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In need of a new window laptop
Vicks-Louise
Posts: 1,102
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The sims4 is coming out real soon and my current windows laptop just broke on me, I've had the game pre-ordered for months (typical it would break now) so I need to get a new laptop that will comfortably play the game and any future expansion packs but my understanding of tech specs are very limited so I'm hoping you guys can help me find a compute, I'm hoping to not have to spend as much as £500 but at the same time will do if that's my only option, I would prefer windows 7 if possible but if not 8 is fine I just at this stage need any computer that will play the game but also have capabilities later on if I decide to get expansion packs
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Out of interest what make/model did you have?
That laptop does come with Windows 8.1 but if you don't like it then it's easily tamed with Start Is Back for the micro cost of £1.80 and the links are below:
https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Acer%20Aspire%20E1-572&tbm=shop
http://startisback.com/
If you want to learn a bit about what you're buying, the minimum processor (CPU) spec for Sims 4 is 2GHz, and although the Intel 4th generation i5-4200U CPU has a clock speed of 1.6GHz it can increase its speed on demand via Turbo Boost to 2.6GHz.
This CPU has integrated graphics, meaning that the graphics chip is combined with the CPU, (rather than being on a separate card as dedicated graphics) and is the HD 4400 Mobile. This is just about the minimum recommended graphics standard for Sims 4 to play comfortably on Medium settings (from what I've read online).
There was some criticism of Sims 4 on a gaming forum I read and the feeling this was a retrograde step for the game. If you are considering playing more demanding games in future, then the 4400 won't be good enough to play them except on low settings and the high efficiency but low performance 4200U CPU will struggle.
Just a quick final comment as well to say that very few, if any, consumer (ie not business) laptops are now being sold new with W7.
My last laptop was a Dell XPS L501X if that helps and I wouldn't get it again as it didn't last long before it started getting problems I've just held off replacing it until it finally flat lined so to speak and as I don't use it every day it's survived a year and a half since it first started showing signs of going wrong.
Intel Core i5 460M / 640GB HDD / 4GB RAM / NVIDIA GeForce GT 430M
Possibly 1920x1080 15.6" monitor.
or
Intel Core i3 370M / 320GB HDD / 3GB RAM / NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M
15.6" monitor.
or an i7 Quad version.
Seems to be various versions of the L501x
(From user reviews it seems these machines are not well made)
I would imagine a game like Sims3/4 would benefit from a 1920x1080 resolution monitor, so if the OPs ex-machine had that option is the replacement machine to have that as well? Tricky in a 15.6" screen, expensive as well.
The CPU power needed to play Sims4 is not that great though.
I happen to agree - possibly one of the worst computers I've had the displeasure of owning/using I didn't have it 18 months before it went AWOL - but like I say I don't use it every day so I have just let it die a slow death for the last couple of years (2 years in November)
Do you mind if I ask what is wrong with your current PC? It might be easily fixable.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-355V5C-15-6-inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B009SJCW3C/ref=sr_1_27?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1408967962&sr=1-27
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-355V5C-15-6-inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B00J2UTSVG/ref=sr_1_38?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1408967991&sr=1-38
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/toshiba-satellite-c55d-a-15h-15-6-laptop-white-22074677-pdt.html
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g094sa-15-6-laptop-purple-10011517-pdt.html
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-e5-511-15-6-laptop-blue-10011069-pdt.html
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/acer-e1-572-15-6-laptop-iron-22081527-pdt.html
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-p078sa-15-6-laptop-white-10011492-pdt.html
Yes, that would be a cheaper option and the repairer might even have a refurbished laptop in stock for sale as an alternative.
The 2nd 355VC with the AMD A8-4500M and the Radeon HD 7640G is 2nd hand and I couldn't find out how long the gtee is from the seller's details, but I'd be surprised if it's 12 months. It will play Sims 4 but not as well as the Acer and do you want a used laptop?
I'm not going to spend all day checking all the specs on the PC World ones to see how well they play Sims 4 here: http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=7782&game=The%20Sims%204 but from a quick check on the CPUs at http://www.cpubenchmark.net and the integrated graphics at http://www.notebookcheck.net then they're not very fast and none of them are as good as the Acer.
