New Laptop/PC Advice -Please Read the Opening Post

[tolgacansezer]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to buy Macbook Air 2020 but I've a question. Can I run Football Manager 2020 effortless on it?

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air (left one)

[JordanMilly]

52 minutes ago, tolgacansezer said:

Hi everyone,

I'm going to buy Macbook Air 2020 but I've a question. Can I run Football Manager 2020 effortless on it?

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air (left one)

No, it won't. It has a processor that'll only run it at a half-decent level when it's doing it's full turbo speed (which it may well not do, due to temperature), and the processor is not one designed for much gaming - more doing work and watching Netflix. It doesn't have a dedicated graphics card, which will mean you only running the game in low/medium graphics, and it doesn't have a huge amount of hard drive space. You can honestly get a laptop significantly better than that for the same price, which is the same as I advised when you asked this same question a week ago.

If you're getting this wanting to play FM on it a lot, you're going to end up frustrated.

[tolgacansezer]

2 minutes ago, JordanMillward_1 said:

No, it won't. It has a processor that'll only run it at a half-decent level when it's doing it's full turbo speed (which it may well not do, due to temperature), and the processor is not one designed for much gaming - more doing work and watching Netflix. It doesn't have a dedicated graphics card, which will mean you only running the game in low/medium graphics, and it doesn't have a huge amount of hard drive space. You can honestly get a laptop significantly better than that for the same price, which is the same as I advised when you asked this same question a week ago.

If you're getting this wanting to play FM on it a lot, you're going to end up frustrated.

Thanks again.

[Gee_Simpson]

Honestly, MacBook's and anything made by Apple is so overpriced it's ridiculous. 

[TF]

So looking to build a new PC using PC Specialist or a similar site. Is there anyone that come up with a build for me, that would be capable of running most or all leagues at a nice speed, but is also capable of running the latest games. 

My budget is anything up to £1300.

Thanks.

[Gangor]

6 hours ago, TF said:

So looking to build a new PC using PC Specialist or a similar site. Is there anyone that come up with a build for me, that would be capable of running most or all leagues at a nice speed, but is also capable of running the latest games. 

My budget is anything up to £1300.

Thanks.

What resolution will you be playing graphically intensive games in?

[Smurf]

9 hours ago, TF said:

So looking to build a new PC using PC Specialist or a similar site. Is there anyone that come up with a build for me, that would be capable of running most or all leagues at a nice speed, but is also capable of running the latest games. 

My budget is anything up to £1300.

Thanks.

Ambitious and unrealisitc. 

Most computers can run all leauges - just depends on whether you're happy with the speed. 

Latest games this year will be old games next year, and the latest games in 4 or 5 years might be a lot more demanding. 

 

To get near your budget to what you're asking for

Chassis & Display
Nova Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1^st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB Intel® H10 NVMe SSD + 32GB Intel® Optane™ (up to 2300MB/sR | 1300MB/sW)

Price: £1,444.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/nova-15/Er4qQKUkzB/

[Brother Ben]

13 hours ago, TF said:

So looking to build a new PC using PC Specialist or a similar site. Is there anyone that come up with a build for me, that would be capable of running most or all leagues at a nice speed, but is also capable of running the latest games. 

My budget is anything up to £1300.

Thanks.

I would genuinely look to build your own.  You could probably save a quarter of the price.  Honestly its easier than you think and very rewarding.  Look up a few videos online you'll see how easy it is these days.  I only spent a few days researching before I did it myself.

I can recommend the parts for you.  Do you need a monitor and a mouse and keyboard?

Assuming you don't then this would be what you can get for that budget

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/qnBD4D/excellent-intel-gamingstreaming-build

This would save over £300 compared to PC Specialist 

Obviously the graphics card would be overkill for FM but you did say you wanted to do other gaming.  If it was only for FM then I would look to save on the graphics card and get an i7 processor

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Brother Ben

[Smurf]

10 minutes ago, Brother Ben said:

I would genuinely look to build your own.  You could probably save a quarter of the price.  Honestly its easier than you think and very rewarding.  Look up a few videos online you'll see how easy it is these days.  I only spent a few days researching before I did it myself.

