New Laptop/PC Advice -Please Read the Opening Post

[EdL]

49 minutes ago, JordanMillward_1 said:

I honestly can't say, because the Surface Pro 7 uses the new 10th generation Intel processors, which have a low base processing speed (below the minimum requirements for FM), with a half-decent processor speed that is the maximum they can reach, but seem to rely more on multi-core processing. This isn't good for FM, because FM relies on single-core processing much more.

I don't imagine its much of a worry they will be fast, base clock speed is not a great tool for expressing performance these days, but for minimum specs it is very hard to describe but a latest gen i5 or i7 CPU will be plenty fast enough

[EdL]

Having  said that I wouldn't generally recommend Surface for gaming as thats not what they are designed for, and they don't generally have great cooling.

[Ross Ingersoll]

@JordanMillward_1 and @Smurf.   Just wanted to say thanks.  Couple years ago you suggested a laptop for fm and has been great. Thanks for the advice, was just what i wanted and has served me well 

[Brother Ben]

On 02/03/2020 at 00:12, EdL said:

I don't imagine its much of a worry they will be fast, base clock speed is not a great tool for expressing performance these days, but for minimum specs it is very hard to describe but a latest gen i5 or i7 CPU will be plenty fast enough

Yeah base clock speed means very little, like you say any modern i5 or i7 will run the game.  I use a windows tablet with this processor - Intel Core i5-7Y54, its base speed is 1.2Ghz which in theory based on minimum specs should not run the game but it does, and it does it pretty well with 3 nations fully loaded.  

Heat can be an issue as you suggest but a lot of the time i put it into low power mode and it still runs along nice and smoothly on my commute

[Guest]

So FM is single threaded!
Would have thought it was and ideal application for multithreading (threads or processes), even if only for running all the 'background' league matches.

All those modern AMD cpu cores/threads wasted.  Find it hard to accept; but if so then ..... pathetic.

Was looking to upgrade my ancient i7 laptop, so guess this is important.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Guest

[Brother Ben]

1 hour ago, bringbacklilnux said:

So FM is single threaded!
Would have thought it was and ideal application for multithreading (threads or processes), even if only for running all the 'background' league matches.

All those modern AMD cpu cores/threads wasted.  Find it hard to accept; but if so then ..... pathetic.

Was looking to upgrade my ancient i7 laptop, so guess this is important.

It’s not single threaded, it just doesn’t take Full advantage of multiple threads unless you run leagues in full detail

[Smurf]

19 hours ago, bringbacklilnux said:

So FM is single threaded!

No - it's not single threaded but uses single thread for a large portion.

Got this answer from @Neil Brock

Quote

 

I spoke to someone and this is the jist of what he and I came to:

For how the game uses threads - it will create as many threads for playing matches and shortlisting as you have cores (including hyperthreads).

But the performance you see varies on the setup for example with matches - Quick Matches for instance (so for loaded but non-managed in leagues) it's are so fast anyway it gets to the point where it doesn't make that much more difference having more cores.

If you use detail level to set more stuff to full match you'll start seeing betters gains for more cores, but of course will still be slower than by just not having the league loaded, or having it at a low detail level.

Similar sort of thing with shortlisting the more / leagues players you have loaded the more benefits you can potentially see with more cores, however this is probably more than offset by the general slowdown from having more stuff loading as there's still a large portion of the game which is single threaded. 

In regards to best processors, as a general guide we tend to suggest using the following comparison site as a good gauge of the performance capabilities - https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html 

Basic rule of thumb is the higher it is on the list, the better it is. You can edit it to show processors for desktops and also those that are considered 'archived' via the restriction options. 

Hope some of this is of use. 

 

 

[Neil Brock]

@Smurf can you remember when I posted this? I think we may have made further changes for FM20, but can't remember if I got this info for FM19 or FM20. 

Cheers. 

[EdL]

Thats still true, the details that have changed this year is for playing matches I improved some of the scheduling to squeeze more performance out of it.

