Forum Discussion

Runaeir's avatar
Runaeir
1 year ago
Solved

Looking for a new laptop for Sims 4 – please help me, I’m so confused

Hi! I’m looking for a new laptop for both everyday use and Sims 4. I’m feeling very overwhelmed by all the options and information – I’d really appreciate your help and advice, so I won’t end up spe...
pc
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    1 year ago

    @Runaeir  For Sims 4 at least, the important detail here is the graphics chip.  The processors in all of these laptops far outpace the iGPUs in terms of gaming performance, so it effectively doesn't matter which CPU you get beyond the iGPU that comes with it.

    The first laptop you linked this time has a Radeon Vega 8 graphics chip, which is a few percentage points slower than the Xe Graphics 96 EUs in the Intel laptops you linked before.  The difference is small enough to ignore if you prefer an AMD laptop for other reasons, but given the price difference, the Intel laptops seem like a much better choice.

    The second laptop you linked this time has a Vega 7 chip, which is more like 15% slower than the other two in gaming.  That's enough of a downgrade to avoid laptops with this chip if you can afford better, which you clearly can.  This laptop does have a higher resolution, which is great for everyday tasks, but you might find you need to turn down the settings a bit in Sims 4, or else lower the resolution to more like 1920x1200 in-game.  And if the higher resolution is worth the higher price to you, the laptop I linked last time would be the better option in terms of performance.

    In case you're still looking around, this page lists all the AMD processors that come with a Vega 8 graphics chip:

    https://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-RX-Vega-8-Ryzen-4000-5000-GPU-Benchmarks-and-Specs.453150.0.html

    In case you happen to find other information about this chip, be aware that AMD used "Vega 8 graphics" for an older and slower chip as well, for some reason.  This one is much faster and is only found in Ryzen 4000-series and newer CPUs.

    Intel likes to make things complicated, but essentially, an i7 processor 11th-gen or newer and paired with 16 GB RAM will likely have Xe Graphics with 96 EUs.  An i5 11th-gen or newer CPU with 16 GB RAM will have Xe Graphics with 80 EUs, roughly equivalent to Vega 7 graphics.

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
1 year ago

@Runaeir  In your price range, and with the stipulation that you don't want a gaming laptop, 16 GB RAM is a major improvement over 8.  While it's not strictly necessary for Sims 4, the extra memory allows for more efficient multitasking, plus the game itself will benefit.  The issue here is that in laptops without a dedicated graphics card, the integrated graphics chip borrows from main memory to do its processing, so that 8 GB installed could quickly become 6 GB available once the iGPU has significant work to do.  Windows will take 2-3 GB RAM by itself, and the system will likely come with some bloatware installed.  So for Sims 4, the effective difference between 8 and 16 GB is significant.

You could absolutely get an external monitor and hook it up to your laptop.  Just make sure that you have a cable that both devices support, for example most laptops and pretty much every monitor from the last decade or so supports HDMI.  But check before you buy, or else get an adapter.

Of the options you listed, the first two are better than the third by virtue of having twice the RAM.  Their graphics chip, Intel Iris Xe with 96 EUs if you want to get technical, is also a little faster.  And in your price range, you're unlikely to see any faster integrated graphics, at least right now.  I checked both sites you linked and didn't see anything faster.  I can check other sites if you like, but this is in line with what I found the last time I looked around for someone in Finland and with current stock in other countries.

This Xe chip has been the high-end option for Intel integrated graphics for a few years now.  It's capable of running all Sims 4 content together on medium-high to high graphics settings at the standard 1920x1080 resolution, and perhaps ultra while in build mode; I haven't really looked into this.  But without sims on the lot, a portion of the graphical load would be removed.

Sims 4 will lag sometimes, on even the most powerful systems.  It can definitely lag in build mode if the lot itself is large and/or has a lot of objects, again on any system.  Perhaps the DirectX 11 update will help with this once it's been fine-tuned a bit, but at this point, none of us have any idea how that will turn out.  In the interim, there's no real fix, just workarounds that range from saving/quitting/reloading frequently to using an edited GraphicsRules.sgr and hoping it addresses some of the lag.

Of all the other laptops on these two sites, the only one I found that was worth mentioning was this, which is as fast as the first two you linked but has a prettier, higher-resolution screen:

https://www.gigantti.fi/product/tietokoneet-ja-toimistotarvikkeet/tietokoneet/kannettavat-tietokoneet/acer-swift-go-i5-13161024oled-14-kannettava-puhdas-hopea/616153

If you really enjoy crisp, clear images, it's worth at least considering.  Otherwise, pick whichever one of the first two you prefer.

