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puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
6 years ago

Re: The best laptop to play Sims 4 with all packs and mods/cc

@Nadia756  I have a 15" MacBook Pro.  It's Bootcamped, so I can run the game in both Windows and macOS, or at least I can run it in macOS when it's working at all.  (That's a completely different story.)  It has an AMD Radeon Pro 560, which handles the game quite well, although I don't own anywhere near all the packs.

Any laptop with at least an Nvidia 1050 or an AMD RX 560 should be able to run Sims 4 on ultra graphics settings now; the question is for how long that's true.  We have no way of knowing how demanding future expansion packs will be, although we can sort of guess.  The best estimate is that an Nvidia 1060 (a card that's mostly phased out now) will always handle all packs together on ultra settings, and a 1650, a bit below that, may or may not quite be able to handle ultra when the game is out of development.  Still, for the price, a 1650 is an excellent choice for Sims 4.  A 1660 ti is great, and also more expensive, and also overkill for the game.

The laptops I linked before are all decent models, but if price doesn't matter so much, you could do a bit better.  Among the models with a 1650, the cheapest option I saw with more than 256 GB storage is £750, so £100 more than the HP I linked before.  For that price, you could have a secondary hard drive of your choice installed at a local shop.  Still, here's the option, if you want to see, with otherwise the same hardware as the HP:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-tuf-fx705dt-nvidia-gtx-1650-8gb-17.3-fhd-amd-r5-3550h-gaming-laptop-lt-27p-as.html

There are a few models with a 1060 still floating around.  I don't know whether you'd buy another Acer, but this one is £858, with a stronger processor than the HP or the Asus above.  The recent Nitros have gotten surprisingly good reviews, so they're not a bad choice these days.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Nitro-AN515-52-Gaming-Notebook/dp/B07S49JZXR/

If you're not willing to buy another Acer, these two also have a 1060.  The first has 16 GB RAM, which is great if a bit unnecessary for Sims 4; the second has a much stronger processor, which is also great but unnecessary for the game.

https://www.box.co.uk/81LB00BLUK-16GB-Lenovo-Legion-Y530-15ICH_2759773.html

https://www.box.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-15-dp0003na_2462229.html

There are a number of configurations available with a 1660 ti.  The cheapest is an Acer (again), at £900.

https://www.box.co.uk/Acer-Nitro-5_2557788.html

This HP has a slightly stronger processor than the HP above, plus a massive amount of storage: a 512 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD.  I've also heard anecdotally (from an excellent source) that this is a great laptop.  Of course, it's £1,000, and that might be much more than you want to spend.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-17-cd0033na-i7-9750H-Dedicated/dp/B07SFRPSBX

The nice thing is, as long as you get a decent laptop, Sims 4 should run fine on it.  Even the ones in the £350 range from before will handle the game okay, albeit on lower graphics settings.  The question is how far you can go in terms of upgrades before it's no longer worth the money.

21 Replies

  • Nadia756's avatar
    Nadia756
    6 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict Is the MacBook Pro good for gaming? Before I started this post, I read other posts and most of them were saying they’re running core i5 or i7 with Nvidia. So how do I know which laptops have these two things?

    I think these 3 look nice, Asus, and the Lenovo and the last one, hp pavilion. I don’t mind an Acer again but which one would u recommend from this list and which one would you recommend from the affordable list out of the first set of links you provided? One more thing, is it worth it getting refurbished laptops like the one below 

    https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/refurbished-hp-pavilion-power-15-cx0599sa-core-i5-8300h-8gb-1tb-16gb-inte-a2-4rf82ea/version.asp?

    refsource=ldadwords&mkwid=sO8GwmqX0_dm&pcrid=341952619666&product=A2%2F4rF82Ea&pgrid=70273689978&ptaid=pla-676688675255&gclid=CjwKCAiAi4fwBRBxEiwAEO8_HkgywzjWxJSq4aZgxYq-K-blSJmFrdFeph8aXusQhtWDGKUMjMdVLhoCT0oQAvD_BwE 

    is this one any good for what I want? 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @Nadia756  All the more expensive laptops besides this Asus have Nvidia cards.  Most of them have an Intel processor (usually i5, sometimes i7).  But those categories aren't totally useful.  Nvidia cards are great, but what matters more is how fast the card is.  Among the cards in the more high-end laptops you're considering, the ranking goes like this:

    1050 < 1050 ti < 1650 < 1060 < 1660 ti

    The AMD RX 560 is a tiny bit slower than the 1050, but the performance is close.  All of these cards are much faster than an integrated graphics chip like the ones in the £350 laptops.  At that price point, there are a lot of integrated chips, but your best bet is the AMD R8, which is faster than the Intel 620 in comparable models.  (There are a number of different chips you might see, depending on the processor, but this is the simple answer.)

