Choosing between laptops for TS3?

[CraveThatMineral]

Hey! My computer recently gave up the ghost after 6 years of heavy use, and now I'm on the search for a new laptop.

I've come across these two models and I'm struggling to work out which is better:

LENOVO Z50-70;
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/lenovo-z50-70-15-6-laptop-white-10022700-pdt.html

ASUS x550cc-xO016h;
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/asus-x550cc-xo016h-15-6-laptop-dark-grey-22064432-pdt.html#cat-0

I would be using the laptop for TS3 (including Late Night, Ambitions, Seasons, Generations, University Life) and general everyday tasks (i.e. word processing, internet browsing, other light gaming, etc.) - I'm not too keen about playing TS4 at the moment, but that could change!

As a student I have quite a small budget, so these seemed to be the best I could find between the £500-£600 mark (I've been saving for a while!  )

If anybody could help me work out which laptop is better, or even suggest another, then I would really appreciate it. Thanks guys

[MrsFlynn]

Hi CraveThatMineral,

The two laptops you picked out may not work well for Sims 3 or 4 due to their low voltage processors.

However, we did find one that will work well.

Toshiba Satellite PRO C50-A-1EU Intel® 2400 MHz 500 GB 4096 MB GeForce GT 740M
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-C50-A-1EU-Intel%C2%AE-GeForce/dp/B00GEUOSPI
Price: £456.75

The game can be played in medium to high settings. We also suggest to look into buying a cooling mat for your laptop as playing games, specially Sims, and sometimes other tasks may over heat it.

Targus Chill Mat with 4 Port 2.0 Hub
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Targus-Chill-Mat-Port-2-0/dp/B00DXTJTL6
Price: £24.05

Hope this helps, and Welcome to the Forum!!

MrsFlynn

[CraveThatMineral]

Hi CraveThatMineral,

The two laptops you picked out may not work well for Sims 3 or 4 due to their low voltage processors.

However, we did find one that will work well.

Toshiba Satellite PRO C50-A-1EU Intel® 2400 MHz 500 GB 4096 MB GeForce GT 740M
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-C50-A-1EU-Intel%C2%AE-GeForce/dp/B00GEUOSPI
Price: £456.75

The game can be played in medium to high settings. We also suggest to look into buying a cooling mat for your laptop as playing games, specially Sims, and sometimes other tasks may over heat it.

Targus Chill Mat with 4 Port 2.0 Hub
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Targus-Chill-Mat-Port-2-0/dp/B00DXTJTL6
Price: £24.05

Hope this helps, and Welcome to the Forum!!

MrsFlynn

Wow, £50 below my budget! The only issue I have with that laptop is that I would be unable to go into a store and 'try before I buy'...it seems petty I know, but it's nice to have some reassurance!

When you say it would be able to run on medium-high settings, does that also take into account the addition of expansion packs? I've heard that Seasons in particular can be quite demanding on many machines...

Thank you very much for your help, sorry if I seem like a bit of an idiot! 

[MrsFlynn]

Nah, Thank you for asking. No shame in asking questions.

Yes, this is taking the expansions (and stuff packs) into consideration. You are correct, Seasons, Pets, Island Paradise and maybe a couple others are demanding on many machines. But this one should be able to handle it.

We (Hubby and I) live in the US, but order quite frequently from Amazon.com And have had to return things a time or two. Returns are hassle free. So there is that. I'm sure that the UK version of Amazon has the same hassle free return policy. However I completely understand wanting to get something like this at a local store.

In short, here's what you want to look for in a laptop for The Sims 3:

• Processor with 2.4 GHz or better base clock speed.
• Dedicated video card (such as an nVidia GT 740M) with at least 1 GB dedicated memory.
• 6 to 8 GB memory.
• Avoid netbooks, ultrabooks and systems with ULV (ultra low voltage) [for example: Intel® Core™ i5-4210U Processor] or Atom processors as they may not perform well for games such as the Sims.

If you find something online that you want, print or write out what the processor is, it's speed, video card details and memory.

Take that with you to the store. When talking with a sales person, tell them you want a system that has these particular specifications.

Don't buy anything onsite until you can look the system up online to see if those items are on the specification list. Then, buy the system if you like it and it's in budget.

If you need help looking the system up, post the model number, and we can look at it with you.

MrsFlynn

[CraveThatMineral]

Nah, Thank you for asking. No shame in asking questions.

