New Laptop/PC Advice -Please Read the Opening Post

[Sweetleftfoot]

6 hours ago, kevhamster said:

Both graphics cards will deliver max settings on 3D.  FM is not a graphically demanding game.  I can play on a mix of medium and high settings on my Ryzen laptop's integrated graphics with no issues or visual lag.

Do you play another games other than FM?  If not, you could get by with a much more basic graphics card than either of those two.

If you do play other games, it would really be those that should define your graphics card choice.

No I dont play any other games but I am in advertising and media industry so need a dedicated GPU to check client creatives every now n then on the go, so I need a good GPU. Plus I tend to keep my laptops for a while. Current one is a Macbook Pro 15 which I have had for a while.

I am thinking of going back to a windows laptop, but my fear is the after-sales tech issues. I had Apple care and it kept me sorted for a few years. I have heard from some of you that windows laptops have come on leaps and bounds but was still wondering should I take a care packages along with my laptop or they dont breakdown very often now?

[Stu1892]

So I bought the MSI Bravo 15"

4500h, 8gb ram. 

I free the battery said the balanced. Should it really be using near 30% of battery to play one match? 

Next to nothing else running. 

[kevhamster]

11 minutes ago, Sweetleftfoot said:

No I dont play any other games but I am in advertising and media industry so need a dedicated GPU to check client creatives every now n then on the go, so I need a good GPU. Plus I tend to keep my laptops for a while. Current one is a Macbook Pro 15 which I have had for a while.

I am thinking of going back to a windows laptop, but my fear is the after-sales tech issues. I had Apple care and it kept me sorted for a few years. I have heard from some of you that windows laptops have come on leaps and bounds but was still wondering should I take a care packages along with my laptop or they dont breakdown very often now?

My own experience with Windows laptops has been absolutely fine in terms of reliability, but I'm a very small sample size and there are so many things to take into account!

Those GPUs are decent though.  I have a 1660 Super in my own desktop PC which is a step below the 1660 Ti.  I only have a 1080p 60Hz monitor, but it's handled everything I've thrown at it in terms of games with max settings at 60FPS (paired with a Ryzen 5 3600 and 16GB of 3200MHz RAM), with the two exceptions being Microsoft Flight Simulator (which even the 2080 was struggling to get to 60fps with) and some routes on Train Simulator because that is quite poorly optimised!

If you're worried about breakdowns, then if you get a laptop from Currys, their Whatever Happens plan is something I do have experience with and can recommend.  The laptops my son uses have seen a few cases of accidental damage over the years because he got my clumsiness gene, and have generally found their repair service to be decent for the most part - but these do cover breakdowns as well as damage, so I'd assume the same applies.

[Sweetleftfoot]

18 hours ago, kevhamster said:

My own experience with Windows laptops has been absolutely fine in terms of reliability, but I'm a very small sample size and there are so many things to take into account!

Those GPUs are decent though.  I have a 1660 Super in my own desktop PC which is a step below the 1660 Ti.  I only have a 1080p 60Hz monitor, but it's handled everything I've thrown at it in terms of games with max settings at 60FPS (paired with a Ryzen 5 3600 and 16GB of 3200MHz RAM), with the two exceptions being Microsoft Flight Simulator (which even the 2080 was struggling to get to 60fps with) and some routes on Train Simulator because that is quite poorly optimised!

If you're worried about breakdowns, then if you get a laptop from Currys, their Whatever Happens plan is something I do have experience with and can recommend.  The laptops my son uses have seen a few cases of accidental damage over the years because he got my clumsiness gene, and have generally found their repair service to be decent for the most part - but these do cover breakdowns as well as damage, so I'd assume the same applies.

Thanks for sharing your experiences mate

Do you or does anyone have any first hand experience with HP care? They are offering HP Care with Pickup and Drop for 99 pounds for 3 years.

 

Well then I will be getting it from Currys or HP around November during Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales unless Apple launches Apple Silicons Laptops before the sale events and make me think again

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by Sweetleftfoot

[Mattias333]

Well I thought I had finally made my mind up with this HP laptop (looking for 16gb ram, decent processor etc)

https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F7EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec1009na_2958259.html

But it was delayed to 17th and now delayed to the 21st which maybe should, maybe shouldn't be worrying me. Especially when I can find no reviews etc. Still worth the wait?

 

Found this other HP one, more money, worse processor according to notebookcheck.net but any good in comparism?

https://www.box.co.uk/1S0W8EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-17-cd1015na_2958262.html

 

Otherwise been looking at these,

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q87EK.004-Acer-Aspire-7-Gaming-A715-75G_2934481.html

https://www.box.co.uk/81Y6005UUK-Lenovo-Legion-5i-15_2943292.html

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q7YEK.002-Acer-Predator-Helios-300-PH315-53_2934871.html

 

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Smurf]

8 minutes ago, Mattias333 said:

Well I thought I had finally made my mind up with this HP laptop (looking for 16gb ram, decent processor etc)

https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F7EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec1009na_2958259.html

But it was delayed to 17th and now delayed to the 21st which maybe should, maybe shouldn't be worrying me. Especially when I can find no reviews etc. Still worth the wait?

 

Found this other HP one, more money, worse processor according to notebookcheck.net but any good in comparism?

https://www.box.co.uk/1S0W8EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-17-cd1015na_2958262.html

 

Otherwise been looking at these,

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q87EK.004-Acer-Aspire-7-Gaming-A715-75G_2934481.html

https://www.box.co.uk/81Y6005UUK-Lenovo-Legion-5i-15_2943292.html

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q7YEK.002-Acer-Predator-Helios-300-PH315-53_2934871.html

Thanks in advance guys!

