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Will This Computer Play The Sims 3?

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  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @phoebebebe13 - I was afraid of that. But there were so many different configurations available when I looked up that series number, I was hoping that they snuck in at least a medium-level graphics card and processor into at least one of them along the way. Was being overly optimistic I guess... :/
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  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    edited June 2018
    @igazor, the think pad is a laptop/tablet . I can't see them putting gaming hardware or cooling for gaming hardware in a tablet

    PS i gave you an insightful. . Now you only have 299 more to go :p
  • AlexTheSims3FanAlexTheSims3Fan Posts: 39 Member
    Hi! Can a PC with these specs run The Sims 3 on high settings if I play in Sunset Valley and use Seasons, Generations, University Life and Island Paradise?



    CPU: Intel Quad Q8400 (2.6 GHz, 4 processors, l2 cache 4 Mb, l3 cache 0Mb)
    GPU: AMD RADEON RX 550 (2GB)
    RAM: 7GB (1.3 GHz)
    OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    Hi! Can a PC with these specs run The Sims 3 on high settings if I play in Sunset Valley and use Seasons, Generations, University Life and Island Paradise?



    CPU: Intel Quad Q8400 (2.6 GHz, 4 processors, l2 cache 4 Mb, l3 cache 0Mb)
    GPU: AMD RADEON RX 550 (2GB)
    RAM: 7GB (1.3 GHz)
    OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
    Sounds like that should be sufficient to carry the entire game, but not so sure about all high settings and there may be some limitations. The graphics card would be described as mid-range at best. Also, this is not a serious issue, but 7 GB? That's an odd amount for RAM, we usually see even numbered increments.
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  • JACKIEJOYJACKIEJOY Posts: 802 Member
    Does anyone have an opinion on the Skytech Archangel II?
  • xLunaSimsxxLunaSimsx Posts: 6,719 Member
    JACKIEJOY wrote: »
    Does anyone have an opinion on the Skytech Archangel II?

    The graphics card on the computer is very much compatible with the Sims 3, as it is recognized. However, I'm a bit concerned about the 3GB? I've never really seen that on a graphics card. It's usually 2GB or 4GB, but I'm like a noob/not an expert so let's hope one of them can weigh in. The GHz is good, I think. The memory is also really good.
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  • JACKIEJOYJACKIEJOY Posts: 802 Member
    Thank you Luna. I like the price today and the reviews are ok. I also play 4 but 3 is the priority.
  • xLunaSimsxxLunaSimsx Posts: 6,719 Member
    JACKIEJOY wrote: »
    Thank you Luna. I like the price today and the reviews are ok. I also play 4 but 3 is the priority.

    You're welcome! I think it should be good for the game. I hope you enjoy it!
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  • 540jmh12540jmh12 Posts: 4 New Member
    Will a lenovo ideapad 130-15AST be able to play the sims 3? If so, why on the laptop does it not let me start a new game or load a saved game?
  • 540jmh12540jmh12 Posts: 4 New Member
    Also, what type of DirectX does the Sims 3 need
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited May 2019
    @540jmh12 - You may be able to run the TS3 base game (only, no EPs) on the lowest of graphics settings in Game Options for a while, but it won't be expected to run well and the game will tend to overwhelm laptops in that series. Not enough RAM, no dedicated graphics card, insufficient cooling. If you force such a laptop to run too hard, it can very well overheat on you and become permanently damaged. Price is not a good determining factor, but for the sake of comparison laptops that can run TS3 with all EPs start at $900 USD and go up from there. For base game and the early EPs we can cut some corners but the Ideapad is several classes below that and not designed for graphics intensive games.

    TS3 runs on DX9. All installations of Win 10 have DX12, but the system is supposed to be backwards compatible.

