FM24 - PC/Laptop advice thread *** PLEASE READ OPENING POST BEFORE POSTING ***

[jens_dewit]

4 hours ago, TopToffee said:

Personally at that budget I'd 100% go with the M1 MacBook Air (there's not really any need for you to shell out for the M2 for your uses, unless you DESPERATELY want the new form factor). Especially if you've used Macs before - meaning you won't have the adaptation period to go through. The M1 Air can be picked up for ~£900.

Apple had trouble with their keyboards for a few years (2016-2019 I think), but the latest iteration (which the M1 Air has) is absolutely exceptional.

Obviously you won't be able to play the Xbox edition, but FM23 Touch is coming to Apple Arcade (which also presumably means it will be optimised for Apple Silicon, so should run brilliantly without completely hammering battery life)

Just my 2 cents.

Makes my mouth water, but given my previous experience I'd need to go with the 16GB RAM option and that immediately makes for a 1500€ price tag. Even though it's only slightly above budget, I find that's A LOT when there are cheaper options with similar specs and more RAM/ROM options. :/

[bcfcjacko]

Hi

Looking for a laptop around £500-£600 from Currys (I get discount) which will be used for general browsing and solely FM22/23 as far as gaming is concerned. Would this do the trick? If not, is there anything else which would be better suited?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hp-15seq2510sa-15.6-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-silver-10225070.html?gbraid=0AAAAAD7JKSJJ6-MWc8YjNxNEBqkqUDL62&istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istFeedId=4d7eb93e-055f-499d-8ee5-1cdcc50d67d1&istItemId=pitiqpmmx&istBid=t&srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~1011 (Shopping Ads) Laptops - New Term 2022~1011 (Shopping Ads) Laptops - New Term 2022 ad group~Exact~71700000098675515~&mctag=gg_goog_7904&kwid=GOOGLE&device=m&ds_kids=92700073002948240&tgtid=1011 (Shopping Ads) Laptops - New Term 2022&&gbraid=0AAAAAD7JKSJJ6-MWc8YjNxNEBqkqUDL62&gclid=CjwKCAjwyaWZBhBGEiwACslQo0RDX40GUa7YFQ2gCH-UlXG6VTwu_wtzykBCT5ZXCPgTZ0tYp_jRvBoCXeUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks!

[Smurf]

9 hours ago, bcfcjacko said:

Looking for a laptop around £500-£600 from Currys (I get discount)

How much is the discount?

Is it £500-£600 with your discount?

Or can you go higher with your discount?
 

This is good

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/huawei-matebook-16-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10241914.html

But it's £100 over the £600 budget - but don't know what way you're applying a discount?
Does your discount get you in the £600 range?

[Smurf]

On 19/09/2022 at 21:19, jens_dewit said:

Hi,

I have kind of a specific ask: I'm buying a laptop for my freelance (copywriting) activities. Stands to reason that a great typing experience is my n°1 priority, but I'd like to be able to play FM Xbox Edition (I think this is the PC alternative to FM Touch?) as well. In the past I've used a Macbook Air and Dell XPS13 for work and I loved those typing experiences. Newer Macbooks I hear are lesser in that regard and Dell XPS13 is expensive and often times buggy.

My challenge is that I want a decent laptop to work on, mainly for typing, and with enough power for FM, but I don't want to spend an extra 500 if I can avoid it, just to get that smooth typing experience... In theory, my budget is around 1000-1200£.

Cheers for any tips!

What typing are you doing? What software are you using?

 

20 hours ago, TopToffee said:

Personally at that budget I'd 100% go with the M1 MacBook Air (there's not really any need for you to shell out for the M2 for your uses, unless you DESPERATELY want the new form factor). Especially if you've used Macs before - meaning you won't have the adaptation period to go through. The M1 Air can be picked up for ~£900.

Apple had trouble with their keyboards for a few years (2016-2019 I think), but the latest iteration (which the M1 Air has) is absolutely exceptional.

