Laptop advice

[michael74]

Good evening all. I could do with some buying advice, I need a laptop for my daughter, it needs to be good enough to run Sims 4 but I don't wish to spend eleventybillion pounds, however I have suffered before from buying cheap and paying twice (see the Acer laptop...). I know Black Friday is soon upon us so there will be some bargains to be had.

 

[Darandio]

What is your budget?

 

[michael74]

Originally I thought £200 but after some looking around I realised I was being a tad optimistic, in reality cheap is good expensive is bad. The problem is, while I am a reasonably sensible man, I know sweet nothing about laptops... So even then I wonder if £300 (shudder) would be enough....

 

[Darandio]

I bought a pair of Lenovo* i3 8gb laptops two years ago for my partner and daughter, both of them are avid Sims 4 players and these laptops run it very well. They were £349 in October 2016, so something comparable must be around for £300 these days.

*I have seen complaints on here about Lenovo products but we have never had a single issue over two laptops and two tablets.

 

[trainmania100]

When buying a laptop, you ideally want to look for one with a clock speed of 1.8 GHZ or more for something like Sims. 8gb RAM would also also be good

This looks like a very good example at a good price, it's 3GHZ clock speed with 8gb ram, looks like it would get the job done and more

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8437589
Best to avoid anything less than 300, Acer and intel celeron/pentium/atom processors aren't made for gaming

 

[EssexGonzo]

I bought one of these for my Mum earlier this year. No idea what is required to run Sims 4 but it seems well made, nice and light and she's very happy with it. From John Lewis.

Lenovo IdeaPad 320 Laptop, Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 14", Platinum Grey

 

[Darandio]

When buying a laptop, you ideally want to look for one with a clock speed of 1.8 GHZ or more for something like Sims. 8gb RAM would also also be good

This looks like a very good example at a good price, it's 3GHZ clock speed with 8gb ram, looks like it would get the job done and more

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8437589
Best to avoid anything less than 300, Acer and intel celeron/pentium/atom processors aren't made for gaming

That one is pretty much the newer version of the pair of Ideapad's I bought, the main difference it now uses AMD.

I don't know how you feel about refurbished, but this is the model I bought the pair of them. It's available at £260 refurbished.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Lenovo-Ide...HDD-Windows-10-Blue-Laptop-I3-5005U/691354611

 

[Darandio]

I bought one of these for my Mum earlier this year. No idea what is required to run Sims 4 but it seems well made, nice and light and she's very happy with it. From John Lewis.

Lenovo IdeaPad 320 Laptop, Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 14", Platinum Grey

The only issue there is a very restrictive hard drive. I've viewed a few similar in the last 15 minutes or so, they don't seem to have an additional conventional hard drive.

 

[dgl]

i5 laptops should be just about doable for the price, and in theory any new i5 laptop should give good performance.

One thing to remember is that clock speed it not everything and that modern intel processors will automatically overclock (turbo mode) when more power is required.

I have a laptop with an 8250u and 8gb ram and it seems OK for rail simulator 2018 and Euro Truck Simulator 2, whilst the processor by default is only 1.6ghz it will go up to 3.2ghz if required.

Also number of processing cores and wheather or not it supports hyperthreading will make a difference esp. if the clock speeds are the same. The cpu ratings on the pass mark website are a good way of comparing power.

Lastly, going for a traditional spinning hard drive rather than a SSD at the lower end will get you a LOT more storage for your money.

 

[michael74]

i5 laptops should be just about doable for the price, and in theory any new i5 laptop should give good performance.

One thing to remember is that clock speed it not everything and that modern intel processors will automatically overclock (turbo mode) when more power is required.

I have a laptop with an 8250u and 8gb ram and it seems OK for rail simulator 2018 and Euro Truck Simulator 2, whilst the processor by default is only 1.6ghz it will go up to 3.2ghz if required.

Also number of processing cores and wheather or not it supports hyperthreading will make a difference esp. if the clock speeds are the same. The cpu ratings on the pass mark website are a good way of comparing power.

Eh?......

 

[michael74]

Lenovo is a funny old brand. We have had a couple of Tablets over the years and what has let them down is the little things, like the micro USB ports breaking. My Mum had a laptop which the ? hard drive or processor (I forget) overheated, apparently it was a know fault which wasn't properly addressed by Lenovo.

 

[Darandio]

Lenovo is a funny old brand. We have had a couple of Tablets over the years and what has let them down is the little things, like the micro USB ports breaking. My Mum had a laptop which the ? hard drive or processor (I forget) overheated, apparently it was a know fault which wasn't properly addressed by Lenovo.

Can't deny i've never seen similar things mentioned, but we've really never had an issue. Maybe we have just been lucky. For all of the negative commentary i've also seen much praise as well.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Good evening all. I could do with some buying advice, I need a laptop for my daughter, it needs to be good enough to run Sims 4 but I don't wish to spend eleventybillion pounds, however I have suffered before from buying cheap and paying twice (see the Acer laptop...). I know Black Friday is soon upon us so there will be some bargains to be had.

I've got a fairly cheapo Acer Windows laptop (cost about £400) and there's nowt wrong with it. I think maybe you were unlucky.

 

[michael74]

The only issue there is a very restrictive hard drive. I've viewed a few similar in the last 15 minutes or so, they don't seem to have an additional conventional hard drive.

What do you mean by very restrictive HD?

 

[Darandio]

What do you mean by very restrictive HD?

The one I quoted in the post has an 128gb SSD which isn't that big. Windows 10 will take 20gb or so, factor in your 15-25% leeway when approaching capacity and there is only 80gb or so available to your daughter. Start adding Sims 4 and any possible expansion packs and it will run out quickly.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, I've noticed a trend towards less storage on laptops of late, possibly because people are using home SANs instead? I did want more capacity so went for a 1TB conventional disk in mine. But a young person may be happy with less as they won't for instance have several hundred GB of music and photos[1] as I do - they'll all be on Spotify for the music and the photos on Google Photos etc.