    Intel makes some great laptop processors: the i5-8300H and 9300H are good, and great for Sims 4; the i7-8750H and 9750H are quite strong, overkill for the game.  But Intel also makes lower-end processors that have the i5 or i7 label as well.  Some of these are dual-core, meaning the CPU only has two cores instead of four or six, which will make a huge difference in performance.

    Again, there are too many models to give a complete list.  But if you're looking at laptops that only have integrated graphics, your best bet for performance is getting the processor with the fastest integrated graphics chip.  In this case, the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U and 3500U have an R8, and the (many) available Intel processors in similar laptops have an Intel 620.  While the Intel processors might be a bit faster than their AMD counterparts, depending on the exact model, the limiting factor as far as Sims 4 is concerned will be the graphics chip, so getting a faster graphics chip is worth a small tradeoff on processor strength.

    All the laptops I linked are by good manufacturers, but given the price point, all have relative weaknesses as well.  Some have better cooling than others, which is nice but not as crucial for Sims 4 as it would be if you were going to try to play a more demanding game.  Some have terrible battery life, but the battery in a gaming laptop is always going to be bad, and you should never play on battery anyway.  (The performance will drop significantly no matter what laptop you have.)

    If you're having trouble deciding, think about how much storage you want and narrow it down from there.  You can save money with a 256 GB SSD, but that might only hold Sims 4 and one other game of comparable size.  On the other hand, you can always store data like music or photos on an external drive if you want, and it won't make a difference for viewing or listening.  You can also google the model number for any given laptop and read reviews, although check the listed processor and graphics card to make sure you're not reading about a significantly different model.

    A used laptop is fine, especially if it comes with some sort of guarantee.  The one you linked is roughly equivalent to this HP I linked earlier.  The used one has a slightly stronger processor and a very slightly slower (as in, you might not even notice a difference) graphics card.  The used one also has a single 1 TB mechanical drive accelerated by Intel Optane memory, so it would be much faster than having no Optane but still much slower than a solid state drive.  Of course, SSDs are more expensive as well.

    I can't make the choice for you, because I don't know what you like, or what else you might want to do with the laptop in a year or two.  All the models from quality manufacturers will perform similarly, with small differences based on proprietary software and what you use the laptop for.  But they're not going to be widely divergent unless you happen to get the rare defective model, and that's what warranties are for.  So you don't have to worry too much about benchmarks or stress tests; just choose one that meets your needs and doesn't cost more than you want to spend.

    P.S.  Only the 15" and now 16" MacBook Pros are good for games, and they're not a cost-efficient choice.  I love my Mac, but I would never recommend it for Sims games to someone who cares about price at all.  You can get equal performance from a £700 Windows laptop and probably do a couple of upgrades as well, if you decide you want to later.  Macs are wonderful for what they are, but they're not the right choice if your primary goal is to play games.

  • Nadia756's avatar
    Nadia756
    6 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict @I got you. I will probably will be choosing one from the second set of links you provided. But it is still quite a bit of money so won’t be purchasing just yet lol. 

    Before I purchase though, I will have a look around more just to be sure what I really want lol. But I really do appreciate you providing all the links and info you’ve given me, so thank you very much and I wish you and your family a merry Christmas and happy new year. 

  • victoriachef's avatar
    victoriachef
    5 years ago

    I am after a reasonable laptop for using day to day and can also play SIMS 4. I have looked through your advice in this thread (great help) Would you think the

    HP Envy 13-aq0502sa 13.3" Touchscreen Laptop Core i7-8565U, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD (refurbished for 730 UK pounds) is OK?
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @victoriachef  I think that laptop would be okay, but only really okay.  It would probably run Sims 4 on medium settings, no better than that unless you didn't install all the expansion packs.  And you could do better for your money.

    Do you want a relatively lightweight laptop?  If so, there are newer models with graphics cards that are at least three times as fast.  For example, this Acer can probably handle high settings and comes in a few different configurations, including these two, for £680 and £700:

    https://www.box.co.uk/NX.HZHEK.002-Acer-Aspire-5-A515-55G-57W5_2943097.html

    https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-5-a515-56g-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10212833-pdt.html

    The only difference is the stronger processor in the second model.