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  • riccardougariccardouga Posts: 436 Member
    edited May 2019
    @igazor Hello, I really need your help... Would this laptop run The Sims 3 with all expansion packs/stuff packs/store content (I only use all worlds and premium content sets/objects/venues) + Mods, CC and Custom Worlds at Ultra Settings properly? Thanks in advance

    https://m.eprice.it/Portatili-ASUS-GL703GS-17-I7-16-1512-1070-WIN10-GL703GS-E5012T/d-11658641
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited May 2019
    @igazor Hello, I really need your help... Would this laptop run The Sims 3 with all expansion packs/stuff packs/store content (I only use all worlds and premium content sets/objects/venues) + Mods, CC and Custom Worlds at Ultra Settings properly? Thanks in advance

    https://m.eprice.it/Portatili-ASUS-GL703GS-17-I7-16-1512-1070-WIN10-GL703GS-E5012T/d-11658641
    It would be expected to run the entire game as well or better than any other laptop in its high-end class possibly can. Once we get past certain hardware barriers, what holds things back are the game's programming and how far we can realistically take a 32-bit application on any system.

    The only thing that is making me twitch is the price. It's nice that it's "marked down" from €5070 to €2023 and while it's far more powerful than would ever be needed or useful for TS3 alone, that just seems like a really strange pricing strategy. I wouldn't have any way of knowing if this is really a reputable place to shop for computers in Italy. You had a thread going with @puzzlezaddict a few weeks ago where she was finding you some very suitable laptops that were just slightly more than half of that "discounted" price. Those suggestions did not end up being useful as starting points?

    Sorry if that isn't entirely helpful, some stores here in the US do this as well. My pharmacy/drug store is reputable but they are always telling me that I am saving 40-50% on things that I buy there by comparing them to an inflated price that no one would ever pay unless their life depended on that exact brand of shampoo, cotton balls, or whatever. The difference is that they waste my time and make themselves look silly over a couple of dollars here and there, while when we talk about purchases like this the difference is in the thousands of dollars/euros. :/
    Post edited by igazor on
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  • riccardougariccardouga Posts: 436 Member
    edited May 2019
    igazor wrote: »
    @igazor Hello, I really need your help... Would this laptop run The Sims 3 with all expansion packs/stuff packs/store content (I only use all worlds and premium content sets/objects/venues) + Mods, CC and Custom Worlds at Ultra Settings properly? Thanks in advance

    https://m.eprice.it/Portatili-ASUS-GL703GS-17-I7-16-1512-1070-WIN10-GL703GS-E5012T/d-11658641
    It would be expected to run the entire game as well or better than any other laptop in its high-end class possibly can. Once we get past certain hardware barriers, what holds things back is the game's programming and how far we can realistically take a 32-bit application on any system.

    The only thing that is making me twitch is the price. It's nice that it's "marked down" from €5070 to €2023 and while it's far more powerful than would ever be needed or useful for TS3 alone, that just seems like a really strange pricing strategy. I wouldn't have any way of knowing if this is really a reputable place to shop for computers in Italy. You had a thread going with @puzzlezaddict a few weeks ago where she was finding you some very suitable laptops that were just slightly more than half of that "discounted" price. Those suggestions did not end up being useful as starting points?

    Sorry if that isn't entirely helpful, some stores here in the US do this as well. My pharmacy/drug store is reputable but they are always telling me that I am saving 40-50% on things that I buy there by comparing them to an inflated price that no one would ever pay unless their life depended on that exact brand of shampoo, cotton balls, or whatever. The difference is that they waste my time and make themselves look silly over a couple of dollars here and there, while when we talk about purchases like this the difference is in the thousands of dollars/euros. :/

    @igazor In fact with a better Google research, the real price on the official Asus's website is € 2699:

    https://www.asustore.it/notebook-asus/3034-notebook-asus-gaming-rog-strix-gl703gs-e5012t-notebook-asus-store-4712900973617.html

    but there's also another price on the e-shop (even if it's Sold out there anyway) for € 1799...:

    https://eshop.asus.com/it-IT/asus-notebook-rog-gl703gs-e5012t-windows-10-home-17-3-fhd-ips-144-hz-processore-intelr-coretm-i7-8750h-16gb-ram-1tb-hdd-512-ssd.html