[jase19]

On 22/02/2020 at 05:52, tom0902000 said:

You can't, that's one big problem SI won't ever acknowledge or fix, if you start with a team doesn't have U23 you are screwed.

Lovely...…. I've been trying to figure this out for ages....

[Smurf]

On 05/03/2020 at 11:23, Neil Brock said:

@Smurf can you remember when I posted this? I think we may have made further changes for FM20, but can't remember if I got this info for FM19 or FM20. 

Cheers. 

I think it was around the same time this post went up.

[laurentius82]

Back with the same problem in FM20 now, this time with Boreham Wood. Starting second season in the Premier league now, no U23 league. 

[jcp1417]

On 07/05/2019 at 04:13, MrPompey said:

Its the way FM is set up data wise at the start. If its not set-up then regardless of how far you progress the position stands the same.

There have been Premier league clubs without U23 sides irl in the past.

My suggestion would be to suggest a feature enhancement that allows a club starting without an U23 side to request the set-up of one when reaching a specific level, say Premiership perhaps as a boardroom request

That's rather absurd to suggest that the developers need to have that suggested. Teams being locked out of having their U23 in a league should be an obvious problem

[Neil Brock]

In my own save (started when FM20 was released) got Oxford promoted to the Premier League and in our second season have an U23 side in an active U23 league.

Main criteria is to improve your team's youth rating I believe. 

[Smurf]

On 05/03/2020 at 11:23, Neil Brock said:

@Smurf can you remember when I posted this? I think we may have made further changes for FM20, but can't remember if I got this info for FM19 or FM20. 

Cheers. 

 

On 05/03/2020 at 17:16, EdL said:

Thats still true, the details that have changed this year is for playing matches I improved some of the scheduling to squeeze more performance out of it.

 

On 08/03/2020 at 16:20, Smurf said:

I think it was around the same time this post went up.

Any update on this?

[EdL]

I gave you the update, its still true

[Smurf]

19 minutes ago, EdL said:

I gave you the update, its still true

Cool - thought there was more to it.

[Ryan377]

Looking for a bit of help. Needing a new laptop for FM20 (and future versions). Budget is around £1,050, don’t really want to go any higher. I’ve found these two, would they both be good? Which is best?

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/medion-erazer-p15805-core-i7-9750h-8gb-1tb-hdd-256gb-ssd-15.6-inch-geforc-30027144/version.asp
 

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-thinkpad-e15-core-i7-10510u-16gb-512gb-ssd-15.6-inch-fhd-windows-10-20rd0011uk/version.asp
 

Or would I be able to get a better laptop at the same price range?

[Smurf]

17 minutes ago, Ryan377 said:

Looking for a bit of help. Needing a new laptop for FM20 (and future versions). Budget is around £1,050, don’t really want to go any higher. I’ve found these two, would they both be good? Which is best?

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/medion-erazer-p15805-core-i7-9750h-8gb-1tb-hdd-256gb-ssd-15.6-inch-geforc-30027144/version.asp
 

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-thinkpad-e15-core-i7-10510u-16gb-512gb-ssd-15.6-inch-fhd-windows-10-20rd0011uk/version.asp
 

Or would I be able to get a better laptop at the same price range?

This is 15 inch https://www.box.co.uk/7JZ86EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-dk0026na_2614938.html

This has 8gb RAM - https://www.box.co.uk/81LL000UUK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-Gaming-L340-17_2893983.html
But you can upgrade RAM easily and cheapily anyway.

 

[Ryan377]

5 minutes ago, Smurf said:

This is 15 inch https://www.box.co.uk/7JZ86EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-dk0026na_2614938.html

This has 8gb RAM - https://www.box.co.uk/81LL000UUK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-Gaming-L340-17_2893983.html
But you can upgrade RAM easily and cheapily anyway.

 

Thanks man. Do you think it would be worth going with one of these options rather than the Medion one I linked ? 