I can recommend the parts for you.  Do you need a monitor and a mouse and keyboard?

Assuming you don't then this would be what you can get for that budget

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/qnBD4D/excellent-intel-gamingstreaming-build

 

Just noticed they said PC and not laptop! Wow, too early I guess!!!
 

@TF

PC specialist will be a custom build - I guess you pay a bit extra as someone puts it together for you.

Have you got a monitor? 

All in all - building one is simple enough - as per above.

 

[Gangor]

3 hours ago, Smurf said:

Ambitious and unrealisitc. 

Most computers can run all leauges - just depends on whether you're happy with the speed. 

Latest games this year will be old games next year, and the latest games in 4 or 5 years might be a lot more demanding. 

 

To get near your budget to what you're asking for

Chassis & Display
Nova Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1^st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB Intel® H10 NVMe SSD + 32GB Intel® Optane™ (up to 2300MB/sR | 1300MB/sW)

Price: £1,444.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/nova-15/Er4qQKUkzB/

@TF that's fair, though you could skimp a bit more on the graphics card if you don't need ultra graphics settings on everything. I'm playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on a 1650 Super and it looks fine. Maybe a 1660 Super or Ti would be a better option? Also faster RAM is recommended for Ryzen - 3600MHz ideally though 3200 would be ok. 

Edit, aha! I didn't realise @Smurf had quoted a laptop! The specs he's suggested are reasonable though - that's a desktop class processor.

Edit2: You don't need optane unless you have a hard drive rather than an SSD. Don't do that.

Edited June 1, 2020 by Gangor

[Brother Ben]

1 minute ago, Gangor said:

@TF that's fair, though you could skimp a bit more on the graphics card if you don't need ultra graphics settings on everything. I'm playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on a 1650 Super and it looks fine. Maybe a 1660 Super or Ti would be a better option? Also faster RAM is recommended for Ryzen - 3600MHz ideally though 3200 would be ok. 

I wouldn't bother with 3600, what you gain in MHz you lose in latency.  You're quite correct about the graphics though

[Smurf]

1 minute ago, Brother Ben said:

I wouldn't bother with 3600, what you gain in MHz you lose in latency.  You're quite correct about the graphics though

I was going for a higher graphics card to try future proof it - but you're probably right about cutting back on it - not so important for FM - but for latest games, in 3 or 4 years time... just trying to push it a bit further.

[Gangor]

1 minute ago, Brother Ben said:

I wouldn't bother with 3600, what you gain in MHz you lose in latency.  You're quite correct about the graphics though

Performance testing shows increased performance as you increase RAM speed. There are diminishing returns though and 3600 is often at a premium, which is why I suggested 3200. If the cost isn't too much different though there is a benefit to be had from 3600MHz RAM

[Brother Ben]

1 hour ago, Gangor said:

Performance testing shows increased performance as you increase RAM speed. There are diminishing returns though and 3600 is often at a premium, which is why I suggested 3200. If the cost isn't too much different though there is a benefit to be had from 3600MHz RAM

Fair point

[RMace1986]

Hi chaps,

Upgrading to desktop from laptop and been sent this build as a suggestion.

Wondering if you had any opinion on how well this will run?

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor

MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory

Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card

 

It's all a foreign language to me quite frankly!

[TF]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll answer a few of the questions to further help with my build.

I do have a rather decent Asus monitor, had a decent gaming setup a few years a go that my friend helped with, however had to sell it for parts early last year due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

In terms of how the games run, graphically they don't have to be Ultra, running smooth on High would be more than okay for myself. I'll mostly be playing FM, but to have the option to go and play other games would be great as I have a decent Steam library.