    My point is to buy this laptop either on Amazon or elsewhere for the cheapest price possible available here in Italy. @puzzlezaddict was very helpful and kind, but last month I had several financial problems in my family and I ending up to delay this purchase. Also she had suggest to me to buy a custom laptop but I really don't like that solution (for warranty/longevity reasons). I really don't know what to do... the prices are very discontinued and inconsistent at the same time and I have fear about this situation.😥

    Could you please tell me if it's worth for this price(cheapest in Italy)?

    https://www.market2go.it/it/notebook/958491-gl703gs-e5012t-ci7-8750h-4712900973617.html
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited May 2019
    I was not aware that there are warranty and longevity issues with custom builds. To clarify, this is where we select the components/parts we want and the company we are purchasing from assembles the system for us prior to shipping it out, after checking to make sure what we selected will actually work well together. Companies like CyberPowerPC and iBuyPower offer the same or similar warranties and extended warranty for purchase programs that the major manufacturers do (well, Apple's extended warranty system may be better than the others but that's not really relevant here). If they didn't, then no one would order computers this way and they would have gone out of business. If we are talking about many, many years down the road, there isn't generally much or any support available for older machines once they begin to pass into what will by then be obsolescence.

    Again to clarify this is not the scenario where one purchases boxes full of parts and tries to assemble a computer on their own. In that case, of course there is generally no warranty program or customer support unless the components arrived broken upon shipment because there is no company to stand behind the build.

    But anyway, that last one you linked to looks fine and the price is a couple of hundred euros under the same model showing (for me) at Amazon.it. I don't know if I am seeing the same prices you are across the board because I am not actually in Italy, so comparison shopping from this end is difficult. And again I was put off by the supposed original price on that eprice site because it made me lose confidence in anything else the vendor might have had to say.


    Edit: I also don't understand why you are insisting on a GTX 1070 for a graphics card. I mean, that's fine too but it has more GPU power than TS3 can possibly use and the 1070 must be driving the final price up higher than a 1060 or some of the newer 1600 series cards would. The game cannot make use of more than 800 MB of vram (video ram), which by today's standards isn't really all that much. But if you might have other uses in mind for this computer in the future, then that would explain the preference.
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  • riccardougariccardouga Posts: 436 Member
    edited May 2019
    igazor wrote: »
    I was not aware that there are warranty and longevity issues with custom builds. To clarify, this is where we select the components/parts we want and the company we are purchasing from assembles the system for us prior to shipping it out, after checking to make sure what we selected will actually work well together. Companies like CyberPowerPC and iBuyPower offer the same or similar warranties and extended warranty for purchase programs that the major manufacturers do (well, Apple's extended warranty system may be better than the others but that's not really relevant here). If they didn't, then no one would order computers this way and they would have gone out of business. If we are talking about many, many years down the road, there isn't generally much or any support available for older machines once they begin to pass into what will by then be obsolescence.

    Again to clarify this is not the scenario where one purchases boxes full of parts and tries to assemble a computer on their own. In that case, of course there is generally no warranty program or customer support unless the components arrived broken upon shipment because there is no company to stand behind the build.

    But anyway, that last one you linked to looks fine and the price is a couple of hundred euros under the same model showing (for me) at Amazon.it. I don't know if I am seeing the same prices you are across the board because I am not actually in Italy, so comparison shopping from this end is difficult. And again I was put off by the supposed original price on that eprice site because it made me lose confidence in anything else the vendor might have had to say.


    Edit: I also don't understand why you are insisting on a GTX 1070 for a graphics card. I mean, that's fine too but it has more GPU power than TS3 can possibly use and the 1070 must be driving the final price up higher than a 1060 or some of the newer 1600 series cards would. The game cannot make use of more than 800 MB of vram (video ram), which by today's standards isn't really all that much. But if you might have other uses in mind for this computer in the future, then that would explain the preference.

