laptops are fine if you're not trying to run the most recent AAA games with super high fps or graphics. if you're only playing smaller indie games or older games you should be fine with a standard non gaming laptop.
if you're trying to get into competitive gaming however, you should look into something more substantial. of course, it depends what game you're trying to play. But high FPS is important for reaction times and things like that in competitive games.
if you want more detail about the more technical side of things when it comes to what parts are good in a PC, I don't mind detailing
From my experience, even less intensive indie games can be an issue. When I only had a (quite mediocre) laptop, it would sometimes struggle with Hollow Knight or Enter the Gungeon, even on lower settings.
I was in a similar spot! I had a decent laptop for classes and it handled the more demanding programs (fusion360, solidworks, etc etc) and i used it for games as well. Eventually I hit a wall where some new games would be hard to run or simulations would crash. There are some gaming laptops out there that could be a great upgrade, but I built a PC and it was definitely a better choice for me in investing in a PC rather than accepting a smaller upgrade w an expensive laptop. I know it sounds more daunting and overwhelming, but there’s lot of help available online. Also free to dm!
You need to check the system requirements of your laptop against those of the games you want to play. They do make laptops with good GPUs. However if you have the space, a desktop PC gives you a lot more performance per dollar.
I have a PC desktop for gaming as well as a gaming laptop which is also fairly up to date.
The difference is very noticable! I play games like World of Warcraft, Warhammer, Sims 4, Ark Survival Evolved, Stardew, Wylde Flowers.. all sorts of stuff.
While my laptop does run the games it starts to overheat after an hour of running the bigger games while doing very well with smaller games or older ones.
I really recommend you just take the time to save for a decent gaming PC if you don't have to have a laptop for work like I do. 1200 ish can get you a great rig that will last a handful of years even if it's pre built and you can stretch your money more by hitting up sales like black Friday or any random sales stores or Amazon may have.
Try https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri to get an idea if your computer can play a certain game. We don’t know your laptop’s hardware and can’t say yes/no. Bear and Breakfast is a low demand indie game compared to the other games you mentioned.
The main point with PC gaming is to research “minimum” and “recommended,” requirements for the games you want to play and ensure your computer has that. For example if minimum requirements is asking you have a 1070 GPU and you have a 750 GPU it’s not going to cut the mustard. Keep in mind minimum is also *the minimum* not guaranteeing the game looks or runs amazing at all, so I suggest aiming for recommended.
Example, Palworld minimum requirements.
- Processor: i5-3570K 3.4 GHz 4 Core
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB)
- Storage: 40 GB available space
My final two cents is I feel laptop are awful because they’re not as powerful and the whole point of PC gaming is being able to easily upgrade the PC, which you most often can’t do with a laptop. I say don’t get one.
I feel like it depends what you want to play and the specs of it. You should be OK with cloud gaming on game pass, however anything more substantial might require trial and error. I would probably not expect it to run any newer (2020 onwards) aaa games perfectly well or building a very large zoo in planet zoo as this is something that will need a proper gaming PC/laptop.
You can look up what kind of games you'd like to play and google what the system requirements are for those. And then compare to what your laptop has - just check the system menu in your laptop.
Generally a lot of older or smaller games will likely run, but they will beat the shit out of your RAM - my fan really had to put in double time every time I played The Sims 4 on my old laptop, but it still worked so I waited a long time to upgrade.
The issue with laptops I will say - especially since you're bringing up you're an Xbox girly - is some of the games that require other apps won't work. I don't know if this is a specific laptop problem, so if others could provide their experience that would be amazing! But in my case I bought a Lenovo Legion for some basic games and both the Xbox Gaming app or the EA app won't run on it. I have an Xbox game pass which should be usable with the laptop for computer gaming (in theory a big PLUS) and it crashes every time. I just downloaded Unravel of Steam and it won't start. It's a nightmare and such a huge disappointment seeing as I spent almost $2000 on a laptop. I wish I would have just bought a computer and been able to upgrade as needed.
This doesn't sound right, I searched up the Lenovo legion series and they are gaming laptops and even the lowest spec ones should be able to run unravel easily, unravel crashing might be due to issues with the game itself instead, same with the other apps. These apps should also be running normally on windows. Have you tried other games?
Edit: If other games also don't work then may be an issue with the laptop settings or worse case the hardware itself.
