Best way to test if a laptop can run FFXIV

Good morning all

Just have a quick question. Other than checking the specs on a specific laptop, what is the best way to check to see if a potential purchase can run this game? I'm still in budget laptop range, so I can't spend too much on a high end laptop. To clarify, I'm not buying a laptop solely for FFXIV either, but being able to run it smoothly will influence which one I get.

Would I need to run a benchmark?

Benchmark is the most reliable way to know, but if you don't have the laptop yet, the only thing you can do is look at the specs.

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Originally Posted by Roda

Benchmark is the most reliable way to know, but if you don't have the laptop yet, the only thing you can do is look at the specs.

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Ahh. Kinda figured. But wanted to turn this to experts first. Very well, I can do that. Thanks

If you would let us know the specific laptop models which you have narrowed down, someone might have the same laptop model and relate their FFXIV playing experience.

Alternatively, you could let us know what is your budget, so someone might be able to recommend a suitable laptop at that price point.

look at the specs of what you want then google the component's for reviews / benchamark tests. if the laptop your looking at has for example an i5 8400 cpu. you'd most likely be able tofind a benchamark for that cpu on the internet. same goes for video cards. find the one your laptop has and then look at some benchmark reviews and stuff.

many review / benchmark sites allow comparisons so if you have a base spec your familier with you can compare against that. for a slightly better reference.

My willing budget is about $700. Maybe $900 at max. It's mostly for school and work, but I'd like to be able to play FFXIV while away from home - which is usually a lot.

I am currently using an Acer Aspire F-15 to play FFXIV. I would consider that it runs the game well. This is likely connected to installing FFXIV on its 250GB SSD drive, which improves loading speed of the game. However, the left side of the laptop (which I suspect is where the video card is housed) gets uncomfortably warm when I run FFXIV, which affects my typing on the keyboard. This issue may be circumvented by plugging a USB keyboard to the laptop.

I am unable to ascertain the current price of an Acer Aspire F-15, but you may also consider the comparable Acer Aspire V-15. The Aspire V-15 specs more than meet FFXIV minimum specs and is currently being sold on Amazon at USD 729.

If we already have this topic up, is this any good for checking how my PC would run FFXIV specifically?
FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood Official Benchmark

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Originally Posted by Fooldar

I am currently using an Acer Aspire F-15 to play FFXIV. I would consider that it runs the game well. This is likely connected to installing FFXIV on its 250GB SSD drive, which improves loading speed of the game. However, the left side of the laptop (which I suspect is where the video card is housed) gets uncomfortably warm when I run FFXIV, which affects my typing on the keyboard. This issue may be circumvented by plugging a USB keyboard to the laptop.

I am unable to ascertain the current price of an Acer Aspire F-15, but you may also consider the comparable Acer Aspire V-15. The Aspire V-15 specs more than meet FFXIV minimum specs and is currently being sold on Amazon at USD 729.

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Ok. I can take a look into that. I usually go for 2-for 1 laptops, though I don't use the tablet feature. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

My willing budget is about $700. Maybe $900 at max. It's mostly for school and work, but I'd like to be able to play FFXIV while away from home - which is usually a lot.

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Aim higher.

If you intend to game on it:
- Geforce GTX 1050 Ti, minimum (this can do 1920x1080 at 60fps, usually, but with a fair bit of cooling fan noise)
- 16GB RAM if possible

The iGPU's (which are most 2-in-1 tablet systems) are super-weak compared to any dedicated GPU, so while it may offer sufficient video and web browser performance, it will fall over with most games. FFXIV will run on iGPU parts, but you're looking at 15-30 fps in any sub-$1000 machine, and a lot of noise.

If in doubt, bring the FFXIV benchmark on a USB stick to the store and just run it on every machine until you get one that has acceptable performance, but trust me when I say that you're better off investing a little more and hanging onto it for a few years, because buying too weak of a model will result in you having to just throw it away after 2 years.

Skip the 13" laptops though. They may be light, but they're all phenomenally weak due to compromises made to make them quiet.