From your list this is the best processor

https://support.avg.com/SupportArticleView?l=en&urlname=AVG-Antivirus-scan-exclusions

 

Between these two - better graphics cards

Depends if you want 15 or 17 inch screen

https://www.box.co.uk/1S0W8EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-17-cd1015na_2958262.html

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q7YEK.002-Acer-Predator-Helios-300-PH315-53_2934871.html

 

Other than that - they are all extremely good.

[kevhamster]

12 hours ago, Sweetleftfoot said:

Thanks for sharing your experiences mate

Do you or does anyone have any first hand experience with HP care? They are offering HP Care with Pickup and Drop for 99 pounds for 3 years.

 

Well then I will be getting it from Currys or HP around November during Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales unless Apple launches Apple Silicons Laptops before the sale events and make think again

 

My only experience is with the Currys in-house protection (for laptops at least).  Can't comment on the HP one.

There are alternatives though with gadget protection, and there are sites which offer a comparison for these things, such as Money Supermarket and Go Compare - the main thing to look out for with these is a 5-star Defaqto rating as then you at least know you're getting product with decent cover.

[Mattias333]

6 minutes ago, Smurf said:

From your list this is the best processor

https://support.avg.com/SupportArticleView?l=en&urlname=AVG-Antivirus-scan-exclusions

 

Between these two - better graphics cards

Depends if you want 15 or 17 inch screen

https://www.box.co.uk/1S0W8EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-17-cd1015na_2958262.html

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q7YEK.002-Acer-Predator-Helios-300-PH315-53_2934871.html

 

Other than that - they are all extremely good.

Thank you for the reply smurf. I couldn't view the first link as my avg being a pain.

 

Think ill have a think a go for one of the two you recommended, Leaning towards the HP at the minute. Im not computer expert but viewing https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html? the processor on both those two is 56th. (End of the day my old ASUS x550c has i5-3337u and only 6gb ram so im hoping for a dramatic improvement and being able to actually use my laptop for more than just Football manager now lol....though correct me if i've got anything massively confused)

[Stu1892]

18 hours ago, Stu1892 said:

So I bought the MSI Bravo 15"

4500h, 8gb ram. 

I free the battery said the balanced. Should it really be using near 30% of battery to play one match? 

Next to nothing else running. 

Think i'm going to send it back.  It's used 50% of battery in an hour in Best for Battery / Mobility mode.   I played one match.  Not too enamoured with the trackpad.

I think I may need to look for integrated graphics.  No interest other than FM.

Back to the drawing board.  Shame as it was such a decent deal.

[kevhamster]

1 hour ago, Stu1892 said:

Think i'm going to send it back.  It's used 50% of battery in an hour in Best for Battery / Mobility mode.   I played one match.  Not too enamoured with the trackpad.

I think I may need to look for integrated graphics.  No interest other than FM.

Back to the drawing board.  Shame as it was such a decent deal.

If you're going with Integrated graphics, best to look at the Ryzen based laptops generally.

[Stu1892]

Cheers @kevhamster

Is it worth me looking at -U CPUs given this seems to burn through the battery pretty fast on 4600h?

[Smurf]

1 hour ago, Mattias333 said:

Thank you for the reply smurf. I couldn't view the first link as my avg being a pain.

 

Think ill have a think a go for one of the two you recommended, Leaning towards the HP at the minute. Im not computer expert but viewing https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html? the processor on both those two is 56th. (End of the day my old ASUS x550c has i5-3337u and only 6gb ram so im hoping for a dramatic improvement and being able to actually use my laptop for more than just Football manager now lol....though correct me if i've got anything massively confused)

Sorry - had the wrong link https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F7EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec1009na_2958259.html

[kevhamster]

23 minutes ago, Stu1892 said:

Cheers @kevhamster

Is it worth me looking at -U CPUs given this seems to burn through the battery pretty fast on 4600h?

Really hard to say as to be honest I only ever use my laptop plugged in so I don't have a reference point.  But, in theory the U variants would use less power.

My own laptop has the Ryzen 5 2500U and I personally find it perfectly acceptable, but then I have it plugged in and on high performance mode.  Also, what I find OK may be different to you!

[Mr Tom]

I5 10300h or Ryzen 4500u

Ryzen got a higher score overall so I don’t know. Will the Ryzen throttle because it’s a “u” cpu and is it faster for fm?

purely for fm only

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/gaming/pc-gaming/gaming-laptops/lenovo-series-3-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205977-pdt.html
 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-5-a515-44-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-512-gb-ssd-black-10208163-pdt.html

Edited October 16, 2020 by Mr Tom

[kevhamster]

1 hour ago, Mr Tom said:

I5 10300h or Ryzen 4500u

Ryzen got a higher score overall so I don’t know. Will the Ryzen throttle because it’s a “u” cpu and is it faster for fm?

purely for fm only

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/gaming/pc-gaming/gaming-laptops/lenovo-series-3-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205977-pdt.html
 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-5-a515-44-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-512-gb-ssd-black-10208163-pdt.html

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-4500U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-10300H/m1052299vsm1027882

This benchmark comparison, if you check the Effective Speeds section, actually suggests the Intel may be subject to worse potential throttling than the Ryzen, so it's hard to know really - there are so many factors which can come into play and you don't know for example if those low score benchmarks were down to external circumstances like the benchmark being done whilst it was running on battery power rather than plugged in, or if there was an issue with dust causing heat retention, stuff like that.