Obviously you won't be able to play the Xbox edition, but FM23 Touch is coming to Apple Arcade (which also presumably means it will be optimised for Apple Silicon, so should run brilliantly without completely hammering battery life)

Just my 2 cents.

There's absolutely no need to go with M1 MacBook Air (which overheats by the way when under load and gets hot) to spend £1k on a laptop for typing.

You can get A really good laptop to play FM and type.

But depends completely on software the user is going to be using. 

MacBook Air are ok - but limited screensizes and expensive in options when upgrading.
They are fixed computers, so that there is no option to upgrade in the future, what you buy now is what you are stuck with.

In a laptop - you can mostly upgrade RAM and change SSDs - at a minimum. 

15 hours ago, jens_dewit said:

Makes my mouth water, but given my previous experience I'd need to go with the 16GB RAM option and that immediately makes for a 1500€ price tag. Even though it's only slightly above budget, I find that's A LOT when there are cheaper options with similar specs and more RAM/ROM options. :/

Again - what software are you using.

I posted a very decent laptop just above for £700 which would be a very good perfromance vs M1.

Don't mind L2+L3 Cache sizes.

4mb is loads anyway.

You can see then MHZ in the last column - M1 Pro maxes out at 3220

The 5800h can potentially minimum 3200 - max 4400

 

[TopToffee]

1 hour ago, Smurf said:

 M1 MacBook Air (which overheats by the way when under load and gets hot)

This simply isn't true in any vaguely reasonable real world scenario. Playing FM (and I play it on either a 5120 x 2160 or 5120x2880 external monitor, to add to the burden), it gets warm at most.

Edited September 21, 2022 by TopToffee

[bcfcjacko]

4 hours ago, Smurf said:

How much is the discount?

Is it £500-£600 with your discount?

Or can you go higher with your discount?
 

This is good

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/huawei-matebook-16-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10241914.html

But it's £100 over the £600 budget - but don't know what way you're applying a discount?
Does your discount get you in the £600 range?

Thanks for the response. I get close to 10% discount so the one you’ve linked would bring it closer to £600 all in I’m looking. 
 

is there much of a difference between the one I linked and the one you did? As in, is it worth paying the extra? £449 vs £629?

thanks!

[kemperboyd]

HI all,

looking for a laptop up to £650 for watching stuff and FM. 
looking at https://ao.com/product/nxabnek005-acer-swift-3-sf314-laptop-silver-91155-251.aspx or https://ao.com/product/nxabnek00a-acer-swift-3-sf314-laptop-silver-91151-251.aspx

i'd obviously like to spend as little as possible. Screen/sound quality are important to me and the reviews on this are model are pretty good for that.

[kevhamster]

22 minutes ago, kemperboyd said:

HI all,

looking for a laptop up to £650 for watching stuff and FM. 
looking at https://ao.com/product/nxabnek005-acer-swift-3-sf314-laptop-silver-91155-251.aspx or https://ao.com/product/nxabnek00a-acer-swift-3-sf314-laptop-silver-91151-251.aspx

i'd obviously like to spend as little as possible. Screen/sound quality are important to me and the reviews on this are model are pretty good for that.

You can get the same spec for a much lower price here: https://www.box.co.uk/S413EA-AM1887W-ASUS-VivoBook-14-Intel-Core-i5-16GB-RAM-_4089273.html

Review here suggests the display and speakers are both very good: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/asus-vivobook-pro-14

[kemperboyd]

6 minutes ago, kevhamster said:

You can get the same spec for a much lower price here: https://www.box.co.uk/S413EA-AM1887W-ASUS-VivoBook-14-Intel-Core-i5-16GB-RAM-_4089273.html

Review here suggests the display and speakers are both very good: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/asus-vivobook-pro-14

Thanks man, that's actually the 3rd laptop I was looking at! That helps a lot. i've been waffling on which to buy and this is confirmation for me!