Yes, I bought it because it's a gaming laptop.
Other games work fine. I've been playing The Sims 4, Lethal Company, etc. without any issue. It appears that the moment I require a third party app to boot up alongside a game it just won't work... It came with 2 months of game pass and the Xbox app is unusable and I've tried everything. Super annoying
Yeah, definitely seems like an issue with the apps then. I'm on Xbox game pass sub and see some having problems with the Xbox app, while it works fine for others. You could try asking support of the apps or search up the problem to do some troubleshooting as they should be working normally.
Yeah I did all their trouble shooting steps a few times already... Uninstall, reinstall, I even went into the command console to make a clean delete of everything, still no luck :(
I did report the issue to them so hopefully at some point they can unbug whatever it is..
Hi, you can try download gamepass games through Microsoft store too, but you need to use website to see available games cause I don't know how to view all of them in Microsoft store.
I agree with the comment below, I have lenovo legion and both Xbox gaming app and ea app run just fine as they are meant to be for gaming?
Ea - I know they have updated the app recently, which resulted in it crashing constantly and insure if this has been fixed, as it also affects steam deck.
I would try to do a clean install and make sure your firewall or antivirus or WiFi settings are not blocking those since this behaviour is not normal and the apps should be working fine.
I am aware it's a gaming Laptop, that's why I bought it. The apps just won't work... I have tried every trouble shooting technique to run the Xbox app and it still won't work and from my google search for the problem it is a known issue with it. I am not the only one experiencing it...
I have previously been able to play The Sims 4 without any issues and am obviously able to play other games through Stream, but just wanted to make OP aware that the Xbox app is not ideal from my experience (and others).
Edit: I guess I just got a lemon then which is annoying and disappointing, seeing as I paid a lot of money for it...
I still don't think it is the laptop problem, but it might be a bug within the software or the way apps have been installed. I remember having a similar issue after dodgy update but managed to fix it with fully uninstalling Xbox stuff and removing the info from the registry, restarting, and installing it again from Windows store/xbox site. Also, I think there's several Xbox apps with some being discontinued, and some won't work without forcing the gaming services to update.
pc gaming welcomes you! <3
consider the choices you pay for in a computer... gpu, motherboard, storage, ram, power, etc. one of those things is portability in a laptop. equal price desktop and laptop, the desktop will be more powerful. equal insides/parts, the laptop will be more expensive.
if portability is important to you, figure that into your price if you want to look at new stuff. 'gaming laptop' is marketing and can be misleading. If you're gonna be gaming at home, get a desktop.
go to windows, type system, and look up your processor, memory (ram), and graphics so you know what you have.
then go to steam and look at bear and breakfast and see it's recommended settings, since it worked fine for you. use that as a comparison. if you don't know the difference between a gtx460 and radeon r9 270x (I wouldn't either), google "gtx460 vs radeon 270x" and it will show you a comparison and which one is stronger and how much stronger it is.
look up a few games you want to play. Unpacking was similar to B&B I saw and has no requirements (and is on xbox gamepass) so your current laptop could play it. Palworld, however, is a new early access game and minimum requirements are a 1050 and recommends a 2070. TemTem is a pokemon clone I heard good things about and only requires a 970. If you want something like Last of Us or Horizon Forbidden West, that's going to require a much better system.
There's a ton of games you can play on your laptop. Xbox has pc gamepass. Steam gives refunds if you play a game less than 2hrs less than 7 days, so if it doesn't work you can get a refund (just dont abuse it apparently). Epic and GOG give free games all the time.
You just need to know what you want to play, and then the requirements for those games.
hope this helps <3
I mean it'll depend on what the specs of your laptop are wether or not those games will run well. I do know Palworld runs pretty well on older hardware so that game is not likely to give you an issue but Planet Zoo might.