I prefer the Lenovo to the HP (mainly due to the screen style). Would the additional 8gb ram up to 16gb make a considerable difference to FM? I’m not sure if I necessarily need the 16gb ram but wanted to protect myself from not having to upgrade again in 2 years time. 

[MrPompey]

10 hours ago, jcp1417 said:

That's rather absurd to suggest that the developers need to have that suggested. Teams being locked out of having their U23 in a league should be an obvious problem

You quoted a post thats10 month old. You say its an obvious problem, why, as it may be set like this on purpose

My view is my view, you disagreeing doesnt make it absurd especially when you dont have the facts, please be careful in the future. Additionally its not a problem to be locked out if thats the situation in real life

 There is a flag that can be set in the data that means an U23 team doesnt exist currently and when starting the save it will not create an U23 side that is or will be entered in a league

There is also an indicator that if not set correctly will mean that  one will never be created in the future. I know this because it was incorrectly set for the Portsmouth data for FM19 for the first release 

My suggestion is that in the case where an U23 side does NOT exist (matching real life) and the indicator set that can allow for an U23 side to be entered in the U23 league one to be created in the future then it would make sense if the FM Manager can make a board request that an U23 side can be created to potential speed this up. FM logic can then be applied to allow "the board" to make a decision. We call that a feature enhancement and that is my suggestion

So the reason a side does not have an U23 side at the start of the save is likely because its matching real life else is a genuine data error. The fact it wont in the future can be due to conditions not being met and/or because a flag is incorrectly set. My suggestion, where flags are correctly set, allow a more immersive game and ultimately a method of getting the option of having an U23 side entered in a U23 league

[Smurf]

40 minutes ago, Ryan377 said:

Thanks man. Do you think it would be worth going with one of these options rather than the Medion one I linked ? 

I prefer the Lenovo to the HP (mainly due to the screen style). Would the additional 8gb ram up to 16gb make a considerable difference to FM? I’m not sure if I necessarily need the 16gb ram but wanted to protect myself from not having to upgrade again in 2 years time. 

I don't believe the extra RAM helps in FM but overall on the computer itself it would give some difference.

The Lenovo one I posted is better. Just upgrade the RAM yourself and it would be cheaper.

[Ryan377]

2 minutes ago, Smurf said:

I don't believe the extra RAM helps in FM but overall on the computer itself it would give some difference.

The Lenovo one I posted is better. Just upgrade the RAM yourself and it would be cheaper.

Thank you. I gather the graphics on the Lenovo would allow good quality 3D in FM and the processor would allow quick speeds with a large database? 
 

Is RAM easy to install? I am a complete novice. I may see how 8GB goes for a few months then maybe upgrade if I feel it’s needed but from what you say, it’s probably not. 

[Smurf]

4 minutes ago, Ryan377 said:

Thank you. I gather the graphics on the Lenovo would allow good quality 3D in FM and the processor would allow quick speeds with a large database? 
 

Is RAM easy to install? I am a complete novice. I may see how 8GB goes for a few months then maybe upgrade if I feel it’s needed but from what you say, it’s probably not. 

Actually - made a bit of mistake there - keep forgetting to look at hard drive size. 256gb might fill up very quickly.

Yes it's a better processor and graphics is good. 

RAM is easy to install, there's 2 screws usually under the laptop, and you can get to the RAM through this panel. It's just removing the 8gb and installing the 2x8gb that you buy (I always buy in pairs - for latency issues etc. plus if one RAM stick fails you still have another RAM stick working - whereas if you bought a 16gb stick and that failed your computer would have no RAM - not that it happens often).

https://itstillworks.com/add-ram-lenovo-laptop-6781192.html

If it was me I'd look at the better processor/graphics card - as the hard drive and RAM can be changed, the former items cannot.

[Ryan377]

Cheers @Smurf.

You’re probably right about the hard drive space; I’m using near 300gb on my current laptop. I’ll keep looking as per your advice! 

