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What laptop would be the best for running a highly modded Sims 3 game?
KatNip
Posts: 1,066 Member
Just what the title says. I'm getting a new computer for my birthday and I'd like to be able to play The Sims 3 again. (o:
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Posting your country, budget and preference for a laptop or desktop could help others look for suggestions.
I do plan to do some film projects on there, as I want to be a filmmaker sometime in the future. I have a (pirated) version of Sony Vegas that'll probably go on there as well, but that's mostly it.
Does that help?
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834235081?Item=N82E16834235081
and buy one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76Q1T0B-AM/dp/B07L3D19MY
So for $814 plus tax, you'd have an Intel i5-8300H, an Nvidia 1060 3 GB, a 256 GB ultrafast boot drive plus a 1 TB SSD, and an IPS screen (the highest quality), all in an Asus. You'd only have 8 GB memory, but you could get a matching RAM stick for something around $40-50.
At the higher end, you could get an i7-9750H, 16 GB RAM, a 1660 ti, a 1 TB SSD, and a 17" IPS screen for $1369. This one is customizable, in case you wanted more storage, and CyberpowerPC offers almost any configuration you'd like.
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Tracer-III-17-Turbo-VR-400
(The same computer but with an Nvidia 2060 would be $1535.)
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Tracer-III-17S-Slim-VR-400
The cheapest prebuilt option I saw at newegg that has everything, no compromises on any of the hardware, is $1400. It's also an Asus, with an i7-8750H, an Nvidia 1070, a 512 GB SSD, and a 15.6" IPS screen.
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834235087?Item=N82E16834235087
In between are many options, mostly in the $1200 range, give or take. Some only have a small SSD, meaning you'd need to install TS3 on a hybrid drive, which would be a bit slower (but still faster than a mechanical drive). Some only have 8 GB RAM, but you could easily install more. A couple have an i5-8300 or the equivalent AMD 3750H, processors that are more than enough for TS3 but might not keep up with your filmmaking activites. (It's a shame that you can't get a more powerful AMD processor in a laptop these days, since AMD is better for video editing than Intel in general.)
Anyway, point is, that's only looking at two sites, and there are already too many good options to list. So if you could give a bit more information, it would help narrow things down considerably. A few questions:
What size screen do you want?
- Do you want an IPS screen, or would the next level down be okay?
- Do you want extra internal storage, and would you be comfortable adding it yourself if necessary? If you're planning on doing film editing, you'll need a lot of storage, which means a custom order, a do-it-yourself upgrade, or external drives to manage.
- Is there anything else that you can think of that would be nice to have?
And please do make sure your biological father is comfortable with a higher price range. I would hate to recommend something you fell in love with only for him to say he can't make it work after all.Storage wise, I do have plenty of external drives with a lot of space (mom takes them from work once in a while for personal use) so I think I’d be good with that!
To answer your questions:
- what is an IPS screen?
- I have some external drives, but I think I’d be comfortable with adding them myself given proper resources, which I could buy on my own.
- Nothing that I can think of right now! I’d say more space but of course that’s already above. (o:
Thanks again!
I find myself in a similar situation but unfortunately my budget is limited to "as low as possible" between 500-900€.
I think I will be happy without Sims 4 but I would love to have enough power to run Sims 3 with several expansion packs and also play Sims Medieval. If possible, would be great to be able to try Sims 2 for nostalgic memories! These don't all need to fit at once, I can take turns.
It needs to be a laptop, the lighter the better as I travel a lot.
Thank you so much for any help!!
Which laptop should I buy for Sims 3 for under 900€?
I live in Finland and I'm moving to France this year.
- Processor: Any of the newer (made in the last two or three years) laptop processors that don't have a U or Y in the name are fine. For example, an Intel i5-8300H and an AMD Ryzen 5 3550H are fine, but an i7-8550U or Ryzen 5 2500U are not.
- Graphics card: At least an Nvidia 1050 ti or 1650 (anything in the 20-series is overkill), or AMD Radeon RX 560.
- Memory: At least 8 GB RAM. 16 GB is great for multitasking but not necessary for the game itself.
- Storage: At least 512 GB of total space. Sims 3 will load faster on a solid state drive (SSD), meaning every transition from loading saves to entering Create a Sim and Build/Buy will happen much more quickly. But a mechanical drive (HDD) will run the game fine once it gets going. Some laptops have a small 256 GB SSD (usually with a larger HDD), and it would be difficult to manage free storage on a drive that small, since it would also contain hold Windows and other essential system files.
The requirements for Sims 4 are a bit different—it doesn't benefit from being on a solid state drive, and in a year or two it might need a slightly stronger graphics card for ultra settings. But an Nvidia 1050 ti will always be able to run Sims 4 on high settings, if not ultra. Sims Medieval will run fine on any system that can handle Sims 3, and Sims 2 can be difficult on any new computer, regardless of its specs. (It's an ongoing issue, but there are sites, including this one, that can help you troubleshoot.)I would be careful selecting a light laptop. Most of them are not built to handle even moderately demanding games like Sims 3—even with decent hardware, they lack the proper cooling to protect themselves from overheating. The lightweight laptops that are good enough for games tend to be a lot more expensive for the convenience.
If you find something you're considering, feel free to link it here. Since you're not a full member yet, you'll need to break up the link—put a couple of spaces in it or something.
If you'd prefer to get some help with the search, I'd be happy to look around for you. But I don't know anything about where to shop in Finland (does Amazon have a presence?), so let me know what stores you'd consider. And do you want a Finnish keyboard, or a French one? You can always switch between layouts when you're typing, but you might prefer the convenience of one or the other.