The Intel one does have a dedicated graphics card, but if the laptop is purely for FM and nothing else, the Ryzen should manage FM's 3D match engine in medium to high settings, assuming FM21 is similar in terms of graphics demands to FM20 (My Ryzen 5 2500U manages this on FM20).

Either system would be absolutely fine for FM in my opinion.

[apapatheo84afc]

Hi,

I’ve been lurking and following posts and advice for a while and I’m amazed the time people give to others to help! Great to see!  

There is so much good advice i’m actually confused, but for some reason I keep coming back to this laptop:

https://www.hihonor.com/global/products/laptop/honor-magicbook-pro/

What are your thoughts? I have a work laptop which unfortunately won’t allow me to use steam, so this laptop will be primarily for FM. Been playing on ipad pro with fmtouch for the last few years but keen to get back to the proper game now! 
 

Is there something better for less, same money. I am not looking for a heavy/bully gaming laptop though. I’d like fast processing and capable 3d for those big games and ability to play long careers with multiple leagues.

Am I right in thinking 16gb ram will be a much better option that 8gb?

Thank you in advance!

[kevhamster]

31 minutes ago, apapatheo84afc said:

Hi,

I’ve been lurking and following posts and advice for a while and I’m amazed the time people give to others to help! Great to see!  

There is so much good advice i’m actually confused, but for some reason I keep coming back to this laptop:

https://www.hihonor.com/global/products/laptop/honor-magicbook-pro/

What are your thoughts? I have a work laptop which unfortunately won’t allow me to use steam, so this laptop will be primarily for FM. Been playing on ipad pro with fmtouch for the last few years but keen to get back to the proper game now! 
 

Is there something better for less, same money. I am not looking for a heavy/bully gaming laptop though. I’d like fast processing and capable 3d for those big games and ability to play long careers with multiple leagues.

Am I right in thinking 16gb ram will be a much better option that 8gb?

Thank you in advance!

Very nicely specced.

I know you've said it's primarily for FM.  Do you play any other games at all?  If so, you may want to be looking at a laptop with a dedicated graphics card.  The integrated graphics in these Ryzen chips are certainly strong enough for FM, but will not necessarily be good enough for other games.

16GB is definitely desirable for the amount of RAM included.  8GB is ok, but if you can stretch to 16GB it will definitely be better in the long run.

Nice decent sized NVMe SSD as well, so it will be quick to boot up and offers about the best performing storage currently available.

[Andy1979]

Specs:

Gtx 1050ti (MSI OC)

MSI h61m gaming motherboard

Intel core i5-3470

8gb ddr3 - 1333mhz

500w ACE psu

Ethernet only - no WiFi

Ionz kz06 case

128gb ssd500gb hdd

Hi just want to know what kind of gaming would I get from this pc? For fm mainly but also dayz? Thanks.

[samrph]

Evening all! Looking for a relatively cheap option laptop. Is there much difference between these two or anything better at a similiar price?

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9199527

 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/gaming/pc-gaming/gaming-laptops/acer-nitro-5-an515-54-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205925-pdt.html

 

 Thanks in advance

[kevhamster]

1 hour ago, Andy1979 said:

Specs:

Gtx 1050ti (MSI OC)

MSI h61m gaming motherboard

Intel core i5-3470

8gb ddr3 - 1333mhz

500w ACE psu

Ethernet only - no WiFi

Ionz kz06 case

128gb ssd500gb hdd

Hi just want to know what kind of gaming would I get from this pc? For fm mainly but also dayz? Thanks.

It's not going to be great - the CPU is quite old now and both the CPU and graphics card are below the recommended specs for DayZ.  The RAM speed also seems on the low side as well.

It'll handle FM ok if you don't overload the number of leagues, but it's not going to be amazingly fast.

 

[kevhamster]

1 hour ago, samrph said:

Evening all! Looking for a relatively cheap option laptop. Is there much difference between these two or anything better at a similiar price?

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9199527

 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/gaming/pc-gaming/gaming-laptops/acer-nitro-5-an515-54-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205925-pdt.html

 

 Thanks in advance

The Curry's one is the one I'd go for, as long as the smaller SSD isn't going to cause you issues.

They have the same graphics card and RAM, but the CPU in the Currys one is considerably stronger according to these benchmarks:

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-9300H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3550H/m744904vsm718601

[beverage1982]

Hey folks. I've been playing FM on a MacBook for ages and am used to 2d, limited leagues and glacial processing times.

I want to buy a dedicated FM laptop (with Somme basic browsing) but I also don't want to spend very much. Basically anything will be an upgrade at this point. I guess the budget is about 400 quid (though I'm in Canada)

Would either of these work or is the processing power too slow:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087N4ZRXV/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mylaptopguide-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B087N4ZRXV&linkId=961c998df7ac1b6d854bd360ff0eacef&ref_=d6k_applink_bb_marketplace

 

https://www.thesource.ca/en-ca/computers-tablets/laptops/all-laptops/acer-aspire-a315-42-r3zh-15-6”-laptop-with-amd-ryzen-3-3200u,-256gb-ssd,-12gb-ram,-amd-radeon-vega-3-windows-10-s---black/p/108082525?bid=sPexa3Rar8sw&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjwiaX8BRBZEiwAQQxGx1zrvhccvHeaLqCOgkdomWBHJdNtpfoTpNqJv_hL5mfeH9xx8B4McRoCTL4QAvD_BwE 

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by beverage1982

[Smurf]

4 hours ago, beverage1982 said:

Hey folks. I've been playing FM on a MacBook for ages and am used to 2d, limited leagues and glacial processing times.

