Re: I need help with choosing a gaming laptop

@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.

@puzzlezaddict the only gaming laptops i came across so far are omen (1600usd) and msi, more or less the same specs, (2000usd). it's more expensive and i was told that both laptop kind of similar so that's why i considered getting omen

@EmpressShadow7  I think an Omen should be fine then.  MSIs range from somewhat better than an equivalent Omen to somewhat worse, depending on the model, but they're not $400 U.S. better.

@puzzlezaddict so i have an update. I went to get the laptop today. The shop's owner said it's 15000mad (1,676.58$) before BUT NOW he said the one he thought i was talking about was omen 15 ryzen 7 nvidia geforce 2060 while the one i want (asked about in my post+more storage) is omen 17 i7 nvidia geforce 2070 which is 19000mad (2,123.67$)

I ended up buying neither because omen 17 is way above my budget and i didn't like omen 15's design..

He showed me another laptop (hp envy) more or less same specs as omen 15 and price but i didn't want to get something i knew nothing about and honestly i was a bit sus of the whole situation at that point. So in short this sucks lol

@EmpressShadow7  I'm sorry to hear that.  A 2060 would still be more than fine for Sims 4, but in the U.S. at least it shouldn't cost more than about $1,200 and might be as low as $1,000, so almost $1,700 seems unreasonable even given the regional price differences.

What specs does the Envy have?  If you're considering it, you could ask the shop owner to write down the model number, specs, and price for you, not only so you have all the relevant info but so you know for sure what he'd charge you.  I will say though that most Envy models aren't meant to run games at all: they're lightweight office laptops that often come with a low-end graphics card for light gaming.  You could still play Sims 4 on almost any Envy, but probably not on ultra settings, and you'd need to be careful not to let it overheat.

@puzzlezaddict the Envy if i remember correctly has the same specs as Omen 15 (i7 instead of ryzen7, 2060)1,730.97$ i don't really want it since it's not gonna be able to do what i want and honestly I don't feel comfortable buying from that shop anymore. On HP's website omen 17 is way less than what they told me... i would buy it online but the shipping fees are expensive ☹️ 

@EmpressShadow7  Do you have any other options for purchasing the laptop?  Another company (Dell, Lenovo, Asus, MSI, Acer) might have lower shpping costs, or another store might have better options.  Omens are good gaming laptops, but they aren't special: there are quite a few other models that should be equal in performance.

@puzzlezaddict usually shipping costs are so expensive since it's coming all the way from the US. Could you please suggest other gaming laptops that have the same specs as the one i asked about in the original post? I'll try other stores and this time i won't ask for an Omen specifically.

Also i asked someone i know who deals with many electronic stores for work to check if all stores have the same prices for Omen 17. 

@EmpressShadow7  There are too many models to list, although I did list most of the brands you might encounter.  Instead of asking about an "Omen" or a "Zephryus" or the like, try asking about laptops with a 2070 and under your budget, or a 2060 and $300 under your budget.  That way, you won't be in the same situation as before, where the shopkeeper quoted you a price for a different laptop than the one you wanted.

@puzzlezaddict hey there! After your last comment i started looking for other models too and i came across these two (lenovo legion 5, hp pavilion). Could you please take a look at them and let me know what you think? Which one do you think will be able to run both sims 3 and 4 with all dlcs, ultra settings, tons of cc/mods, and no lagging or crashing (i also play a few other games). Are these laptops as good as omen? I must seem obssessed with omen lol but i just really like it. I'm still waiting for the store that has these laptops too to get back to me about how much they would charge me for an omen. Anyway here are the ones i'm considering now:

Option 1:
LENOVO Legion 5 15IMH05H I7-10750H
•20.270MAD (2,265.94$)
•Intel Core i7-10750H (6C / 12T, 2.6 / 5.0GHz, 12MB)
•NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6
•2x 8GB SO-DIMM DDR4-2933
•Two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, dual-channel capable
•Up to 32GB DDR4-2933 offering
•256GB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0x4 NVMe + 1TB HDD 5400rpm 2.5"
•15.6" FHD
•Windows 10 Home 64

Option 2:
HP Pavilion Gaming | Mallorca 21C1(i don't know what this means?)| Core i7 11370H quad | 16GB DDR4 2DM 3200 | 1TB 7200RPM + 256GB PCIe | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB VRAM | 17.3 FHD Antiglare slim IPS 300 nits 60Hz Narrow Border | . | OST W10H6 PLS SL AF PPP | ShadowBlack w/ Acid green pattern | WARR 1/1/0 EURO

16.590mad (1,854.56$)

Also is 2060 better than 3050/3060? Sorry i'm a total noob when it comes to graphic cards🤦‍♀️