    @igazor I want to make this sacrifice because I really love this game and the entire franchise. Also someone in the forums says that The Sims 4 will need a much more stronger graphic card in the near future (the upcoming update that will stop to support 32 bit systems is an important sign). I want to install every itineration of the series on this laptop on the 512gb SSD, from The Sims 1 onwards... I don't want to be silly, but I'm really confident about a possible Sims 5 and all the requirements that might came in a game of the new decade (2020-2030). I know that is a very expensive laptop but until now I always had wrong and inappropriate mid-range laptops to gaming on (risking to broking them and frying) so... What do you think about my concerns? I am too much exagerating, or is this a smart move?
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    Not that you need my approval (or anyone else's), but yes it sounds like you have thought this over properly and you are able to justify the added expense of a stronger GPU than TS3 in particular can really take advantage of. At the very least you won't have to keep asking yourself if something you are running might be running better on a 1070 if only you had one.

    I will add though that future-proofing a laptop at the time of purchase only makes sense in a limited way. The average expected lifespan of a laptop, depending on usage patterns and whether it is mostly stationary or gets moved/carried around a lot, is 3-5 years. Some will of course get longer usage out of theirs, but we can't really plan for further ahead than that. Hardware does not improve with age, actually it begins to degrade (albeit so slowly in the beginning that we can't see it) from the first time we switch the thing on. So while TS3 is a known constant we can plan for now, and we can guess more or less what TS4 is going to do over the next 2-3 years, we can't really say with any degree of certainty that a device we acquire now will still be running let alone suitable for a game/product that won't be released until five or more years down the road.

    Desktops generally last longer than laptops, but the potential for future obsolescence if not mechanical failure is still there and pretty much the same.
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  • riccardougariccardouga Posts: 436 Member
    igazor wrote: »
    Not that you need my approval (or anyone else's), but yes it sounds like you have thought this over properly and you are able to justify the added expense of a stronger GPU than TS3 in particular can really take advantage of. At the very least you won't have to keep asking yourself if something you are running might be running better on a 1070 if only you had one.

    I will add though that future-proofing a laptop at the time of purchase only makes sense in a limited way. The average expected lifespan of a laptop, depending on usage patterns and whether it is mostly stationary or gets moved/carried around a lot, is 3-5 years. Some will of course get longer usage out of theirs, but we can't really plan for further ahead than that. Hardware does not improve with age, actually it begins to degrade (albeit so slowly in the beginning that we can't see it) from the first time we switch the thing on. So while TS3 is a known constant we can plan for now, and we can guess more or less what TS4 is going to do over the next 2-3 years, we can't really say with any degree of certainty that a device we acquire now will still be running let alone suitable for a game/product that won't be released until five or more years down the road.

    Desktops generally last longer than laptops, but the potential for future obsolescence if not mechanical failure is still there and pretty much the same.

    @igazor It's not the need of approval (in general), if I'm talking specifically with you is because I admire your intelligence, knowledge and experience about computers. Unfortunately obsolescene is something that everyone will suffer over the time and I'm perfectly aware of the risks. If anything goes wrong in these years (after the expired warranty) I will defintely stop buying laptos and start to use a desktop instead (at least I can change a particular component if something would stop working proplerly)... I'm obsessed with laptops because I find them more versatile and comfortable 😊
  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    edited May 2019
    @riccardouga I'm not sure what else you have planned for this computer, but I can provide a bit of information on Sims games. From all indications, and due to how it's programmed, Sims 4 will never need anything stronger than an Nvidia 1060 6 GB, even on ultra settings. It might be fine with the 3 GB version, but that's not clear. Sims 4 will be in development for at least a couple more years, and then there will certainly be a gap before Sims 5 shows up, if it ever does. So if there is a Sims 5, it's at least 3-4 years away.

    Even then, if the base game is anything like the previous two, its requirements will be relatively low. The more demanding packs will be at least another year or two away. At that point, even if you take great care of this laptop, you'll probably be looking for a new one. And the graphics cards themselves will have advanced significantly in that time. So there's really not much point in trying to futureproof for a game that's years away from existing, and may have features that none of the current cards can handle.

