Which laptop should I buy?

[Lau29]

Hello! 

My old laptop is dying and I am thinking about buying a new one on which I could play the Sims 4. I know that I would get better performances with a desktop, but I need a laptop since I intend to go study abroad next year and I would like to take it with me. I don't play videogames a lot, except for the Sims so I don't need a hardcore gaming laptop. As long as I have a laptop that can run the Sims 4 on medium settings and hopefully some of the add-ons, I will be happy. I don't need the best of the best, simply something with a good quality/price ratio.
I read the topic "Buying a Desktop Or Laptop For The Sims 4" and it helped me narrow down my options a little, even though I am not quite sure I respected every single criteria in my small selection.  I am hesitating between the laptops listed bellow. Do you have any advice on the one I should get, or suggestions about other laptops I should consider?

1. Dell Inspiron 17 5748 = 669€

4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4510U processor (4M Cache, up to 3.1 GHz)
Windows 8.1 (64 bits)
Memory: DDR3L 8 Go (1 x 8 Go) - 1 600 MHz
Hard-drive: SATA - 1 To - 5 400 tr/min
NVIDIA® GeForce® 840M with memory DDR3 (2 Go)
Screen: retrolight LED -  17,3" with technology TrueLife and resolution HD+ (1 600 x 900)

2. Toshiba L70-B-13K 17,3" = 630€

Intel Core i5-4210U
Memory: 8 Go
Hard drive: SATA - 1 To -5400 tr/min
AMD Radeon R7 M260
Dedicated video memory: 2048 Mo

3. Lenovo Z50-70 = 500€ [other options at a higher price available, and still within my budget, i.e. 700€ max]

Intel Core i3 (4th g) 4010U - 1.7 GHz
Memory: 6 GO
Hard Drive: SATA - 1To HDD- 5400/mn
NVIDIA GeForce 820M - 2 Go

Thanks in advance for your help!

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Lau29,

It sounds like your budget is $700 (Euro). Thank you for mentioning that. But what country are you in? This will help us narrow down our suggestions.

*Edit* If going by the ones listed, the best one on the list is the Dell, as it's got the better graphics card.

Thank you, and welcome to the forum

MrsFlynn

[Lau29]

Hi MrsFlynn, and thanks for your prompt reply!

To answer your question, I am in France at the moment, that's why the prices are all in Euros. 
Thanks for your recommendations. I thought the Dell would be the best one since it is also the most expensive of the three listed here. Do you think the Sims 4 should work fine on this computer? And what about the other listed?

Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it! 

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Lau29,

Sims 4 should work on the Dell, or Toshiba, but a little iffy on the Lenovo. Overall, it would work best on the Dell computer.

However, we'll look at Amazon's France site to see if we can find any other recommendations.

MrsFlynn

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Hi MrsFlynn, and thanks for your prompt reply!

To answer your question, I am in France at the moment, that's why the prices are all in Euros. 
Thanks for your recommendations. I thought the Dell would be the best one since it is also the most expensive of the three listed here. Do you think the Sims 4 should work fine on this computer? And what about the other listed?

Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it! 

Hi, lau29.

This is right up against your budget limit, but you could consider this laptop from MSI -- MSI GP60 2PE Leopard-061XFR. It's a quad-core Core i7 2.4 GHz with 4 GB memory and a 2 GB dedicated nVidia 840M graphics chip. It is Euro 693,73 from Amazon.fr and may be a little cheaper elsewhere. Looks like it will take a maximum of 16 GB memory (I would recommend doubling the memory to 8 GB as soon as you are able to help boost the system's performance).

From what I see of the specifications, it is about the equivalent of the laptops MrsFlynn and I have. It is considered an entry level gaming system and should run The Sims 4 at High to Ultra settings with very little lag (once you increase the memory). There is also a cheaper dual-core Core i5 variant -- MSI GP60 2PE Leopard-047XFR for Euro 608,44. It should play the game just as well as the Core i7 variant (again, once you increase the memory to 8 GB). Both of these laptops should outperform the Dell in terms of both playing the game and doing your study work.

Hope this helps, and happy Simming!

Flynn

[Lau29]

Hi Flynn Arrowstarr,

thank you for the suggestion! I am not very tech savvy, so I was wondering how much it cost usually (even in the US, it will give me an idea) to add memory to a laptop? And if I don't add the memory yet, does that mean that I won't be able to play the game, except in terrible conditions?

I've been looking around a little as well, and Amazon offers a discount on its Lenovo computers (it seems like). They seem to have the same graphic card than the MSI you recommend, but with more memory, if I am not reading wrong. Can they compete with the MSI, or is the latter the best one within my budget?