[Neil Brock]

Just to clarify as well, in FM20 if you start the game without an U23 side you can request one via the board and the assistant will arrange the team plays friendlies once a week. 

As said above, eventually depending on the standard of the first team and quality of youth rating eventually the side can enter an active U23 league.

[j@cko]

Hi,

Ive been offered the following for £299, how does it stand up for FM at a good level of leagues and players? Spec of:

Windows 10 Pro 64 bit fresh install activated with a digital license

AMD Ryzen 5 2400GE 3.2GHz Quad Core APU Processor with 8 threads

8GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM

ASUS PRIME A320M-K Motherboard

120GB Samsung EVO SSD SATA III 6Gb/s

400W 85+ ATNG PSU Power Supply

MSi AMD Ryzen Limited Edition Gaming Case with RGB front panel + RGB rear fan & Tempered Glass side panel

Ethernet

USB 3.0

HDMI

DVI

Audio ports inc HDMI audio

PC tower only comes boxed ready to use with power cable.

 

[j@cko]

On the above I can also get a rx 580 8gb nitro+ graphics card put in for £150 extra

[Smurf]

It's ok - but the 128gb hard drive will fill up fast.

[j@cko]

Thanks - I’ll keep looking

Its a desktop I’m after, budget up to £700, mainly to be used for FM with as many leagues/detail as my system will allow and good graphics too. 

[Smurf]

31 minutes ago, j@cko said:

Thanks - I’ll keep looking

Its a desktop I’m after, budget up to £700, mainly to be used for FM with as many leagues/detail as my system will allow and good graphics too. 

Do you need a monitor?

https://www.box.co.uk/MSI-Aegis-3-8th-9S6-B91811-090-Gaming-To_2355368.html

https://www.box.co.uk/OMEN-by-HP-Obelisk-875-0005na-5MM75EA-_2456130.html

https://www.box.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-Power-580-100na-4NF08EA-Ga_2355919.html

https://www.box.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-Gaming-690-0020na-Gaming-Min_2356484.html

[Elliott J Miller]

Can someone help me find my next laptop please?

Looking for a upgrade to my current laptop that doesn't have full 1080p, usually have about 25 leagues loaded with 8 countries, i currently have an i7 with intel 620hd graphics card so looking for a decent graphic card, 16gb ram, 17inch screen, decent resolution so i can download high res skins, i play games in 3d and will use the new laptop to play other games like gta, cod etc. budget around £1000 however for the perfect laptop happy to go little higher

[Smurf]

52 minutes ago, Elliott J Miller said:

Can someone help me find my next laptop please?

Looking for a upgrade to my current laptop that doesn't have full 1080p, usually have about 25 leagues loaded with 8 countries, i currently have an i7 with intel 620hd graphics card so looking for a decent graphic card, 16gb ram, 17inch screen, decent resolution so i can download high res skins, i play games in 3d and will use the new laptop to play other games like gta, cod etc. budget around £1000 however for the perfect laptop happy to go little higher

You may need to go a little higher in price https://www.box.co.uk/9S7-17C522-625-MSI-GP73-Leopard-8RF-625UK_2409913.html

OR go for 8gb RAM and install another 8 yourself.

 

[Elliott J Miller]

6 hours ago, Smurf said:

You may need to go a little higher in price https://www.box.co.uk/9S7-17C522-625-MSI-GP73-Leopard-8RF-625UK_2409913.html

OR go for 8gb RAM and install another 8 yourself.

Thanks for recommendation, what would you choose if going for the 8gb option with the view of me adding another 8gb ram?

 

 

[Sith Lord]

Hi all. 

I bought a new laptop on sunday, works well but it doesn't take long of playing a save before the fan kicks in and doesn't really stop. Does it sound faulty to anyone?

It has an i5 processor and more RAM than my previous laptop??

Thanks in advance.

[Smurf]

14 hours ago, Elliott J Miller said:

Thanks for recommendation, what would you choose if going for the 8gb option with the view of me adding another 8gb ram?