I want to buy a dedicated FM laptop (with Somme basic browsing) but I also don't want to spend very much. Basically anything will be an upgrade at this point. I guess the budget is about 400 quid (though I'm in Canada)

Would either of these work or is the processing power too slow:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087N4ZRXV/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mylaptopguide-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B087N4ZRXV&linkId=961c998df7ac1b6d854bd360ff0eacef&ref_=d6k_applink_bb_marketplace

https://www.thesource.ca/en-ca/computers-tablets/laptops/all-laptops/acer-aspire-a315-42-r3zh-15-6”-laptop-with-amd-ryzen-3-3200u,-256gb-ssd,-12gb-ram,-amd-radeon-vega-3-windows-10-s---black/p/108082525?bid=sPexa3Rar8sw&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjwiaX8BRBZEiwAQQxGx1zrvhccvHeaLqCOgkdomWBHJdNtpfoTpNqJv_hL5mfeH9xx8B4McRoCTL4QAvD_BwE 

Not much of an upgrade I am afraid. You'll be paying out for much the same experience. 

What's your actual budget?

[Mattias333]

Guys I’ve basically got it down to these two which you’ve kindly recommended during the course of this thread. 
 

https://www.box.co.uk/1S0W8EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-17-cd1015na_2958262.html

and

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q7YEK.002-Acer-Predator-Helios-300-PH315-53_2934871.html
 

the Acer one is obviously more expensive but has a smaller screen. Main other difference is the Acer has 1TB SSD and HP has a 512SSD + 1TB HDD. For those far more intelligent than me what kinda difference does that make an what’s the better option. Thank you guys. 

[Casanova]

Hey guys, 

I know this won’t be an amazing laptop but it will be used only for fm. 

Is it good enough for average 3D matches and say 10-15 leagues loaded?

Plus have the potential to last the next 2/3 future instalments of the game?

Regards,

[Smurf]

16 minutes ago, Casanova said:

Hey guys, 

I know this won’t be an amazing laptop but it will be used only for fm. 

Is it good enough for average 3D matches and say 10-15 leagues loaded?

Plus have the potential to last the next 2/3 future instalments of the game?

Regards,

It would work - how well - don't know. 

[Casanova]

Thanks for feedback, will give it a miss don't fancy wasting £300

20 minutes ago, Smurf said:

It would work - how well - don't know. 

[vivaricardo]

On 13/10/2020 at 16:43, Smurf said:

 

I agree with kevhamster - but on the fact that it's a better processor by virtue that it won't be throttled under stress.

I'd go with the Lenovo easily.

Thanks @Smurf & @kevhamster I’ve gone ahead and ordered the Lenovo

[right_winger]

Hi all,

I would like to start with a great THANK YOU to those few users (@Smurf, @kevhamster, @Gangor, plus others more active on previous pages) that patiently keep giving lots of advice to people asking in this thread which also let me make a shortlist of what should be suitable for me. I knew pretty much nothing before reading this topic but now am able to do at least a bit of homework before asking you some questions.

BUDGET: £600-700 would be great if good vfm, but prepared to go near £800-850 with some help from those Buy Now Pay Later or Paypal 0% Credit deals. Hoping to buy around Black Friday or, if other things get in the way, Christmas / January.

Laptop needed in 80% for FM + 20% Netflix, football streaming, web browsing etc. altogether. Other games very unlikely, if anything some old classics like Commandos or Shadow Tactics. Kids have a console, wife would only use it for web browsing or movie watching (if I let her).

I play de-restricted Touch version in minimum 5 / max 10 countries (top 2 leagues in each). 3D not important, I like it for goal replays but it's not a dealbreaker. I use downloaded logos but could happily restrict them to the most important ones if necessary. Facepacks not so important but would be a bonus if they don't slow down the game too much.
Never play music/movies at the same time as FM but often have a few websites open for ages in the background (forums, news, livescore, skyscanner, things to do, etc random stuff).

Quite a few people here had more or less similar requirements but there is a few "BUTs" in my case:

1) Apart from my sofa or desk I intend to play on my train commute and in airports as I will fly every few weeks between my two homes (at least that's the plan when travelling is back to normal-ish) so portability is important. For this reason and because my current 15.6" feels too big for frequent travels I'm leaning towards a 14-inch laptop with good battery life, reasonably lightweight. Does anyone here play on a machine of this description and can give some feedback?

2) I might occasionally use Photoshop and CorelDraw (kit designs, real ones not for FM). Won't be too often but when it does happen I would rather avoid any frustrating moments due to hardware capabilities. Because of this not sure if I can get away with integrated GPU... By the way, a possibly silly question: can more RAM help here at least a little bit?

3) Would be great to find something that I could use for another ~5 years before planning next purchase.

Thinking of a Ryzen 4500u machine as a compromise between needs / capabilities / battery / price. What I don't know is how it'll handle the occasional use of graphic design software and whether the battery life won't be drastically reduced when playing FM on the go. Would it make more sense to get a budget gaming laptop but somehow help its battery life, eg setting it not to use dedicated GPU for FM, also to get additional cooling or is it irrelevant?