    If you're looking for something smaller and lighter, the graphics card in this Asus is somewhat slower than the one in the Acer above, but still much faster than the one in the HP you're looking at.  It comes in 13" and 14" models, both listed at 1.1 kg, and both £750.

    https://www.box.co.uk/UX334FLC-A4252T-ASUS-ZenBook-13-UX334FLC-A4252T_2940908.html

    https://www.box.co.uk/UX434FLC-A6524T-ASUS-ZenBook-14-UX434FLC-A6524T_2940907.html

    This Acer is lighter as well, with the same faster graphics card as the Acers above.  It's £800.

    https://www.box.co.uk/NX.HUEEK.003-Acer-Swift-3-SF314-57_2943101.html

    If you'd be interested in a gaming laptop instead, let me know, and I can find a few examples of those as well.  And if you have more questions, please feel free to ask.

  • Jxxob98's avatar
    Jxxob98
    5 years ago

    Hi would you be able to help me find a laptop for around £400 max... i need it to run the sims 4 and my expansions. i don't mind refurbished ect...

    Thanks in advance.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
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    5 years ago

    @Jxxob98  Even including refurbished laptops sold from regular stores, there aren't a lot of good options for around £400.  The best one I saw is actually from Amazon, and shipped from the U.S.; it's apparently £408 including import taxes, although you'd want to double-check the pricing from your end.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evoo-14-1-Ultra-Slim-Notebook/dp/B08KTV2F47

    This is the kind of laptop that should be able to run all current packs together on medium graphics settings, and although its hard drive is small, 256 GB is still more than enough space for all your Sims 4 content, plus however many smaller apps like browsers you'd want to install.  Other similar laptops are £430 and up from U.K. stores, for example this one:

    https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1959318

    https://ao.com/product/81w000bsuk-lenovo-ideapad-3-laptop-grey-81279-251.aspx

    If you don't want the one from Amazon and really want to stay at or under £400, the best available new laptops have somewhat weaker hardware.  In terms of the processor and graphics chip, this one is the best overall option, but the issue is that its hard drive is very small.  128 GB is enough for the game and all current packs, and most likely all future packs as well.  But if you have a large custom content collection, or you want to store other data on the laptop, you might run out of space.  Additionally, this laptop has only 4 GB RAM, although you could add another 4 or 8 GB for around £20 or 30.

    https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-3-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-128-gb-ssd-grey-10209091-pdt.html

    Other than that, these laptops all have the same hardware: an even slower processor than the one above, and the same 4 GB RAM, but they do have a 256 GB hard drive.

    https://www.box.co.uk/M413DA-EK159T-ASUS-VivoBook-14-M413DA-EK159T_2954893.html

    https://www.box.co.uk/NX.A0WEK.004-Acer-Aspire-3-A314-22_2958145.html

    https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-v14-ryzen-3-3250u-4gb-256gb-ssd-14-inch-full-hd-windows-10-home-lapt-82c6005guk/version.asp

    https://www.laptopoutlet.co.uk/lenovo-v14-14-full-hd-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-3250u-4gb-ram-256gb-ssd-14-1080p-full-hd-integrated-amd-radeon-graphics-windows-10-home-grey-82c6005guk.html?___SID=U

    The first one (the Asus) would not support a RAM upgrade, but the Acer would, and I believe the Lenovo would as well.

    If you're willing to buy on Ebay, your options get a lot better.  Of course, there's some risk involved as well.  Let me know if you'd like to see some options, and I'll take a look.

  • LeeLee00's avatar
    LeeLee00
    5 years ago

    Hi! I’m looking to buy a new laptop today and just found your replies on this thread and you seem so much more knowledgable of what I’d need that any Argos staff would be. I’m gonna start of by saying I want to be able to run the Sims 2 (Ultimate), Sims 3 (with most of its packs), the Sims 4 (with most of its packs) and GTA V on my new laptop. I’m not really that tech savvy so sometimes I get lost in the talk and zone out which ha happened in my endeavour to find a new gaming laptop in the last 24 hours aha! I’d say my budget is 1k but could stretch further as I’m not really sure what I’m looking for ideally I’d be brand new cause I prefer warranty but wouldn’t mind if you offer any other options but yes ideally brand new. I’d want to be able to play these games smoothly with the highest settings ☹️(( I just want to play my games well and that’s literally it so I’m open to spending more £ if needed.  Thank you so much if you do reply it’ll make any week x

