Need your advice for a new laptop !

[vetram 221]

A big hello to every friend here!..

Coming back after about 2 years , I realized that perhaps I need to buy a new modern laptop , if I want to enjoy the game with all the mods and custom stuff!..

So pls can you advice me about the specifications of a new laptop, in which I will easily enjoy whatever stuff (specially NAM) without any problem?  Thanks

 

This below is my present laptop 😁

Processor    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz   2.60 GHz
Installed RAM    4.00 GB (3.89 GB usable)
System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

 

[Fantozzi 4,068]

I recommend more RAM on a 64bit system. For the background apps of 64bit windows. For Browsers like Firefox and Edge it's a bit thight.

Also NAM applies the 4GB patch to SC4 - which will allow SC4 to take full 2 GB in the adress space below 4GB - but only if they are available. For NAM this is a must have - so to benefit from this patch I recommend at least 6GB on a 64bit system. See f.e. here: https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/74096-4gb_patch/

 

 

On modern graphic cards it's hard to tell what will work flawless. Some mods need hardware render mode. But there were also wrapper solutions - so as there is no compatibility list to my knowldege of modern graphic cards and as SC4 is not really demanding and doesn't need much 3D-perfomance maybe not to think about graphic card at all.  

Most important on performance is hard drive and the interface the hard drive is connected to the mainboard/RAM. the faster the way from the plugins folder to the main memory the better.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,444]

9 hours ago, vetram said:

A big hello to every friend here!..

Coming back after about 2 years , I realized that perhaps I need to buy a new modern laptop , if I want to enjoy the game with all the mods and custom stuff!..

So pls can you advice me about the specifications of a new laptop, in which I will easily enjoy whatever stuff (specially NAM) without any problem?  Thanks

 

This below is my present laptop 😁

Processor    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz   2.60 GHz
Installed RAM    4.00 GB (3.89 GB usable)
System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

 

First, the laptop specifications are wrong. It will not be able to handle all the mods. But now let's go into detail

Processor: First you need to aim for modern and powerful CPUs. AMD CPUs are better performers than Intel CPUs.

RAM: The community has raised the requirements for SC4. It is now required as a minimum to have 8GB of RAM. So you allow to get SC4 to use 4GB of RAM emntre the remaining 4GB of ram will be used between the OS and other applications/ will be free.

This is due to the fact that SC4 with 4GB RAM is more stable especially when using NAM with RHW

GPU: Dedicated GPUs such as AMD or Nvidia are recommended (Don't think about the latest generation of GPUs if you only have to use the computer for SC4). Intel GPUs have technical problems with SC4 but it can be fixed by updating drivers and installing the wrapper

Memory: it is recommended that the laptop supports NVMe SSDs. This ensures that SC4 can be loaded quickly even with many mods (Still requires datpacking)

[vetram 221]

Thanks a lot for your answers!

The truth is that I don't understand everything , as I am not so familiar to technical subjects..😒

Anyway in a few words , I understood that I need ...1) much more RAM (at least 6GB on a 64bit system)   2  if understood well we are speaking for a NVMe SSDs hard drive (right Ulisse wolf?)....3) a modern more powerful processor, preferably AMD CPUs ..am I right?

From what I know , I think I maybe I can change my hard disk, but cannot upgrade my RAM and my processor ..am I right ? 

Now , to ask something different ...i don't know if here is the right place to ask it , so pls forgive me about that....what I wanted to ask and say is that I have tested NAM LIght version and I can say that the game runs very smoothly without any problem !.....so , my question is , can I use maybe the full version NAM 47 (think its the latest one) perhaps without some sections like RWH for example and make my laptop's life more easily , and of course stay with my old laptop ...what do you say?

 

 

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

2 minutes ago, vetram said:

Now , to ask something different ...i don't know if here is the right place to ask it , so pls forgive me about that....what I wanted to ask and say is that I have tested NAM LIght version and I can say that the game runs very smoothly without any problem !.....so , my question is , can I use maybe the full version NAM 47 (think its the latest one) perhaps without some sections like RWH for example and make my laptop's life more easily , and of course stay with my old laptop ...what do you say?

You can use NAM without realrailroad if you don't plan on running rail through your region, and I rarely have RHW installed. There are a few other things that you can remove too, but I can't tell you off the top of my head.

[vetram 221]

4 minutes ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

You can use NAM without realrailroad if you don't plan on running rail through your region, and I rarely have RHW installed. There are a few other things that you can remove too, but I can't tell you off the top of my head.

Do you also have an old laptop my friend?

[Ulisse Wolf 4,444]

2 hours ago, vetram said:

Thanks a lot for your answers!

The truth is that I don't understand everything , as I am not so familiar to technical subjects..😒

Anyway in a few words , I understood that I need ...1) much more RAM (at least 6GB on a 64bit system)   2  if understood well we are speaking for a NVMe SSDs hard drive (right Ulisse wolf?)....3) a modern more powerful processor, preferably AMD CPUs ..am I right?

