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Butterflysim7's avatar
Butterflysim7
3 years ago

Advice for laptop for sims 4 plus expansion packs

Hi,

Hope someone can help. I'm looking to return to playing Sims 4 and need a new laptop. I'm in England. 

For gaming, it'll just be the Sims at this time (possibly other games in the future but nothing too intensive on a laptop for now).  I do also use Photoshop etc from time to time to create videos and gifs but it's not particularly frequent then general daily internet use/listening to music/watching films and music videos. 

I would like a laptop that's pretty future-proof (as much as it can be) storage wise/graphics wise etc., won't typically overheat and the fan not be too loud though I will use ear/headphones so not the end of the world (my laptop at the moment which is old sounds like it's going to take off into the air at any moment lately!) 

In playing Sims previously I don't think I ever played it at the highest performance level but that would be nice as an option but not essential and to be able to have the option to have all expansion packs and some of the more common custom content out there. 

My budget isn't specific, just that I'd rather not overpay for functions I don't need but if storage wise etc., it's worth paying a bit more then I'd be willing to consider it. (based on the above). Can anyone help please?  (not sure if I need to give any more specific detail to help so let me know if I should)  Thanks. 

pc

1 Reply

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @Butterflysim7  It's a little complicated to answer your question without a budget in mind since good hardware isn't cheap.  The following is for gaming laptops, which start around £650-700 depending on the current market.  Let me know if you're looking for a non-gaming laptop, whether it's something lighter and thinner or just a cheaper option.

    In general terms, you can run Sims 4 on ultra settings on a laptop with an Nvidia RTX 3050, and you don't need to worry about the processor because it will more than keep up with the graphics card.  (Since GPUs are more expensive than CPUs, they're almost always the limiting factor.)  A 3060 would be more expensive, obviously, but would also help with futureproofing.  Anything above that would be a waste of money: you'd never see any benefit in Sims 4 (or frankly most games on the market right now), and you're better off saving the money for when you want or need the next new laptop.

    For storage, even 256 GB is more than enough for all your Sims 4 content no matter how much custom content you download.  512 GB is nice to have though: you won't need to worry about space or clearing out backups or downloading some other 50 GB game just to try it.  For memory, 8 GB is enough for Sims 4, but 16 GB is nice to have for multitasking purposes, and you'll probably want the extra RAM in a couple of years anyway.  But RAM is also quite cheap, and almost all gaming laptops can be upgraded after the fact, so don't pass up an otherwise excellent option just because it only has 8 GB.

    Most gaming laptops do run a little loud, but not all.  One model that runs cooler and quieter than most is the Lenovo Legion, and if size and weight don't matter, I'd say that's probably the best option in the entry-level laptop category.  They're a little more expensive than the cheapest models with the same hardware, but the build quality is also better.  Another option is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 line.  It's more expensive than the Legions—fitting all that power and cooling into such a small chassis is a significant engineering challenge—but not always excessively so if you're willing to wait for a sale.  As an example, compare the MSRP and sale prices of this one:

    https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-rog-zephyrus-g14-ga401qm-nvidia-rtx-3060-16gb-14-fhd-144hz-ryzen-r9-5900hs-gaming-laptop-lt-2ek-as.html

    When you're ready to buy, if you'd like specific suggestions, feel free to ask.  Just let me know what category of laptop you're considering and, if not a strict budget, some idea of how much you'd like to pay.

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