae  The issue isn't really your processor itself, which is decent enough (although not great) for TS4.  The problem is that you don't have a dedicated graphics card, so the game runs on the card integrated into the processor.  An Intel 640 is stronger than most integrated cards, but it's not really built to handle even a moderately demanding game like TS4.  Forcing it to do so will generate excess heat, although the game itself creates enough heat on its own to get your fans going as it is.  (Still, if they're that loud, it's not a good sign.)

Another issue is that TS4 isn't fully optimized for macOS.  I'm not the right person to talk to you about that, but if you want more information on that front, I can ask for an expert opinion.  The bottom line is though that your MacBook Pro, while a great computer in a lot of respects (I'm typing on one now), is not built for serious gaming, and its lack of a dedicated card is always going to hold it back.

You could always try to free up some storage on your computer to see if it helps.  15 GB is probably okay for macOS, which doesn't bloat the same way Windows does, but I'm not completely sure it's enough.

As for whether a new computer would be better, that would depend on how much you'd be willing to spend, and whether you want a laptop or desktop.  For a laptop, the ones that can run TS4 and all packs on ultra settings now start around $700, give or take, depending on current sale prices.  Futureproofing so that you could always run the game on the highest settings would likely cost at least $1000, as the older graphics cards are hard to find, and the newer ones haven't come down i price yet.  (Desktops are cheaper and can be upgraded, unlike laptops, but you'd also need to buy a monitor.)

If you did want to buy a new computer to play on, I'd be happy to look for good options, or I could write out the necessary specs for you so you could look yourself.  But below around $600, you wouldn't be getting better hardware than you have now.  So the only "improvement" would be swapping macOS for Windows, which doesn't seem to be worth the money, even if the game ran slightly better.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@asuramaru-bae  The issue isn't really your processor itself, which is decent enough (although not great) for TS4.  The problem is that you don't have a dedicated graphics card, so the game runs on the card integrated into the processor.  An Intel 640 is stronger than most integrated cards, but it's not really built to handle even a moderately demanding game like TS4.  Forcing it to do so will generate excess heat, although the game itself creates enough heat on its own to get your fans going as it is.  (Still, if they're that loud, it's not a good sign.)

Another issue is that TS4 isn't fully optimized for macOS.  I'm not the right person to talk to you about that, but if you want more information on that front, I can ask for an expert opinion.  The bottom line is though that your MacBook Pro, while a great computer in a lot of respects (I'm typing on one now), is not built for serious gaming, and its lack of a dedicated card is always going to hold it back.

You could always try to free up some storage on your computer to see if it helps.  15 GB is probably okay for macOS, which doesn't bloat the same way Windows does, but I'm not completely sure it's enough.

As for whether a new computer would be better, that would depend on how much you'd be willing to spend, and whether you want a laptop or desktop.  For a laptop, the ones that can run TS4 and all packs on ultra settings now start around $700, give or take, depending on current sale prices.  Futureproofing so that you could always run the game on the highest settings would likely cost at least $1000, as the older graphics cards are hard to find, and the newer ones haven't come down i price yet.  (Desktops are cheaper and can be upgraded, unlike laptops, but you'd also need to buy a monitor.)

If you did want to buy a new computer to play on, I'd be happy to look for good options, or I could write out the necessary specs for you so you could look yourself.  But below around $600, you wouldn't be getting better hardware than you have now.  So the only "improvement" would be swapping macOS for Windows, which doesn't seem to be worth the money, even if the game ran slightly better.