[jamesdenson1997]

Sorry to bother you again. Been finding the laptop is really jittery when playing FM. Legion 5(AMD Ryzen 7 5700H, NVIDIA 360 RTX)  Not sure what's causing it and its making me fall out of love with the game. laptop set to performance mode and still finding it jitters in the 3D engine(Probably frame rate). Am I better off selling the laptop and getting something with less/similar specs which I hope would run the game better as I think its cost me too much money for not the results I wanted. Happy to message directly if anyone can help

Thanks James

[thefmveteran86]

Hey guys just getting £891 from a broken laptop should I keep that and add money towards a new custom or a pre-built pc? I mean it doesn't HAVE to be a custom built just enough for maybe FM and GTA

[kevhamster]

Just now, jamesdenson1997 said:

Sorry to bother you again. Been finding the laptop is really jittery when playing FM. Legion 5(AMD Ryzen 7 5700H, NVIDIA 360 RTX)  Not sure what's causing it and its making me fall out of love with the game. laptop set to performance mode and still finding it jitters in the 3D engine(Probably frame rate). Am I better off selling the laptop and getting something with less/similar specs which I hope would run the game better as I think its cost me too much money for not the results I wanted. Happy to message directly if anyone can help

Thanks James

Make sure your laptop is using the external graphics card for the game and not the processor's integrated GPU: https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/how-to-fix-laptop-not-using-gpu/#:~:text=In Display settings%2C scroll down,High performance and click Save.

There is no reason, specs-wise, that laptop should struggle with FM if the hardware is in full working order and not faulty.

Also, make sure all your drivers are up to date.

[kevhamster]

2 hours ago, thefmveteran86 said:

Hey guys just getting £891 from a broken laptop should I keep that and add money towards a new custom or a pre-built pc? I mean it doesn't HAVE to be a custom built just enough for maybe FM and GTA

If you're happy with a pre-built, this should do the job for you very nicely: https://www.box.co.uk/Cube-Epic_4149726.html?config=2335908,4086959,4103349,4113216,4142615

 

[Smurf]

11 hours ago, TopToffee said:

This simply isn't true in any vaguely reasonable real world scenario. Playing FM (and I play it on either a 5120 x 2160 or 5120x2880 external monitor, to add to the burden), it gets warm at most.

FM is different and it does get hot. You even say it gets 'warm' - what's the difference?

And it's well documented just on basic internet searches how hot they 'can' get. 

It is strange to disagree when it's well documented. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Smurf

[Smurf]

8 hours ago, bcfcjacko said:

Thanks for the response. I get close to 10% discount so the one you’ve linked would bring it closer to £600 all in I’m looking. 
 

is there much of a difference between the one I linked and the one you did? As in, is it worth paying the extra? £449 vs £629?

thanks!

Pretty decent upgrade and I would consider it worth it.

If that's the budget then that's what I'd go with.

[TopToffee]

9 minutes ago, Smurf said:

FM is different and it does get hot. You even say it gets 'warm' - what's the difference?

It is - quite literally - a matter of degrees.

You say “FM is different” - different to what? Different to the FM I play on an M1 Air on a very regular basis?

[ian barr]

Hi guys,

I am in Australia and looking for a new laptop pretty much solely for FM. My one now is so slow playing.

Budget is around $1000. 

Any recommendations would be amazing 👏 

[kevhamster]

4 minutes ago, ian barr said:

Hi guys,

I am in Australia and looking for a new laptop pretty much solely for FM. My one now is so slow playing.

Budget is around $1000. 

Any recommendations would be amazing 👏 

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/acer-aspire-5-15-6-inch-r7-5700u-8gb-512gb-ssd-laptop.html

[Frode Aalmen]

I about to buy a new laptop to play fm22 and 23… I’m just playing matches I’m 2D

Is this specs good enough?