Keyboard and Mouse are needed, but I have a separate budget for those so that's not a problem. I can afford to go over budget where it is worth doing so to future proof my build. 

And in terms of building my own rig, I have the know how having seen friends do so, just not the time, so would rather pay for the convenience.

I'm just very out of date with the latest graphics cards, processors and so forth, so once again thanks for the help received so far.

 

@Brother Ben @Smurf @Gangor

[Brother Ben]

@TF I’ll have a look for you.

FM isn’t too demanding on desktop graphics cards, my old GTX 760 plays it on very high so would you be happy with good enough for FM or are you looking a little better? I ask because the difference in price is pretty massive

edit-I’m looking now and I’ll be honest it’s heartbreaking looking at the prices, any chance of getting a friend to build it for you?

Edited June 1, 2020 by Brother Ben

[Smurf]

@TF 

How about something like this

Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1^st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

 

Price: £1,331.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/HU2T6rsc9R/

[TF]

@Brother Ben Sorry, didn't specify properly. Good enough for more demanding games, unsure as to what the more demanding games are at the moment, but am thinking something like Red Dead 2 as you mentioned earlier. 

However as said earlier, the PC will primarily be used for FM as I game on console otherwise for the easiness of plug and play, but having the option to play more demanding games on the PC would be a bonus.

 

@Smurf Will give that a look at. Going to hazard a guess that an AMD processor is better value over Intel? 

[Brother Ben]

6 minutes ago, Smurf said:

@TF 

How about something like this

Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1^st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

 

Price: £1,331.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/HU2T6rsc9R/

That's pretty much what I was going to recommend but maybe without the liquid cooler, I hear Ryzen's don't really need them so I would stick with the stock cooler which I hear good things about.  Also (and this is personal preference I would just go with the standard 256gb SSD as I could upgrade at a later date and still keep the drive. The difference I would spend on the next generation of graphics card to future proof myself and go for the higher MHz RAM which Ryzen really likes.

All about opinions and personal preference really

Processor (CPU) - AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)

Motherboard - ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!

Memory (RAM) - 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card - 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

Storage Drive - 256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)

Comes in at £1,324.00 inc. VAT

Not sure how you save quotes on that website but obviously just pick the above from the dropdowns, the price is based on the cheapest case too so you'll need to add that to the price but its really personal preference with that sort of thing

[Brother Ben]

1 hour ago, TF said:

@Brother Ben Sorry, didn't specify properly. Good enough for more demanding games, unsure as to what the more demanding games are at the moment, but am thinking something like Red Dead 2 as you mentioned earlier. 

However as said earlier, the PC will primarily be used for FM as I game on console otherwise for the easiness of plug and play, but having the option to play more demanding games on the PC would be a bonus.

 

@Smurf Will give that a look at. Going to hazard a guess that an AMD processor is better value over Intel? 

Either mine or Smurfs would be great for your use case as the processor and motherboard combo is SO much cheaper, I will have a look into intel as it does perform slightly better in FM due to it's raw GHz and single core performance.

This is the Intel build here, as I said it will perform better for FM however there will be compromise on the graphics card. Personally this is what I would buy

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache

Motherboard - ASUS® PRIME Z390-P: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM) - 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card - 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

Storage Drive - 256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)

Power Supply - CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Processor Cooling - CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition

£1,326.00 - inc VAT and Delivery

Edit - Actually didn't have to compromise at all surprisingly. Even threw in a much better motherboard.  I would definitely recommend the Intel above the AMD.  Again you may have to add a few quid to get the case you prefer.

Any questions about my choices let me know, based on my calculations they are charging you around £250 for labour - https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/yyg83t That of course does not factor in Windows 10 so assuming you were compelled to pay full retail price that figure goes down to £150  

Found how to link to the configuration here you go

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/Xq6ewZjRwt/

Here is the Performance benchmarking thread that shows intels continuing superiority for FM

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Brother Ben

[Gangor]

@TF

Personally I don't buy into the concept of buying what is currently a totally overkill CPU to "future proof". Let me give a couple of reasons.