If you have more questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Runaeir's avatar
Runaeir
1 year ago

@puzzlezaddict 

Thank you! Your advice is priceless. I've also been going through your answers to other posts and am learning so much from you.

Could I trouble you just a little bit more? I found two more options from a third site (both 14" Asus Zenbooks) that are slightly pricier but come with a different  CPU and GPU. Would one of those be a significant enough improvement for the one you mentioned or those I've previously mentioned that it'd be worth spending more money? They're also on sale atm and at least still available.

1) Asus Zenbook 14, AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H, 16 Gt RAM, 512 Gt M.2 SSD, Full HD IPS, AMD Radeon Vega, 849€ (normally 1139€)

https://www.power.fi/tietotekniikka/tietokoneet/kannettavat-tietokoneet/asus-zenbook-14-um425qa-pure4x-14-kannettava-tietokone/p-2134734/?q=zenbook

2) Asus Zenbook 14, AMD Ryzen™ 5 7530U, 16 Gt RAM, 512 Gt M.2 NVMe SSD, 2.5K (2560 x 1600) IPS, AMD Radeon™ Graphic, 799€ (normally 999€)

https://www.power.fi/tietotekniikka/tietokoneet/kannettavat-tietokoneet/asus-zenbook-14-um3402yar-pure3x-14-kannettava-tietokone/p-2580714/?q=zenbook#specs

I'm especially intrigued by the first one but unsure if it's worth the extra euros in my case.

EDIT: What I was trying to ask, is if you think these two pricier laptops are significantly better in some ways compared to the the previous ones from the Sims 4 point of view (or overall technical pov). I'm not tech-savvy enough to tell. I don't expect you or anyone else to know how I should or shouldn't spend my money. 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    1 year ago

    @Runaeir  For Sims 4 at least, the important detail here is the graphics chip.  The processors in all of these laptops far outpace the iGPUs in terms of gaming performance, so it effectively doesn't matter which CPU you get beyond the iGPU that comes with it.

    The first laptop you linked this time has a Radeon Vega 8 graphics chip, which is a few percentage points slower than the Xe Graphics 96 EUs in the Intel laptops you linked before.  The difference is small enough to ignore if you prefer an AMD laptop for other reasons, but given the price difference, the Intel laptops seem like a much better choice.

    The second laptop you linked this time has a Vega 7 chip, which is more like 15% slower than the other two in gaming.  That's enough of a downgrade to avoid laptops with this chip if you can afford better, which you clearly can.  This laptop does have a higher resolution, which is great for everyday tasks, but you might find you need to turn down the settings a bit in Sims 4, or else lower the resolution to more like 1920x1200 in-game.  And if the higher resolution is worth the higher price to you, the laptop I linked last time would be the better option in terms of performance.

    In case you're still looking around, this page lists all the AMD processors that come with a Vega 8 graphics chip:

    https://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-RX-Vega-8-Ryzen-4000-5000-GPU-Benchmarks-and-Specs.453150.0.html

    In case you happen to find other information about this chip, be aware that AMD used "Vega 8 graphics" for an older and slower chip as well, for some reason.  This one is much faster and is only found in Ryzen 4000-series and newer CPUs.

    Intel likes to make things complicated, but essentially, an i7 processor 11th-gen or newer and paired with 16 GB RAM will likely have Xe Graphics with 96 EUs.  An i5 11th-gen or newer CPU with 16 GB RAM will have Xe Graphics with 80 EUs, roughly equivalent to Vega 7 graphics.

    • Runaeir's avatar
      Runaeir
      1 year ago

      @puzzlezaddict  Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all this to me! You really saved me from falling into the "the more expensive one is automatically the better one" -trap. I feel like  I've learned to look at laptops in a completely different way than before, and it's fascinating.

      The Acer laptop you found looks very tempting so I might go with that one. I do have an IT engineer friend who has a deep hatred for Acer in general and strongly prefers Lenovo, so first I need to silence that voice in the back of my head. And even if that voice perseveres, I think I've gotten the hang of what I need to look for (on some level anyway) thanks to your detailed advice. I really can't thank you enough for sharing your knowledge.

Recent Discussions