Thinkpad T430s specs 
- Intel Core i5 - 2.60 GHz Prosessor 
- 4 GB RAM 
- 120 GB SSD disk 

- win 10

 

Thanks for reply :)

 

 

[kevhamster]

27 minutes ago, Frode Aalmen said:

I about to buy a new laptop to play fm22 and 23… I’m just playing matches I’m 2D

Is this specs good enough?

Thinkpad T430s specs 
- Intel Core i5 - 2.60 GHz Prosessor 
- 4 GB RAM 
- 120 GB SSD disk 

- win 10

 

Thanks for reply

 

 

You've not specified which i5 CPU is included.  But having searched for the model number of the laptop, the results suggest that it would be the i5-3320M, so I'm guessing you're buying a pre-owned model.

If this is correct, it will run the game but it's going to be slow.  This is a CPU which was introduced 10 years ago and is weak by current standards.  Also, with only 4GB RAM you'll need to minimise programs that are running in the background to ensure you don't run out of memory whilst playing the game.

I would suggest posting the actual link to what you're buying (assuming it's an online purchase) so I can look and make sure I've not assumed incorrectly about the specs.

Also, it's probably worth letting us know what your budget is and if you're not in the UK giving some examples of electronics stores where you can buy laptops and I can see what can be found for the budget you have,

[Frode Aalmen]

Thank you so much for your comments. Yes, I’m looking to buy a preowned. I’m living outside of UK, Norway. 
 

Here is another options who maybe is better? https://www.itgarasjen.no/produkt/lenovo-thinkpad-l460/

[kevhamster]

47 minutes ago, Frode Aalmen said:

Thank you so much for your comments. Yes, I’m looking to buy a preowned. I’m living outside of UK, Norway. 
 

Here is another options who maybe is better? https://www.itgarasjen.no/produkt/lenovo-thinkpad-l460/

That would definitely be a better option.  It's still not great, but given the budget you're working with based on that price I'd say it's probably as good as you'll get.

[TheDude1980]

Hi, looking for another recommendation around £1000 mark. The one I ask about before sold out. Mainly play FM and want it to last a few years. Not at all an expert on these things though. I thought this one seemed decent 

https://www.box.co.uk/FA507RM-HQ019W-ASUS-TUF-GAMING-A15-AMD-Ryzen-7-16GB-RAM_4103757.html

Or maybe this one 

https://www.box.co.uk/82JU002YUK-Lenovo-Legion-5-AMD-Ryzen-7-16GB-RAM-512_3557998.html

Not sure if I can get better value. Do you have any recommendations?

Again, really appreciated 👍

Edited September 22, 2022 by TheDude1980

[kevhamster]

59 minutes ago, TheDude1980 said:

Hi, looking for another recommendation around £1000 mark. The one I ask about before sold out. Mainly play FM and want it to last a few years. Not at all an expert on these things though. I thought this one seemed decent 

https://www.box.co.uk/FA507RM-HQ019W-ASUS-TUF-GAMING-A15-AMD-Ryzen-7-16GB-RAM_4103757.html

Or maybe this one 

https://www.box.co.uk/82JU002YUK-Lenovo-Legion-5-AMD-Ryzen-7-16GB-RAM-512_3557998.html

Not sure if I can get better value. Do you have any recommendations?

Again, really appreciated 👍

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.QBCEK.007-Acer-Nitro-5-AMD-Ryzen-7-16GB-RAM-512GB-_3746136.html

This is  the same CPU as the first link and quite a bit cheaper.  The graphics card is lower spec, but still more than enough to run FM at full 3D settings.

Edited September 22, 2022 by kevhamster

[TheDude1980]

Ah cheers makes sense, thanks for that. And looking at it the Acer Nitro it's pretty much the same as this one?

https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/product.aspx?id=4H2B4EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB

I was struggling to get the Victus anywhere for the same price but got it now at £899 somewhere else. I think i'll go with the Victus. 