    Having said that, you may want a stronger card for other reasons. The next card up from the 1060 is the 1660 ti. After that comes the 1070; a 2060 is equal to or better than a 1070, depending on the game. The 2060 is definitely the better choice for newer games, as the architecture of the 20-series cards was updated to support features that the 10-series cards can't run. None of this has anything to do with Sims games, but if you were wondering about graphics cards, that's the short answer.

    Having said that, if you do want a 1070, this one you found would be an excellent option at that price, if it weren't sold out. But for €1750, you could get a laptop with a 2060 and the same processor and RAM. Its only drawback is that its SSD is smaller, but at least its HDD is of the faster 7200 RPM variety:
    https://www.amazon.it/MSI-8SE-012IT-Notebook-Gaming-Nvidia/dp/B07N9HLT5R

    It would take an additional €100 to get a 1 TB hybrid drive (SSHD), which is a little slower than a regular SSD:
    https://www.amazon.it/Asus-GL704GV-EV013T-notebook-i7-8750H-FireCuda/dp/B07P9DSWS1

    For reference, this is the same computer as above, but with a 1060 6 GB:
    https://www.amazon.it/Asus-GL704GM-EV001T-Gl704gm-ev001t-8750h/dp/B07N6MNHRG

    This is the best price (€2149) I saw for a laptop with a 2070:
    https://eshop.asus.com/it-IT/gaming/serie-rog/notebook/asus-notebook-rog-scar-ii-gl504gw-es006t-windows-10-home-15-6-fhd-ips-144-hz-processore-intelr-coretm-i7-8750h-16gb-ram-1tb-hdd-128-ssd.html

    The reason I was recommending the company that does custom builds is that you'd be able to get exactly what you wanted instead of compromising on the hard drive or graphics card. I understand that custom builds can sound like a risk, but this company offers a two year warranty, which is the same as or better than most manufacturers. I looked at the site again (because I really can't help myself) and saw that you could get an i7-8750H, a 2060, 16 GB RAM, a quality 1 TB SSD, and a 17" screen for €1882. Getting a 2070 instead would cost an extra €200; upgrading the processor to the newer 9750H would cost €90. (You could also add more storage, in several different configurations.)

    Anyway, the point is, with your budget, you should be able to get exactly what you want. Once you pick the graphics card, it's pretty easy to find good options. The only thing I can't tell you is whether the other stores you've been browsing have good reputations, since I can't read reviews in Italian. But buying from Amazon, or directly from Asus, would be fine.
  • riccardougariccardouga Posts: 436 Member
    edited May 2019
    @riccardouga I'm not sure what else you have planned for this computer, but I can provide a bit of information on Sims games. From all indications, and due to how it's programmed, Sims 4 will never need anything stronger than an Nvidia 1060 6 GB, even on ultra settings. It might be fine with the 3 GB version, but that's not clear. Sims 4 will be in development for at least a couple more years, and then there will certainly be a gap before Sims 5 shows up, if it ever does. So if there is a Sims 5, it's at least 3-4 years away.

    Even then, if the base game is anything like the previous two, its requirements will be relatively low. The more demanding packs will be at least another year or two away. At that point, even if you take great care of this laptop, you'll probably be looking for a new one. And the graphics cards themselves will have advanced significantly in that time. So there's really not much point in trying to futureproof for a game that's years away from existing, and may have features that none of the current cards can handle.

    Having said that, you may want a stronger card for other reasons. The next card up from the 1060 is the 1660 ti. After that comes the 1070; a 2060 is equal to or better than a 1070, depending on the game. The 2060 is definitely the better choice for newer games, as the architecture of the 20-series cards was updated to support features that the 10-series cards can't run. None of this has anything to do with Sims games, but if you were wondering about graphics cards, that's the short answer.

