Re: Sims 4 on MacBook

I recognise I won't be getting the best experience possible.  That's out of the question for this time.  

Interesting take on MacBook Pro.  My question though: will having 1/2 the RAM size and a change from i7 (MBA) to i5 (MBP) have an impact on gameplay, especially how long it takes to load the game and whether there is a bit of choppiness, i.e. the difference of when you click on something to the time the computer actually does what you command it?

Yes, the settings were almost as identical as I could make them.

So let me get this straight: the MBA with an i7 (and 16 GB RAM) may be faster on paper than the MBP with i5 (and 8 GB RAM) but that could be negated by the lack of a second fan in the former?

@hybridace101

Is it faster by performance for graphically intense apps, like the Sims 4? You would need to do some googling and look up comparisons and benchmarks. MBAs are built for long battery life and mobile lifestyles with simple usage for work and college. Never gaming in any form.

My point is that even though the CPU in the MBA is an i7, the MBA is not capable of utilising it to its full potential for gaming because it will get too hot and the Mac will go into damage limitation mode and throttle the power. This is a really informative article - https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/2020-macbook-air-problems-3788127/

Smashing article.  One other observation: the MBA i7 says only Intel Iris Plus Graphics but no other numbers right after it.  The i5 MBP say Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645.  Can one get more specific about the former's graphics card when trying to go through the benchmarks?  

Might buying an external fan pad help a bit?

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/thermal-pads/7943995?cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_HVAC_%26_Fans_%26_Thermal_Management_Whoop-_-Thermal+Pads_Whoop-_-7943995&matchtype=&pla-341507217983&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_dr019f56wIVj8_tCh0kwAcFEAQYASABEgLLC_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/112473662123?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=112473662123&targetid=938148484936&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045614&poi=&campaignid=10199630638&mkgroupid=101938330797&rlsatarget=pla-938148484936&abcId=1145987&merchantid=115188182&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_dr019f56wIVj8_tCh0kwAcFEAQYAyABEgLBjvD_BwE

So the mid-level MBP (1.4 Ghz with 8 GB of RAM and Intel Iris Plus) has a better chance if sorting out the heat problems?

I managed to get the 2.0 GHz MBP, the sort of high-end of the 13-inch line.  Does it do a better job at sorting the heat out compared to the entry-level 13-inch MBP? 

Any side-by-side comparisons between MBP 2020 high-end and either the MBA 2020 or MBP 2020 entry-level?  What do I need to enter to get an appropriate comparison on the website you shared?

Interesting that my old 2015 MBP has a higher Max TDP value (23W) than the lower-end MBP 2020 (15W) and MBA 2020 (10W).  Though the higher-end MBP 2020 has a value of 28W. 

This may be a stupid question, but for my reference, how do you think TS4 would perform on iMac (non-pro) machines, especially the low-end and mid-range ones?  Are they more durable against the heating issues that plague the lower-end MBPs and MBA?

I presume the Mac mini suffers the same problems as the MBA i7?  How would it perform vis-a-vis my existing MBP 4-core?  I am talking about the higher-end MM with six cores.

As you have probably heard, Apple has released new MacBooks with the M1 chip.  Given that they feature up to 16 cores and their claims to be power efficient, would you recommend this in the future for TS4?

I've had the privilege of testing the game on an M1 MacMini.  It is fairly quiet, not as heat generating, and functions.  But there seems to be a catch (and maybe this is due to the nature of a MacMini requiring the user to source the other accessories): the FPS seems capped to correspond to the refresh rate the monitor is capable of if the game is to run without crashing.  I've switched Vertical Sync on as advised on another forum to prevent crashing.  But one thing I did not anticipate is that since I am using a TV monitor (as large as a standard PC monitor) capable of only 60 Hz refresh, I won't be able to go north of 60 FPS.  Even weird is that if I attempt playing at full screen 1080p, the refresh rate drops to 24 Hz on the M1 Mac mini.  My Intel-based MBP has a 60 Hz refresh rate too but does not crash without Vertical Sync on and sometimes the game performs north of 100 FPS. 

Is this what should be expected when Vertical Sync is on and if we use the game on an external monitor (especially a TV one)?

I have also tried The Sims 4 on an MacBook Air with M1 and tried a side-by-side comparison with my mid-2020 13-inch MacBook Pro (high-end with four ports) by having identical graphics settings (including Retina display on but Laptop Mode off) and making my Sims do almost exactly the same tasks.  After 10 minutes in each, I noticed that the MBP battery life dropped by 8% and was usually playing around 35-50 FPS (it did go occasionally to 60 but not too often).  Meanwhile the MBA M1 battery for some reason rose by 1 point (86 to 87% though I think there might have been an error in the battery's reading of the percents).  Also, the FPS of the MBA M1 has gone smoother, much less lag and stayed close to 60 most of the time.  

Is this what was expected?