[1] Roughly 500GB of music and 100GB of photos.

 

[MotCO]

Lenovo is a funny old brand. We have had a couple of Tablets over the years and what has let them down is the little things, like the micro USB ports breaking. My Mum had a laptop which the ? hard drive or processor (I forget) overheated, apparently it was a know fault which wasn't properly addressed by Lenovo.

We've had Lenovo laptops at work for the last 5 years. They are used extensively and have not failed.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We've had Lenovo laptops at work for the last 5 years. They are used extensively and have not failed.

I think the higher priced "work level" Lenovos are better quality than the lower priced consumer ones, same as Dells and HPs.

 

[MotCO]

I've got a fairly cheapo Acer Windows laptop (cost about £400) and there's nowt wrong with it. I think maybe you were unlucky.

Likewise- I've had an Acer laptop for many years (4?), and have had no problems. My wife has a a similar laptop, and I've had to replace the keyboard and battery,and now the chassis is giving up the ghost.

 

[MotCO]

I think the higher priced "work level" Lenovos are better quality than the lower priced consumer ones, same as Dells and HPs.

I work in the public sector. I'm not sure we would have gone for the higher priced versions

 

[Bevan Price]

If you have a good local computer shop, some of them will build a computer to meet your specifications for very reasonable prices. Main problem is sometimes how to distinguish between "good" & "cowboy" shops.

 

[krus_aragon]

Yes, I've noticed a trend towards less storage on laptops of late, possibly because people are using home SANs instead?

We're also seeing the tail end of the switchover from old fashioned spinning platters to solid state hard drives. SSDs haven't quite caught up with the capacity offered by "spinning rust" drives, but they're lighter, use less power, and can also be physically smaller, all of which are attractive attributes for a laptop. As a result, many laptop manufacturers only offer SSDs in their new models.

If your laptop has a SSD in the same 2.5" form factor as the last iterational of conventional hard drive, you could replace it with a larger equivalent for little cost. (That's what I did with my lst purchase.) But if your laptop uses one of the new smaller form factors instead (such as M.2 which is vaguely the size of a USB dongle) then you'd have to buy a large capacity SSD for the upgrade, with a large price tag attached too.

 

[michael74]

The one I quoted in the post has an 128gb SSD which isn't that big. Windows 10 will take 20gb or so, factor in your 15-25% leeway when approaching capacity and there is only 80gb or so available to your daughter. Start adding Sims 4 and any possible expansion packs and it will run out quickly.

I see, indeed as others have since mentioned, whereas I have over 4gb of music, my daughter listens via the cloud.

Likewise- I've had an Acer laptop for many years (4?), and have had no problems. My wife has a a similar laptop, and I've had to replace the keyboard and battery,and now the chassis is giving up the ghost.

My Acer hinges snapped the day after the warranty, I was never impressed with the build quality in general.

If you have a good local computer shop, some of them will build a computer to meet your specifications for very reasonable prices. Main problem is sometimes how to distinguish between "good" & "cowboy" shops.

I remember walking into one once asking if they could fix my Acer, he laughed at me and said, "serves you right for buying cheap from overseas and not using a local shop, I have no sympathy"... Funnily enough it wasn't open long lol

Thank you all for your replies and advice, I shall mull it over.

 

[Puffing Devil]

We're also seeing the tail end of the switchover from old fashioned spinning platters to solid state hard drives. SSDs haven't quite caught up with the capacity offered by "spinning rust" drives, but they're lighter, use less power, and can also be physically smaller, all of which are attractive attributes for a laptop. As a result, many laptop manufacturers only offer SSDs in their new models.

Most importantly, SSDs are FAST. I wouldn't consider a machine without one, unless if it was cheap enough to warrant me swapping out the drive as soon as I got it home.

 

[hooverboy]

i5 laptops should be just about doable for the price, and in theory any new i5 laptop should give good performance.

One thing to remember is that clock speed it not everything and that modern intel processors will automatically overclock (turbo mode) when more power is required.

I have a laptop with an 8250u and 8gb ram and it seems OK for rail simulator 2018 and Euro Truck Simulator 2, whilst the processor by default is only 1.6ghz it will go up to 3.2ghz if required.

Also number of processing cores and wheather or not it supports hyperthreading will make a difference esp. if the clock speeds are the same. The cpu ratings on the pass mark website are a good way of comparing power.

Lastly, going for a traditional spinning hard drive rather than a SSD at the lower end will get you a LOT more storage for your money.

maybe more storage capacity, but SSD is MUCH faster for operation and boot up.

I guess it depends what you want it for. If it's just a cheap lightweight casual use item then HDD will be fine. if you need it for any more productivity stuff like excel sheets or more "hard" gaming then go the SSD route, but go for a bigger capacity.
SSD's slow down markedly the more used up space they have.

for desktop use I wold NEVER go back to purely HDD, solid state drives are night and day difference, so I use one as a boot drive and additional HDD for storage.

you won't get much in laptop terms for £200 these days.
this is a pretty good spec for £300 if you can stretch to that
https://www.ebuyer.com/843078-asus-x540la-laptop-x540la-dm1052t

amd is better for integrated graphics,if you are concerned about gaming.
intel is better for browsing speed etc...

Unfortunately at this price level you would be stuck with intel integrated graphics which is generally 50% the performance of AMD.
(the high end intel laptops have a seperate nvidia card)

however, the performance of AMD cpu side in A series chips is about 50% of intel,albeit they are generally a lot cheaper too.
so it's horses for courses.