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Wixomrie's avatar
Wixomrie
6 years ago
Solved

Laptop for 3 & 4

I have been looking at this laptop and just wanted to know if it's any good for The Sims 2, 3, and 4 with CC and mods for all three. I also wanted to know how high I could put my settings with it. Th...
pc
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    6 years ago

    @Wixomrie  That's an impressive laptop, definitely overkill for both Sims games, not that that's a bad thing.  It should handle all content for both games on ultra graphics settings, minus the two Sims 3 settings, water and high detail lots, that the game engine doesn't handle well.  (I keep those on the second or third setting and 2, respectively.)  The description is unclear about it, but from the reviews, it looks like the laptop has a 512 GB SSD in addition to its 1 TB HDD, which is also great for loading times, among other things.

    If you like the laptop, it should do everything you want.  But if you'd like to see other options, just let me know what features you're looking for, and now much you're willing to spend.

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
6 years ago

@Wixomrie  Wow, $2,000 is quite a budget, and much more than you'd need to pay to be able to play Sims 4 on ultra graphics settings, even with all the high poly custom content you could ever download.  You could pay half that and still get a really good computer.  Or you could pay a bit more (still far under your budget) to get other features that matter to you.  There are really too many options in your price range to list, so here are a few examples to give you an idea of what's out there.

This MSI has a stronger processor and a faster graphics card than the one you saw at Walmart and the same storage.  It does only have 16 GB memory, but that's more than enough for Sims 4, even if you like to multitask; or you could add more when you wanted.  This one is also $100 cheaper.  To be clear, it's massive overkill for Sims games, but maybe there are other games you'll want to play that would benefit from the extra power.

https://www.newegg.com/black-msi-gl-series-gl75-10sfk-029-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834155401?Item=N82E16834155401

Are you comfortable adding a second hard drive to a laptop, or having a store add one?  The laptops in the $1,000-1,000 range almost all come with a single 512 GB SSD at a max, but their chassis usually have an empty 2.5" drive bay that would accommodate the hard drive of your choice.  In terms of price, it's the most efficient choice: pay a few hundred less for a laptop that's still overkill for Sims 4, then pay $50-120 for the second drive of your choice.

These are a couple of examples.  The second has a much stronger processor and (I think; I'll check later) a slightly faster graphics card than the first.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-g-15-6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-max-q-512gb-ssd-metalic-hairline-black/6335912.p?skuId=6335912

https://www.newegg.com/fortress-gray-asus-tuf-gaming-a15-tuf506iu-es74-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834235421?Item=N82E16834235421

For a bit more, you could get a 1 TB solid state drive.  The first has otherwise the same hardware as the Asus immediately above; the second has a faster graphics card.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558023-REG/asus_tuf706iu_as76_tuf_a17_gaming_laptop.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558022-REG/asus_tuf506iv_as76_tuf_a15_gaming_laptop.html

There are also other features to consider, like screen size (15 or 17", or possibly 14") and weight, if those matter to you.  Let me know what you think, or if you don't care about these details, and I'll start checking reviews for things like battery life and temperature control.  (You wouldn't want to play on battery, but it might be convenient for other reasons.)  There are also a few sites that let you customize a laptop, if you're not comfortable adding more storage after you buy it, but not all manufacturers support this.

Wixomrie's avatar
Wixomrie
6 years ago
@puzzlezaddict Wow, it's overkill? I thought that The Sims 3/4 is just as demanding as the other games since there's all those packs. I plan on (hopefully) owning all the packs for both which I forgot to mention in my original post. I do play other games (Skyrim is one example) which is why storage space is my main concern.

I don't trust myself or a store to add anything to it XD I do like how there's two drives instead of one. Are there any options for a 2 tb? Or a reasonably pretty display? I'm sorry for being so broad I was trying to be narrow >_<
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @Wixomrie  Sims 3 doesn't require more than an Nvidia 1050 ti (mobile) or regular 1050 (desktop) to run on ultra settings.  Even with a lot of high poly custom content, the game will still run on ultra on a 1650, or perhaps a 1060 mobile.  Sims 4 is still in developement, and of course future packs might be significantly more demanding than the current ones.  But a 1050 will run all current packs together on ultra settings.  The way the game has developed so far, it certainly seems like even an Nvidia 1660 ti would be overkill for Sims 4, not that it's a bad thing.

    There are plenty of computers with dual hard drives, but there are a lot more with an empty slot for a second hard drive of your choice.  Are you willing to get one of those and add that second drive yourself, or have a store do it?  If not, that's fine; it just narrows things down somewhat.  There are far fewer options with a 2 TB HDD, if you really want that specifically, but I'm sure I can find a few.  And in your price range, you really can get almost whatever you want.

    All these laptops have reasonably pretty displays.  IPS is the highest quality screen, and almost any gaming laptop other than the very cheapest options will have one.  Of course, not all manufacturers' products are created equal.  If not for the current situation, I'd suggest you go to a physical store (Best Buy is always a good bet) and have a look at the monitors, especially if you can find a few gaming laptops.  You might find that you like the look of, say, MSI and Asus screens, but not Dell or Acer screens.  That's somewhat subjective though.

    If you're not sure what you like, try to think of screens you've thought looked good, or any you didn't enjoy staring at, and list them.  I'll try to find valid comparisons to current laptops and sort them that way.  Or, if you really have no idea, I'll just find the ones with well-reviewed screens and go from there.

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