1) You could save the money to upgrade your CPU to something even better in a few years time. A R5 3600 is likely going to be perfectly fine for the next 3-4 years and at that point there will be new technologies (actually functional real time ray tracing anyone?) that will make upgrading again worthwhile. 

2) Games aren't likely to need more than 8 cores/16 threads for the next 7 years or so. The reason? Both the new X-Box and Playstation have this configuration. 

3) The motherboard selected is likely to struggle with the Ryzen 9 if you ever get it under full load, so to make the most of it you'd need to spend even more on a better one.

I would suggest choosing your build with the following guidelines - 

Ryzen 5 3600, Ryzen 7 3700X or at most the Ryzen 7 3800X as your processor. The last two are basically the same but the 3800X is running at a higher speed out of the box. Personally with your budget I'd go with the 3700X.

Choose a motherboard that has four dimm slots for RAM and populate only two of them with 8GB 3600MHz sticks. The Ryzen microarchetecture benefits greatly from faster memory, it's designed to handle up to 3600MHz and that's about as high as you can get from mainstream suppliers. This configuration will allow you to upgrade in a couple of years if necessary.

Get an appropriate graphics card for the resolution you want to play at. 

1080p - 1660 super/ti or 2060/2060 Super if you want real time ray tracing. 

1440p - 5700xt or 2070/2070 Super for RTRT

4k - 2080 or maybe 2080 Super? (this will blow your budget though)

Here's what I'd go with: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/9MR5PdEqpQ/

Note I removed a couple of add ons which don't add a huge amount of value (custom cooler - the included one is fine unless you overclock) wifi card and spent a bit more on the power supply. If you might be tempted to upgrade in the next 3 years or so I'd go down to the R5. It's really a decent saving and performance in current games is basically the same, especially with this GPU.

[Gangor]

26 minutes ago, Brother Ben said:

Either mine or Smurfs would be great for your use case as the processor and motherboard combo is SO much cheaper, I will have a look into intel as it does perform slightly better in FM due to it's raw GHz and single core performance.

This is the Intel build here, as I said it will perform better for FM however there will be compromise on the graphics card. Personally this is what I would buy

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache

Motherboard - ASUS® PRIME Z390-P: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM) - 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card - 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

Storage Drive - 256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)

Power Supply - CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Processor Cooling - CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition

£1,326.00 - inc VAT and Delivery

Edit - Actually didn't have to compromise at all surprisingly. Even threw in a much better motherboard.  I would definitely recommend the Intel above the AMD.  Again you may have to add a few quid to get the case you prefer.

Any questions about my choices let me know  

Found how to link to the configuration here you go

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/Xq6ewZjRwt/

Here is the Performance benchmarking thread that shows intels continuing superiority for FM

 

This is a decent point - Though current Intel CPUs have their limitations, they are faster in some games such as FM. In that case it might be worth waiting for the 10-series (ie the 10700k or 10600k) since they are giving higher thread counts and/or hyperthreading for basically the same (recommended) price. They are already on Amazon so shouldn't be too long until system integrators pick them up. Bear in mind they are going to use a great deal more power to get the same performance - it might be worth investing in more expensive cooling if you go down the Intel route. 

[Smurf]

Just to say mine was selected by budget based on ranking of parts and not on personal preference. 

[Brother Ben]

51 minutes ago, Gangor said:

This is a decent point - Though current Intel CPUs have their limitations, they are faster in some games such as FM. In that case it might be worth waiting for the 10-series (ie the 10700k or 10600k) since they are giving higher thread counts and/or hyperthreading for basically the same (recommended) price. They are already on Amazon so shouldn't be too long until system integrators pick them up. Bear in mind they are going to use a great deal more power to get the same performance - it might be worth investing in more expensive cooling if you go down the Intel route. 