256 GB SSD drive should be fine as I copy media etc on my external HDD.
8 GB RAM probably enough to start with, although would look for 16 GB for not much extra £ if it was worth it.

A few laptops from Box.co.uk I found, search based on the processor(s):

https://www.box.co.uk/M413IA-EB573T-ASUS-Vivobook-14-M413IA-EB573T_2955297.html
https://www.box.co.uk/1E6Z9EAABU-HP-14s-fq0000na_2956544.html
https://www.box.co.uk/M413IA-EB574T-ASUS-VivoBook-14-M413IA-EB574T_2955298.html
https://www.box.co.uk/UM433IQ-A5044T-ASUS-ZenBook-14-UM433IQ-A5044T_2961565.html

HP above and in general seems to give better battery life, although no idea how accurate that is compared to real world use. The last Asus has a dedicated GPU but something tells me I would be going too far above the budget to get an overkill for FM... or am I wrong?

Don't know how to link to my PCSpecialist quote but I picked the following and the price is just under £800:
14" Lafite
Intel i7-10510u (base speed 1.8 GHz and significantly lower on notebookcheck.net than Ryzen 4500u or 4700u so wonder whether I could speak to them about paying extra for another CPU) 
2x 8GB RAM (is this or 1x 16 GB better?)
512 GB SSD
Integrated graphics card
(Cooling stand is £21 extra)
Pros: less bloatware, option to pay within 12 months interest free, specialist seller so assume better advice than from Currys etc, decent looks as for a custom built laptop
Cons: no idea about the battery life, probably difficult to return product if not happy after a few days of using it.

Wow, that was a long post so... Over to you guys, any advice will be very much appreciated.

PS. If it helps I can post my current spec here tomorrow.

Edited October 18, 2020 by right_winger

[kevhamster]

3 minutes ago, right_winger said:

Hi all,

I would like to start with a great THANK YOU to those few users (@Smurf, @kevhamster, @Gangor, plus others more active on previous pages) that patiently keep giving lots of advice to others in this thread which also let me make a shortlist of what should be suitable for me. I knew pretty much nothing before reading this topic but now am able to do at least a bit of homework before asking you some questions.

BUDGET: £600-700 would be great if good vfm, but prepared to go near £800-850 with some help from those Buy Now Pay Later or Paypal 0% Credit deals. Hoping to buy around Black Friday or, if other things get in the way, Christmas / January.

Laptop needed in 80% for FM + 20% Netflix, football streaming, web browsing etc. altogether. Other games very unlikely, if anything some old classics like Commandos or Shadow Tactics. Kids have a console, wife would only use it for web browsing or movie watching (if I let her).

I play de-restricted Touch version in minimum 5 / max 10 countries (top 2 leagues in each). 3D not important, I like it for goal replays but it's not a dealbreaker. I use downloaded logos but could happily restrict them to the most important ones if necessary. Facepacks not so important but would be a bonus if they don't slow down the game too much.
Never play music/movies at the same time as FM but often have a few websites open for ages in the background (forums, news, livescore, skyscanner, things to do, etc random stuff).

Quite a few people here had more or less similar requirements but there is a few "BUTs" in my case:

1) Apart from my sofa or desk I intend to play on my train commute and in airports as I will fly every few weeks between my two homes (at least that's the plan when travelling is back to normal-ish) so portability is important. For this reason and because my current 15.6" feels too big for frequent travels I'm leaning towards a 14-inch laptop with good battery life, reasonably lightweight. Does anyone here play on a machine of this description and can give some feedback?

2) I might occasionally use Photoshop and CorelDraw (kit designs, real ones not for FM). Won't be too often but when it does happen I would rather avoid any frustrating moments due to hardware capabilities. Because of this not sure if I can get away with integrated GPU... By the way, a possibly silly question: can more RAM help here at least a little bit?

3) Would be great to find something that I could use for another ~5 years before planning next purchase.

Thinking of a Ryzen 4500u machine as a compromise between needs / capabilities / battery / price. What I don't know is how it'll handle the occasional use of graphic design software and whether the battery life won't be drastically reduced when playing FM on the go. Would it make more sense to get a budget gaming laptop but somehow help its battery life, eg setting it not to use dedicated GPU for FM, also to get additional cooling or is it irrelevant?

256 GB SSD drive should be fine as I copy media etc on my external HDD.
8 GB RAM probably enough to start with, although would look for 16 GB for not much extra £ if it was worth it.

A few laptops from Box.co.uk I found, search based on the processor(s):

https://www.box.co.uk/M413IA-EB573T-ASUS-Vivobook-14-M413IA-EB573T_2955297.html
https://www.box.co.uk/1E6Z9EAABU-HP-14s-fq0000na_2956544.html
https://www.box.co.uk/M413IA-EB574T-ASUS-VivoBook-14-M413IA-EB574T_2955298.html
https://www.box.co.uk/UM433IQ-A5044T-ASUS-ZenBook-14-UM433IQ-A5044T_2961565.html

HP above and in general seems to give better battery life, although no idea how accurate that is compared to real world use. The last Asus has a dedicated GPU but something tells me I would be going too far above the budget to get an overkill for FM... or am I wrong?

