Which laptop for The Sims 3?

[TSenthusiast]

Hi,

I'm about to buy a new laptop and I've realised the only specs I actually care about is whether I can play one of my favourite games from my childhood (Sims 3). However, I lack knowledge of computer hardware and I'm quite afraid of spending hundreds of dollars on a laptop I'll later find out won't actually allow me to play the game.

The official specs for Sims 3 can be found here, however, I've also read threads were even higher specs were recommended, like this reply. Here is a full list of graphics card compatibility for desktop computers, however I don't know if it'll work the same with laptops?

The laptops I'm choosing between are (apologies in advance for the translation, obviously not easy to translate when you don't know a lot about hardware):

#1: MICROSOFT Surface Laptop Go (THH-00013)
Specs:

RAM type: LPDDR4X
RAM size: 8 GB
Max RAM size: 8 GB
Number of RAM spots: 0
RAM configuration: The included RAM is integrated

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 (4 kernels, 8 threads, 6 MB cache)
Processor manufacturer: Intel®
Processor model: Core™ i5
Processor speed: 1.0 GHz (base), 3.6 GHz (turbo)
Chip set: SoC (System on Chip)

Graphics card: Intel UHD Graphics
Graphics card manufacturer: Intel
Graphics memory: shared-memory

Solid State Drive/SSD: Yes
Memory: 128 GB SSD (I realise I'd have to buy an external hard drive for this laptop)
OS: Windows 10 Home in S mode
Price: 7490 SEK = $ 886

#2: LENOVO IdeaPad 5 (81YH00GMMX)
Specs:

RAM type: DDR4
RAM size: 8 GB
Memory speed: 3200 MHz
Max RAM size: 8 GB
Number of RAM spots: 0
RAM configuration: The included RAM is integrated

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 (4 kernels, 8 threads, 6 MB cache)
Processor manufacturer: Intel®
Processor model: Core™ i5
Processor speed: 1.0 GHz (base), 3.6 GHz (turbo)
Chip set: SoC (System on Chip)

Graphics card: Intel UHD Graphics
Graphics card manufacturer: Intel
Graphics memory: shared-memory

Solid State Drive/SSD: Yes
Memory: 512 GB SSD (M.2 PCIe 3.0 x2 NVMe)
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Price: 8990 SEK = $ 1,063

#3: Acer Nitro 5
Specs:

RAM type: DDR4
RAM size: 8 GB
Number of RAM spots: 2
RAM configuration: 1 x 8 GB

Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 5 4600H Mobile Processor (6 kernels, 12 threads, 11 MB cache)
Processor manufacturer: AMD
Processor model: Ryzen™ 5
Processor speed: 3.0 GHz (base), 4.0 GHz (turbo)
Chip set: Unknown

Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti (4 GB)
Graphics card manufacturer: NVIDIA
Graphics memory: GDDR6

Solid State Drive/SSD: Yes
Memory: 512 GB SSD (PCIe NVMe)
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Price: 8990 SEK = $ 1,063



Thank you so much for helping me out with this - my nightmare is to spend $800-1000 only to find out I can't play the game that I want!

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Nitro 5 without a doubt.

 

[Toothless]

Yep, go with the Acer. Actually has a dGPU in there.

 

[Deleted member 205776]

Acer is a no brainer here.

 

[Vayra86]

Nitro 5, the rest is made for web browsing, not productivity or gaming or anything other than basically using the PC as a high power E-reader.

Important note though, this range of dGPUs in a laptop is prone to heat and makes the laptop prone to throttling under heavy gaming loads. In other words, yes it will game, but you will be making lots of concessions on quality or FPS. Generally not the most comfy way to game, but in the current environment, still good I'd say. However if you can access a similar desktop GPU, its a whole other ball game.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Also as point of note...

Buy a 8GB or 16GB Ram kit. The acer is only configured with one 8GB ram module and running it in that config will lose you about 25-30% of your performance.

You can either buy a ram kit in advance or you can wait till you pick up your laptop then open it up and buy the same part as whatever is already installed. Its an absolute no brainer and the first thing i would do.

Any DDR4- 3200Mhz SO-DIMMs will work if youre buying a new kit.

 

[TSenthusiast]

Nitro 5, the rest is made for web browsing, not productivity or gaming or anything other than basically using the PC as a high power E-reader.

Important note though, this range of dGPUs in a laptop is prone to heat and makes the laptop prone to throttling under heavy gaming loads. In other words, yes it will game, but you will be making lots of concessions on quality or FPS. Generally not the most comfy way to game, but in the current environment, still good I'd say. However if you can access a similar desktop GPU, its a whole other ball game.

Thank you so much for your reply! Are there easy things to do to decrease heating? Like, I don't need to always play the game with highest definition graphics or online, but I don't know what things I can/should change in-game to reduce heating. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Also as point of note...

Buy a 8GB or 16GB Ram kit. The acer is only configured with one 8GB ram module and running it in that config will lose you about 25-30% of your performance.

You can either buy a ram kit in advance or you can wait till you pick up your laptop then open it up and buy the same part as whatever is already installed. Its an absolute no brainer and the first thing i would do.

Any DDR4- 3200Mhz SO-DIMMs will work if youre buying a new kit.

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense! Will check out prices for that too!

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Thank you so much for your reply! Are there easy things to do to decrease heating?

You can try getting a laptop cooling pad like this.

Doesnt need to have RGB unless you want it to but most will come with fans that you can plug into a USB port. Decent ones will also prop up the back of the laptop so its a bit more ergonomic.

Just make sure it fits a 17" laptop

---

Another thing you could do is apply your own thermal paste. Something like Noctua NT-H1 will work a lot better than the stock paste.

 

[QuietBob]

Thank you so much for your reply! Are there easy things to do to decrease heating? Like, I don't need to always play the game with highest definition graphics or online, but I don't know what things I can/should change in-game to reduce heating. Do you have any thoughts on that?

The Sims 3 doesn't seem to have an in-game setting to enable V-sync. In other words, the game will force your graphics chip to always operate at maximum speed, which shouldn't be necessary. While you probably won't have to sacrifice visual quality, you will definitely want to force V-sync on in your graphics chip's control panel, or with an external utility, such as MSI Afterburner.

 

[Vayra86]

Thank you so much for your reply! Are there easy things to do to decrease heating? Like, I don't need to always play the game with highest definition graphics or online, but I don't know what things I can/should change in-game to reduce heating. Do you have any thoughts on that?


Thank you, that makes a lot of sense! Will check out prices for that too!

Cooling pad and especially placing the laptop so it can breathe; keeping it clear of dust, and tweaks with stuff like Throttlestop though that is getting heavily attacked lately. You'll want to run as low powered, highly efficient as possible. Make boosting work in your favor rather than against you.

Throttlestop is developed by a TPU user, go here for more: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/forums/throttlestop.93/

 

[TSenthusiast]

Thanks for the help everyone - I've ordered the computer + the extra RAM and the fan stand. Will look into V-sync and Throttlestop too!