    Having said that, if you do want a 1070, this one you found would be an excellent option at that price, if it weren't sold out. But for €1750, you could get a laptop with a 2060 and the same processor and RAM. Its only drawback is that its SSD is smaller, but at least its HDD is of the faster 7200 RPM variety:
    https://www.amazon.it/MSI-8SE-012IT-Notebook-Gaming-Nvidia/dp/B07N9HLT5R

    It would take an additional €100 to get a 1 TB hybrid drive (SSHD), which is a little slower than a regular SSD:
    https://www.amazon.it/Asus-GL704GV-EV013T-notebook-i7-8750H-FireCuda/dp/B07P9DSWS1

    For reference, this is the same computer as above, but with a 1060 6 GB:
    https://www.amazon.it/Asus-GL704GM-EV001T-Gl704gm-ev001t-8750h/dp/B07N6MNHRG

    This is the best price (€2149) I saw for a laptop with a 2070:
    https://eshop.asus.com/it-IT/gaming/serie-rog/notebook/asus-notebook-rog-scar-ii-gl504gw-es006t-windows-10-home-15-6-fhd-ips-144-hz-processore-intelr-coretm-i7-8750h-16gb-ram-1tb-hdd-128-ssd.html

    The reason I was recommending the company that does custom builds is that you'd be able to get exactly what you wanted instead of compromising on the hard drive or graphics card. I understand that custom builds can sound like a risk, but this company offers a two year warranty, which is the same as or better than most manufacturers. I looked at the site again (because I really can't help myself) and saw that you could get an i7-8750H, a 2060, 16 GB RAM, a quality 1 TB SSD, and a 17" screen for €1882. Getting a 2070 instead would cost an extra €200; upgrading the processor to the newer 9750H would cost €90. (You could also add more storage, in several different configurations.)

    Anyway, the point is, with your budget, you should be able to get exactly what you want. Once you pick the graphics card, it's pretty easy to find good options. The only thing I can't tell you is whether the other stores you've been browsing have good reputations, since I can't read reviews in Italian. But buying from Amazon, or directly from Asus, would be fine.

    @puzzlezaddict Thanks for your futher help but none of these laptops would be good for my usage. I want a 512gb SSD because of mods and CC (+obviously all expansion/stuff packs & all store premium content/worlds).... Also I don't think in any possible way (judging by how current things are going on) that a Sims 5 can potentially be a heavy/extremely detailed game (something like GTA V). On this laptop I will only play exclusively every itineration of the series, from The Sims 1 to The Sims 4. Sorry but I want to avoid any installs on the HDD... Last past months I've seen so many tutorials (Origin too) and I just can't stand the idea to move the main Document folder just for one game. At least with what I have in mind, I will simply install everything directly on the SSD (C:) and move my other personal files (photo, music, videos ecc) on the HDD (D:). Furthermore (this might be a minor detail, but) I will play Sims 3 (disc version) on the 1.67 patch level, so I assume it's a better choice for performances. What I'm trying to explain is the fact that only Sims 4 will need to be accessed trough Origin (again, since I own every single disc of Sims 2. I hate the Ultimate Collection for various reasons and I tend to play always offline)... I don't know guys, maybe I'm doing something wrong but I'm really convicied with my concern 😣
  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    edited May 2019
    @riccardouga I don't think you're doing anything wrong by wanting an SSD. I don't have an HDD myself, but the few times I've used one recently for other purposes (installing stuff for my parents, borrowing my brother's laptop for *testing*), I've been quite frustrated by how slow everything feels. I will say that TS4 runs the same off an HDD as an SSD; I'm not sure about TS2. TS3 is definitely faster on an SSD though, and it's not particularly close if you have all the packs and/or a lot of custom content.

    I can narrow my search pretty easily to look for a larger SSD. One question I have is, if you had a single 512 GB drive, would you be comfortable installing a larger HDD yourself when you needed it? I looked up specs on an Asus a couple of days ago (not a model you'd want), and the manual showed that installing a second drive was extremely easy. But if you'd rather not, I'll cross that off the list.