Very good point and they actually do them on PC specialist I just went back and looked and unsurprisingly they'll charge another 40 odd quid for it.

I'd suggest it's definitely worth that and I agree with your assessment about core counts and the hyper-threading

Edit - I actually think they are making less on this deal when you factor in the cost of the motherboard

@TF here's the link to the 10th generation intel version of the build I posted earlier. As Gangor says you could go for a better cooling solution but i'm assuming you won't be overclocking just yet

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z490-pc/jnZyzsSWMG/

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Brother Ben

[finchy2130]

Hello All,

I’ve not bought a laptop in a while and I’ll only be using it for Football Manager 2020/2021really. Please could you advise which laptop is best for a budget between £700-£900. I’ve been looking around for the last four weeks and really haven’t got a clue which is best and I’m getting more and more confused. When I play the game I like trying to take a non-league team (8th or 9th Tier teams) to the Premiership so it would need to take a few leagues and run ok.  Has anyone got any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Take care 😀

[npjones88]

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-nitro-5-15-6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205931-pdt.html

 

Hi all.

firstly, this is an incredible thread. As someone who knows little about computers, the information available here and the advice is a godsend. 

I have a 2013 MacBook Pro which has ploughed on for me these last seven years but is giving up the ghost and now in need of its third new charger so the time has come to move on. 

Having never needed a Mac, I now understand that a windows machine will be much better for my needs!

Im looking for something which will handle the brutality of running FM all day long on weekends, whilst also fitting in the very occasional game of theme hospital, civilisation or other lower intensity video games from time to time, browsing the net and watching YouTube etc. 

Budget could stretch but if something could do us a good job for 600-800 I’d be thrilled. Hoping to get into something which will serve well and happy to pay a bit more to future proof. 

The above deal seems to tick all the right boxes but I’m sure I’m missing something obvious as it seems too good for the price. 

Would appreciate any advice or feedback on it. 

Thanks. 

[Smurf]

1 hour ago, finchy2130 said:

Hello All,

I’ve not bought a laptop in a while and I’ll only be using it for Football Manager 2020/2021really. Please could you advise which laptop is best for a budget between £700-£900. I’ve been looking around for the last four weeks and really haven’t got a clue which is best and I’m getting more and more confused. When I play the game I like trying to take a non-league team (8th or 9th Tier teams) to the Premiership so it would need to take a few leagues and run ok.  Has anyone got any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Take care 😀

Something along the lines of this

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q87EK.002-Acer-Aspire-7-Gaming-A715-75G_2934480.html

 

45 minutes ago, npjones88 said:

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-nitro-5-15-6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205931-pdt.html

Hi all.

firstly, this is an incredible thread. As someone who knows little about computers, the information available here and the advice is a godsend. 

I have a 2013 MacBook Pro which has ploughed on for me these last seven years but is giving up the ghost and now in need of its third new charger so the time has come to move on. 

Having never needed a Mac, I now understand that a windows machine will be much better for my needs!

Im looking for something which will handle the brutality of running FM all day long on weekends, whilst also fitting in the very occasional game of theme hospital, civilisation or other lower intensity video games from time to time, browsing the net and watching YouTube etc. 

Budget could stretch but if something could do us a good job for 600-800 I’d be thrilled. Hoping to get into something which will serve well and happy to pay a bit more to future proof. 

The above deal seems to tick all the right boxes but I’m sure I’m missing something obvious as it seems too good for the price. 

Would appreciate any advice or feedback on it. 

Thanks. 

See link above

[finchy2130]

Thanks Smurf

[npjones88]

1 hour ago, Smurf said:

Something along the lines of this

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q87EK.002-Acer-Aspire-7-Gaming-A715-75G_2934480.html

Appreciate the link Smurf. As you can imagine, you’ve set a challenge and I’ve spent the last couple of hours educating myself and trying to beat your deal.