Don't know how to link to my PCSpecialist quote but I picked the following and the price is just under £800:
14" Lafite
Intel i7-10510u (base speed 1.8 GHz and significantly lower on notebookcheck.net than Ryzen 4500u or 4700u so wonder whether I could speak to them about paying extra for another CPU) 
2x 8GB RAM (is this or 1x 16 GB better?)
512 GB SSD
Integrated graphics card
(Cooling stand is £21 extra)
Pros: less bloatware, option to pay within 12 months interest free, specialist seller so assume better advice than from Currys etc, decent looks as for the custom built laptop
Cons: no idea about the battery life, probably difficult to return product if not happy after a few days of using it.

Wow, that was a long post so... Over to you guys, any advice will be very much appreciated.

PS. If it helps I can post my current spec here tomorrow.

I can't answer all your questions, but what I can say is I've used Photoshop on my Ryzen laptop with integrated graphics and faced no issues, but my use was extremely basic so I can't say for sure how more complicated tasks would fare.

Also, I've only ever really used my laptop whilst plugged in, but I'm thinking if you have a gaming laptop with a dedicated graphics card it's going to be a significant drain on the battery compared to integrated graphics, but at the same time I would also assume these laptops include a more heavy duty battery than one with integrated graphics.

If the machine's motherboard supports a dual-channel setup, then it would be preferable to have two 8GB sticks of RAM over one 16GB stick of RAM.

[Deltaroad]

I’m looking at 2 in 1/ convertible laptops to play FM and web browse.

Budget is £800 but at a push £900.

I’m looking at something that is future proof for 5+ years

So I’ve looking at these currently…

HP Envy - £850

  Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 (1.0 GHz base frequency, up to 3.6 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 6 MB L3 cache, 4 cores)

  8 GB memory; 512 GB PCIe® SSD storage

 

 

https://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=133S6EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB

 

 

HP Envy £850

AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-envy-x360-15-6-amd-ryzen-5-2-in-1-laptop-512-gb-ssd-black-10206956-pdt.html

 

 

Lenovo Yoga C740  £800

10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor (4 Cores / 8 Threads, 1.60 GHz, up to 4.20 GHz with Turbo Boost, 6 MB Cache) 8GB RAM, 256GB HD

https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/yoga/yoga-2-in-1-series/Lenovo-Yoga-C740-14/p/81TC001VUK

 

 

Lenovo Yoga C740  £899

  Intel® Core™ i7-10510U Processor

  RAM: 8 GB / Storage: 512 GB SSD
 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-yoga-c740-14-2-in-1-laptop-intel-core-i7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10199086-pdt.html

 

 

I’m looking at something similar to these types of specs but at a lower price at least in the £800 bracket. Also which processors would you recommend between AMD Ryzen 5/ Intel Core i5 and AMD Ryzen 7/Intel Core i7.

Any other good laptop/ convertible laptop sites I can check out? I’ve looked at Currys, Box.co.uk, laptopout.co.uk,

Would you also recommend getting a refurbished laptop to get the price down?

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Deltaroad

[Malicious Penguin]

Just want to add, thanks to this thread I got a laptop that, when loading just the English leagues, with a large database, let me holiday the entire season in around 10 minutes. 

It's not a world beating machine I have, but it allows me to enjoy "Full Fat" Football Manager once more. 

Smurf et al? Thank you!

[Mattias333]

6 hours ago, Deltaroad said:

I’m looking at 2 in 1/ convertible laptops to play FM and web browse.

Budget is £800 but at a push £900.

I’m looking at something that is future proof for 5+ years

So I’ve looking at these currently…

HP Envy - £850

  Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 (1.0 GHz base frequency, up to 3.6 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 6 MB L3 cache, 4 cores)

  8 GB memory; 512 GB PCIe® SSD storage

 

 

https://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=133S6EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB

 

 

HP Envy £850

AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-envy-x360-15-6-amd-ryzen-5-2-in-1-laptop-512-gb-ssd-black-10206956-pdt.html

 

 

Lenovo Yoga C740  £800

10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor (4 Cores / 8 Threads, 1.60 GHz, up to 4.20 GHz with Turbo Boost, 6 MB Cache) 8GB RAM, 256GB HD

https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/yoga/yoga-2-in-1-series/Lenovo-Yoga-C740-14/p/81TC001VUK

 

 

Lenovo Yoga C740  £899

  Intel® Core™ i7-10510U Processor

  RAM: 8 GB / Storage: 512 GB SSD
 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-yoga-c740-14-2-in-1-laptop-intel-core-i7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10199086-pdt.html

 

 

I’m looking at something similar to these types of specs but at a lower price at least in the £800 bracket. Also which processors would you recommend between AMD Ryzen 5/ Intel Core i5 and AMD Ryzen 7/Intel Core i7.

Any other good laptop/ convertible laptop sites I can check out? I’ve looked at Currys, Box.co.uk, laptopout.co.uk,

Would you also recommend getting a refurbished laptop to get the price down?

 

 

I’m no expert but some of the helpful guys recommended this to me originally (only slightly above your budget)

https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F7EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec1009na_2958259.html
 

I opted against it an pushed my own budget slightly to a different model but this could fit your request. 

[right_winger]

10 hours ago, kevhamster said:

I can't answer all your questions, but what I can say is I've used Photoshop on my Ryzen laptop with integrated graphics and faced no issues, but my use was extremely basic so I can't say for sure how more complicated tasks would fare.

This is useful and positive info, thanks. Can you say a little bit more what you do in PS? Just wonder if it's roughly similar to my fiddling.