  • LeeLee00's avatar
    LeeLee00
    5 years ago
    @puzzlezaddict I’ve got no idea how to get your attention on this if you see below I wrote my request please help meee
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @LeeLee00  Are you willing to wait a couple weeks for a pre-order to arrive?  The Nvidia 3060 mobile is a huge step up from the 2060 and 1660 ti, and I'm seeing one option for £1,000 that's due in February 8:

    https://www.overclockers.co.uk/gigabyte-g5-nvidia-rtx-3060-16gb-15.6-240hz-i5-10500h-gaming-laptop-lt-0cx-gi.html

    While this laptop is too new to have reviews yet, Gigabyte generally makes high quality products, including laptops.  I would guess the major drawback of this model is a short battery life, but you wouldn't want to play on battery power regardless, so that's not a concern as far as performance goes.

    To be clear, you don't need an Nvidia 3060 for any of the games you list, even on ultra settings.  The only benefit you'd likely see is if and when you download a more demanding game, for example the next GTA.  Since the option is about to be available though, I figured I'd mention it.

    If you don't want to wait or don't care about playing newer games on ultra settings, these laptops are both high quality and would run everything you listed on ultra with some room to spare:

    https://www.box.co.uk/81Y6005SUK-Lenovo-Legion-5i-15_2938435.html

    https://www.overclockers.co.uk/hp-pavillion-15-ec1009na-nvidia-gtx-1660-ti-16gb-15.6-fhd-amd-ryzen-7-4800h-gaming-laptop-lt-04y-hp.html

    https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F7EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec1009na_2958259.html

    The difference between the second and third is the extra memory (+£50), which, while not strictly necessary, does help if you enjoy multitasking while you play.  You could also upgrade either of the first two to 16 GB for about £30; it doesn't take more than removing the bottom cover and inserting a memory module into a slot.  The Lenovo has an excellent battery life as well, much better than most gaming laptops.

    If these aren't quite what you're looking for, please let me know what details matter to you, and I'll do another search.

  • Clovekay's avatar
    Clovekay
    5 years ago

    Hi @puzzlezaddict ! I am here to ask the same questions everyone else has, pretty much! I've read through all the responses here, so I'm sort able to pick up what you're putting down.

    I don't care too much gaming seriously. I'm more of a console gamer, so the most my laptop sees is Sims 4 and more recently, minecraft. I'm not big on mods for either, or custom content. My current laptop – a mid-2012 MacBook Pro – has basically gone kaput. It takes hours to do anything, even day to day school work, and gaming on it is basically impossible. Whatever I choose in the future, I would like it to be able to handle my schoolwork as well as Sims 4 and possibly minecraft, but I'm not looking to pay the 1400 I had to cough up for the MacBook 

    If at all possible, I'd like to stay at/under 700 USD. Some of the ones I've looked at were the Asus Zenbook 14 (which I see you've recommended), the Lenovo Yoga 6, and the Lenovo Ideapad S340. I've also looked at the MSI Modern 15 but it seems to have little to no reviews in the gaming department.

    I was wondering if you could take a gander at them and let me know if any of these would be a good match for what I'm looking for. I don't really know anything about the high-low-ultra settings talk I've seen happening in this thread, but if it's any help, I'm not hardpressed for the best specs. Just something that can power me through university with some light Sims 4 play in it's spare time. I'm also open to any other recommendations you may have. Thank you so much!

    Computer Links:

    Lenovo S340: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-ideapad-s340-15-touch-screen-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-3700u-12gb-memory-512gb-solid-state-drive-abyss-blue/6426703.p?skuId=6426703

    Lenovo Yoga 6: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-6-13-2-in-1-13-3-touch-screen-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-8gb-memory-256gb-ssd-abyss-blue-fabric-cover/6427161.p?skuId=6427161

    MSI Modern 15: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-modern-15-a10m-455-intel-i5-8gb-memory-512gb-ssd-black/6437744.p?skuId=6437744

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @Clovekay  Among the three you linked, the Lenovo Yoga (second link) is the best as far as Sims 4 is concerned because it has a significantly faster graphics chip than the others.  The graphics chip will be the limiting factor in determining performance, so the other hardware is secondary.  Having said that, it should be more than fine for schoolwork and other basic tasks.

    How soon do you need this laptop?  I found one from HP that can be customized to include an MX450 graphics card, one that should handle high graphics settings without trouble, although ultra may be a stretch.  It would take a month to ship though.

    https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-pavilion-laptop-14t-dv000-touch-optional-1s961av-1

    Adding the MX450 (+$120) and upgrading the screen (+$30) would put the cost at either $690 or $700, depending on whether you believe the initial product page or the customization page.