 

The processor on the Acer you linked ranks about 100 in the list and I’ve found one which is comparable in all specs but has an i5 10300h cpu (ranks around 75) and the graphics card might be slightly better too, although comparisons are hard to find as the newer card has only been out a couple of months (gtx1650ti vs gtx1650)

i did all these comparisons and then saw this laptop is currently out of stock (figures). That aside, does this one look like an improvement over the Acer you linked, or have I cocked something up with my research and comparisons?

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-series-3-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-ti-256-gb-ssd-10206064-pdt.html

Sidebar: is there an easier way of knowing how good a processor is when browsing than constantly referring back to Notebookcheck.net? 

Edited June 2, 2020 by npjones88
Grammar

[Smurf]

32 minutes ago, npjones88 said:

Appreciate the link Smurf. As you can imagine, you’ve set a challenge and I’ve spent the last couple of hours educating myself and trying to beat your deal.

 

The processor on the Acer you linked ranks about 100 in the list and I’ve found one which is comparable in all specs but has an i5 10300h cpu (ranks around 75) and the graphics card might be slightly better too, although comparisons are hard to find as the newer card has only been out a couple of months (gtx1650ti vs gtx1650)

i did all these comparisons and then saw this laptop is currently out of stock (figures). That aside, does this one look like an improvement over the Acer you linked, or have I cocked something up with my research and comparisons?

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-series-3-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-ti-256-gb-ssd-10206064-pdt.html

Sidebar: is there an easier way of knowing how good a processor is when browsing than constantly referring back to Notebookcheck.net? 

Well for starters there are comparison sites

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-9300H-vs-Intel-Core-i5-10300H/m744904vsm1027882

This ranks the 9300H as being better - but you have to be careful with comparison sites and see how many Samples they use - basically if the 9300H has 5000 samples (no. of submited tests) compared to the other one with 10 samples - it's not really a fair comparison.

I don't really see any major gains with the 10300H - other than it's newer which might make the architecture of the chip more open to better updates in the future.

 

The main difference between the 2 is that the 10300H can support faster RAM - but the difference here in terms of FM is neglible in RAM speeds and average computer users might not even be able to notice the difference. 

This site explains faster RAM https://www.howtogeek.com/303455/how-does-ram-speed-and-timing-affect-my-pcs-performance/

But this excerpt fromt the article explains it brililiantly!

Quote

Honestly, it doesn’t mean a lot. While faster, lower latency RAM will indeed increase the technical performance of your computer, it works at such a fundamental level that it’s almost impossible for us flesh-and-blood humans to actually appreciate the difference. It’s like the comparing Data from Star Trek and C3P0 from Star Wars—if one can calculate the odds of survival in one billionth of a second and the other takes two billionths, does it really matter which one you ask?

Faster RAM will give your PC better performance in certain specific benchmarks, but in terms of actual benefit to most users, having more RAM available is almost always better than having faster RAM.

So if anything go for more RAM if you can!

 

Honestly - I'd go for the one with the newest processor - which is the one  you linked to - I don't frequent a lot of sites for research - I just use one which is easy to use - and if you find similar/better specs elsewhere then great.

 

However, the one I linked to has a larger Hard Drive - 256gb might be a bit on the small side these days - but adequate enough for now - but the one i linked to has 512gb.

Hard drive should be easy to upgrade if you needed.

 

I'd weigh up if you want the newest processor model and less storage. Or a slightly older processor with double the storage.

Either would be fine for FM - so up to yourself.

[RMace1986]

On 01/06/2020 at 14:02, RMace1986 said:

Hi chaps,

Upgrading to desktop from laptop and been sent this build as a suggestion.

Wondering if you had any opinion on how well this will run?

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor

MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory

Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card

 

It's all a foreign language to me quite frankly!

Any opinions guys? Appreciate this has dropped onto a previous page so might have been missed.

[Smurf]

3 hours ago, RMace1986 said:

Any opinions guys? Appreciate this has dropped onto a previous page so might have been missed.

