Appropriate laptop for Sims 4?
Hi, I'm on the lookout for a laptop which will run Sims 4 with expansion packs and CC without problems? I'm not too keen on the look of the gaming laptops/they are very bulky and would like to use i...
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@Tally9611 The Zenbook with the Nvidia MX350 is the best option of the ones you listed: the graphics card is significantly faster than the MX250 in the Dell Inspiron, which is slightly faster than the integrated graphics chip in a Ryzen 7 4700U. (The performance gap between the MX250 and the iGPUs is smaller in synthetic tests but will make a more obvious difference in gaming.) So among those five, I'd definitely go with one of the last two you listed.
If you're willing to go up to £900, the 14" Asus Zephyrus is also worth considering. It's a real gaming laptop but is small and lightweight, and it also gets excellent reviews.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8866466
If you don't like that one, this HP is an even better option than the ones you linked. The MX450 is almost 20% faster in gaming than the MX350, and the processor in the HP is stronger too, although that shouldn't make a difference to Sims 4. This laptop is £800 once you apply the offered discount. It also has what looks to be a very nice screen.
https://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=2J6K3EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB
If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
Thank you so much for the speedy response!
The HP one does look good as does the gaming laptop you have posted- my big thing with laptops is the how loud the fan can get with playing. Is this to do with the laptop not being able to cope with the game or just that it doesn't have an integrated cooling system like gaming laptops do?
@Tally9611 The reason laptop fans get so loud is because running even a moderately demanding game generates a lot of heat, and that excess heat needs to be dispersed. It's not exactly that the hardware can't cope with the load, just that the byproduct of handling that load is heat. Some laptops have quieter fans than others, some are set up in a way that means the fan can run effectively at a lower speed, and some have multiple fans that each have less work to do.
The Zephyrus does get a bit loud when running games, not terrible but at the level where you'd want to be wearing headphones. The HP is new enough that I'm having trouble finding expert reviews for it, although the ones for the previous generation build say that the laptop is on the quiet side, at the expense of some performance. I can look up the others too, although the newer ones might not have many available reviews either.
The bottom line is, all that heat has to go somewhere, and the only options are a fan running at high speeds; a system that downclocks to generate less heat overall, thereby lowering performance; or a system that gets closer to overheating, either causing thermal throttling or necessitating an intervention like a cooling pad.
I've just been looking up more about the HP envy laptop you linked to- I've found it on currys for £100 cheaper but its an MX350 instead of MX450. Is it worth paying the £100 more?
I'm pretty sure everything else is the same, I've linked it below:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-envy-13-3-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10212903-pdt.html?istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istFeedId=4d7eb93e-055f-499d-8ee5-1cdcc50d67d1&istItemId=imatpxqxr&istBid=tztx&srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~1011 (Shopping Ads) Laptops - Jan Sale 2021~1011 (Shopping Ads) Laptops - Jan Sale 2021 ad group~Exact&mctag=gg_goog_7904&kwid=GOOGLE&device=m&ds_kids=92700059637352345&tgtid=1011 (Shopping Ads) Laptops - Jan Sale 2021&&gclid=CjwKCAiAl4WABhAJEiwATUnEF9uY-e7RewpwnS_M9uXIhjQ6YAzocGAOAmZEGCURa9xPwaAE7ojR2hoC5VIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
@Tally9611 Whether the upgrade is worth the price depends on whether you want to play on higher graphics settings. For practical purposes, the gap in speed between the MX350 and MX450 is the difference between turning up one or two settings to the next higher level. (Some settings are more demanding of the graphics card than others.) If it doesn't matter that much to you, then save the £100. If you want to get the best game performance you can out of the laptop, then the upgrade is relatively cheap for the benefit.
And yes, the laptop is mostly the same model, other than the processor. But that shouldn't make any difference to Sims 4.
