Re: Good laptop for sims 4?

Thanx a lot for your recommendations!

I've tried a few of the links and all of them seem like great options based on what you've explained  unfortunately, it turns out that PcComponents doesn't send to the area of Spain I live in (Tenerife), and I'm having trouble finding a reliable place to buy them otherwise.

Regarding the hp gaming ones you recommended, is HP a good brand? Because my current laptop is HP, it didn't work ver well from the beginning, and I've read all sorts of reviews online saying that even gaming ones are a waste of money if they are from HP. 

Thank you again for your advice 

@ItzVM  That's too bad that pccomponentes won't ship to where you live; its prices were better than the other five or six sites I checked.  (And Amazon.es was pretty bad.)  If you do find a site or a store that works for you, feel free to link it, and I can look over the offerings.  The other option would be to wait until the next time you travel somewhere and buy a laptop at a local store, that is, if you're planning to travel any time soon.

HP gaming laptops are better than they have been in the past, and the new ones tend to get good reviews.  They're not perfect, but they are on par with other gaming laptops in the same price range, which is to say they usually work exactly how they should.  There are always exceptions, and the lower-end models that aren't built for gaming may be an entirely different story.  But you can always look up reviews for a specific model on Amazon or similar—a long list of complaints about a specific model is a warning sign, but a couple of posts is nothing to worry about, since most people only post to complain.

@puzzlezaddictHey! Since I'm in Spain too (and not to open another thread) can you tell me if with this laptop I'll be able to play on Ultra with everything installed?

Acer Aspire
AMD Quad-Core processor A-10 5757M with Turbo CORE Tech up to 3.5 GHz
AMD Radeon HD8750m 2gb dedicated vram
8GB DDR Memory
1 TB Hdd

Thank you!

@PepperJohnny  Sorry, but that laptop wouldn't manage anything close to ultra settings.  Although its graphics card was good when it was released, that was seven years ago.  Now it might manage medium settings with all packs running, but that's about it; and even that much isn't guaranteed in an older laptop.

If you'd like an idea of what to look for in new laptops, you can check out the ones I listed to get a general idea of what's out there.  I'd be happy to look for something that appeals to you if you're shopping; just let me know your budget and any other features that matter to you.

@PepperJohnny   The first thing I notice is there is no mention of a dedicated video chip which means it will use the integrated video chip in the I7 cpu chip, Integrated video chips are usually not desirable for 3D gaming games like the Sims 4. The base frequency of the cpu is 1.8Ghz which IMO is too slow as the cpu will probably using turbo frequency while running this game. The cpu running at turbo and using the integrated video chip will cause the cpu to produce more heat from the cpu chip. Some laptops don't have good cooling systems. I do not recommend this laptop for 3D gaming. Running the game on battery will cause less run time. Running expansion packs like Seasons is hard on the video chip and you may have to reduce the graphics resolution for acceptable performance. hth

@puzzlezaddict A few places I can buy from are mediamarkt and worten. I admit that I am kinda smitten by the Vivobook ones, but if you have any other suggestion from those places that might fit the requirements and my budget, I will consider buying them as well

Thanx a lot for your help!

EDIT: I've found a supplier that sells this one  and I think that if you consider it a good option to run the game with expansions and CC, I'll buy it.

https://www.pccomponentes.com/asus-vivobook-14-s412fj-ek264t-intel-core-i5-8265u-8gb-256gb-ssd-mx230-14

Thanx, I'll check it out!

@PepperJohnny  The GTX 1650 is a mid range video chip and will probably play this game acceptable. The I5 cpu is clocked at 2.4 Ghz which is accepted but not great. On the whole this machine should give acceptable performance at mid to high resolutions. That being said I have had a running battle with HP about their laptop cooling technology. IMO HP can not design a laptop with acceptable cooling technology. Maybe if HP were to give and honor a decent warranty to cover poor design I would change my mind. IMO a laptop should last more then 18 months without burning the motherboard out and then refusing to fix the laptop (1 year warranty). The cost to repair usually exceeded the worth of the machine. I have had several Dell laptops that still worked when I gave them away. This laptop is good for today's games but only for today. As 3D games keep putting more and more demand on performance, I feel this laptop may not perform well in the near future. With technology in question and hardware on the edge of falling behind this laptop is over priced with a poor warranty for 3D gaming.