Just for info, The only AMD laptops that will be OK for light gaming are ones with the A8 series of CPUs, but whether the integrated graphics are any good is another matter. Intel have the upper hand. Some of the Intel laptops you linked to don't run at 2GHZ, which you'll remember I told you was the minimum speed for Sims 4 and the ones that do are either very slow or the integrated graphics won't play the game.
Really unless you make the effort to find the differences between the CPUs and the graphics and read reviews of the laptops you're going to be totally in the dark. You can't make a statement like 'they seem like they would be better than the Acer', because let's face it you have no idea whether they're better or not. I'm not trying to belittle you OP, but believe me I went right through PC World's range of laptops under £500 and Amazon and saveonlaptops and several other retailers and the Acer's got the best CPU and the 6GB RAM that you'll need rather than 4GB which isn't enough and 8GB that is too much.
Maybe one like this
http://www.ebuyer.com/624122-lenovo-ideapad-z50-70-laptop-59415172
If you can save up a bit?
This Lenovo has the same CPU as the Acer E1-572 I linked to in Post #4, with 2GB RAM more and an extra 250GB on the hard drive. For that difference you're paying £550 as opposed to £380 for the Acer, and the OP has a max budget of £500.
Today my general feeling is yes. Tomorrow or next week sometime then maybe a retailer will drop their price of another laptop and then that one will be better value. You'd need to check all the retailers sites to find this out however. But see if any other of the regular contributers to this forum find one I've missed.
The trouble is that deals come and go all the time depending on all sorts of factors such as end of month targets, low stock priced to clear, new models replacing old ones, beating the competetion, manufacturer incentives etc.
Yeah I agree, it's a pain trying to find a new computer, and probably when I select one like you say a better one will be dropped, i've even today been considering expanding my budget, not that I want to as I didn't even want to pay £500 but if that ultimately is the only way I have a chance of getting a laptop that will run TS4 and any future TS4 games that may follow, then I'd rather spend more to guarantee i am buying something I won't need to replace in another 2 years down the line
You'll also want a dedicated graphics card (NVidia or ATI Radeon) with its own RAM (1 or 2GB) instead of sharing the integrated graphics RAM with the CPU, and the more you pay for the card the better the games you'll be able to play, and at higher settings.
Then maybe you'd also like a better screen resolution with 1600 x 900 or Full HD 1920 x 1080, instead of the bog standard 1366 x 768. You may also want to consider a 17.3 inch instead of 15.6 inch laptop.
Each one of these factors puts the price up. How long the laptop lasts is down to how well the user looks after it, all other things being equal. The Acer E1-572 will be fine for all your uni stuff and reasonably demanding multi-tasking as well as Sims 4.
The extra you'd have to pay for game play is only going to be useful for that single thing, as it won't make much difference to anything else you do unless you're considering video editing. It's a high price to pay so have a good long hard think about it, and consider how long you're going to be playing games before you get bored with them.
It would run perfectly well on the junk I'm typing this on, a 2007 model Toshiba A200 Core2Duo with HD2400 graphics.
Of course you may as well get a powerful machine, but it is easy to find such a machine; they are everywhere. But a laptop with a good reputation and good screen? Harder to find.
Here's the official spec requirements for The Sims4:
PROCESSOR: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core 4000+ or equivalent (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 or equivalent) MEMORY: At least 2 GB RAM
VIDEO CARD: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better
HARD DRIVE: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
http://www.thesims.com/en_GB/faq#what-are-the-PC-minimum-system-requirements
That's an ATI X1300 graphics chip it says it will run on! A calculator has more power (almost).
Any laptop released in the last few years would run it.
I'm a bore on this subject but the buying decision should be more based on customer reviews of the hardware. Do people hate the keyboard, screen? Is it unreliable?
Also consider the organisation you would buy it off, what is their guarantee service like?
That official spec requirement you quote for Sims 4 is the minimum spec. Just like when you buy an OS it has low minimum system requirements, but it'll be sluggish on those minimum specs. If you're strapped for cash and only want a slow machine for a couple of hundred quid then fine, otherwise forget it.
Also remember that Sims 4 has lower system requirements than Sims 3 and if the OP is considering playing better games, then a laptop with those min specs means she's going to be stuck with a low performance slow laptop with lower grade components and a lower standard of build quality.
