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puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
6 years ago

Re: Help new laptop The Sims 4 w/ cc

@killua072  The one you found only has a single hard drive, the 256 GB SSD.  If you only ever played Sims 4 on it, and maybe downloaded a browser or two, it would be fine.  But if you had movies, music, photos, or whatever that you wanted to store on it, you'd run out of space very quickly.  That's why having the 1 TB HDD in addition is usually a much better option.  Other than that though, it's the same computer as the one I linked.

Sims 4 can use up to 4 cores at once, so a strong 4 core processor is fine.  Most of the 4 core U-series processors (anything with a U on the end)  are not good for gaming though.  So an i5-8300H is good enough, but an i5-8250U is going to struggle.  Where it helps to have six cores is if you like to multitask, like if you want to edit your screenshots while you play.  Then the game can have four cores to itself while a second task runs on the other two.  It's very nice, but not necessary.

I looked at the two sites you listed, and the cheapest good models were the 15" and 17" versions of the same computer, with the additional 1 TB HDD.

https://www.eprice.it/Portatili-ASUS-FX505GE-BQ151T-I7-8750H-16GB-1TB-256GB-15-6IN-NOODD-W10-IN-90NR00S1-M08840/d-12880175

https://www.eprice.it/Portatili-ASUS-FX705GE-17-3-I7-16GB-1T-256SSD-W10-90NR00Z1-M04850/d-12891120

(Interestingly, you can get an Nvidia 1060 6 GB for less money on eprice than on Amazon, but it's still over €1200.)

I'm sorry I'm not coming up with better options, but the only cheaper ones have a weaker graphics card, or not enough storage, or poor cooling.  I'm happy to check any site you want, but I think the prices are going to be very similar to what you've already seen.

9 Replies

  • killua072's avatar
    killua072
    6 years ago

    I see, I was asking because I noticed the one you linked, the Asus TUF FX505GE-BQ151T, seems to have 1 core and I read before that it would be much better to have more than 1 for playing The Sims 4, but as I said I don't know much about this stuff so is it true? I'm just worried about spending a lot of money, so I prefer to be 100% sure before buying.
    I tried browsing other stores but as you said they don't have many options and they're always pretty much the same, but you've been a really great help!

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @killua072  Sometimes a website will list specs in a weird way, mangling the "processor: 1, cores: 6" count.  But an 8750H definitely has six cores.  Intel makes them, and they're all the same.

    Any modern 4 core processor that isn't U-series will have enough power to run Sims 4, Windows, and maybe a browser and your music while you play.  Six cores are better for heavy multitasking, but that's a bonus, not a requirement.  Four cores can be fine too, depending on how heavy the multitasking is, or your game might slow down just a bit while you work.  I wouldn't recommend a processor that couldn't run Sims 4, and the current set of high-end laptop models are all good or great for the game.

    And I totally understand why you'd worry and ask lots of questions.  It is a lot of money, so you need to make absolutely sure you're getting what you need.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @killua072  The model on Amazon has a large hybrid drive (SSHD) instead of a traditional HDD.  The model on eprice is listed as having an HDD, but there's not enough information to be sure it's a mechanical drive and not an SSHD.  Hybrid drives read and write data faster than HDDs, although this won't make a difference to Sims 4.  So it will take longer to copy movies, music, photos, or whatever else you're downloading onto the HDD, but once the information is there, it will play back just the same either way.

    Windows will be on the small SSD on either computer, so it will start up very quickly either way.

  • killua072's avatar
    killua072
    6 years ago

    I see, thanks! I don’t think I’m gonna buy from eprice anyway since I read some bad reviews about it.

    And since I’m considering different options I wanted to ask if I were to get a more expensive laptop (like 1200/1300€ max) which one(s) would you recommend? And would they be much different and better than the asus one you linked ( https://www.amazon.it/FX505GE-BQ151T-i7-8750H-Firecuda-GTX1050Ti-Retroilluminata/dp/B07N8YSZVX this one) ?

