In a month I’m going to be buying a new laptop. What do you think about this one? Will it be good enough for UE4 and UE5?
https://www.mediamarkt.de/de/product/_asus-vivobook-f-series-144hz-fertig-eingericht-84200531.html
A laptop isn’t ever the “right” choice for Unreal development, but at least that laptop has a GPU that has shader model 12, and enough RAM to actually run the shader compilers and load levels without running out.
So, yes, you can probably run the UE5 editor on that laptop. But it will, at times, chug, and if you’re planning to build the next massive MMO or open world FPS game, you’ll probably run out of resources pretty quick 
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Speaking of, interesting to see 40GB (!?) RAM in an otherwise modest laptop. Do note that folks have been reporting running out of 4GB vRAM and the 1650 has exactly that much.
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If you intend to make 2D, simple, retro-looking or mobile games, sure. But that GPU is really not cut for the job if you want to go full on nanite+lumen, and a quad core CPU will take ages to compile shaders and C++ code.
Keep in mind that making games take quite more resources than running them, so you’ll have a not so good time making games which have that same GPU/CPU as a minimum requirement.
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It would work, but it won’t be optimal. UE development is never optimal on a laptop because of a silly bug Epic to my knowledge STILL hasnt fixed (its been years). Its a bug where the editor just keeps crashing if your laptop is not plugged in to the power outlet. If you ensure you always have a socket nearby though it won’t be a massive problem, just obnoxious sometimes.
On that note though, you will want to prioritize a good CPU over 40(?!) GB of RAM, also that GPU is definetly on the older side (and even for its time its the kindof lite version). I personally would take a laptop that has a better CPU and GPU and 16GB of RAM, thats usually enough anyway unless youre doing REALLY crazy things.
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@Wopsielol @Manoel.Neto @Everynone
thank you so much for taking the time to answer. what do you think about these then:
thanks a lot for your answer. i mean i don’t really intend to do some too crazy things, mostly artsy virtual installations, but this is a rare opportunity for me to update my technology so i guess it’s better to get something that’s going to be better long term.
what do you think about these two:
I would say the second link you send is a much better machine considering it has a better GPU that will last you a good long while. It is very limited for storage, though. 500GB is not a lot, especially if you are intending to use it semi-professionally. Storage however is relatively easy to upgrade yourself.
To be fully honest I would personally recommend visiting a specialized local computer store that also builds machines themselves. I did this roughly 6 years ago, counted down 1200 euros for an overall average machine. Thing is that that average machine had everything exactly as I needed it. I can strongly recommend discussing it with local folks if you define a budget for yourself. They often can also build it for you and install your OS of choice without any of the usual bloat that often comes with pre-built PCs.
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Discard the Captiva.
If you’re choosing between the two, the Lenovo seems like an OK starting rig but you will need 32GB RAM. It’s easy to expand most of the time, however…
- they must have opted for the most basic motherboard, offering next to no upgrade options further down the line. Looks like the mobo has 2 slots only and 1 populated - you will not even get dual channel memory out of the box until you get another stick. One could live with this machine after a small upgrade.
- the power supply is probably one of the most basic units. This is not right. Not in a 1000 Euro gaming machine.
I’d seriously avoid both. Do you need to stick to that website? Asking as you may have no choice because somebody gifted you a voucher, for example?
In a month I’m going to be buying a new laptop.
If you do have the time, consider a little bit of research. Head over to:
Switch to Germany (right?), have a look at this budget shelf:
This is not a shop, just an overview of components one would expect to find in this price range - a computer that has no major bottlenecks. Since you’re gearing towards development rather than gaming, you’ll want to prioritise things slightly differently, though.
Things are somewhat easy when you’re assembling a PC from the parts you pick yourself but not everyone can be bothered. Assuming picking a pre-assembled machine in the 1000 euro range, you will want to get as close to this as possible:
- a minimum 6 core 12 thread CPU that is no older than 2020, don’t be afraid of the non-overclockable processors - real value gems
- 32GB DDR4 RAM - ignore its speed
- a motherboard that has 4x memory slots
- a 600W gold+ rated power supply
- a ¬300 euro GPU with minimum 8GB vRAM, the GeForce 3060 12GB would be a dream in this price range, though
- NVMe SSD that is minimum 1TB
It may be tough to find exactly all that in the 1000-1100 range but keep the checklist in mind when browsing around.
If you find something that makes sense, do post it. We can try poking holes in it.
It’s not a bad time to buy a PC now, new AMD CPUs have just dropped, Intel’s offering is going to be revealed by the end of the week, too. Intel is now making video cards that can actually compete… 3rd player has joined the game. And the new GeForces are around the corner, too.
All of this will drive the prices of the last gen down. It already has, but once the dust settles in a week or two, you should be able to find more bargains.
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wooow i can’t thank you enough!
the reason i chose austrian and german stores cyberport and mediamarkt is because i’m from serbia, where technology can be 50-200% more expensive then in hungary, austria and germany, which are 2-7 hours car drive away from me (and i will go on the beginning of december anyways), so it pays off to go there and buy stuff like this, and i would get the tax return as well as a foreigner. but i could buy it anywhere hypothetically, i would just need the receipts as proof for the institution that awarded me the money. and those stores are convenient to me as they have a detailed website and big offer.
i just sent both of these stores inquiries asking them if they provide the assistance to help me put together a customized PC and i sent them your wonderful list of criteria. i will get back to you as soon as they reply me. if they say no, i assume i can just buy those parts individually in their store and then give it to some local computer guys to assemble it for me?
It may be even worse; it may be two 8 GB DIMMs (which are somewhat cheap and plentiful for manufacturers.) So you have to throw those away to put in dual 16 GB DIMMs.
I agree on the RTX 3060 12GB as a target – it’s a good creator GPU for a budget.
I also like the Ryzen 5000/6000 series. The 3000 series is a little old; the 7000 is too bleeding new to be affordable just yet. The current Intels don’t compare, especially for content creation, because you get fewer cores for your dollars. (Or euros.)
You don’t actually need to go with more than 512 GB for the system drive; especially if it is M.2. You can get a second SSD for a “D drive” and make it 4 TB SATA SSD, and put all your libraries and projects on that. I do that; it works great. You do have to actually re-configure the download / storage paths for the Epic Launcher and new projects, though.
And good 4 TB SATA SSDs are reasonable in price – and 2 TB SATA SSDs are quite affordable, as such things go. (It’ll take a long time to fill up 2 TB, anyway.)
They might build an optimized driver image for each of their cards, and bundle them all into the same installer.
They also shovel a bunch of assets for tools like GeForce Experience in there. (I like GFE, don’t get me wrong – but it’s an Electron app, and thus usually quite hefty.)
And, finally, there may be cases where they include specific assets to substitute into “optimized” games for whatever shader shenanigans they do to get a higher FPS and better look than the competition.
2 TB SSD, $150, so, not so bad. I just wish Sonic 10 Gbit would make it up the street all the way to my house. They’re just a few hundred meters away … Next year, they say.