Thank you so much for your help 🙏

@puzzlezaddict hey there! After your last comment i started looking for other models too and i came across these two (lenovo legion 5, hp pavilion). Could you please take a look at them and let me know what you think? Which one do you think will be able to run both sims 3 and 4 with all dlcs, ultra settings, tons of cc/mods, and no lagging or crashing (i also play a few other games). Are these laptops as good as omen? I must seem obssessed with omen lol but i just really like it. I'm still waiting for the store that has these laptops too to get back to me about how much they would charge me for an omen. Anyway here are the ones i'm considering now:

Option 1:
LENOVO Legion 5 15IMH05H I7-10750H
•20.270MAD (2,265.94$)
•Intel Core i7-10750H (6C / 12T, 2.6 / 5.0GHz, 12MB)
•NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6
•2x 8GB SO-DIMM DDR4-2933
•Two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, dual-channel capable
•Up to 32GB DDR4-2933 offering
•256GB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0x4 NVMe + 1TB HDD 5400rpm 2.5"
•15.6" FHD
•Windows 10 Home 64

Option 2:
HP Pavilion Gaming | Mallorca 21C1(i don't know what this means?)| Core i7 11370H quad | 16GB DDR4 2DM 3200 | 1TB 7200RPM + 256GB PCIe | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB VRAM | 17.3 FHD Antiglare slim IPS 300 nits 60Hz Narrow Border | . | OST W10H6 PLS SL AF PPP | ShadowBlack w/ Acid green pattern | WARR 1/1/0 EURO

16.590mad (1,854.56$)

Also is 2060 better than 3050/3060? Sorry i'm a total noob when it comes to graphic cards

Thank you so much for your help!

@EmpressShadow7  It looks like your post was caught in the spam filter.  That can happen for various reasons, some not so obvious, but the important thing is the post is back now.

A 2060 is about 10-15% faster in gaming than a 3050 ti, and a 3060 is more like 40% faster.  (The ti version of the 3050 is around 20% faster than the non-ti version.)  For Sims 4, this choice won't make any difference: they'll all run the game on ultra settings without any trouble, I mean other than the trouble Sims 4 itself causes when it's being difficult.  Hardware can't work around that, unfortunately.  They're also more than powerful enough for Sims 3, but here again, the game itself poses some problems that need to be managed.  You probably know this already; I just want to mention it because Sims 3 especially does need that extra effort to run smoothly.

Both the Legion and the Pavilion product lines are of good quality and shouldn't pose any issues themselves.  Right now, I think the Legion line is the best overall in the budget gaming range, although there isn't much of a gap, if any, in gaming performance.  The difference is that Legions tend to run both cool and quiet compared to the others without sacrificing performance.  But the other laptops handle games just fine as well, and I don't think the much higher price of the Legion is worth the benefit.

@puzzlezaddict i see. I had no idea what's the difference between those graphic cards. So if you have to make a decision between Lenovo Legion, HP Pavilion, and HP Omen which one would you consider getting?

@EmpressShadow7  If it were just for Sims 3 and 4, I'd choose the cheapest option with any of these graphics cards but be willing to pay up to $100 USD extra for a Legion.  This is partly subjective: good cooling matters to me, but above a certain point, I'd just buy a cooling pad or fan and save some money instead.

However, if you play more demanding games than Sims 4, you may want something more powerful than a 3050 ti.  Without knowing what those games are, I can't say whether you'd get a benefit from a faster card and up to what point it would make a difference.  It also depends on your own preferences: even a 2060 can run almost any AAA game on ultra settings, but probably not at 144 fps.  If you're fine with 60 frames per second, you don't need to spend nearly as much money as if you want to push fps over 100.  Or you could just turn down a couple graphics settings to high; this is also a perfectly reasonable approach, and depending on which settings you change, you might not even notice.

The point is, this is about your personal preferences and how much money you're willing to spend to cater to them.  What I would do with my own money is not necessarily the right answer for you.

@puzzlezaddict hey there. So i finally got a gaming laptop (Hp Omen, same specs in my original post) and honestly i don't know if it is worth all the money i spent on it.

Right of the bat when i used it for the first time, i noticed that the cpu temperature goes to 60c° even though i wasn't really doing anything and the fans start working when it reaches 60c°and boy those fans are SO loud!

It's supposed to run the sims 3 perfectly right? I mean nvidia rtx 2070, i7, 16g. But when i launched the game, it became prettyyy warm in 2 to 3 mins (i haven't even done anything! My household literally just loaded) and the fans went crazy!

Is this normal? Is there something i could do to fix this? I read about something called 'undervolting' but i don't know how to do it. Or is there something wrong with it and i should return it?

