Anyone recommend a laptop that sims games will work on.

brenne89

Hi

I could do with some advise on what kind of laptop would I get that sims games would work on,

PC World has quoted me €750, surely there are cheaper that the games will work on.

Overheal

brenne89 wrote: »

Hi

I could do with some advise on what kind of laptop would I get that sims games would work on,

PC World has quoted me €750, surely there are cheaper that the games will work on.

Hello and welcome to boards,

the font is really unnecessary. Default is what *everybody* uses.

It depends on what you actually need as opposed to what will actually do it. Did the salesman suggest something based on what you needed? Probably. Sims games will run on a lot of things with the right GPUs in them but the kicker is will they run Well? You're looking at 4GB of RAM, an i3 Processor and some description of AMD GPU, of at least an HD4200 or higher. Anything less and you might be able to launch the game, but might not be willing to play it at the piss poor settings. You also have to reckon you'll want to run say, Sims 3, reasonably well. And perhaps have the foresight to be able to run Sims 4 on this laptop whenever that inevitably comes out.

People often come into my store and demand the best for little to no money without a concept of what Value actually costs you. The only thing wrong in this picture is that you don't see the Value in the €750 you seem to have been quoted. And that's probably a failure on their part. But, 4 years ago I got a $1200 laptop. It's still working today, in spite of defects and everything else. It ran everything I needed it to and I've retired it like a racehorse. It's a fantastic Netflix machine now. But it used to be the machine I relied on to play Crysis and WoW on. And Oblivion. And a bunch of other games I don't care to mention. But I suspect as a Netflix device it will last me several more years, it's already lost the ability to play modern games at reasonably enjoyable settings (and playing crysis at fun settings is probably what shortened her life on the first motherboard, actually ).

I think, sure, you can do cheaper if you really want to save money now but in the long run you're just accelerating the point in time at which you'll have to/ want to shell out for another upgraded unit. The salesmen I assume, showed you something that's going to satisfy your desire to play sims games (and more) for at least the next couple to few years.

x in the city

any laptop that doesnt have wintel Genitically modified graphics should run sims for you just fine..

so basically you be looking for entry level ATI/Nvidia graphics.

Tea_Bag

Overheal, with all due respect, both of us know that (s)he shouldn't buy that laptop, no matter what it is, because its probably very overpriced.

OP, what is your budget?

we can find the best value for you from that. is there any other games you foresee yourself wanting to play in the future?

how important is battery life to you, and will you be carrying this laptop around with you say in college or something?

Overheal

Tea_Bag wrote: »

Overheal, with all due respect, both of us know that (s)he shouldn't buy that laptop, no matter what it is, because its probably very overpriced.

How do you figure this. Without even knowing what it is, or even what brand it is (Nevermind the specifications), you've determined it's overpriced?

Tea_Bag

Overheal wrote: »

How do you figure this. Without even knowing what it is, or even what brand it is (Nevermind the specifications), you've determined it's overpriced?

Experience. I frequent currys/pc world whenever I'm in town to have a look at monitors and TVs, and obviously glance over their PC and laptop stock. Let's just say their stock is 'dated' and is priced to keep a bricks and mortar store open unfortunately. They have no hope in competing against online websites in this department, technology moves on too fast and they are left with old expensive stock.

This is before the salesman adds on his commission.

ED E

brenne89 wrote: »

Hi

I could do with some advise on what kind of laptop would I get that sims games would work on,

PC World has quoted me €750, surely there are cheaper that the games will work on.

I can half that price for you.


GET A DESKTOP!


Why does everyone insist on gaming on a laptop.....

Ri_Nollaig

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

I can half that price for you.


GET A DESKTOP!


Why does everyone insist on gaming on a laptop.....

I love this answer!

"I need to get a new car, would you recommend this one..."
"OMG! why don't you walk, its way cheaper!!"

Skipping the obvious, I would assume this person wants a laptop for the mobility and at the same time would like to play, lets be honest, a "light" game. What is the issue?

check out http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk great prices anyway. Anything they are selling with a dedicated graphics card should handle sims grand.
Also check out http://www.notebookcheck.net/ for reviews too (they often benchmark The Sims3 too so thats handy)

Overheal

Bullet has a point.

Tea_Bag wrote: »

Experience. I frequent currys/pc world whenever I'm in town to have a look at monitors and TVs, and obviously glance over their PC and laptop stock. Let's just say their stock is 'dated' and is priced to keep a bricks and mortar store open unfortunately. They have no hope in competing against online websites in this department, technology moves on too fast and they are left with old expensive stock.

This is before the salesman adds on his commission.