 

Something like this 

https://www.box.co.uk/7EB13EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-17-cd0024na_2577319.html

 

32 minutes ago, Sith Lord said:

Hi all. 

I bought a new laptop on sunday, works well but it doesn't take long of playing a save before the fan kicks in and doesn't really stop. Does it sound faulty to anyone?

It has an i5 processor and more RAM than my previous laptop??

Thanks in advance.

What are the full specs here?

"Windows Key" + "R" -> type "dxdiag"

Click the "Save All Information" button, and click Save. This will default save the text file to your desktop.
Attach the Txt file to the forum.

 

 

Usually a desktop cooling pad can help - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=laptop+cooling+pad&adgrpid=58987398140&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qzzBRDnARIsAECmryrShv57PXPTltrwctWJxzs1s1XoOfq-L6mSNVCoXaapA6pLLOnHOh8aAoHBEALw_wcB&hvadid=291387715903&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1007850&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11108869323147078524&hvtargid=kwd-361331110957&hydadcr=8438_1758329&tag=googiehydra-21&ref=pd_sl_5xyrm2ut6i_e

Do a bit of research into your laptop and where the fans are located and make sure that the cooling pad you get has fans that blow in and around your fans on the computer.

[Sith Lord]

11 hours ago, Smurf said:

Something like this 

https://www.box.co.uk/7EB13EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-17-cd0024na_2577319.html

 

What are the full specs here?

"Windows Key" + "R" -> type "dxdiag"

Click the "Save All Information" button, and click Save. This will default save the text file to your desktop.
Attach the Txt file to the forum.

 

 

Usually a desktop cooling pad can help - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=laptop+cooling+pad&adgrpid=58987398140&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qzzBRDnARIsAECmryrShv57PXPTltrwctWJxzs1s1XoOfq-L6mSNVCoXaapA6pLLOnHOh8aAoHBEALw_wcB&hvadid=291387715903&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1007850&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11108869323147078524&hvtargid=kwd-361331110957&hydadcr=8438_1758329&tag=googiehydra-21&ref=pd_sl_5xyrm2ut6i_e

Do a bit of research into your laptop and where the fans are located and make sure that the cooling pad you get has fans that blow in and around your fans on the computer.

Thanks Smurf

Attached details.

The cool pads look good but are the have more fans so it would be even noisier.

DxDiag.txt

[Smurf]

10 hours ago, Sith Lord said:

Thanks Smurf

Attached details.

The cool pads look good but are the have more fans so it would be even noisier.

DxDiag.txt 79.49 kB · 1 download

Your laptop is a little underpowered. 

The fans are kicking in to keep the processor cool when playing. 

Laptop coolers are silent and don't make any noise and assist in keeping the laptop cool, and dust free. 

 

[Sith Lord]

2 hours ago, Smurf said:

Your laptop is a little underpowered. 

The fans are kicking in to keep the processor cool when playing. 

Laptop coolers are silent and don't make any noise and assist in keeping the laptop cool, and dust free. 

 

Thanks again, I will have a look at the cooling pads properly.

I have found the fan is fine if the intel R graphic power plan setting is on Maximum battery life (means the highlights are a bit juddery)  but if I change it to balanced (so the game highlights are smoother) then it kicks in and stays on most of the time.

Hopefully a cooling pad will mean I can keep the highlights smooth without the constant fan!

 

[Smurf]

8 hours ago, Sith Lord said:

Thanks again, I will have a look at the cooling pads properly.

I have found the fan is fine if the intel R graphic power plan setting is on Maximum battery life (means the highlights are a bit juddery)  but if I change it to balanced (so the game highlights are smoother) then it kicks in and stays on most of the time.

Hopefully a cooling pad will mean I can keep the highlights smooth without the constant fan!

 

And you don't have to buy the most expensive one, mine cost 6 euro and still use it to this day, have it about 8 years.

[Sith Lord]

1 hour ago, Smurf said:

And you don't have to buy the most expensive one, mine cost 6 euro and still use it to this day, have it about 8 years.