    Sorry for all the questions. 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @killua072  In the higher price range, you can get an Nvidia 1060 6 GB, which is a significantly better graphics card than the 1050 ti.  The 1060 will almost certainly handle Sims 4 and all packs on ultra settings for the entire run of the game.  Here's an imperfect but nonetheless revealing comparison, if you're interested.

    https://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=4074&gid2=3669&compare=Nvidia%20GeForce%20GTX%201060%206GB%20GDDR5X-vs-Nvidia%20GeForce%20GTX%201050%20Ti%204GB

    This Asus, at €1274, is essentially the same as the computers you were looking at before—it has a 17" screen and a mechanical hard drive instead of a hybrid—except with the 1060 instead of the 1050 ti:

    https://www.unieuro.it/online/Notebook/FX705GM-EV013T-pidASUFX705GMEV013T

    If you'd prefer to buy from Amazon, this one has a 15" screen, a mechanical 1 TB drive, and an even smaller SSD:

    https://www.amazon.it/FX505GM-BQ262T-Notebook-Monitor-i7-8750H-GTX1060/dp/B07N1Z7B92

    If you're not comfortable buying from eprice, that's understandable, but this MSI is €1301, with the same processor and RAM, the same 256 GB SSD/1 TB HDD combination, and an Nvidia 1660 ti, which is even stronger than the 1060:

    https://www.eprice.it/Portatili-MSI-NB-MSI-GL63-8SD-GTX1660-TI6GB-15-6-polliciFHD-WV-94-NTCS-A-G-RGB-col-C-i7-8750H-HM370-8GB-2-256GB-NVME-SSD-1TB-W10HOME-6GB-GDDR6-9S7-16P732-434/d-13055071

    And of course questions are always fine; that's the whole point of this site.  If you're going to spend a lot of money on a computer, you might as well do your research, and part of that is asking for advice when you're not sure.

  • killua072's avatar
    killua072
    6 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict I see, the 1060 seems much better than the 1050 ti so it's probably worth spending more money for a better laptop that has it.
    I don't know the difference with a hybrid one but a mechanical hard drive is good too then? Also, is a 128 SSD still good?
    I would get the one from eprice but since some recent reviews of that seller aren't good I'm not sure if I should trust it. And the one on unieuro isn't available at the moment sadly. I've been trying to look around on other stores as well, but there is a limited choice for my budget. I know these are probably the only options and there aren't even many stores to choose from but is there maybe any other similar laptop for a similar price somewhere? 
    It's ok if there isn't anything though, thank you for all the help so far!

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @killua072  A mechanical hard drive (HDD) is slow compared to a hybrid drive (SSHD), which is still slower than a solid state drive (SSD).  By "slow," I mean that data will be read from and written to the drive more slowly, as in, it will take longer to install content, or to access it.  But this doesn't make a difference to Sims 4—aside from the initial loading time, the game runs the same on a slow HDD as on an SSD.

    I was saying that if you had a choice, a larger SSD would be more convenient, since you could put other programs on it that would be noticeably faster.  But those programs will run okay on an HDD as well.  And if you're only interested in playing Sims 4, browsing the web, playing your music and movies, etc., your experience will be the same either way, aside from the longer time it takes to transfer the data to the HDD in the first place.  Since Windows itself will be on the small SSD, you'll still get some benefits.

    I checked about ten different Italian sites last night, and I couldn't find any computer with an Nvidia 1660 ti for under €1500, aside from the one at eprice.  That's not surprising though, since it's so new.  And while it's better than the 1060, Sims 4 won't be able to use that extra power.  With a 1060 (6 GB variant), you should always be able to run the game on ultra settings.

    I couldn't find any other laptop with a 1060 6 GB for as low as €1300 either, which is the price of the Asus on Amazon I linked earlier.  It's probably as good a price as you're going to see, unless you wait a while and get lucky with a sale.  Asus makes great gaming laptops, and this particular model will handle Sims 4 very nicely.  Plus, if you do ever decide you want a faster secondary hard drive, it's easy to swap the HDD out for an SSD.  (I checked the manual.)  But you may decide it's not even necessary.

    P.S.  It looks like the unieuro model is available again, just at a much higher price now.  But sales can end quickly, especially with a good model like that one.

  • killua072's avatar
    killua072
    6 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict Oh thank you for taking the time to look through all those sites! I noticed the model on eprice has a higher price now as well even though not as high as the other one, but prices seem to change kinda often. I guess I'll wait a bit to see if any sale appears, but I'll probably get the Asus one on Amazon since it seems the best one in the price range I can afford. 
    Anyway, I got to learn some things that I completely ignored before and I probably would have bought the wrong laptop without all this advice, so, once again, thank you so much for all the help!

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