Do you know for a fact they make money on the PC? Or that the salesman works on Commission? Because the stock is "dated" does that mean it is automatically overpriced? Again, we need the specs that are being sold for €750

I sell PCs. I don't work on Commission, and PCs are priced at or below cost.

Tea_Bag

Overheal wrote: »

Bullet has a point.
Do you know for a fact they make money on the PC? Or that the salesman works on Commission? Because the stock is "dated" does that mean it is automatically overpriced? Again, we need the specs that are being sold for €750

I sell PCs. I don't work on Commission, and PCs are priced at or below cost.

Have you been to PC World?

I agree that the specs would help both of our arguments.

You work in bestbuy or something iirc? I think the USA is a far more competitive market than Ireland and you have giants like newegg forcing you to drop profits but Ireland is still in the dark ages with tech and their prices. Sure that's why anyone who knows anything about the stuff buys from Germany and the UK.

I too was checking to see if I could argue for a desktop with my batterylife and college questions.

marco_polo

Here is the PC world pricelist for you guys fight with . (May not exactly match retail I guess)

/gets popcorn

http://www.pcworld.ie/category/All-Laptops/301

brenne89

the €750 was for a Dell Q15R as far as i can remember, they said it has a graphics card to run games etc no problem. i also got a quote for a Asus A54E-SX331S for €550 this hasn't got specific graphics card but was told it was good enough to run sims.

The laptop is for a 16 year old and dont see the point in paying big money when she will mainly play the sims and do homework. In a few years time she will prob need to update anyway for collage.

dazzday

This will suit PERFECTLY for her needs.

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Dell_Inspiron_15R_1085130.html

TBH for the games she wants to play the integrated gpu of the new 2nd generation i3s would be more than capable, but the above at least gives a little more leeway on newer games.

Paying premium price for a mid-high end dedicated gpu when you are not a gamer or playing demanding games (crysis 2 etc) is simply pointless and a waste of money.

€750 for a 16 year old seems excessive, especially when her needs are word processing, internet browsing and Sims 3!

Overheal

dazzday wrote: »

TBH for the games she wants to play the integrated gpu of the new 2nd generation i3s would be more than capable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc

If you go into Start > Device Manager, and click on Display Adapter, if it says "Intel HD Graphics" - immediately rule out 3D games. Sorry.

I've seen enough returns from customers, from other people on my sales team telling them what you just said, and returning the thing when they found out what I would have told them in the first place: That's bullsh*t. The OP will want some description of an AMD Radeon GPU on the laptop.

I googled the ASUS laptop model and got zero hits beyond this thread. ASUS are great laptops but even they would suck at sims without some dedicated graphics involved.

Overheal

The E-350 is hardly my favorite offering from AMD for a processor, but this at least has a Radeon 6350 on it:

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/SONY-VAIO-VPCYB2M1ES-116andquot-Laptop-Silver/306725/301

another decent model with improved CPU (APU) and Graphics:

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/TOSHIBA-Satellite-L755D128-156andquot-Laptop-Red/306732/301

dazzday

Overheal wrote: »

If you go into Start > Device Manager, and click on Display Adapter, if it says "Intel HD Graphics" - immediately rule out 3D games. Sorry.

I've seen enough returns from customers, from other people on my sales team telling them what you just said, and returning the thing when they found out what I would have told them in the first place: That's bullsh*t. The OP will want some description of an AMD Radeon GPU on the laptop.

Quite mistaken here.
I specifically quoted the second generation sandy-bridge i3. This does not have Intel HD Graphics (which I agree will not game) but rather the new on-board-die "Intel HD Graphics 3000".
The "Intel HD Graphics 3000" matches and in alot of cases exceeds entry level dedicated gpus at the level of Nvidia 310m/320M and Radeon HD 5470...both common last generation entry level gpus (at a premium price)

Some info on:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-HD-Graphics-3000-graphics-solution.43710.0.html

As can be seen it can play some pretty demanding games at low-mid settings (Left 4 Dead, COD-MW etc). It will EASILY cope with Sims 3 at medium or higher settings.

The 6350 you quoted actually benchmarks WORSE. The intergrated 6480G you also quoted only ranks marginally above the HD 3000 but also sacrifices the better performance and tech of the i3.

---

OP dont be fooled into buying something beyond your means. As mentioned before:

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Dell_Inspiron_15R_1085130.html

will suit perfectly. The dedicated gpu in here is overkill for your needs but will play any pre 2011 game at high or above settings and any new release at least mid settings. Sims 3 will run on ultra/max.
The other specs are also well within your needs.I doubt you will find anything similar in PC World etc for below €800.

Other options that would suit at about the €500 mark:

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5750_1086986.html
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Samsung_RV520_1087516.html
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_IdeaPad_Z570_1072555.html

(note: you can tell its a sandybridge cpu by the two: i3-2310M)