I need help with choosing a gaming laptop
(If this is not where i should post this, please feel free to move it and i'm sorry for the trouble. I'm new to this so i'm still confused) So i decided to buy a gaming laptop to play the sims but i...
Forum Discussion
@EmpressShadow7 Since I don't know where you live, I can't possibly tell you what's available and cheaper than an Omen. But this list is a good place to start:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Best-Budget-Gaming-Notebooks.262742.0.html
There are of course a few caveats. One is that "budget" means different things to different people, not to mention that prices can very significantly by region. Another is that not all of these run cool, and some of the ones that do are somewhat loud. You can skip all the technical info and scroll down to the overall ratings towards the bottom: you'll notice that, for example, the Lenovo Legion runs cool and quiet, the Dell is cool and the MSI quiet, and the Aorus is neither. These are relative rankings of course, but anything above 90% is excellent, and you'd probably be fine with anything above 85.
Please also be aware that the same brand name can run differently depending on the processor it has. These days, laptops with AMD CPUs generally run cooler than ones with Intel CPUs because the former is more power efficient than the latter. There are exceptions, e.g. the Acer Predator Helios, but you'll notice it's apparently quite loud under load to compensate. The Lenovo Legion has the advantage, cooling-wise of a weaker processor, although it's still perfectly fine.
I'd suggest the list more as a starting point than anything else: you can compare its offerings with what's available in your region and go from there. But of course it's best to look up reviews of the specific option(s) you're considering before making a purchase. I can help with that too, if you want to list a few models.
And again, you don't need to pay for a 2070; a 3060 is just as fast and is probably going to be cheaper if you can find one available.
@puzzlezaddict oh i forgot to say that i live in north Africa (Morocco) so i'm not sure if any of the laptops on that list will be available.
And i've been searching to see if the overheating problem with omen is common and it turns out it is! Almost everyone experienced it and they had to do a fix which lowers the laptop's performance. I'm glad i decided to ask before actually getting it
@EmpressShadow7 I don't think that overheating would necessarily affect how Sims 4 runs for you, whether the processor downclocked on its own to throttle or you undervolted it. Or I should say, it wouldn't likely be an issue if you manually capped in-game framerates: that lowers the workload for both the CPU and GPU, thereby lowering the heat that each one produces. But it would still be nice to get a model that didn't have a tendency to overheat in general.
I have no idea where to shop for laptops in Morocco, so I doubt I'd be any help. But it's relatively easy to find serious reviews—not casual like/don't like posts but ones with precise measurements and benchmarks—for pretty much any model out there. So whatever other options seem promising, look for thorough reviews, or else list them here and I'll take a look.
@puzzlezaddict I'll look for other promising models as you suggested and i'll make sure to ask you for your opinion.
One last question for now and i'll get out of your hair i promise lol
If the omen model i mentioned is the ONLY option i have, should i go for it or not bother?
Thank you SO much for helping me. I really appreciate it!
@EmpressShadow7 If you can only get an Omen, you'd be more than fine with a model that has a 1660 ti, 2060, 3050, or 3060, so you don't need to spend the extra for a 2070 if you can find cheaper options. (A 1650 would probably also run the game on ultra settings, but you'd have a smaller margin to account for future packs.)
And if the Omen line is in fact your only choice, I'd say it's perfectly fine. There are steps you can take to limit how hard the hardware has to work without having an impact on performance, and cooling pads and fans are cheap. Omens aren't poorly made and don't break too often or too quickly; they're just not ideal. But a good gaming laptop is a lot better than any non-gaming laptop, and on the off chance that something goes wrong right away, that's why they come with a warranty.