    If you want something right away, this Zenbook is also worth considering.  Its MX350 is not as fast as the MX450, but it's faster than the graphics chips in any of the laptops you linked, and having a dedicated graphics card would also take some of the load off the processor while you played.

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-zenbook-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-mx350-256gb-ssd-light-gray/6403819.p?skuId=6403819

    This is all assuming you want something lightweight for school, as opposed to a bulkier gaming laptop that could handle ultra graphics settings.  If you're interested in one of those, let me know.

    And if you have more questions, please feel free to ask.

  • Clovekay's avatar
    Clovekay
    5 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict Thank you so much! You would be correct to assume that I want something lightwieght, as I don't really have any desire to do gaming other than sims. If the Zenbook has the better graphics though. the price difference between that and the Yoga 6 is only $50 so I'd rather go for the Zenbook. And I could have it now to do schoolwork since my Mac is essentially out of commission. Thank you so much for your help again!

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @AliceMarie  As far as Sims 4 performance goes, the second laptop is far and away the better option.  Its graphics card is almost three times faster in gaming than the one in the first laptop, although the gap may be somewhat smaller (perhaps only 2x faster) for older games like Sims 4.  It's still a very large difference though, one that makes it possible to play comfortably on ultra graphics settings rather than high.  Additionally, the MSI is build to support gaming, meaning it has the cooling system and the internal software to support heavy workloads for sustained periods of time.

    Having said that, the Envy is a good laptop for what it's supposed to be, which is a lightweight portable machine that will also support light gaming.  The MSI weighs about 1.9 kg, significantly more than the Envy, and that might be important for how you're planning to use it.  The Envy also has a lot more storage, which isn't strictly necessary for Sims 4, but if you expect to store a significant amount of other data on the laptop, you might run out of space on a 256 GB drive.  On the other hand, external drives are cheap and easy to use, so it's not critical that the laptop have all the internal storage you might theoretically use.

    The point is, these are both good choices, and which one is better depends on your priorities and your personal preference.  Either way, you should be able to play without issues; the difference will be in the graphics settings you can use.

  • CooperJ0498's avatar
    CooperJ0498
    5 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict 

    hello I’m here for the same reasons as everyone else! I would like to know which gaming laptop is the better choice. I only play sims 4,I have most expansion packs and sooooo much CC. I played on a MacBook Air for a while until it died out. I will also take recommendations 
    the choices I’m looking at are:

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gf65-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1660ti-512gbsolid-state-drive-black/6430721.p?skuId=6430721 

    or

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-5-17-3-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-ti-512gb-ssd-obsidian-black/6413248.p?skuId=6413248 

    please help.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @CooperJ0498  Between the two you've linked, the MSI is clearly better: its graphics card is around 40% faster in gaming than the one in the Acer.  An Nvidia 1650 should run all current Sims 4 packs together on ultra settings, but if you can afford the upgrade to a 1660 ti, you'll be futureproofing for more demanding expansions or perhaps another game (Sims 5? who knows) that might come along in a few years.

    If you like the Acer for other reasons, this one is also an option.  It's more expensive, but it has 16 GB RAM, which is nice to have if not strictly necessary, and its Nvidia 2060 is a bit faster than a 1660 ti.

    https://www.newegg.com/obsidian-black-acer-nitro-5-an515-54-547d-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834316918?Item=N82E16834316918

    This Lenovo was a very highly rated laptop when it was released, and although it's the previous generation model, its hardware is still quite powerful.  It has 16 GB RAM and a 2060 as well.

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/921861606

    These two are also worth mentioning, although they're both $900 and only have 8 GB RAM (user upgradable) and a 1660 ti.  I'd personally prefer the Lenovo, but if you don't particularly like it, these are good alternatives.

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavillion-16-1-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-512gb-ssd-32gb-optane-shadow-black/6409145.p?skuId=6409145

    https://www.newegg.com/bonfire-black-asus-tuf-gaming-a15-fa506iu-nb53/p/N82E16834235505?Item=N82E16834235505

    If you'd like to see other options with slightly different features, or just have more questions in general, please feel free to ask.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    Since this thread is almost two years old now and has been necro'd a few times, I'll lock it here.

    If you'd like advice on buying a new laptop or desktop for Sims 4, please start your own thread in this section.  Please list your budget and country, as well as any other details that matter to you, e.g. screen size or weight for a laptop, extra storage for other tasks, etc.  Alternately, if you have a particular model in mind, feel free to link it in your post.

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