Laptop Check before purchase

[Minimagic782]

Hi All,

I'm after a bit of a double check before I purchase the below, I just want to check that it will run Sims 3, all expansions and stuff packs and a bit of store cc.  I did try upgrading the processor, but it was another £74 and the Graphics card upgrade would have been another £84 and I don't quite have that money now.

Its going to built by PC Specialist.

Chassis & Display   Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)   Intel® Core™ i3 Dual Core Processor i3-6100H (2.70GHz) 3MB Cache
Memory (RAM)   8GB Kingston SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card   NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 940M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
Memory - Hard Disk   750GB WD BLACK 2.5" WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive   8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader   Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste   ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card   Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless   GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7265 M.2 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
Keyboard Language   COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System   Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media   Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve

If someone could please let me know if this will be ok, it doesn't have to run on high settings, any help is much appreciated.

Bit of an update, maybe able to stretch to upgrade the processor to an Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 6300HQ (2.3GHz, 3.2GHz Turbo), but this is my absolute stretch on finances

Kind Regards

Minimagic782

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Mini,

All other specs look good except for the processor and video card. As is, the laptop will have to run the game on low settings. And may not run the game that well.

I would definitely Not recommend a i3 processor for gaming. And specially if you're wanting to run all of Sims 3, store stuff and cc/mods.

While the Nvidia Geforce GT940M is considered a mid-grade card which will give you med settings. It paired with the under powered processor may give you problems.

If you have to get the laptop now get the i5 processor upgrade. Otherwise you may want to save a little money and get the processor and video card upgrades maybe in the next month or two.

If you'd like we can help in finding a suitable laptop. What country are you in and what's your budget?

Thanks for asking!!

MrsFlynn

[Minimagic782]

Hi MrsFlynn,

Thank you for your help, I thought it might lack, it's payday on Friday so will wait till then, though have  had a look at changing the ram memory and the hard drives and this gives me a lower price option.  Would a 4gb ram memory be ok or am I better off with the 8gb. Also would a 500gb 5400 rpm hardrive suffice or am I better off with the 7400rpm?  Sorry, it's a bit confusing for me as I'm not very tech savvy and since this will probably be my las laptop for a while I want to get it right.  My budget at a push is £700, thanks once again for any help.

Kind regards


Minimagic782

[MrsFlynn]

8 GB memory is definitely better - it will help games and the computer run more smoothly.

7400rpm hard drive is better - This will help speed up loading times in games as well as other programs you want to use.

We're looking into some laptops for you and will have something to share soon!!

MrsFlynn

[Minimagic782]

Hi MrsFlynn,

Thankyou, will wait and see what you can findas I don't think my other half will be very happy if I spend a lot of money on something that isn't going to work very well.  Not sure if I mentioned but I'm in the Uk.

Kind regards

Minimagic782

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Minimagic,

Sorry for the wait. Here is a small list of laptops we were able to find within your budget that should work well with Sims 3 on medium settings and should hopefully be less problematic game wise.

The first one on the list is what we consider the best, but wanted to give you a few to choose from. I would definitely recommend a cooling mat to go with the laptop. As laptops run very hot when gaming.

MSI GP62 Leopard 031UK 15.6-Inch Laptop = Sale: £667.90
(Intel Core i5 2.9 GHz, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, Windows 8.1)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-Leopard-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Windows/dp/B013K54BCE

Intel Core i5 ~ 2.9 GHz
8GB Memory + 1TB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 940M 2GB

=====

MSI CX61 2QF 1885UK Gaming Laptop = Price:     £539.99 
Intel Core i5-4210M, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 15.6" HD LED, DVDRW, Nvidia GeForce

940M, Webcam, Windows 10 Home 64bit
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-1885UK-i5-4210M-GeForce-Windows/dp/B017M50VNG
----
Intel Core i5-4210M ~ 2.6 GHz
8GB Memory + 1TB HDD
Nvidia GeForce 940M 2GB

=====
MSI Gaming Intel i5 Turbo Laptop = Sale: £598.44
 2 Graphics Cards inc Dedicated 2GB Geforce, 8GB Ram, 1TB HDD, Windows 10
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-Graphics-Dedicated-Geforce-Warranty/dp/B017JRLBTU
----
Intel® i5-4210M up to 3.2GHz
8GB Memory + 1TB HDD
NvidiaTM GT940M 2GB

I'd like to add this disclaimer: Sims 3 may have lag with CAS, CASt and Build/Buy modes. Due to the bottle-necks of the laptops. There is not much that can be done about that. Sims 3 was more made to be played with a desktop.

Hope this helps

MrsFlynn

[Minimagic782]

Hi Mrs Flynn,

I've had a look at the three you have suggested and have decided to go for the first one but then saw the link to the one below which is the newer version, so wanted to check whether this would still be ok as it still only has the GT940M graphics card.

MSI 9S7-16J312-208 Leopard 15.6-Inch Laptop (Intel Core i5-4210H, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, DVDSM, LAN, WLAN, Nvidia GT940M Graphics, Windows 10 on amazon, its a MSI GP62 2QD-208 Leopard

Intel i5-4210H processor with GT940M graphics card

Kind Regards

Minimagic782

[MrsFlynn]

Yes that one should be fine as it's the same spec wise and price wise as the first one I linked to in my post. With the GT940M graphics card you may only get medium settings, but hopefully will have less problems with crashing/lag, slow downs and other game problems.

MrsFlynn

[Minimagic782]

Hi Mrs Flynn

Thankyou for all your help, now off to purchase..

 

Kind Regards

Minimagic782