 

 

 

 

 

[kevhamster]

30 minutes ago, TheDude1980 said:

Ah cheers makes sense, thanks for that. And looking at it the Acer Nitro it's pretty much the same as this one?

https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/product.aspx?id=4H2B4EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB

I was struggling to get the Victus anywhere for the same price but got it now at £899 somewhere else. I think i'll go with the Victus. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, same spec

 

[Dingus]

looking for a replacement desktop, Windows 11, 16gb RAM, 2tb solid state drive, and with a graphics card - old PC/GeForce card has seen me through 10 (yes!) FM installs,  and through Windows 7 to WIndows 10 upgrades, won't upgrade to WIndows 11, so time to move on!
not fussed on a laptop for gaming, desktop is less likely to fall over 5mins after you buy it

have seen this, price is a bit on the high side as I only want it for FM use, would like a larger HD and more RAM, basically so I never have to upgrade

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/acer-nitro-n50640-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-1-tb-hdd-and-256-gb-ssd-10233239.html

[kevhamster]

55 minutes ago, Dingus said:

looking for a replacement desktop, Windows 11, 16gb RAM, 2tb solid state drive, and with a graphics card - old PC/GeForce card has seen me through 10 (yes!) FM installs,  and through Windows 7 to WIndows 10 upgrades, won't upgrade to WIndows 11, so time to move on!
not fussed on a laptop for gaming, desktop is less likely to fall over 5mins after you buy it

have seen this, price is a bit on the high side as I only want it for FM use, would like a larger HD and more RAM, basically so I never have to upgrade

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/acer-nitro-n50640-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-1-tb-hdd-and-256-gb-ssd-10233239.html

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc-III/bmvZD2a3uf/

Not sure how much you actually want to pay, this one is a bit lower than the one you posted at £757.00, but does include a slightly older generation CPU - but it will still be a significant upgrade on a 10 year old system!

This does include 16GB RAM, together with a 256GB SSD for the OS and a 2TB HDD for the other stuff.  You could upgrade it to just a 2TB SSD, but that does increase the price to £887.00: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc-III/S48NrcEGxD/

[Dingus]

cheers for that, from looking around a 256GB SSD OS and a 1 or 2TB HDD is likely the best i'm going to get.

is the CPU and Graphics: (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB) decent on the Acer or are they near end-of-line, might go for that and double the RAM, that would do for the next 10years

[kevhamster]

10 minutes ago, Dingus said:

cheers for that, from looking around a 256GB SSD OS and a 1 or 2TB HDD is likely the best i'm going to get.

is the CPU and Graphics: (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB) decent on the Acer or are they near end-of-line, might go for that and double the RAM, that would do for the next 10years

The CPU is very good - it's a current gen i5 and very capable.

The graphics card is a lower end card which launched 3 years ago, but it is absolutely fine for FM at max settings, and I can't imagine that will change anytime soon even if they make the graphics of the game more demanding - unless we start seeing FIFA-like visuals which is quite unlikely to happen as SI do seem to want to keep the game as hardware friendly as possible.

[Dingus]

cheers again! 

[Sud2002]

Hello again,

 

Firstly can I say that you are true heroes on here!

 

Doing some research and reading through the comments for recommendations on getting a new laptop, I'll be using the laptop for streaming videos, browsing and playing FM, so not necessarily looking for a gaming laptop (but needs to be great for FM!), a quieter laptop would be preferable too.

 

Could someone advise me on the following 5 laptops please:

 

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/huawei-matebook-16-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10241914.html

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-ideapad-3i-14-laptop-intel-core-i7-512-gb-ssd-blue-10228904.html#collapseFour

https://www.box.co.uk/82MS006XUK-Lenovo-Yoga-Slim-7-Pro-AMD-Ryzen-5-8GB-R_3824161.html

https://www.box.co.uk/21A200DVUK-Lenovo-ThinkBook-14-G3-Ryzen-5-16GB-RAM-_4112564.html

https://www.box.co.uk/A1PYU13E116H-Dynabook-Satellite-Pro-C50D-B-113-Ryzen-_4120815.html

 

Thank you!