    The other question is, what graphics card do you want? Or, if you prefer, what's the minimum you want? Now that I know what to look for, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the best options.

    Edit: I looked around more, both on Amazon.it and on a few other Italian sites, and I still think that if you really want the combination of a 512 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD (or something to that effect), you're best off ordering a custom built laptop. Yes, there are other models on sale at various stores that meet have what you want. But some of the stores clearly do their own upgrades, or else they list laptops from third parties that have done their own upgrades; either way, this would break the manufacturer's warranty, and for repairs you'd need to go through that outside company. The models that are not upgraded are much more expensive, sometimes ridiculously so. I don't think you should have to pay an extra €300 just to upgrade a 256 GB SSD to the 512 GB version.

    I know I must sound like a broken record by now, and if you truly don't want to order a custom build you can tell me, and I won't mention it again. But this is what I would order for myself if I were in your situation (putting aside for the moment that I'm a Mac person). Not only would you have a 2 year warranty, just like any other upstanding company, but you could pick your graphics card and exactly the combination of storage that you wanted. You could even pay a few euro extra for a better brand of SSD instead of being stuck with the cheap variety. I know it's not just about saving money, but this is a lot of money, and the quality would almost certainly be higher than if you bought an Asus or MSI that had been upgraded by someone else.

    Anyway, that's just my opinion. If you're not interested, let me know whether or not you're okay adding a second drive yourself, and either way I'll have some options for you tomorrow.
    Post edited by puzzlezaddict on
  • riccardougariccardouga Posts: 436 Member
    @riccardouga I don't think you're doing anything wrong by wanting an SSD. I don't have an HDD myself, but the few times I've used one recently for other purposes (installing stuff for my parents, borrowing my brother's laptop for *testing*), I've been quite frustrated by how slow everything feels. I will say that TS4 runs the same off an HDD as an SSD; I'm not sure about TS2. TS3 is definitely faster on an SSD though, and it's not particularly close if you have all the packs and/or a lot of custom content.

    I can narrow my search pretty easily to look for a larger SSD. One question I have is, if you had a single 512 GB drive, would you be comfortable installing a larger HDD yourself when you needed it? I looked up specs on an Asus a couple of days ago (not a model you'd want), and the manual showed that installing a second drive was extremely easy. But if you'd rather not, I'll cross that off the list.

    The other question is, what graphics card do you want? Or, if you prefer, what's the minimum you want? Now that I know what to look for, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the best options.

    Edit: I looked around more, both on Amazon.it and on a few other Italian sites, and I still think that if you really want the combination of a 512 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD (or something to that effect), you're best off ordering a custom built laptop. Yes, there are other models on sale at various stores that meet have what you want. But some of the stores clearly do their own upgrades, or else they list laptops from third parties that have done their own upgrades; either way, this would break the manufacturer's warranty, and for repairs you'd need to go through that outside company. The models that are not upgraded are much more expensive, sometimes ridiculously so. I don't think you should have to pay an extra €300 just to upgrade a 256 GB SSD to the 512 GB version.

    I know I must sound like a broken record by now, and if you truly don't want to order a custom build you can tell me, and I won't mention it again. But this is what I would order for myself if I were in your situation (putting aside for the moment that I'm a Mac person). Not only would you have a 2 year warranty, just like any other upstanding company, but you could pick your graphics card and exactly the combination of storage that you wanted. You could even pay a few euro extra for a better brand of SSD instead of being stuck with the cheap variety. I know it's not just about saving money, but this is a lot of money, and the quality would almost certainly be higher than if you bought an Asus or MSI that had been upgraded by someone else.

    Anyway, that's just my opinion. If you're not interested, let me know whether or not you're okay adding a second drive yourself, and either way I'll have some options for you tomorrow.

