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RenegadeKittyOG's avatar
RenegadeKittyOG
6 years ago
Solved

Best laptop for max settings, moderate $ (Canada)

Hi everyone! The few posts I've seen on this matter have been informative for those looking for some laptops in their area.  I'm hoping someone can also kindly help direct me to some laptops that I c...
pc
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    6 years ago

    @RenegadeKittyOG  While you might find a nominally upgraded laptop in your price range, I don't think the improvements are worth it given what you'd get for your money.  In terms of what you'd see:

    Processor:  The only better laptop CPU for your purposes would be a 4800H, and that almost always comes in significantly more expensive (at least $200) models.  The extra power will be lost on Sims 4—the 4600H is already more than the game could ever use.  Video editing would be faster, but the 4600H will still be great.

    Graphics card:  The next faster card is a 1660 ti, but that's $1,100 and up before taxes even without any other improvements in hardware.  The 1650 will run everything on ultra settings now, and it might handle ultra for the entire run of the game; at worst, you'd always be able to play on a mix of high and ultra.

    Memory:  Most laptops in this price range come with 8 GB RAM, and the few that have 16 GB tend to charge at least twice the value of the RAM for the privilege, again without any other upgrades.  More importantly though, there aren't many configurations with 16 GB available, so your options would be limited.

    Storage:  While some gaming laptops come with a 256 GB solid state drive and a 1 TB mechanical drive, offering more storage overall, I don't think you'd benefit from that.  Sims 4 will load much faster on an SSD, although it runs the same on any drive once it's loaded.  Your other programs will run a lot faster on an SSD though.  256 GB would be a tight fit for Sims 4 and all the photo editing you might want to do, so you'd end up spending time juggling the two drives, transferring stuff you wanted to work on to the SSD or living with the longer wait of the HDD.  A single 500 GB SSD is more convenient, and it's plenty of space.  Plus, if you need an external drive in a year or two, you could probably find one for $50.  There are gaming laptops that come with a 1 TB SSD, but at least in the U.S., they're usually over $1,000 and only come in the higher-end models.

    So no, I don't think it would be worth spending more on a nominally upgraded laptop.  The only real improvement you'll see is from adding RAM, and much better to do it yourself.

    It's crazy now, but it's also Saturday, and I just refreshed the tech section main page to find no new posts since I looked 20 minutes ago.  It's such a relief.  Besides, talking tech specs is a nice change of pace from trying to figure out what's broken with the game this time.

    P.S.  I should have known I was going to jinx it.  Six minutes after I posted, there were three new replies.

RenegadeKittyOG's avatar
RenegadeKittyOG
6 years ago
@puzzlezaddict No worries at all, I figured it would be hectic because of the patches and pack! I really appreciate you taking the time to look into this and I am shocked (and happy) that I found something you think will be excellent! I normally hesitate a LOT with buying stuff like this but if you think it's a good call then I'm not going to second-guess you or myself!

I will also be sure to look into adding RAM to it!

One last question if you don't mind - when you say "that's about as good an option as you're going to see in the price range" - what would be better at a higher price point - processor, hard drive, and ram? I don't want to go down a rabbit hole of "what ifs" because I'd like to order this ASAP, but I am curious if spending more (like $1000-$1100 before tax as opposed to this computer's $900 tag) would get anything *significantly* better or just slightly. Especially if I do add another 8GB stick of RAM.

Again, please no rush in replying, I know it's a crazy time!

Thank you and thank you for the congratulations as well! :D
puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
6 years ago

@RenegadeKittyOG  While you might find a nominally upgraded laptop in your price range, I don't think the improvements are worth it given what you'd get for your money.  In terms of what you'd see:

Processor:  The only better laptop CPU for your purposes would be a 4800H, and that almost always comes in significantly more expensive (at least $200) models.  The extra power will be lost on Sims 4—the 4600H is already more than the game could ever use.  Video editing would be faster, but the 4600H will still be great.

Graphics card:  The next faster card is a 1660 ti, but that's $1,100 and up before taxes even without any other improvements in hardware.  The 1650 will run everything on ultra settings now, and it might handle ultra for the entire run of the game; at worst, you'd always be able to play on a mix of high and ultra.

Memory:  Most laptops in this price range come with 8 GB RAM, and the few that have 16 GB tend to charge at least twice the value of the RAM for the privilege, again without any other upgrades.  More importantly though, there aren't many configurations with 16 GB available, so your options would be limited.

Storage:  While some gaming laptops come with a 256 GB solid state drive and a 1 TB mechanical drive, offering more storage overall, I don't think you'd benefit from that.  Sims 4 will load much faster on an SSD, although it runs the same on any drive once it's loaded.  Your other programs will run a lot faster on an SSD though.  256 GB would be a tight fit for Sims 4 and all the photo editing you might want to do, so you'd end up spending time juggling the two drives, transferring stuff you wanted to work on to the SSD or living with the longer wait of the HDD.  A single 500 GB SSD is more convenient, and it's plenty of space.  Plus, if you need an external drive in a year or two, you could probably find one for $50.  There are gaming laptops that come with a 1 TB SSD, but at least in the U.S., they're usually over $1,000 and only come in the higher-end models.

So no, I don't think it would be worth spending more on a nominally upgraded laptop.  The only real improvement you'll see is from adding RAM, and much better to do it yourself.

It's crazy now, but it's also Saturday, and I just refreshed the tech section main page to find no new posts since I looked 20 minutes ago.  It's such a relief.  Besides, talking tech specs is a nice change of pace from trying to figure out what's broken with the game this time.

P.S.  I should have known I was going to jinx it.  Six minutes after I posted, there were three new replies.

  • RenegadeKittyOG's avatar
    RenegadeKittyOG
    6 years ago
    @puzzlezaddict Thank you SO VERY much for the input, for helping me look, for the detailed information regarding specs and how they'd affect the game and how they impact pricing. That was a huge help to someone like me who has never purchased a laptop and wants to ensure smooth, quality gameplay specifically with the Sims.

    Other laptop forums just seem to look at the "recommended" specs and say "sure, this can run it!" but not knowing about all the add-ons that can impact.

    Your extremely generous replies and help allowed me to make a spreadsheet of some laptops in a similar range and I was able to find something on sale that fit the advice you gave. I should have it by next week and am so excited!

    Thank you immensely <3

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