Yeh it will be good. 

[Gangor]

4 hours ago, RMace1986 said:

Any opinions guys? Appreciate this has dropped onto a previous page so might have been missed.

Seems fine. The 2600 is a generation behind, but it's still very good value. The only possible critique is that the motherboard is one of the highest rated, but also most expensive, of the B450s. Unless you are planning to overclock or to upgrade in the future to a higher tier CPU I'd suggest looking at something less expensive. It's a bit out of kilter with the idea of getting a last gen processor to save a few pennies. 

Something that's been left out is the power supply. Make sure you go for something 80 Plus rated, preferably bronze or better, I'd suggest around 450-550w.

Edit, oh also the brand of the memory doesn't matter. That's a decent speed to go for but choose the specific product based on price and/or looks of the heat spreader/RGB features. The memory itself is basically a commodity. 

Edit2: Argh, almost forgot. Get a SSD, preferably NVMe, for your boot drive. Unless you plan to save a lot of media on your computer it's probably not necessary to also have a hard drive to start off with.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Gangor

[RMace1986]

Thanks for your comments guys

Will take a look 

[mrwarman2019]

Good Afternoon,

would an early 2015 macbook run FM20?

1.6 cpu

8gb ram

intel hd 6000 

mac os

 

thanks so much 

 

[Smurf]

1 hour ago, mrwarman2019 said:

Good Afternoon,

would an early 2015 macbook run FM20?

1.6 cpu

8gb ram

intel hd 6000 

mac os

 

thanks so much 

 

Might be ok - min spec for mac is 1.8ghz though.

[johnwalker]

Hi all, 

I have read this thread over the last week or two as the chassis on my laptop is breaking near the charging port which is making charging it an ever increasingly difficult task.

I'm on the lookout for a new laptop and I would really appreciate some advice on what would best suit my play style in my budget range.

A new laptop would almost exclusively be used for football manager, I don't play other games, and I still use the 2d engine. I watch goals in 3d and that's it, having a laptop that's better suited to running 3d won't make me any more likely to use it... I'm old skool like that!

I think based on the above would mean I'm almost exclusively looking to be able to process the game as fast as possible. 

My budget is around the £550 mark, but could probably stretch an extra £50.

Thanks in advance. 

[Smurf]

21 minutes ago, johnwalker said:

Hi all, 

I have read this thread over the last week or two as the chassis on my laptop is breaking near the charging port which is making charging it an ever increasingly difficult task.

I'm on the lookout for a new laptop and I would really appreciate some advice on what would best suit my play style in my budget range.

A new laptop would almost exclusively be used for football manager, I don't play other games, and I still use the 2d engine. I watch goals in 3d and that's it, having a laptop that's better suited to running 3d won't make me any more likely to use it... I'm old skool like that!

I think based on the above would mean I'm almost exclusively looking to be able to process the game as fast as possible. 

My budget is around the £550 mark, but could probably stretch an extra £50.

Thanks in advance. 

https://www.box.co.uk/ASUS-M509DA-BQ321T_2886177.html

[Gangor]

51 minutes ago, johnwalker said:

Hi all, 

I have read this thread over the last week or two as the chassis on my laptop is breaking near the charging port which is making charging it an ever increasingly difficult task.

I'm on the lookout for a new laptop and I would really appreciate some advice on what would best suit my play style in my budget range.

A new laptop would almost exclusively be used for football manager, I don't play other games, and I still use the 2d engine. I watch goals in 3d and that's it, having a laptop that's better suited to running 3d won't make me any more likely to use it... I'm old skool like that!

I think based on the above would mean I'm almost exclusively looking to be able to process the game as fast as possible. 

My budget is around the £550 mark, but could probably stretch an extra £50.

Thanks in advance. 

The soon to be released Ryzen 5 4600u is looking excellent and laptops containing it should be in this price range. More immediately @Smurf's suggestion looks very good spec-wise. 

