| Poster | Message |
|---|---|
| Judge HoldenSuper Regular Scout Crowbar Master P: 04/15/2024 14:12 | any recommendations for affordable laptop that can play older games like civ. 5?: MINIMUM: OS *: Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7 Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz Memory: 2GB RAM Graphics:256 MB ATI HD2600 XT or better, 256 MB nVidia 7900 GS or better, or Core i3 or better integrated graphics DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0c Hard Drive: 8 GB Free Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card Note: Optimized for the touch-screen Ultrabook™ device |
| XenOz3r0xTSuper Regular Shotgun Quick Draw P: 04/15/2024 14:28 | Define affordable. CIV5 can be resource heavy, especially when you load the DLCs and other gameplay mechanics. You would at least need a CPU 2-4x as powerful as what you posted and 8x the RAM and if it has to be a laptop, then a laptop with decent thermals cause that game can make your machine a good portable heater. Oh and the graphics, I used to run CIV5 on an Rx480 GPU so anything powerful than that at least. |
| -[IBSC]-iLluSiON-Daycare Manager Killer Scout P: 04/15/2024 15:11 | Budget? |
| lil-bastard P: 04/15/2024 15:37 | Get a Best Buy card and use it for 12 months same as cash |
| GeneralYeargan P: 04/15/2024 16:06 | I usually do the progressive leasing for 3 months interest free. They do have the 12 month financing if you got good credit lol. |
| [IOD]SnipsSuper Regular Speed Sniping Master P: 04/15/2024 17:28 | I'd change the minimum OS to WindowsXP & Windows7 and just skip the nightmare Windows Vista. From a security perspective, remember to never go online when using an old operating system where support ended by Microsoft - which as of now is anything under Windows 10. End of life for Windows 8 was January 12, 2016 and Windows 8.1 was January 10, 2023. Where obviously windows 7, vista and xp support ending dates were many years before those. When support for the OS ends, patches provided by Microsoft end. So Microsoft's "patch tuesday - 2nd tuesday of every month" no longer send out hotfixes. Hackers discover or keep secret known exploits and hacks because they know it'll be a free for all after the end of support by Microsoft. Windows 10 end date will be October 14, 2025. Just do not go online with the older operating systems, consider internet worms/rootkits/malware/virus to silently enter the computer while it's connected to the internet through the many unfixed non-patched holes that exist. |
| Judge HoldenSuper Regular Scout Crowbar Master P: 04/15/2024 17:53 E: 04/15/2024 17:55 | under $500 another idea, any GAME recommendations for a cheap laptop, say $300 or under? something Civ-like. heading back to the wilderness this summer. |
| XenOz3r0xTSuper Regular Shotgun Quick Draw P: 04/15/2024 18:00 | I think you might be better off with a tower tbh than a laptop. I do not think you will find a laptop in the under $500 club that will even load CIV5. I think you could piece together parts for a tower at $500 or less though. The closest games to CIV5 IMO would be the command and conquer games (the older ones and maybe not the 3D ones). That should be able to run on the specs you provided. |
| Judge HoldenSuper Regular Scout Crowbar Master P: 04/15/2024 18:52 | i have a tower here at home, but i'm going to be living elsewhere and won't be playing much. just want something light to play slow games every now and then. |
| neseSuper Regular Rocket Jumping Capper P: 04/17/2024 23:55 | https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Thin-GF63-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B0C5SP5K MD?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A3NEDQA 5EHAKQ0&th=1 Though I'd shell another hundred for better RAM. Good games FPS single player- Bioshock series, Homefront, Metro 2033 series, Void Bastards, the new (I say new, but now like a decade old) Wolfenstein series. Civ type - V was fun, good choice. Surviving Mars, Frostpunk, Northgard (this is ok as single player in multiplayer after the campaign, sort of C&C like too), Bounty Train Should be able to get most for pennies on the dollar and should run OK on an old laptop. Have fun! |
| [IOD]SnipsSuper Regular Speed Sniping Master P: 04/18/2024 05:17 | Is a dedicated display attached to the laptop required for your setup? You could go the route of a Mini PC which is basically a small cube without a screen that has laptop parts on the inside where some have a huge cpu fan in the middle hidden that pushes air throughout it. They're exceptionally quiet and use very little electricity. But connecting this to a pc gamer desktop monitor or a large TV (120hz or higher is nice) will be required through displayport or HDMI as they come with no screen. I think it was a year or two ago I got my dad a Minisforum HM80, where the entire cube is only 6inch x 6inch x 2.2inch! THe AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor along with embedded GPU is quite powerful with 8cores 16threads that can boost upto 4Ghz. I think it uses like 60 watts at the very max but browsing the web and lighter stuff it can use like 5-10watts only so no noise or extra heat during extended use. Going this route might not be the cheapest, however it's going to last longer than a typical laptop due to a 4 or 5 inch internal fan compared to a laptop's 1 or 2 inch fans that are a bitch to replace if they fail. We maxed his mini pc with 64GB ram too. Has USB 3.2 ports, 2.5Gbps ethernet & wifi6. Supposedly can handle 4k@60hz triple displays too but I haven't tried that. After we also tossed a 4TB SSD into it the total cost was around $900 but the bare system without ram or other upgrades could've gotten it to around $450 in 2021 or 2022 I think. Obviously prices continue to drop with newer technology out now. |
| [IOD]SnipsSuper Regular Speed Sniping Master P: 04/18/2024 05:19 | Xen is correct in recommending a tower, like he said you can buy parts much more affordable for a tower. I'll add onto that and say that towers last a lot longer & are easier/cheaper to fix generally as they manage heat and dust much better then a laptop that jams and crams heat generating parts as close together as possible. You mentioned heading back to the wilderness this summer. Are you playing games in a cabin or van without air conditioning? Are you using a solar power setup you threw together yourself? Power efficiency, heat output, size of computer, how long it will last, noise and the total price are all variables. Some of those sound like they'll matter if you're in a remote location. |
| -[IBSC]-iLluSiON-Daycare Manager Killer Scout P: 04/18/2024 07:28 | Judge Holden wrote: under $500 another idea, any GAME recommendations for a cheap laptop, say $300 or under? something Civ-like. heading back to the wilderness this summer. Age of Wonders series is one if my favorite turn-based games. Not sure if a cheaper laptop can handle the newest one but it should handle the older ones. Also, for something close to Civ but takes place in space, I would check out Stellaris. |
| XenOz3r0xTSuper Regular Shotgun Quick Draw P: 04/18/2024 07:43 | Shot in the dark, why not just download emulators for SNES, Genesis, NES, etc? You can literally play hundreds of games for free on a potato. You would just need a USB controller if you don’t fancy the keyboard. |
| Judge HoldenSuper Regular Scout Crowbar Master P: 04/18/2024 09:03 | thanks all for the input! |
| angry_saladSuper Regular Medic Capping Service P: 04/20/2024 11:54 E: 04/20/2024 11:56 | Something like this would do the job: https://www.amazon.ca/HP-i7-6820HQ-Windows-Certified-Refurbi... Or a lower spec https://www.amazon.ca/HP-ZBook-15-G2-Refurbished/dp/B08QTSXY... Bear in mind the prices are CAD so the equivalent in USD would be lower. I'm currently running VMWare on a ZBook 15 and typing this on a ZBook 14, both are 10 years old. Those old ZBooks will definitely support Win 7. Hit me up if you need a Win 7 Pro key. I have valid ISOs as well. |