 

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by Sud2002

[kevhamster]

20 minutes ago, Sud2002 said:

Hello again,

 

Firstly can I say that you are true heroes on here!

 

Doing some research and reading through the comments for recommendations on getting a new laptop, I'll be using the laptop for streaming videos, browsing and playing FM, so not necessarily looking for a gaming laptop (but needs to be great for FM!), a quieter laptop would be preferable too.

 

Could someone advise me on the following 5 laptops please:

 

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/huawei-matebook-16-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10241914.html

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-ideapad-3i-14-laptop-intel-core-i7-512-gb-ssd-blue-10228904.html#collapseFour

https://www.box.co.uk/82MS006XUK-Lenovo-Yoga-Slim-7-Pro-AMD-Ryzen-5-8GB-R_3824161.html

https://www.box.co.uk/21A200DVUK-Lenovo-ThinkBook-14-G3-Ryzen-5-16GB-RAM-_4112564.html

https://www.box.co.uk/A1PYU13E116H-Dynabook-Satellite-Pro-C50D-B-113-Ryzen-_4120815.html

 

Thank you!

 

 

Either of these, as they are basically the same spec:

https://www.box.co.uk/A1PYU13E116H-Dynabook-Satellite-Pro-C50D-B-113-Ryzen-_4120815.html

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/huawei-matebook-16-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10241914.html

[Nodge]

Hello all, it would be a great help if I could get some advice on this. I’m wanting a new laptop, budget around £600. I’ve narrowed it down to this one. Would this be a suitable option?

Asus Vivobook 16x, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, intel core i5-12500H.
Integrated Intel® Iris® Graphics. Full specs below £609.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/asus-vivobook-16x-x1603za-16-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10240160.html

Looking at CPU benchmark it looks good. Only thing holding me back is that its i5 and not an i7 or a Ryzen 7…

[kevhamster]

28 minutes ago, Nodge said:

Hello all, it would be a great help if I could get some advice on this. I’m wanting a new laptop, budget around £600. I’ve narrowed it down to this one. Would this be a suitable option?

Asus Vivobook 16x, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, intel core i5-12500H.
Integrated Intel® Iris® Graphics. Full specs below £609.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/asus-vivobook-16x-x1603za-16-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10240160.html

Looking at CPU benchmark it looks good. Only thing holding me back is that its i5 and not an i7 or a Ryzen 7…

i5 CPU's are still very good, especially current generation ones like this one.  Honestly, this one is a good deal.

[Nodge]

12 hours ago, kevhamster said:

i5 CPU's are still very good, especially current generation ones like this one.  Honestly, this one is a good deal.

Brill, thanks for the answer. Not very knowledgeable about computer specs so thought it was worth getting a second opinion.

I know this is £100 more, but this has been mentioned in the thread a couple of times. Would this Huawei Matebook 16 be much better than the Asus Vivabook 16x I initially mentioned?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/huawei-matebook-16-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10241914.html

[jcricky]

Hi Guys,

I'm on the hunt for a new PC purely to play FM. I tend to like long term saves, so want a laptop that will be able to deal with a long time in the future. I currently have a MacBook Pro, and in the last two iterations of the game I have reached 12 years in the future and my laptop can barely handle it. The new laptop will purely be for fm, as I'll keep my MacBook Pro for work / Netflix and such. 

Will this happen with all laptops? (would a pc be better?)

My budget is around £1000.

Any help is much appreciated as I'm awful with specs!

[kevhamster]

10 hours ago, Nodge said:

Brill, thanks for the answer. Not very knowledgeable about computer specs so thought it was worth getting a second opinion.

I know this is £100 more, but this has been mentioned in the thread a couple of times. Would this Huawei Matebook 16 be much better than the Asus Vivabook 16x I initially mentioned?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/huawei-matebook-16-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10241914.html

Based on the scores below, no:

Source: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html?