@EmpressShadow7  CPU temps of 60º C are not only normal, they're really good while you're playing.  Anything below 90º isn't even worth noticing, at least not on a gaming laptop.  The GPU will start to throttle a bit above 70º, but that's not a dangerous temperature either.  The fans can be loud, but I'd think you'd prefer to play with headphones anyway given how unimpressive most laptop speakers are.  I can't tell you for sure that there's nothing wrong with this laptop, but what you're describing isn't a problem at all.

One thing you should definitely do when playing Sims 3 is manually limit the in-game framerates.  Your 2070 is capable of generating wildly high fps if allowed, much higher than your screen can display, which increases its workload for no reason.

The in-game fps limiter doesn't work, but you can use the built-in Nvidia Control Panel instead.  Right-click on your desktop and select the CP, then Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings, select ts3.exe (for an Origin install) or ts3w.exe (for a disc or Steam install) from the list, scroll down to Max Frame Rate, and set it to 144, which I believe is the refresh rate of your screen.  (You should double-check, but it would be ridiculous for this model to have a 60 Hz screen.)  Enabling vertical sync will help with stutter and other graphics glitches you might see, but the setting only works in fullscreen mode.

You can do the same for Sims 4 if you want, using ts4_x64.exe for the settings.  Or you can use the global settings section to apply settings to all games.  Sims 4 does have a vertical sync setting, like almost all newer games, but there's no way to limit fps in windowed mode.

@puzzlezaddict it actually hit 60c° (69 sometimes) when i was just watching youtube and the fans kicked in. Sometimes it goes to 79c° then 50c° randomly. The cpu says only 2% or 4% is used but then the temperature is 60/70. I tested an easy to run game i bought from steam and it went to 70/79 and the fans turned on and started to spin faster gradually. The laptop (especially the space above the keyboard) started to get warm even though i had my cooling pad on. The fans start working randomly too every now and then and when i check the cpu temperature it's usually between 53 to 63. When i turned it off the battery was 100% charged and when i turned it on in the morning it was 83%

I made sure to update everything that needs to be updated.

I don't know if all of the things i mentioned are normal or not as this is the first "serious" gaming laptop i owned so i'm just really anxious and worried that something is wrong since it was so expensive.

@EmpressShadow7  YouTube can be a lot more demanding than you might imagine; I sometimes have my fans kick in when I have a video up but paused.  And again, any CPU temperature below 90º during gameplay is not worth worrying about.  An easy-to-run game might still require significant resources from the processor, especially if you don't manually cap fps: more frames per second means draw calls for the CPU.

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@EmpressShadow7 wrote:

When i turned it off the battery was 100% charged and when i turned it on in the morning it was 83%

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This, however, is not normal.  Did you in fact shut down the laptop, or did you simply shut its lid?  Either way, the battery should not behave like that, but the first would be worse: a laptop that's shut down shouldn't be drawing any power at all, so the battery shouldn't decline by more than a percentage point or so.  Shutting the lid is also supposed to conserve energy, but how much would depend to some degree on the laptop's internal power settings and what you had running in the background.

@puzzlezaddict the laptop was turned off completely when that happened. I called the store i got it from and they said the system needs an update and that's what i did: updated the system, charged it 100% and went to sleep. Today i turned it on before going out and the battery was 98% and now (two hours later) it's 97% so i guess the system update fixed it?

About the sims 3, i kind of set the game on the highest settings possible and checked all the options that can be checked and put the fps to 144hz because i thought a gaming laptop should be able to handle that. Obviously i was wrong. So aside from limiting the fps, could you please tell me what to do with the other settings to play with high graphics, no lagging/crashing but stop the laptop from becoming too hot/fans going crazy fast.

@EmpressShadow7  Did you actually confirm in-game that the fps was locked to 144?  Sims 3's fps limiter doesn't work; you need to use an outside tool.  If the Nvidia Control Panel settings aren't working, you can try this instead:

https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/84-d3doverrider/?changelog=32

It works with DX9 games like Sims 3, forcing vertical sync when the Control Panel setting doesn't take.  If you play in windowed mode though, you'll need another tool, for example RivaTuner Statistics Server, which does need to be running while you play.

You can also choose to cap fps at 72 rather than 144 if you want; many people can't tell the difference, and that would be a significantly lower workload for the CPU and GPU.  It shouldn't be necessary in terms of performance, but it would help with temperatures.

The fans are supposed to run at high speeds while you're gaming.  That's not only normal but a good thing.  If the fans are too loud, sorry to say it, but that's part of having an Omen.  Some laptop brands have louder fans than others, depending on the laptop chassis and how much the manufacturer wants to spend on the feature.