Here are the two laptops:

http://www.amazon.fr/Lenovo-Z50-70-portable-disque-Windows/dp/B00LA4CDT6/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1412657775&sr=1-1&keywords=lenovo+z50-70

http://www.amazon.fr/Lenovo-Z50-70-portable-disque-Windows/dp/B00LA4CLX4/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1412658096&sr=1-2&keywords=lenovo+z50-70

Thank you for all the time and effort you guys put into this, that's very kind of you!

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Hi, Lau29.

Given the underperformance of the Ultra Low Voltage processors in either of these laptops, I can't recommend either one. For the first laptop listed, the clock speed on the processor is just under the minimum requirement for The Sims 4, while the clock speed of the second is just over the minimum clock speed.

My suggestion would be to get the second MSI laptop I linked to (dual-core 2.8 GHz) and use the savings to max out the system memory to 16 GB. You'll have a laptop that can handle the game on (at least) medium to high settings. And the clock speed of the processor is 2.8 GHz which is well above the minimum of 1.8 GHz. While the more expensive laptop has a quad-core Core i7, the clock speed is a little slower and there is very little software that takes advantage of four cores. Plus the i5 has Hyper Threading, so each core emulates two cores.

Hope this helps and happy Simming!

Flynn

[Lau29]

Hi Flynn Arrowstarr,

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanations, it makes a lot more sense to me now. I will follow your advice and buy the MSI with the i5 processor. Thank you very much again for your help, I really appreciate it. You made a happy simmer 

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Thanks, Lua29. Let us know how it works out for you.

Flynn

[Lau29]

Hi again FlynnArrowstar,

I noticed at the last minute that the second MSI that you suggested does not have any operating system installed, and the first MSI is not being sold yet. I should have paid more attention to details like that when you suggested the two laptops (I am the one speaking French here, and I don't even help you!  ).  I guess I will have to pass on these laptops since it will be too expensive for me to also buy an operating system.

So, I was wondering, the Dell that I listed at the beginning is not quite as good as the MSI you were suggesting because of the speed of the processor? And if so, does that mean that the game will lag more?

Thank you so much for your patience and help!

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Oh, wow. I didn't see that really listed on the page. I had to look in the questions/answers section before I saw that it doesn't come with an OS. There goes that idea.

So, I would go with Dell. It's processor at least exceeds the minimum requirements for the game and should net you the desired medium settings. And it already has 8 GB of system memory, so that will help with the game's performance as well. It may not be an "optimal" laptop for playing games, but it should at least get you what you're asking for.

(I am the one speaking French here, and I don't even help you!  )

Don't feel too bad. I made a pretty good guess at the page's contents, I hope.

Hope this helps and happy Simming!

Flynn

[Lau29]

Hi Flynn,

thank you for your recommandations and answers to my questions. I like the Dell but since buying a laptop is quite an investment for me I decided to wait a little longer, just to be sure I was not buying it simply cause it was there and ok-ish to play the Sims 4.  That's when I stumbled upon this computer which seems to be a lot like the second MSI (the one without OS) that you advised me to buy, and still in my budget. This one is better than the Dell, am I right? :-)

http://www.boulanger.fr/portable_asus_r510jk_dm070h/p_65511_727445.htm#

I swear, if this one is better than the Dell I buy it, and I stop bothering you with all my questions 

(and yes, you did understand the amazon.fr pages very well, thank you for that!)

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Hi Flynn,

thank you for your recommandations and answers to my questions. I like the Dell but since buying a laptop is quite an investment for me I decided to wait a little longer, just to be sure I was not buying it simply cause it was there and ok-ish to play the Sims 4.  That's when I stumbled upon this computer which seems to be a lot like the second MSI (the one without OS) that you advised me to buy, and still in my budget. This one is better than the Dell, am I right? :-)

http://www.boulanger.fr/portable_asus_r510jk_dm070h/p_65511_727445.htm#

I swear, if this one is better than the Dell I buy it, and I stop bothering you with all my questions 

(and yes, you did understand the amazon.fr pages very well, thank you for that!)

Hi, Lau29.

That looks like a very good laptop. It has a mid-range gaming graphics card and a good processor a full 1 GHz above the minimum required clock speed. It should serve you very well for playing the game on full settings.

Hope this helps and happy Simming!

Flynn

[Lau29]

Sweet!

I ordered the laptop then, I should get it tomorrow. I am very excited to play and looking forward sharing my experience with the other simmers on this forum. Thank you so much for your help !! 

Lau29

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Let us know how it goes, Lau.

Flynn