[Smurf]

1 hour ago, Gangor said:

The soon to be released Ryzen 5 4600u is looking excellent and laptops containing it should be in this price range. More immediately @Smurf's suggestion looks very good spec-wise. 

Thanks. It's not released yet, so can't estimate prices just yet. 

Be interested to see when it is released. 

[Smurf]

@GangorMeant to add - more importantly, when it is released it might push price down for this model. 

Not sure when it's released, but if they can wait then sobeit.

[Jayesse]

Hey guys. I’m not really a massive PC gamer and I’m planning on buying the MacBook Air for work/uni. The only game I would play is FM20. How well does it run on the new MacBook Air? Is it capable of running 3D graphic decently well and also how many leagues/databases can it handle? Thanks :)

[Jayesse]

Hi guys.

I’m looking for a new laptop preferably within the price of £400-£550, that can load four divisions from England, and the top couple divisions from major leagues (top 5 in Europe, maybe Brazil and Argentina.) Is this realistic? I’m not massively fussed about 3D graphics apart from maybe replays, and was thinking of maybe a Lenovo IdeaPad. Are there any better options with the similar sleek design of the IdeaPad or should I just go for the IdeaPad? If needed I could push my budget up to £650. Thanks in advance.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Jayesse

[Smurf]

12 minutes ago, Jayesse said:

Hi guys.

I’m looking for a new laptop preferably within the price of £400-£550, that can load four divisions from England, and the top couple divisions from major leagues (top 5 in Europe, maybe Brazil and Argentina.) Is this realistic? I’m not massively fussed about 3D graphics apart from maybe replays, and was thinking of maybe a Lenovo IdeaPad. Are there any better options with the similar sleek design of the IdeaPad or should I just go for the IdeaPad? If needed I could push my budget up to £650. Thanks in advance.

https://www.box.co.uk/53010WHT-001-Honor-MagicBook-14_2916295.html

https://www.box.co.uk/ASUS-M509DA-BQ321T_2886177.html

[DeanDragsnes]

Hi guys, 

I literally have no idea about laptops, but I’m looking at buying a new one as the one I’m using is painfully slow when playing fm. 
 

budget between 500-700, just looking to load around 5/6 countries & only use the old fashioned 2d option during games.

does anybody have any suggestions? And would I notice the difference between one suggested & current laptop? 

thanks in advance

[Smurf]

12 hours ago, DeanDragsnes said:

Hi guys, 

I literally have no idea about laptops, but I’m looking at buying a new one as the one I’m using is painfully slow when playing fm. 

budget between 500-700, just looking to load around 5/6 countries & only use the old fashioned 2d option during games.

This will do you a good few years

https://www.box.co.uk/5YY93EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec0019na_2916989.html

 

[DeanDragsnes]

2 hours ago, Smurf said:

This will do you a good few years

https://www.box.co.uk/5YY93EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec0019na_2916989.html

 

Thanks for the help, 

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1975615?clickSR=slp:term:hp pavilion 15:6:26:2

is this the same laptop? As I said before I have no clue about laptops

thanks   

[Smurf]

19 minutes ago, DeanDragsnes said:

Thanks for the help, 

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1975615?clickSR=slp:term:hp pavilion 15:6:26:2

is this the same laptop? As I said before I have no clue about laptops

thanks   

Not at all

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-3550H-vs-Intel-Core-i7-8565U/3403vs3308

The 3550H is ahead by a good bit.

[DPLFC94]

I am looking to upgrade my PC as I have recently got into playing FM and my current system is slow even with just a couple of leagues loaded. I have found one that seems good and in budget but would like a more knowledgeable opinion on how this system would handle the game such as how many leagues I could realistically play and what level of detail the match engine could run on. The link to the system is below, any help would be greatly appreciated!

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/refurbished-refurbished-pc-specialist-vortex-minerva-pro-core-i5-8400-16gb-a2-pcs-d1348512/version.asp