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Best budget laptop/desktop for Sims 3 + expansions
caitlinx00
Posts: 170 Member
I spent years of my life playing TS3 and have recently been feeling nostalgic for it. I have the base game and pretty much all EPs, and can’t play the game without twallan’s mods. Back in the day I had a hugely expensive gaming laptop, but I don’t have a PC at all any more.
I’ve googled and can see that to play on a laptop you still need something expensive, but can anyone give me an idea of what kind of price that I’d be looking at to play smoothly with minimal crashes/glitches? Recommendations also gratefully received.
I expect I’m going to find that a suitable laptop is outside of my budget these days, so would appreciate it if anyone could also recommend a decent desktop PC that could play the base game and all EPs without too much trouble.
I’ve googled and can see that to play on a laptop you still need something expensive, but can anyone give me an idea of what kind of price that I’d be looking at to play smoothly with minimal crashes/glitches? Recommendations also gratefully received.
I expect I’m going to find that a suitable laptop is outside of my budget these days, so would appreciate it if anyone could also recommend a decent desktop PC that could play the base game and all EPs without too much trouble.
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My favorite was my Nitro 5
https://www.electronicexpress.com/catalog/190852/nitro-5-gaming-laptop?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1qL6BRCmARIsADV9JtbkKN0F3lYOK0vwIfHD834H0ozMfmZI2ve-lKIPi9fpN8vWBQB26HsaAjuaEALw_wcB
It ran the game on medium setting with Twallan's mods and bit of CC.Plus they had excellent customer service when I had
to send it in for fan repairs.
Next was my MSI
https://www.newegg.com/black-msi-gf75-gaming-entertainment/p/1TS-0016-01294?item=9SIA7ABBYC5379&source=region&nm_mc=knc-googlemkp-pc&cm_mmc=knc-googlemkp-pc-_-pla-dealking-_-notebooks-_-9SIA7ABBYC5379&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1qL6BRCmARIsADV9JtY2k5SvcyAv-e-kKy1iNiRLcbCp3IPZilzDWW4ie5PbXFS3B1oZA6gaAmBTEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
It wasn't a bad laptop, but it did get quite toasty when I was gaming on it.
Problem with laptops(that I found.Someone correct me if I'm wrong) is they tend to heat up when under heavy stress
and without proper cooling, their lifespans aren't very long.I had each laptop for about 2-3 years before I had to get a new
one.First one the fans died.This last one the keyboard died.
I'm now on a gaming desktop(only for a few days now) and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
https://www.rentacenter.com/en/computers/desktops/skytech-legacy-29-nvidia-gtx-1660-gaming-desktop-bundle-legacyii-29/p/200011697
This is the bundle I bought.I'm probably overpaying because I'm going through rent-a-center, but for me it was
the best option, I'm sure you could find it a bit cheaper somewhere.
@igazor or @puzzlezaddict might have some more ideas or tidbits for you.=)
https://graceymanorsims3.tumblr.com/
As an example, this desktop would be more than fine. Its graphics card is a bit faster than Sims 3 needs, but there aren't many slower dedicated cards, and having only an integrated graphics chip would be a significant drop-off in performance. This model happens to have a 480 GB solid state drive, which is plenty of storage for Sims 3 and all its content; you wouldn't need to worry about maintaining free space or shifting files to a secondary hard drive.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-1400-8gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-570-4gb-480gb-ssd-black/6343318.p?skuId=6343318
If you give me more of an idea what you're looking for, I can do a more thorough search. But there's not much point until you're ready to buy, since inventory turns over quickly.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8440710?rec=PDP[8101963]:bottomSlider:P1:OHAT:alternative:8440710:a5VdBRBWGmmmTzahqaf8
https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q87EK.002-Acer-Aspire-7-Gaming-A715-75G_2934480.html
https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F6EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec17007na_2958258.html
If you'd like a laptop, I'll do a more thorough search; if you'd like a desktop, I can send you an example of a custom build, or we can talk about what hardware you might want in it. Please also let me know whether you'd rather get a good system for less money, or the best one £800 can buy.
Preference would be good system for less money, but that depends on how big a difference a bit more money would make!
There's no large difference in performance in your price range—laptops with an Nvidia 1650 start below £700, and models with the next card up (a 1660 ti) are at least £900. You don't usually see 16 GB memory in laptops in this category, although you could add more on your own easily enough; while 256 GB storage is enough for Sims 3, it's better to get a larger hard drive so you don't have to worry about running out of space. That narrows things down considerably.
The only real questions left are what processor you want, if you have an opinion, and whether you're willing to spend a little extra, not a lot, to get a more highly rated model. If you just want the cheapest good option, the Acer I linked earlier, for £650, would be fine. The HP (£700) is more highly rated as a gaming laptop though:
https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F6EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec17007na_2958258.html
An alternative is this Asus, also £700.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9199527
These two have the same specs except for the stronger processor in the HP, although Sims 3 would run fine on either one.
An alternative is this Asus, for £750, which has the same specs as the above models except for an Intel CPU. I don't think this processor is better than the one in the HP, although some people prefer Intel models.