From what I know , I think I maybe I can change my hard disk, but cannot upgrade my RAM and my processor ..am I right ? 

Now , to ask something different ...i don't know if here is the right place to ask it , so pls forgive me about that....what I wanted to ask and say is that I have tested NAM LIght version and I can say that the game runs very smoothly without any problem !.....so , my question is , can I use maybe the full version NAM 47 (think its the latest one) perhaps without some sections like RWH for example and make my laptop's life more easily , and of course stay with my old laptop ...what do you say?

 

 

Generally when we talk about upgrading RAM we do the following calculation.

Current RAM X 2 = Maximum RAM supported

So your laptop supports 8 GB of RAM (Depends on whether your laptop can be upgraded)

As Hard Disk (Although it refers to memory or mass storage) what is recommended is to have an SSD although NVMe SSD is more performate than a SATA SSD. Your laptop does not support NVMe SSDs but you can install SATA SSDs which is still fast compared to HDDs

For the CPU issue, it is recommended to have modern CPUs as they are very fast in calculations and also with sigle core speed. The best for value for money are the AMDs that also have the Integrated GPU which is much more performant and faster than Intel's Integrated GPU.

So you can't change the CPU and GPU because they are soldered on the motherboard but you can change RAM and Hard Disk (Assuming your laptop supports these upgrades)

The difference between NAM Lite and Full NAM is the RUL code.

In NAM Lite we only put the RUL code which adds some carrateristics that expands the vanilla game beyond bugfixes and improved traffic simulator

In NAM Complete, on the other hand, we have included a lot of RUL code because of the expansions we have added over time. RHW is the component that requires SC4 be run with the 4GB Patch because the code is very long to ensure proper operation. 

For this reason when you install NAM Complete we have created two options.

1 NAM Complete with RHW (Does require the 4GB Patch)

2 NAM Complete without RHW (Does not require the 4GB Patch)

Obviously with Full NAM without RHW you will not be able to use MHO (Maxis Highway Override) as it requires the 'mandatory use of RHW. In addition, deselecting critical components such as RRW (Real Railway) results in complete breakdown of the transport networks and therefore you cannot use these networks because we have deprecated Maxis Railway (Maxis Railway is only available on NAM Lite)

I recommend that you visit the official Network Addon Mod website or the discord server of ST and SC4Evermore (Formerly SC4Devotion) if you have further questions about NAM

[vetram 221]

Thank you so much for your help 

I will think whatever you wrote and I will return to report my final  thoughts..you already helped me a lot!👍 Thanks again

[vetram 221]

In Network Addon Mod (NAM) Version 47 Documentation I read the following......

 The minimum requirements for running the Network Addon Mod are as follows and among others mention ........

Java Runtime Environment (JRE), in order to run the installer--a version for 64-bit Windows is included in the download (OpenJDK11U-jre_x64_windows_hotspot_11.0.8_10.msi).

Is that means that I must install the above before starting the NAM 47 ?.....or do nothing and run NetworkAddonMod_Setup_Version47.jar?

 

 

 

 

 

[Ulisse Wolf 4,444]

12 hours ago, vetram said:

In Network Addon Mod (NAM) Version 47 Documentation I read the following......

 The minimum requirements for running the Network Addon Mod are as follows and among others mention ........

Java Runtime Environment (JRE), in order to run the installer--a version for 64-bit Windows is included in the download (OpenJDK11U-jre_x64_windows_hotspot_11.0.8_10.msi).

Is that means that I must install the above before starting the NAM 47 ?.....or do nothing and run NetworkAddonMod_Setup_Version47.jar?

It means that first you have to install JAVA in order to start NAM installer.

[vetram 221]

Hi guys! I would like to THANK you for support , as now that i am writting you, my old laptop upgraded from 4GB RAM into 8 GB and a new hard disk SATA SSDs replaced my old one!

I followed your advices and , and at least since now , it seems to me that my laptop is  much more faster and after installing Full NAM 47 , everything seems to work smooth,fast,

and safe!👌.....

I had already installed the 4GB patch , and I suppose I don't have to remove it..or should I ?

 now I really hope that I can enjoy the game with NAM and whatever other exist that I like..I wonder why hadn't asked for help before!..🤷‍♂️..i really feel quite 😊

Next step is to be sure that NAM 47 has been installed right , but I think I must post to NAM & Transit Networks 

Or can I stay to this forum ? Not sure , pls tell me or I will try.. 

Once again Thanks so much specially Ulisse Wolf. Tante Grazie 👍

 

[rsc204 21,862]

On 07/12/2023 at 11:34 PM, vetram said:

I had already installed the 4GB patch , and I suppose I don't have to remove it..or should I ?

No you shouldn’t, you have at least 4GB of ram, thus it is useful to keep and mandatory for a full NAM install or just for anyone using a lot of mods really.

As for the NAM installing correctly, did you run and finish the installer? If so it should now be there and working (in game), which is the best way to know frankly.