    @puzzlezaddict I just want a model like this (with a 17" inch screen, possibly 144hz)

    https://www.asustore.it/notebook-asus/3034-notebook-asus-gaming-rog-strix-gl703gs-e5012t-notebook-asus-store-4712900973617.html

    This one also have G-sync... for The Sims 3 is a plus or not? (sorry if I'm insisting on this particular model but I find it a really complete laptop for my usage)

    Can you find something similiar with the same (more or less) components? The most important things to respect are the 512gb SSD and the 1tb HDD. Sorry but the idea of having a custom laptop still don't coinvince me...

  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    edited May 2019
    If you're willing to add an HDD yourself, which is easy on most Asus models (I can find you the user manual, complete with diagrams), get this:
    https://eshop.asus.com/it-IT/gaming/serie-rog/notebook/asus-rog-zephyrus-gx501gi-ei014t-windows-10-home-15-6-fhd-144-hz-processore-intelr-coretmi7-8750h-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd.html

    If you don't want to add anything yourself, get this:
    https://eshop.asus.com/it-IT/gaming/serie-rog/notebook/asus-notebook-rog-gl704gw-ev003t-windows-10-home-17-3-fhd-ips-144-hz-processore-intelr-coretm-i7-8750h-16gb-ram-1tb-hdd-512-ssd.html

    Both have better graphics cards than the last one you linked. The second one has the same 17" 144 Hz IPS screen, while the first one has the 15.6" version. Both are cheaper too.

    There are better options on Amazon.it and elsewhere, if you're willing to add a second drive yourself; otherwise, there's not much out there that hasn't been upgraded by a third party.
  • riccardougariccardouga Posts: 436 Member
    edited May 2019
    If you're willing to add an HDD yourself, which is easy on most Asus models (I can find you the user manual, complete with diagrams), get this:
    https://eshop.asus.com/it-IT/gaming/serie-rog/notebook/asus-rog-zephyrus-gx501gi-ei014t-windows-10-home-15-6-fhd-144-hz-processore-intelr-coretmi7-8750h-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd.html

    If you don't want to add anything yourself, get this:
    https://eshop.asus.com/it-IT/gaming/serie-rog/notebook/asus-notebook-rog-gl704gw-ev003t-windows-10-home-17-3-fhd-ips-144-hz-processore-intelr-coretm-i7-8750h-16gb-ram-1tb-hdd-512-ssd.html

    Both have better graphics cards than the last one you linked. The second one has the same 17" 144 Hz IPS screen, while the first one has the 15.6" version. Both are cheaper too.

    There are better options on Amazon.it and elsewhere, if you're willing to add a second drive yourself; otherwise, there's not much out there that hasn't been upgraded by a third party.

    @puzzlezaddict But the second one doesn't have G-sync... is it important for The Sims 3 to have it or not? I mean for less lag/tearing (sorry but I absolutely don't want a 15.6" screen)
  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    G-sync is a new feature built into monitors that allows the display to sync its frames to what the graphics card is sending it. (Freesync is the same thing, only less expensive, as are all AMD equivalents to Nvidia features.) It can be useful in first-person shooter games, where it smoothes out the visuals, helping get rid of stutter and the occasional screen tears. It's better than the existing tools like vsync, but the same thing can almost always be accomplished with some combination of Nvidia's Control Panel and Inspector or MSI Afterburner.

    I'm not sure TS3 would benefit at all from G-sync. The game will produce drops in frame rates all on its own, and nothing the monitor or graphics card does will stop that. Fps drops are responsible for much of the stutter, and the delays in rendering that many people refer to as lag are due to the game engine itself, not the display settings. Screen tearing can almost always be fixed with CP and Inspector, RTSS, and/or playing in windowed (or Windowed Borderless) mode; the computers that are resistant to the usual interventions almost invariably have weak graphics cards, or else a nonstandard monitor setup (i.e. three monitors with different resolutions and cable connectors).

    So the answer is: I don't know, but I would guess probably not. I haven't seen any tests (maybe someone else has), and the problems G-sync is supposed to fix can be addressed in other ways. TS3 is nothing like the new games that benefit the most from G-sync, and it will be its usual difficult self no matter how many fancy features your monitor has. I don't think there's any reason to get it.
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