@ItzVM   Asus has been known to provide solid mother boards. In the last few years I have seen several Asus boards with the bulging capacitor problem. While these boards were in service for a long time I was surprised to see this. I have been using only Gigabyte boards exclusively for the last few years now. The dedicated video chip is entry level and my guess it may have trouble running the more demanding expansion packs like Seasons with a lot of graphic changes. IMO this laptop is over priced due the the low performance of the dedicated video chip.

@roberta591Thank you! You’re being extremely helpful guys. I’m basically on the market for a laptop that can run The Sims 4 I don’t need extra power for anything else or other games.

My last two options then:

https://www.fnac.es/Portatil-gaming-Asus-TUF-FX505DD-BQ067-15-6-Sin-S-O-Negro-Ordenador-portatil-PC-Portatil/a6879568

https://www.fnac.es/Portatil-gaming-Acer-Nitro-5-AN515-52-57AZ-15-6-Negro-Ordenador-portatil-PC-Portatil/a7033906

Thanks!

@PepperJohnny   Both the laptops have a dedicated Nvidia GTX1050 graphics chip. This video chip should give acceptable performance at 1080 resolution. The Asus does NOT come with the Windows operating system. You will need to obtain Windows 10 and install it. The Acer comes with Windows 10 Home. Both come with 512Gb of ssd storage. This would be my minimum capacity for a gaming computer. I don't have any direct knowledge of an AMD R7 in a laptop but should be powerful enough for good performance for this game. IMO they are about the same in performance with the only big difference is the cpus. The Asus will cost more because you will need to purchase the Windows operating system. You should research this company and how they handle warranty issues.  hth

@ItzVM  If you’re really into the Vivobook, the one you linked with the MX230 would work decently well.  I would expect it to handle medium/high settings, and of course it will be great to take to class.  It doesn’t have the same cooling as a gaming laptop, so you’d need to elevate it (use a laptop tray or put books under the corners) or use a cooling pad while you played.  But this isn’t usually an issue as long as you make sure it’s cooling well.

If you’d like me to look at other sites, I can, but the best you could do with a Vivobook, other than the most expensive models, is an MX230 or MX250.

@PepperJohnny  The first laptop you listed, with the MX250, is okay but not great for Sims 4, and as you’ve seen, you could do better for the same price, or a lot better for a bit more money.

The HP is a good choice for Sims 4, capable of running the game with all packs installed on ultra settings.  An Nvidia 1650 may or may not quite be able to handle ultra setting with all future packs installed too—it’s right on the border of what we guess will be necessary.  But the next card up, a 1660 ti, is significantly more expensive, and also overkill for Sims 4.

A 1650 is significantly faster than a 1050, so if you can fit it in your budget, a model with a 1650 is definitely a better choice.  It's certainly a great investment for 50€ extra.  HPs are fine these days, about the same as other manufacturers’ laptops in the same price range. But if you’d like me to look at other options, just let me know your preferred budget.

Hi@PepperJohnny 🙂

The Acer Aspire 5 has a dedicated GPU, a MX250. That is already clearly visible in the link you provided.

But I agree with @puzzlezaddict, you can do much better for the same or only slightly more money.

From the options you provided the HP Pavilion laptop is the by far best one.
The GTX 1650 is a way more powerful GPU than the GTX 1050 in the other laptops let alone the MX250, and the Intel Core i5 9300H CPU is also more powerful than the AMD Ryzen 7 3750H.

I have the same HP model with an i7 CPU and a GTX1660 GPU and the cooling is more than sufficient, even at much more demanding games. 

I build and repair PC and repair Laptops for 30 years now, and there is no such thing as a "good" or "bad" vendor. 

You can get unlucky with all of them, but the chance is very small, no matter what you buy.
All this machines come from top vendors and have high quality components.