I have last years version of this: https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops.../p/88GMY501020 , it's slightly overkill in the storage department, but it's not a 2-in-1. It is however designed as a gaming laptop that looks like a business laptop (even business laptops backlit keyboards now.)

If you prefer Dell, this is the absolute minimum I would consider: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...top/dncwgf423s , but again, it's not a 2-in-1

Here's a Sager model https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP6853.html that is equal to that Dell but without the NVMe SSD. To bring it up to the Dell's or Lenovo's specs you'd need to add a 256GB NVMe SSD. I'd also again recommend 16GB ram. Also not a 2-in-1

From experience, all the 2-in-1 laptops are just bad for gaming (they will get more hot in tablet mode), and you're paying an additional 800$ for the privilege, eg https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop...smx15w10p1c412

Most people don't actually use the touch-screen on 2-in-1's, so unless you have an application for it in mind, I'd skip it. If you want to use it for art, you are better off buying the MS Surface tablet (which has a passable digitizer), but that is absolutely not a gaming machine.

Dunno how helpful it will be, but I play on a laptop with an i7 6700 @ 2.60 GHz (not overclocked) and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M with 6GB VRAM. 16 GB RAM, and my FFXIV install is on an SSD. I get 60 FPS 95% of the time in borderless window mode while running ReShade on custom settings (some things I have off but mostly everything is set to high); only when things are graphically intense does it dip to 45-50 FPS (phase transitions can do this sometimes). But I play on an Asus ROG Strix, and unless you find one on sale (like I did), that may be outside of your budget.

I’ve used this for about 2 years though, and it holds up pretty nicely.

I’d recommend a 1060 for a card, personally. And try to get something with an i7 in it. I’ve heard i5 is okay, but I’ve also heard it can be not so okay. I prefer an i7, personally. My CPU sits at sub 30% usually with FFXIV running and other stuff up in the background.

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Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

Dunno how helpful it will be, but I play on a laptop with an i7 6700 @ 2.60 GHz (not overclocked) and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M with 6GB VRAM. 16 GB RAM, and my FFXIV install is on an SSD. I get 60 FPS 95% of the time in borderless window mode while running ReShade on custom settings (some things I have off but mostly everything is set to high); only when things are graphically intense does it dip to 45-50 FPS (phase transitions can do this sometimes). But I play on an Asus ROG Strix, and unless you find one on sale (like I did), that may be outside of your budget.

I’ve used this for about 2 years though, and it holds up pretty nicely.

I’d recommend a 1060 for a card, personally. And try to get something with an i7 in it. I’ve heard i5 is okay, but I’ve also heard it can be not so okay. I prefer an i7, personally. My CPU sits at sub 30% usually with FFXIV running and other stuff up in the background.

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Yeah, my current laptop uses an i5, and it was okay-ish. I could decently play, but I was also on Famfrit in the low levels at the time I first started, so there wasn't much in the way of issues. I'll see if I can track down one with NVIDIA. My local store is coming up on having a sale soon, so we'll see. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by KisaiTenshi

Aim higher.

If you intend to game on it:
- Geforce GTX 1050 Ti, minimum (this can do 1920x1080 at 60fps, usually, but with a fair bit of cooling fan noise)
- 16GB RAM if possible

The iGPU's (which are most 2-in-1 tablet systems) are super-weak compared to any dedicated GPU, so while it may offer sufficient video and web browser performance, it will fall over with most games. FFXIV will run on iGPU parts, but you're looking at 15-30 fps in any sub-$1000 machine, and a lot of noise.

If in doubt, bring the FFXIV benchmark on a USB stick to the store and just run it on every machine until you get one that has acceptable performance, but trust me when I say that you're better off investing a little more and hanging onto it for a few years, because buying too weak of a model will result in you having to just throw it away after 2 years.

Skip the 13" laptops though. They may be light, but they're all phenomenally weak due to compromises made to make them quiet.

