Forum Discussion

syktwiztedgrlie's avatar
6 years ago
Solved

Looking to buy a new laptop. The sims 4 and new Fps

so I play a lot of the sims 4 and am sick of playing on low graphic standards and it lagging about etc. I also play a 20yr old fps game bc my current laptop is from 4 years ago . Im looking to expan my horizons and play current top game without completely draiing my bank account. So basically yeah... what laptop is best-ish? not looking for a cheap laptop just get all dazed and confused over specs nd what i need etc. lmk :P

9 Replies

  • @syktwiztedgrlie  As with most games, how well a given computer runs Sims 4 depends first and foremost on the graphics card.  If you want to play on ultra graphics settings, an Nvidia 1650 would be more than good enough for now.  An Nvidia 1050 can handle ultra settings now, but only barely; adding future expansion packs will make the game more demanding overall than it is now.  The 1650 is sort of on the border of what we guess might be sufficient for ultra settings by the time Sims 4 is out of development, so if you want to futureproof and have some money to spare, a 1660 ti would give you an extra margin.

    The new AMD 5500M is comparable to the 1650: it's overall a bit faster both in synthetic benchmarks and if you average out game performance, but their relative performance depends on the game, as well as the resolution you're using.  (The 5500M does better relative to the 1650 as the resolution increases.)  I haven't heard anyone with a 5500M report how it runs Sims 4 specifically though.

    Other specs matter too: a decent processor and at least 8 GB RAM, plus enough storage for what you need.  But any laptop with one of these graphics cards will also have a strong enough CPU and at least 8 GB memory, so you only really need to worry about storage.

    If you want to play other games, you might want a faster graphics card than Sims 4 would ever be able to use.  If you want to list those games, I can look up their requirements and give you an idea of what hardware you'd want.  I can also look up specific laptops that would work, if you'd like.  Just list your budget and country, as well as any other details that matter to you.

  • A few options would be awesome, I've read someof your other posts and you seem to know your stuff haha id be happy with something that can run ts4 and red ded redemption and the like. 1tb is ideal? i think? my budget is slightly expandable but dont want to spend more then 1000 (1100) since i also need a new headset and im assuming some sort of windows home. i feel like such a noob. bonus points for backlit keyboard haha im one of those. 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @syktwiztedgrlie  If you want to play RDR2, you'll want at least an Nvidia 1660 ti.  (It would run Sims 4 on ultra graphics settings with some room to spare, so that's covered.)  An Nvidia 2060 is about 5-10% faster, but it's more like 5% in RDR2 from the benchmarks I saw, at least if you're playing at a resolution of 1920x1080, which is the standard for gaming laptops.  But a 2060 is more expensive, and options are limited in the sub-$1,100 price range.

    You'll also probably want at least an Intel i7-9750H processor.  The recommended requirement for RDR2 is a bit below an i5-9300H, but that's with nothing else running in the background.  Still, it's a viable option if you don't need to multitask while playing RDR2; the CPU would handle Sims 4 easily.  And you'll want 16 GB memory.  But it's easy enough to buy a laptop with 8 GB RAM, get a matching stick for $40 or so, and install it yourself.  So if you otherwise like a certain laptop but it doesn't have enough memory, that's no reason not to buy it.  Adding RAM to a gaming laptop is simple and doesn't void the warranty.

    For storage, you might be fine with a 512 GB SSD.  Sims 4's program files currently take up about 40 GB when you include all packs; that's probably not going to get much higher than 50 GB by the time the game is out of development.  RDR2's minimum requirements list 150 GB storage, but the game itself takes more like 115 GB.  So you'd still have room for two other 100 GB games plus all your other files, and whatever mods and custom content you wanted to add to those games.  A full terabyte would be convenient, but there aren't many options with that much storage in your price range, at least not with the fast GPU you'll want.  Since storage is upgradable, and external hard drives are cheap, it's usually better to go with the best CPU and GPU you can afford, and find a way to make the storage work.

    By the way, all these laptops come with backlit keyboards, because most gamers are like that.  And in the U.S. at least, almost all laptops come with Windows 10 installed and paid for, so you don't have to worry about factoring that into the price.

    The best laptop I've seen for $1,000 has an Nviida 1660 ti, 16 GB memory, and a Ryzen 7 4800H processor, stronger than the Intel 9750H or the newer 10750H.  It has a 512 GB SSD as well.  It's "coming soon," although soon should be in the next few weeks.  There are a number of different websites offering it for the same price; here are a couple:

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558021-REG/asus_tuf506iu_es74_tuf_a17_gaming_laptop.html

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

    You could get the same specs except with a 1 TB SSD for $1,100, also "coming soon":

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

    B&H has an offer where if you sign up for their credit card, you don't pay sales tax.  I normally wouldn't do it, but that's a lot of money to save.

    This Lenovo has a 9750H, a 1660 ti, 16 GB memory, and a combination 512 GB SSD/1 TB HDD, also for $1,100:

    https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-i7-9750H-Processor-GTX1660Ti-81SX00NNUS/dp/B07YLJZV2G/

    For $1,100, you could

    The other options I saw for $1,000 all had a weaker processor, 8 GB memory, or a very small hard drive (256 GB isn't going to be enough).  But here are a few options (2 and 3 are the same), one with an Nvidia 2060.

    https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Laptop-i5-9300H-GeForce-GL531GU-WB53/dp/B07VWDKV4C/

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gf65-9sd-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-512gb-ssd-black/6408066.p?skuId=6408066

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1542060-REG/msi_gf65_thin_9sexr_249_gf65_i5_9300h_8gb.html

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gf65-9sexr-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2060-512gb-ssd-black/6408073.p?skuId=6408073

    You could also get a 9750H and a 2060 for $1,100, albeit with 8 GB memory:

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1542061-REG/msi_gf65_thin_9sexr_250_gf65_i7_9750h_8gb.html

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gf65-9sexr-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2060-512gb-ssd-black/6408074.p?skuId=6408074

    Finally, you could customize this Cyberpower laptop to add a 1 TB SSD.  With a 10750H, a 1660 ti, 16 GB memory, and the cheapest NVMe SSD, it's $1,047:

    https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Tracer-III-EVO-15-200

    I personally think your best options are either the first Asus, with either hard drive; or one of the MSIs with a 2060.  These are all quality computers though, and you should absolutely be able to play whatever games you want on any of them, as long as you have at least 16 GB RAM.  The only question is how high you can turn up your settings.  Sims 4 should always run smoothly on ultra settings on any of these laptops, it's just the other games you might want to play that would benefit from better hardware.

  • thank you so much!!! I cant wait to pick out buy one of these ! you have seriously save my bum here Im super indecisive and wish I knew more about computers it all just kinda blurs together :D 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @syktwiztedgrlie  The Acer would run Sims 4 on ultra settings, although barely.  But its graphics card is below the minimum requirements for RDR2.  It looks like you'd be able to play on low settings with a reduced in-game resolution, but that's about it.  One benchmark I found reported that on high settings at 1920x1080, a 1050 would get 17 fps, as opposed to 51 with a 1660 ti.  (Medium settings is almost as stark a contrast: 27 fps for the 1050 and 77 for the 1660 ti.)  For comparison, the same site got 83 and 53 fps on medium and high with a 2060 mobile.

  • think im gonna go with the customized tracer it just feels right? thank you so much for all your help! 

About The Sims 4 Technical Issues - PC

PC players get help with their technical issues in The Sims 4 here.52,499 PostsLatest Activity: 3 minutes ago