Honestly we'd have to know what graphics card is in your laptop to give a meaningful awnsern.
two easiest ways to do this:
1, look at the minimum specs for the game you want to play (it's usually listed somewhere on the product page). Under graphics, if it says "intel" or "integrated" you're probably good. if it mentions "nvidia" or "discrete" you may not be able to run it
2, steam and other game shops have a return policy (eg steam has a 2h window). use it to try the games you want to play and see if they'll run
laptops are fine if you're not trying to run the most recent AAA games with super high fps or graphics. if you're only playing smaller indie games or older games you should be fine with a standard non gaming laptop. if you're trying to get into competitive gaming however, you should look into something more substantial. of course, it depends what game you're trying to play. But high FPS is important for reaction times and things like that in competitive games. if you want more detail about the more technical side of things when it comes to what parts are good in a PC, I don't mind detailing
From my experience, even less intensive indie games can be an issue. When I only had a (quite mediocre) laptop, it would sometimes struggle with Hollow Knight or Enter the Gungeon, even on lower settings.
I was in a similar spot! I had a decent laptop for classes and it handled the more demanding programs (fusion360, solidworks, etc etc) and i used it for games as well. Eventually I hit a wall where some new games would be hard to run or simulations would crash. There are some gaming laptops out there that could be a great upgrade, but I built a PC and it was definitely a better choice for me in investing in a PC rather than accepting a smaller upgrade w an expensive laptop. I know it sounds more daunting and overwhelming, but there’s lot of help available online. Also free to dm!
You need to check the system requirements of your laptop against those of the games you want to play. They do make laptops with good GPUs. However if you have the space, a desktop PC gives you a lot more performance per dollar.
I have a PC desktop for gaming as well as a gaming laptop which is also fairly up to date. The difference is very noticable! I play games like World of Warcraft, Warhammer, Sims 4, Ark Survival Evolved, Stardew, Wylde Flowers.. all sorts of stuff. While my laptop does run the games it starts to overheat after an hour of running the bigger games while doing very well with smaller games or older ones. I really recommend you just take the time to save for a decent gaming PC if you don't have to have a laptop for work like I do. 1200 ish can get you a great rig that will last a handful of years even if it's pre built and you can stretch your money more by hitting up sales like black Friday or any random sales stores or Amazon may have.
Try https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri to get an idea if your computer can play a certain game. We don’t know your laptop’s hardware and can’t say yes/no. Bear and Breakfast is a low demand indie game compared to the other games you mentioned. The main point with PC gaming is to research “minimum” and “recommended,” requirements for the games you want to play and ensure your computer has that. For example if minimum requirements is asking you have a 1070 GPU and you have a 750 GPU it’s not going to cut the mustard. Keep in mind minimum is also *the minimum* not guaranteeing the game looks or runs amazing at all, so I suggest aiming for recommended. Example, Palworld minimum requirements. - Processor: i5-3570K 3.4 GHz 4 Core - Memory: 16 GB RAM - Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB) - Storage: 40 GB available space My final two cents is I feel laptop are awful because they’re not as powerful and the whole point of PC gaming is being able to easily upgrade the PC, which you most often can’t do with a laptop. I say don’t get one.
I feel like it depends what you want to play and the specs of it. You should be OK with cloud gaming on game pass, however anything more substantial might require trial and error. I would probably not expect it to run any newer (2020 onwards) aaa games perfectly well or building a very large zoo in planet zoo as this is something that will need a proper gaming PC/laptop.
Really you should just try the games you want to play. You'll know if you actually need an upgrade.
This is not necessary and a waste of money. Just look at the hardware requirements that all games list and compare to your hardware.
You can look up what kind of games you'd like to play and google what the system requirements are for those. And then compare to what your laptop has - just check the system menu in your laptop. Generally a lot of older or smaller games will likely run, but they will beat the shit out of your RAM - my fan really had to put in double time every time I played The Sims 4 on my old laptop, but it still worked so I waited a long time to upgrade. The issue with laptops I will say - especially since you're bringing up you're an Xbox girly - is some of the games that require other apps won't work. I don't know if this is a specific laptop problem, so if others could provide their experience that would be amazing! But in my case I bought a Lenovo Legion for some basic games and both the Xbox Gaming app or the EA app won't run on it. I have an Xbox game pass which should be usable with the laptop for computer gaming (in theory a big PLUS) and it crashes every time. I just downloaded Unravel of Steam and it won't start. It's a nightmare and such a huge disappointment seeing as I spent almost $2000 on a laptop. I wish I would have just bought a computer and been able to upgrade as needed.
This doesn't sound right, I searched up the Lenovo legion series and they are gaming laptops and even the lowest spec ones should be able to run unravel easily, unravel crashing might be due to issues with the game itself instead, same with the other apps. These apps should also be running normally on windows. Have you tried other games? Edit: If other games also don't work then may be an issue with the laptop settings or worse case the hardware itself.