 

10 hours ago, kevhamster said:

Also, I've only ever really used my laptop whilst plugged in, but I'm thinking if you have a gaming laptop with a dedicated graphics card it's going to be a significant drain on the battery compared to integrated graphics, but at the same time I would also assume these laptops include a more heavy duty battery than one with integrated graphics.

Exactly, my biggest worry and I'm still not any wiser

 

10 hours ago, kevhamster said:

If the machine's motherboard supports a dual-channel setup, then it would be preferable to have two 8GB sticks of RAM over one 16GB stick of RAM.

Is this info normally given in laptop specs? Thinking about it I might consider 16 GB with another slot free for future upgrade to 32 GB if it can help using PS.

Edited October 19, 2020 by right_winger

[kevhamster]

21 minutes ago, right_winger said:

This is useful and positive info, thanks. Can you say a little bit more what you do in PS? Just wonder if it's roughly similar to my fiddling.

 

Exactly, my biggest worry and I'm still not any wiser

 

Is this info normally given in laptop specs? Thinking about it I might consider 16 GB with another slot free for future upgrade to 32 GB if it can help using PS.

1) Basic fiddling is probably a fair assessment of what I've done in Photoshop.  Very basic image editing - primarily for the Photoshop Battles on Reddit and also doing the artwork for my music releases.

2) Sorry I can't offer a better answer!

3) It seems laptop manufacturers don't publish this info very readily, at least looking at the websites for Acer and HP as examples.  My assumption would be as long as they have more than one RAM slot, then they would support dual channel is this is widely recognised as being advantageous, but I couldn't guarantee it.  Just remember when it does come to upgrade, you ideally want both sticks of RAM to match - ideally completely identical, but you will definitely want to ensure they are the same specification  (same speed etc).  When I was a little less knowledgeable, I managed to fry a motherboard by putting in RAM with mixed speeds.  Apparently knackered the memory controller!

[right_winger]

Once again many thanks for your help @kevhamster. The search continues

[Perfo92]

Hi all

Laptop for FM2021

Budget 500-1000 which ever is best/more suitable.

I am a complete novice to pc/laptop gaming. Id like to be able to run most major leagues worldwide or europe, and all english leagues down to the north and south conference so that I could play with Welling. I would also like 3D but its not essential. This laptop will only be for football manager and wont have anything being used at the same time, id just like everything to operate smoothly and not be too slow.

I appreciate any help as I am completely clueless and would not like to get ripped off buying a laptop that wont be able to play the game properly

Cheers 

Matt

Edited October 19, 2020 by Perfo92

[Deltaroad]

8 hours ago, Mattias333 said:

I’m no expert but some of the helpful guys recommended this to me originally (only slightly above your budget)

https://www.box.co.uk/1L6F7EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec1009na_2958259.html
 

I opted against it an pushed my own budget slightly to a different model but this could fit your request. 

 

Thanks but its way over my budget that. Could get a decent TV for that price. Ive fallen for convertible laptop rather than a regular laptop unless someone convinces me not to buy one

[kevhamster]

1 hour ago, Perfo92 said:

Hi all

Laptop for FM2021

Budget 500-1000 which ever is best/more suitable.

I am a complete novice to pc/laptop gaming. Id like to be able to run most major leagues worldwide or europe, and all english leagues down to the north and south conference so that I could play with Welling. I would also like 3D but its not essential. This laptop will only be for football manager and wont have anything being used at the same time, id just like everything to operate smoothly and not be too slow.

I appreciate any help as I am completely clueless and would not like to get ripped off buying a laptop that wont be able to play the game properly

Cheers 

Matt

This offers a good balance between price and performance.

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q8LEK.001-Acer-Aspire-7-Gaming-A715-41G_2934861.html

Edited October 19, 2020 by kevhamster

[samrph]

16 minutes ago, kevhamster said:

This offers a good balance between price and performance.

https://www.box.co.uk/NH.Q8LEK.001-Acer-Aspire-7-Gaming-A715-41G_2934861.html

Out of the one you have posted here and these 2, which would you recommend? Any experience in the different brands? 

Thanks in advance!

 

https://www.ebuyer.com/990710-lenovo-legion-5-ryzen-5-8gb-256gb-ssd-gtx-1650-15-6-win10-82b50042uk?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8rT8BRCbARIsALWiOvTpnGa4jt3yeB8Ku1Jqzbhq99I5Qo5TBzfOrvKXasRnMDHR8xJQcFgaAvT2EALw_wcB

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/gaming/pc-gaming/gaming-laptops/acer-nitro-5-an515-54-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-gtx-1650-256-gb-ssd-10205925-pdt.html

 

[kevhamster]

Based on this benchmark: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-9300H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-4600H/m744904vsm1110331

The Lenovo should be the stronger performer.  The Ryzen in the Lenovo has more cores, more threads and a higher base clock speed, as well as faster RAM on that laptop.  Both have the same graphics card, so there's no difference to take into account there.

However, the Acer at Currys would still be very capable and is £100 lower in price.

What I would say is, if the Lenovo isn't stretching your budget, then that will be the overall stronger performer and would be the one to go for.  But, if it is stretching it, then you will still have a very good FM (and general computer) experience on the Acer.

I've owned laptops from both brands in the past, nothing bad to say about either from my own experience.

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by kevhamster

[samrph]

10 minutes ago, kevhamster said:

Based on this benchmark: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-9300H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-4600H/m744904vsm1110331

The Lenovo should be the stronger performer.  The Ryzen in the Lenovo has more cores, more threads and a higher base clock speed, as well as faster RAM on that laptop.  Both have the same graphics card, so there's no difference to take into account there.