[kevhamster]

6 hours ago, jcricky said:

Hi Guys,

I'm on the hunt for a new PC purely to play FM. I tend to like long term saves, so want a laptop that will be able to deal with a long time in the future. I currently have a MacBook Pro, and in the last two iterations of the game I have reached 12 years in the future and my laptop can barely handle it. The new laptop will purely be for fm, as I'll keep my MacBook Pro for work / Netflix and such. 

Will this happen with all laptops? (would a pc be better?)

My budget is around £1000.

Any help is much appreciated as I'm awful with specs!

I think a lot depends on how large a database you load up at the start - the larger this is to start, the sooner a machine would start to struggle with it.

It can happen whether you choose a laptop or a desktop really.

If you've decided for sure you want a laptop rather than a desktop, I'd be inclined to go for this: https://www.box.co.uk/NH.QFKEK.001-Acer-Nitro-5-Intel-Core-i5-16GB-RAM-512G_4120402.html

Looks like the best overall deal at £1k or less.

[jcricky]

53 minutes ago, kevhamster said:

I think a lot depends on how large a database you load up at the start - the larger this is to start, the sooner a machine would start to struggle with it.

It can happen whether you choose a laptop or a desktop really.

If you've decided for sure you want a laptop rather than a desktop, I'd be inclined to go for this: https://www.box.co.uk/NH.QFKEK.001-Acer-Nitro-5-Intel-Core-i5-16GB-RAM-512G_4120402.html

Looks like the best overall deal at £1k or less.

I tend to only load a couple of leagues, but think currently my laptop is 5 years old and struggling. Thanks for the advice!

[easternhawk2]

hi folks

looking at buying a new laptop, my current one is 8 years old and definitely starting to show its age now. I'm currently using a HP pavilion with 8gb ram from 2014. FM is the only game I play on it but regularly use the laptop for general day to day use and streaming if I want a bigger screen than an ipad. May also be back at uni at some point in the next 5 years or so career depending.

so far I've mostly been looking at a macbook air (have iphone and an ipad so syncing all 3 would be a positive for me), is there likely to be much difference between the M1 and M2 versions of the macbook air? I would likely set it up with the same ram (probably 16gb, unless there is really no need to get this extra) and storage (512gb) regardless of which I get. 

[Ajax_Barcelona_Cruyff]

On 21/09/2022 at 20:25, Smurf said:

FM is different and it does get hot. You even say it gets 'warm' - what's the difference?

And it's well documented just on basic internet searches how hot they 'can' get. 

It is strange to disagree when it's well documented. 

This is not my experience at all.

MacBook Air M2. 30 leagues loaded, max database, max graphics setting 3D match engine - battery lasts for about 12 hours continuous play, no fan noise (as there is no fan), and it doesn't even get warm, stays cool to the touch. Played much more graphics intensive games on it too and same experience.

I have 30 years of numerous windows PCs/Laptops and several Macs. I'm totally vendor neutral. I've been in IT all my career. Some things better on PC (gaming as an example), some things better on Mac OS (graphics design as an example). They've ripped each other off for the last 30 years so there is not much in it operating system wise. Point being, I have no allegiance to Microsoft or Apple, so I have no agenda, or a foot in either camp. I find the argument boring. I've had some very good PCs, some good Macs, and I continue to use both for work and play.

With my last MacBook, (16" Pro 2019, i7, 16G RAM) playing FM 22 the thing would get so hot and the fans kicked in so bad that it ruined the experience. Not great for a £2,500 laptop. (see my point about PCs being historically better for gaming). It would also drain the battery in about an hour. I ended using a much cheaper Dell laptop to play FM, which while it still got warm and noisy it was more bearable. The Pro was good for other stuff but for FM or any demanding games it stank the place out.