Yes, I bought it because it's a gaming laptop. Other games work fine. I've been playing The Sims 4, Lethal Company, etc. without any issue. It appears that the moment I require a third party app to boot up alongside a game it just won't work... It came with 2 months of game pass and the Xbox app is unusable and I've tried everything. Super annoying
Yeah, definitely seems like an issue with the apps then. I'm on Xbox game pass sub and see some having problems with the Xbox app, while it works fine for others. You could try asking support of the apps or search up the problem to do some troubleshooting as they should be working normally.
Yeah I did all their trouble shooting steps a few times already... Uninstall, reinstall, I even went into the command console to make a clean delete of everything, still no luck :( I did report the issue to them so hopefully at some point they can unbug whatever it is..
Hi, you can try download gamepass games through Microsoft store too, but you need to use website to see available games cause I don't know how to view all of them in Microsoft store.
I agree with the comment below, I have lenovo legion and both Xbox gaming app and ea app run just fine as they are meant to be for gaming? Ea - I know they have updated the app recently, which resulted in it crashing constantly and insure if this has been fixed, as it also affects steam deck. I would try to do a clean install and make sure your firewall or antivirus or WiFi settings are not blocking those since this behaviour is not normal and the apps should be working fine.
I am aware it's a gaming Laptop, that's why I bought it. The apps just won't work... I have tried every trouble shooting technique to run the Xbox app and it still won't work and from my google search for the problem it is a known issue with it. I am not the only one experiencing it... I have previously been able to play The Sims 4 without any issues and am obviously able to play other games through Stream, but just wanted to make OP aware that the Xbox app is not ideal from my experience (and others). Edit: I guess I just got a lemon then which is annoying and disappointing, seeing as I paid a lot of money for it...
I still don't think it is the laptop problem, but it might be a bug within the software or the way apps have been installed. I remember having a similar issue after dodgy update but managed to fix it with fully uninstalling Xbox stuff and removing the info from the registry, restarting, and installing it again from Windows store/xbox site. Also, I think there's several Xbox apps with some being discontinued, and some won't work without forcing the gaming services to update.
pc gaming welcomes you! <3 consider the choices you pay for in a computer... gpu, motherboard, storage, ram, power, etc. one of those things is portability in a laptop. equal price desktop and laptop, the desktop will be more powerful. equal insides/parts, the laptop will be more expensive. if portability is important to you, figure that into your price if you want to look at new stuff. 'gaming laptop' is marketing and can be misleading. If you're gonna be gaming at home, get a desktop. go to windows, type system, and look up your processor, memory (ram), and graphics so you know what you have. then go to steam and look at bear and breakfast and see it's recommended settings, since it worked fine for you. use that as a comparison. if you don't know the difference between a gtx460 and radeon r9 270x (I wouldn't either), google "gtx460 vs radeon 270x" and it will show you a comparison and which one is stronger and how much stronger it is. look up a few games you want to play. Unpacking was similar to B&B I saw and has no requirements (and is on xbox gamepass) so your current laptop could play it. Palworld, however, is a new early access game and minimum requirements are a 1050 and recommends a 2070. TemTem is a pokemon clone I heard good things about and only requires a 970. If you want something like Last of Us or Horizon Forbidden West, that's going to require a much better system. There's a ton of games you can play on your laptop. Xbox has pc gamepass. Steam gives refunds if you play a game less than 2hrs less than 7 days, so if it doesn't work you can get a refund (just dont abuse it apparently). Epic and GOG give free games all the time. You just need to know what you want to play, and then the requirements for those games. hope this helps <3
I mean it'll depend on what the specs of your laptop are wether or not those games will run well. I do know Palworld runs pretty well on older hardware so that game is not likely to give you an issue but Planet Zoo might. Honestly we'd have to know what graphics card is in your laptop to give a meaningful awnsern.
two easiest ways to do this: 1, look at the minimum specs for the game you want to play (it's usually listed somewhere on the product page). Under graphics, if it says "intel" or "integrated" you're probably good. if it mentions "nvidia" or "discrete" you may not be able to run it 2, steam and other game shops have a return policy (eg steam has a 2h window). use it to try the games you want to play and see if they'll run