Yes, this is taking the expansions (and stuff packs) into consideration. You are correct, Seasons, Pets, Island Paradise and maybe a couple others are demanding on many machines. But this one should be able to handle it.

We (Hubby and I) live in the US, but order quite frequently from Amazon.com And have had to return things a time or two. Returns are hassle free. So there is that. I'm sure that the UK version of Amazon has the same hassle free return policy. However I completely understand wanting to get something like this at a local store.

In short, here's what you want to look for in a laptop for The Sims 3:

• Processor with 2.4 GHz or better base clock speed.
• Dedicated video card (such as an nVidia GT 740M) with at least 1 GB dedicated memory.
• 6 to 8 GB memory.
• Avoid netbooks, ultrabooks and systems with ULV (ultra low voltage) [for example: Intel® Core™ i5-4210U Processor] or Atom processors as they may not perform well for games such as the Sims.

If you find something online that you want, print or write out what the processor is, it's speed, video card details and memory.

Take that with you to the store. When talking with a sales person, tell them you want a system that has these particular specifications.

Don't buy anything onsite until you can look the system up online to see if those items are on the specification list. Then, buy the system if you like it and it's in budget.

If you need help looking the system up, post the model number, and we can look at it with you.

MrsFlynn

So basically in terms of processors, anything that involves a U (e.g. 4200U) is a bad idea?

While I'm not ruling out the Toshiba laptop you suggested, I found this laptop which (despite being slightly expensive for me), has considerably higher specifications - and I would be able to see it in a shop:

ASUS-n550jk
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/asus-n550jk-15-6-laptop-silver-10010938-pdt.html#cat-0

The only problem is it seems like a lot of money to spend just for TS3! If I searched for a cheaper option, would I be on the right track in terms of what to look for in processors in particular? I'll probably end up visiting a store anyway, but hopefully this way I'll be able to be more specific in what I want.

Thanks for your help once again!

[MrsFlynn]

Yes, in relation to Sims 3/4 it's a bad idea.

That is a nice laptop that you linked to. I'd go ahead and grab it. It maybe more expensive but I think in the long run you may be happier with it.

As for example, I wanted to go the cheaper laptop route and while I am okay with it, there are some issues we've run in to. I'm happy with it as is, but there are better options out there that we've been considering for later.

Hubby was "crazy" (haha) enough to install Sims 3 with everything, including a ton of store items. It plays okay at medium settings, but it takes a long time to load saved games and has some lag especially in Create a Style.

MrsFlynn

[CraveThatMineral]

Yes, in relation to Sims 3/4 it's a bad idea.

That is a nice laptop that you linked to. I'd go ahead and grab it. It maybe more expensive but I think in the long run you may be happier with it.

As for example, I wanted to go the cheaper laptop route and while I am okay with it, there are some issues we've run in to. I'm happy with it as is, but there are better options out there that we've been considering for later.

Hubby was "crazy" (haha) enough to install Sims 3 with everything, including a ton of store items. It plays okay at medium settings, but it takes a long time to load saved games and has some lag especially in Create a Style.

MrsFlynn

I think I've found something for slightly less!

HP Envy Touchsmart 15-j184sa(
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-envy-touchsmart-15-j184sa-15-6-touchscreen-laptop-silver-10011535-pdt.html#cat-0
The only issue is I'm not sure how well TS3 would run on a touchscreen laptop, if at all 

Then again, I've counted my savings and I have around £600 in cash alone, so maybe the higher-priced Asus laptop would be more worthwhile. After all, I would rather spend more on a laptop that I know will last me a while, than spend less on one that will start playing up after a year...

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Hi, there.

The HP Envy will run The Sims 3 on medium settings. However, before it will run the game well, you will need to upgrade the memory to 8 GB. The touchscreen doesn't affect the game play.

On the other hand the Asus has a better graphics card and won't need any additional memory. The laptop should play the game at med-high to high settings.

Overall, the Asus is the better of the two laptops for running games.

Hope this helps and happy Simming!

Flynn

[CraveThatMineral]

Hi, there.

The HP Envy will run The Sims 3 on medium settings. However, before it will run the game well, you will need to upgrade the memory to 8 GB. The touchscreen doesn't affect the game play.

On the other hand the Asus has a better graphics card and won't need any additional memory. The laptop should play the game at med-high to high settings.

Overall, the Asus is the better of the two laptops for running games.

Hope this helps and happy Simming!

Flynn

In that case, I'll keep saving! Thank you both very much for your help