Seriously the 'apple silicon' chips are a game changer. This thing lasts forever on one charge even when you push it hard. To fit so much power into such a thin and light form factor is a great feat of engineering. No fan noise (obviously), no heat, no lag, super quick, smooth as butter graphics on all games I've tried with high frame rate. Easily the BEST laptop I have ever owned, and I've probably owned about 25 and had lots of work issued tech as well.

What Apple have done with these CPUs is remarkable.

That's my experience. If some "forums" say otherwise then they must have a faulty unit. I'm adding my personal experience for balance and hope it helps if someone is undecided on buying the new MacBook Air or an M2 Pro.
I understand some people won't spend this sort of budget on a laptop, and I didn't buy it just to play FM. But if you are a potentially M2 buyer, that's my experience of FM on this thing. Of course if you hate Apple or you hate Mac OS then nothing to see here.

 

[Ajax_Barcelona_Cruyff]

2 minutes ago, easternhawk2 said:

hi folks

looking at buying a new laptop, my current one is 8 years old and definitely starting to show its age now. I'm currently using a HP pavilion with 8gb ram from 2014. FM is the only game I play on it but regularly use the laptop for general day to day use and streaming if I want a bigger screen than an ipad. May also be back at uni at some point in the next 5 years or so career depending.

so far I've mostly been looking at a macbook air (have iphone and an ipad so syncing all 3 would be a positive for me), is there likely to be much difference between the M1 and M2 versions of the macbook air? I would likely set it up with the same ram (probably 16gb, unless there is really no need to get this extra) and storage (512gb) regardless of which I get. 

didn't have an M1, but that's my review of the M2 above ^

[kevhamster]

40 minutes ago, easternhawk2 said:

hi folks

looking at buying a new laptop, my current one is 8 years old and definitely starting to show its age now. I'm currently using a HP pavilion with 8gb ram from 2014. FM is the only game I play on it but regularly use the laptop for general day to day use and streaming if I want a bigger screen than an ipad. May also be back at uni at some point in the next 5 years or so career depending.

so far I've mostly been looking at a macbook air (have iphone and an ipad so syncing all 3 would be a positive for me), is there likely to be much difference between the M1 and M2 versions of the macbook air? I would likely set it up with the same ram (probably 16gb, unless there is really no need to get this extra) and storage (512gb) regardless of which I get. 

Source: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html?

That suggests there is a definite improvement from the M1 to the M2, but the difference is not massive.

[MiguelSB]

Hi all.

Looking at a new laptop that could handle FM well.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ALC6-371
Ryzen 5 5500U
8gb Ram
Radeon VEGA 8

 

Could this handle the 3d match engine in average settings?

 

 

Thanks for any help!

Edited September 26, 2022 by MiguelSB
Correct laptop model

[kevhamster]

1 hour ago, MiguelSB said:

Hi all.

Looking at a new laptop that could handle FM well.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ALC6-371
Ryzen 5 5500U
8gb Ram
Radeon VEGA 8

 

Could this handle the 3d match engine in average settings?

 

 

Thanks for any help!

Yep, will be fine for medium to high 3D settings.

[MiguelSB]

13 horas atrás, kevhamster disse:

Yep, will be fine for medium to high 3D settings.

Lovely, thanks!!

[mazey]

Hi all

just want to say what a great thread and amazing people helping each other.

i am looking for a new laptop only just to play football manager thats all i will do on it budget is between 400-500

i honesty wouldnt know where to start to look any advice would be very helpful.

thanks in advance

[kevhamster]

5 hours ago, mazey said:

Hi all

just want to say what a great thread and amazing people helping each other.

i am looking for a new laptop only just to play football manager thats all i will do on it budget is between 400-500

i honesty wouldnt know where to start to look any advice would be very helpful.

thanks in advance

I'd go for this: https://www.box.co.uk/82KD0008UK-Lenovo-V15-G2-Ryzen-7-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-_3614140.html

[Tank1985]

My mate is looking to buy the cheapest possible lapyop that will run FM fine with around 5-7 leagues. 

 

Can anyone suggest one please?