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-tuf-fx505gt-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-512-gb-ssd-10208029-pdt.html
The Asus A15 is highly rated, and it's also £750 here, with the same specs as the HP:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-tuf-gaming-a15-fa506ih-nvidia-gtx-1650-8gb-15.6-144hz-ryzen-r5-4600h-gaming-laptop-lt-2bf-as.html
Since I don't know exactly what details you're looking for, it's hard to say what the best choice would be for you. If these aren't quite what you want, let me know what you'd like to see, and I'll have a look later today.
You're welcome.Like I said, I go through rent-a- center because of how my budget is.I end up paying more than what I would
if I buy it out right.So don't base pricing off the ones I have.:)
I can vouch for that.my last laptop had a small hard drive, I had to get an external hard drive to install other games on to it.
https://graceymanorsims3.tumblr.com/
Thanks for any help offered and sorry to hop onto the OP’s thread!
https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:TS3_System_Requirements
The thing to keep in mind is that a fully patched game will be more demanding even without all packs installed.
Cooling is its own issue, especially since older models don't necessarily have the same setup as their newer counterparts, even from the same line of laptop.
If you find something you like, feel free to link the product page for a second opinion.
I’ve ordered an Acer Nitro 5 https://bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-5-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-ti-512gb-ssd-obsidian-black/6413248.p?skuId=6413248
One thing you'll want to do when you install Sims 3 is take steps to manually limit the in-game framerates. A 1650 ti is fast enough to generate fps well into the hundreds if not capped, as is any current graphics card that can run the game well at all, and it's better for your laptop not to have that constant heavy load, or the heat it produces. It's easy enough to limit fps—although the first tool doesn't always work, there are plenty of other apps you can try. Here's an excellent post on how to cap framerates on an Nvidia card:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/16540301/#Comment_16540301
Depending on what driver is installed on the laptop, there may also be a Max Frame Rate setting in the Nvidia Control Panel under Global options, which you can use if vertical sync alone isn't enough. If you have any questions about setting up one or another of these tools, just ask.
@puzzlezaddict If the laptop @livingforwards has ordered has dual graphics, which is highly likely since it's considered a gaming laptop, turning on vsync in the Nvidia Control Panel won't work. I have three gaming laptops with dual graphics, and I had to turn on vsync in the Intel Control Panel on all of them. Doing it in the Nvidia Control Panel had NO effect whatsoever.
My laptops are some years old now, so I don't know if any of this has changed since I bought them, but so far I've never seen using the Nvidia C.P. to turn on vsync work for anyone with dual graphics laptop. Have you seen it, if so, where and when?
Quote from TechPowerUp about the GTX 1650 ti:
"This device has no display connectivity, as it is not designed to have monitors connected to it. Rather it is intended for use in laptop/notebooks and will use the output of the host mobile device."
@livingforwards You can try turning on vsync in the Nvidia Control Panel if you like, but don't be surprised if it doesn't work. But whatever tool you use to cap the frame rates, it's most important that you always remember to go in-game afterwards to make sure that it actually has taken effect.
The Nvidia Control Panel settings are the easiest to access and don't require any tinkering to access or the installation of any extra apps. If the CP settings don't work, we can move on to other tools. What controls come pre-installed on your laptop and what settings they allow you to access depend on what the manufacturer chooses to provide, but the CP at least should be there.
The important things to remember are that it's critical to manually cap fps, and that there's always a way to do it.
To see your in-game framerates, bring up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes. A number will appear in the upper right corner, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your monitor, which may be 60 or 144 Hz. It's probably 60, but since the Nitro 5 can also come with a 144 Hz panel, it's better to double-check. (There are good instructions in the link I posted earlier about limiting fps.) If it does run at 144 Hz, you might decide game performance is better at 72 Hz instead, which is also easier to set up. Many people can't tell the difference between an fps of 72 and something much higher.
@livingforwards
Look in the Device manager, or System information.
Run a DxDiag report. If your laptop has dual graphics both the Intel chip and the dedicated card should be listed there.
How to gather information on your PC using DxDiag
Right click somewhere on the screen and see which Control Panels show up in the context menu. Nvidia should be there, and maybe the Intel too, or you might find the latter in the start menu. Or if you can't find it on your computer it needs to be downloaded and installed.
How to Open the Control Panel for Intel Graphics.
How to Install the Intel® Graphics Control Panel
You can check the frame rate, aka frames per second, FPS, by bringing up the cheat line, typing fps on and Enter. The frame rate will then appear in the top right corner of your screen. You can also use the free Fraps benchmarking tool for a more accurate and extensive check. It records both minimum, average and maximum FPS to a .csv file that you can open in Notepad and look at after you have exited the game. You can take screenshots with Fraps with the user interface included aswell, which is something I find very useful.
That is the one that I had and it was a really good laptop for me.I kind of miss my laptop.
https://graceymanorsims3.tumblr.com/
Yeah, but what good is that going to do if it doesn't work to turn on vsync on dual graphics laptops? At least I've never seen it work so far, and since you didn't answer my question if you have ever seen it, I take that to mean you haven't either, which is what I expected.
What happened to it?