I have ordered one now, £25 so I am hopeful.

Out of interest, when you said the laptop wasn't very powerful, which spec is that?

 

 

[Smurf]

11 hours ago, Sith Lord said:

I have ordered one now, £25 so I am hopeful.

Out of interest, when you said the laptop wasn't very powerful, which spec is that?

PRocessor is slightly below spec - and there's no dedicated graphics card. 

[t_hall]

Hi all, hoping for some help finding a new laptop.

Got a budget of around £400-450 and hoping to find one that can play a few leagues, nothing too excessive though. Also I'm not a fan of 3D so will only be using 2D. Only really need it for FM and some light web browsing and other basic activities. I'm not bothered about the weight because I likely won't be taking it anywhere either most of the time. 

 

Any recommendations would be fantastic and much appreciated x

[Sith Lord]

On 15/03/2020 at 07:25, Smurf said:

PRocessor is slightly below spec - and there's no dedicated graphics card. 

Sadly the cooling board hasn't really helped. If I were to try to get a better laptop what specs would you recommend in terms of processor and graphics card?

[Smurf]

7 hours ago, Sith Lord said:

Sadly the cooling board hasn't really helped. If I were to try to get a better laptop what specs would you recommend in terms of processor and graphics card?

It could be clogged with dust. A can of air compressor into the fans might remove the dust. 

Spec wise anything from

https://www.box.co.uk/30026175-Medion-Erazer-P6605_2496888.html

to

https://www.box.co.uk/30027143-Medion-Erazer-P15601_2756374.html

OR better which would be more expensive.

[gethinO]

Thinking of investing in a new laptop to play FM20. Wouldn't really use if for much else apart from internet browsing and so on. This is the one I've seen. My budget would be around £200-£300.

https://www.box.co.uk/81FB004XUK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-330S_2498833.html?wgu=13045_138485_15844431052976_216750098b&wgexpiry=1592219105&utm_source=webgains_138485&utm_medium=webgains&utm_campaign=affiliate#DetailTop

Thoughts on this laptop? Don't need anything expensive, just something to the run the game quicker than my current one! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[wilky2k12]

Afternoon guys,

Looking to get back into the game after a little while, looking to buy a new laptop to support, my budget is around £300 to £450 can you make any suggestions please?

Cheers

[Sith Lord]

12 hours ago, Smurf said:

It could be clogged with dust. A can of air compressor into the fans might remove the dust. 

Spec wise anything from

https://www.box.co.uk/30026175-Medion-Erazer-P6605_2496888.html

to

https://www.box.co.uk/30027143-Medion-Erazer-P15601_2756374.html

OR better which would be more expensive.

Looking at the P6605 (asking Laptops Direct if they will exchange) and it has the same processor to my current one, will that be a problem?  Couple of online reviews say the fan kicks in under strain from certain games, do you think FM20 is particular "heavy" game or should it cope quite easily without overheating?

Sorry for all the questions, really dont have the knowledge on these types of things.

[trfc2012]

Hi all,

Looking for a new laptop

Gaming wise it is only FM I play

Would need to be able to run Photoshop etc going forward

Have a budget of £1800

[nufc9895]

Hi guys, I am looking into buying a new laptop as mine is old and slow, I found a decent looking one with these specs:

CPU, Memory and Operating System:

• Intel Core i5 9300H processor.
• Quad core processor.
• 2.4GHz processor speed with a burst speed of 4.1GHz.
• 8GB RAM DDR4.
• 128GB SSD storage.
• 1TB HDD storage.
• Hard drive speed 5400RPM.
• Microsoft Windows 10.

Graphics;

• NVIDIA GeForce NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card with 3GB RAM GDDR5.
• Dedicated graphics card.

 

I don't know too much about this stuff and was just wondering whether this would be okay. I will probably only be playing with the English leagues and a few of the other top leagues. Plus i only really watch the games in 2d as well.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.