What kind of laptop for Eso?

shack80 · March 2020

Hi.

Any suggestions which kind of laptop should I buy for Eso so it would run smoothly and with good graphics?

ZOS_Bill · March 2020

@shack80

Make sure that whichever laptop you choose that the specifications are above the minimum listed below.

What are the minimum system requirements for The Elder Scrolls Online on the PC?

idk · March 2020

It really depends on the money you budgeted for this purchase.

shack80 · March 2020

idk wrote: »

It really depends on the money you budgeted for this purchase.

It aint an issue but dont want to buy the most expensive one if I can play with 300-500€ less.

PsychotropicDog · March 2020

I would say onboard graphics should be avoided.

HankTwo · March 2020

Depends, do you just wanna play eso with it or also other games (if so which games)? Furthermore, should the laptop be future proof for at least some of the upcoming games for the next couple of years?

Nestor · March 2020

Things to look for:

SSD for Drive(s) if one drive, go for 500GB, if two, try to make second drive 1TB as the first will probably be 256GB

Dedicated Graphics, not Integrated Graphics. Look for something like 1060M for Nvidia, RX5600M for AMD. Look for the M in the name of the graphics

15.6 Display. You can go bigger, but the laptop starts getting heavy. My 17.8 Inch is a beast.

Last years top end models are good values for games like ESO, and most games out there quite frankly. Games are no longer requiring frequent hardware upgrades like in years past. Unless your gaming at 4K, which you are not on a laptop, you can get by with modest hardware.

Tommy_The_Gun · March 2020

I would aim at something with AMD cpu, as those laptops currently offer very good price - to value compared to Intel counterpart. Also, AMD processors are very power - efficient compared to intel ones. 12 nm or 7 nm for newer generations means that CPU produces less heat and consumes less power which means that a laptop will stay cool (it will not thermal - throttle) and will have longer battery live.

I would consider intel based laptop only if you aim to use it for professional 3D rendering or video rendering / editing.

As for the other specs, at least 500GB SSD and 8GB ram (but 16GB would be better). If you plan to play other games - GTX 1650 with Max-Q graphic card is probably a bare minimum for gaming. Don't bother with integrated GPUs or even Geforce MX150 / MX250 as laptops with those usually have inadequate cooling so GPU tends to thermal - throttle after 30 - 1h of playing games.

HankTwo · March 2020

In case you want to buy a laptop with a full HD 60 FPS screen, here is a list for Nvidia GPUs:

Bare minimum (not recommended): 950m/960m** or mx150/mx250*
Acceptable minimum (if budget is very tight): 965m** or 1050*
Low specifications (here it becomes reasonable imo): 970m** or 1050 ti*
Medium specifications (won’t have any problems running eso at all, but might not be future proof): 980m** or 1060* or 1650
High specifications (should be future proof for full HD): 1070* or 1660 ti or RTX 2060
Lower high end (imo a bit overkill for “only” full HD 60 FPS screen): 1080* or RTX 2070

Note that:
** The GTX 900 series is very outdated by now and personally I wouldn’t recommend it
* The GTX 1000 series is also outdated by now, but should still perform well depending on the model
The current generation is GTX 1600 series and RTX 2000 series

However, if you only play older games like eso, then outdated hardware might still work for you if you find a very good deal. Otherwise definitely go for current hardware.

Personally, if I would buy a laptop right now, I would go for a GTX 1660 ti, 16 GB ram and an NVMe SSD with at least 500 GB of storage. However, if you wait 1-2 more months, then the new Nvidia super GPUs will be released for laptops. If machines with the 1660 super will be significantly cheaper than models with the 1660 ti it will be the better deal.

shack80 · March 2020

Big thanks to all. Will get my self to shop tomorrow.