However, the Acer at Currys would still be very capable and is £100 lower in price.

What I would say is, if the Lenovo isn't stretching your budget, then that will be the overall stronger performer and would be the one to go for.  But, if it is stretching it, then you will still have a very good FM (and general computer) experience on the Acer.

I've owned laptops from both brands in the past, nothing bad to say about either from my own experience.

 

Really appreciate you taking the time to reply! Thanks!

[zep81]

I have been looking at this for FM21 https://www.stormforcegaming.co.uk/product/onyx-athlon-3000g-pc/ budget is limited and I can only go for something on finance atm. Was just wondering if anyone can tell how this would run. Thank you.

[andy_gza]

Hey lads, unfortunately I'm another lost soul looking for a hand if possible, My old trusty Lenovo z50 went bang today and suffice to say I'm stressed about the already purchased fm21 being playable.

So it's new laptop time, my budget is at tops around £600-£650

But I'd like it to have 1tb of space if possible. I play Fm in 3d but I've never cared about high graphics settings, if it plays smoothly enough I can accept lower settings, also, I don't expect hundreds of leagues running. Thanks in advance, Andy.

Edited October 19, 2020 by andy_gza
Punctuation

[kevhamster]

31 minutes ago, andy_gza said:

Hey lads, unfortunately I'm another lost soul looking for a hand if possible, My old trusty Lenovo z50 went bang today and suffice to say I'm stressed about the already purchased fm21 being playable.

So it's new laptop time, my budget is at tops around 600-650

But I'd like it to have 1tb of space if possible. I play Fm in 3d but I've never cared for high graphics settings, if it plays smoothly enough I can accept lower settings, also, I don't expect hundreds of league running. Thanks in advance, Andy.

Because SSD's are taking over, it's getting harder and harder to find something with a 1TB hard drive at the moment.

This one is pretty decent though, although it is pretty hefty in size with a 17 inch screen: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/5826911.

I honestly can't find a huge amount to recommend within the price range with 1TB storage aside from this from brand new stock.

If want something a bit smaller and you're happy with refurb, then this is a decent spec and I can vouch for this store having purchased 2 refurb laptops from them in the last 3 years: https://www.laptopstation.co.uk/product/laptops/a504gd/

The refurb is the better spec of the two, so if you don't mind a refurb unit then that's the one I'd go for.

Edited October 19, 2020 by kevhamster

[kevhamster]

52 minutes ago, zep81 said:

I have been looking at this for FM21 https://www.stormforcegaming.co.uk/product/onyx-athlon-3000g-pc/ budget is limited and I can only go for something on finance atm. Was just wondering if anyone can tell how this would run. Thank you.

If you can afford a little bit more, I'd go for this: https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Ultra-3-Elite-Gaming-PC

The one you've linked is ok for the budget, but for an extra £30 this offers a decent jump in performance.

[zep81]

5 minutes ago, kevhamster said:

If you can afford a little bit more, I'd go for this: https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Ultra-3-Elite-Gaming-PC

The one you've linked is ok for the budget, but for an extra £30 this offers a decent jump in performance.

Ah tnank you mate, I will look more into that PC you linked. But if I did go for the first one, you think FM21 will run well on it from a speed and graphical point? Thanks again for yoir help.

[kevhamster]

1 minute ago, zep81 said:

Ah tnank you mate, I will look more into that PC you linked. But if I did go for the first one, you think FM21 will run well on it from a speed and graphical point? Thanks again for yoir help.

Graphics - yes.  The Athlon has decent integrated graphics and should handle the 3D engine at medium to high settings.

Speed - I'd say moderate.  It won't be absolutely awful as the Athlon 3000G is one of the best budget CPUs currently available.  It won't be super fast though.

[zep81]

6 minutes ago, kevhamster said:

Graphics - yes.  The Athlon has decent integrated graphics and should handle the 3D engine at medium to high settings.

Speed - I'd say moderate.  It won't be absolutely awful as the Athlon 3000G is one of the best budget CPUs currently available.  It won't be super fast though.

Ah thanks again. Just one more thing; Looking at this one too https://www.littlewoods.com/zoostorm-stormforce-onyx-amd-ryzen-3-3200g-8gb-ram-1tb-hard-drive-gaming-pc-black/1600403031.prd I can get it for £220 less than the price as I have credit with them. Will this be ok? I assume its W10 64 bit too as it doesn't say. I can't afford it all at once so why I'm going the finance route atm.

[andy_gza]

33 minutes ago, kevhamster said:

Because SSD's are taking over, it's getting harder and harder to find something with a 1TB hard drive at the moment.

This one is pretty decent though, although it is pretty hefty in size with a 17 inch screen: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/5826911.

I honestly can't find a huge amount to recommend within the price range with 1TB storage aside from this from brand new stock.

If want something a bit smaller and you're happy with refurb, then this is a decent spec and I can vouch for this store having purchased 2 refurb laptops from them in the last 3 years: https://www.laptopstation.co.uk/product/laptops/a504gd/

The refurb is the better spec of the two, so if you don't mind a refurb unit then that's the one I'd go for.

Cheers for the reply mate.

I like the look of the refurb tbh, what about this one? Seems similar spec? Which is better between the 2 refurb? 

https://www.laptopstation.co.uk/product/laptops/an-n515/