When it comes down to your pet topic of basing your choice on customer reviews this is fatally flawed because you don't know the skillset of each customer or whether their opinion is the truth or biaised. OK they are using it hands-on, but so what. I don't trust customer reviews at all unless that person sounds competent.
That competent person is someone who has years of experience, who knows the relative merits of the CPU and the hardware and how that laptop measures up in terms of the competition, and is competent at testing the system as well as how well that machine works with the software.
And don't get me started on unreliable. What's unreliable is the users not the machines. I've worked in user support for years both business and home users, and I could tell you a few stories about unreliable, even though I don't do it any more thank God.
You are completely wrong on every major point. Nowadays the technology using public are experts on the laptop, just as they are on their cars, mobile phones etc etc.
No surprise you work in IT.
Tassium, I'm not trying to start an argument with you here, so need need to go off topic or get personal, I'm just trying to help the OP find a good laptop that's had positive pro reviews and within budget. It's what I try to do with everyone who comes to this forum who wants help buying a laptop, if I think I can make a meaningful contribution, and failing pro reviews I base those decisions on my experience and judgement. I'm not a gamer myself but I read through the game forums and I note what's said by the players.
If you want to recommend a laptop for the OP then please do.
So the Acer, it would run the base game and still have enough room to comfortably play more games in the TS4 series as they come out? (i realise we don't know the specs of the expansions, but is there still quite a fair bit of space and capability once the base game would be installed on that?)
And is that website trustworthy to buy from? I usually only buy from Amazon or PCworld
REQUIRED: Internet connection required for product activation.
OS: 64 Bit Windows 7,8, or 8.1
PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster
AMD Athlon X4
MEMORY: 4GB RAM
HARD DRIVE: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
DVD-ROM: DVD ROM drive required for installation only
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better
SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c Compatible
DIRECTX: DirectX 9.0c compatible
INPUT: Keyboard and Mouse
So do that now. Scroll down the page to where it says Can I run The Sims 4, then click the Yes button where it says Laptop:, then click the CPU: box dropdown arrow and click Intel, then from the Select a model dropdown box that appears click Core i5 Mobile, then from the Select a device dropdown list click Core i5-4200U 1.6GHz.
Now below the CPU details that you've just inputted there's GPU:, so click the dropdown box and click Intel, then from the Select a model dropdown list click HD Graphics, then from the Select a device dropdown list click Intel HD Graphics 4400 Mobile.
Just below and to the right you'll see a box labelled Proceed, so click that and the page will refresh itself to add the details that you've just put in. When the page reloads scroll down again to Can I run The Sims 4 and you'll see the details you entered displayed and below the GPU: line will be RAM/Memory and a dropdown arrow. Click the arrow as before and then click 6GB. Below and to the right (where there was Proceed before) you'll see a box with a green tick and Check Specs, so click that and as before the page will refresh.
Once the page has reloaded scroll down and you'll see a large panel headed System Results. The first section shows the system specs you entered alongside ticks and scores. The section below that, headed Relative Hardware Analysis shows a bar chart of how well the system will play TS4, and you can see from that, as I told you, that the weak link is the integrated graphics HD4400, but, if you then look at the section below that, Projected FPS Analysis, you can see another bar chart based on game settings and from that, that the Acer system as a whole will easily play the game.
From what I've read the expansion packs just make the game a bit more weighty, but the 6GB RAM that the Acer has is more than adequate to cope with that, so should make no difference to the playing experience (but don't quote me on that).
I was afraid that when Tassium alluded to retailer trustworthiness in his post, you would latch on to that, and sure enough you took the bait. On this forum we never get feedback from OPs as to how happy they were with the recommendations we made or if there were any problems with the retailers in terms of the guarantee or any aspects of the retailers customer care.
So all I can say to you is that as far as I know saveonlaptops is a good company. If you look at this page on TrustPilot you can see that there are 2119 reviews and the vast majority are positive. I know TrustPilot has been heavily criticised for reviews of smaller companies, where it has been alleged that the reviews are made by friends, family and employees of the company, and are all glowing and wonderful, and I can confirm that this is true, but saveonlaptops has far too many reviews for this to apply: https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.saveonlaptops.co.uk
If it was me buying the laptop I wouldn't have any qualms about buying from them. There's plenty of legislation to protect you if anything goes wrong, which it probably won't. Don't use it as an excuse not to buy the laptop.