I have last years version of this: https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops.../p/88GMY501020 , it's slightly overkill in the storage department, but it's not a 2-in-1. It is however designed as a gaming laptop that looks like a business laptop (even business laptops backlit keyboards now.)

If you prefer Dell, this is the absolute minimum I would consider: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...top/dncwgf423s , but again, it's not a 2-in-1

Here's a Sager model https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP6853.html that is equal to that Dell but without the NVMe SSD. To bring it up to the Dell's or Lenovo's specs you'd need to add a 256GB NVMe SSD. I'd also again recommend 16GB ram. Also not a 2-in-1

From experience, all the 2-in-1 laptops are just bad for gaming (they will get more hot in tablet mode), and you're paying an additional 800$ for the privilege, eg https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop...smx15w10p1c412

Most people don't actually use the touch-screen on 2-in-1's, so unless you have an application for it in mind, I'd skip it. If you want to use it for art, you are better off buying the MS Surface tablet (which has a passable digitizer), but that is absolutely not a gaming machine.

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While I could go higher, I would prefer not to unless it's on some discounted sale. I don't really have a preference so much as I just need it to be budget, but decent. SSDs have been recommended a lot, so that is probably the direction I'll be headed in since I really have no reason to have a 2-in-1 other than the cool factor. But this is something else I can look into as well. Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjVFQS0gnV4

There is pretty good comparison. 1050 ti is already enough for this game, but fps may drop between 40 - 50 fps. 1060 would bring constantly good frames.

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Originally Posted by KisaiTenshi

Aim higher.

If you intend to game on it:
- Geforce GTX 1050 Ti, minimum (this can do 1920x1080 at 60fps, usually, but with a fair bit of cooling fan noise)
- 16GB RAM if possible

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Not really necessary my old vortex laptop ran dx11 mostly 60fps on near max settings using a gtx870m. Only a couple of settings tweaked with Nvidia optimiser. Would drop to about 51-53 fps in 24 man raids crowded areas but still easily playable.

If the op can get a 1050 or something in his budget then yeah go for it. But should still manage to get high performance with less

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Originally Posted by Dzian

Not really necessary my old vortex laptop ran dx11 mostly 60fps on near max settings using a gtx870m. Only a couple of settings tweaked with Nvidia optimiser. Would drop to about 51-53 fps in 24 man raids crowded areas but still easily playable.

If the op can get a 1050 or something in his budget then yeah go for it. But should still manage to get high performance with less

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In general, gaming laptops aren't meant to be used for 8hrs per day unlike business laptops, so aiming too high means it won't be portable, and aiming too low means that you're not going to be raiding on it, as the cooling won't be able to keep up and it will thermal-throttle. Business laptops with equivalent hardware to a 1050Ti are the Quadro P3000. Hence the baseline is the 1050 Ti. Older laptops would have to have a GeForce GTX 980M or Quadro M5000M to be within the same range.

For reference the latest 2019 business software demands at least a Quadro P1000 (Quadro M4000M and GeForce GTX 1050 are also equivalent.) So anything less, is not going to last more than 2 years.

I would just make sure it is a gaming laptop, with a good enough nvidia card (like other people have mentioned.) Read some reviews.

I'm on a desktop, pretty outdated now probably. 3200 (DUAL CORE ONLY ) CPU, Gtx 750 TI 2 gig (yeah, so kind of dated.) 8 gig system ram.

I'm also playing in OpenSuse Linux, since I've been Windows free since the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade expansion (so 12 years, or something?)

Yet I'm able to play the game, I just turn some stuff down (grass, shadows, stuff I don't need anyway.)

I don't do raiding or anything anyway, this system seems fine for this and for Wow for general play/dungeons, etc.

So this game doesn't seem THAT demanding. It also has some REALLY GOOD "occlusion" (way better than Wow, for instance. ) I notice a difference, with me having a good frame rate in this even in a city (while a modern city in Wow, like BoreALLus (see what I did there, HA?) in BFA will drop me to 11 fps or something.

x50 (like 750, 1050, etc) can run it but if you want reliable performance, like making sure you get 60 fps in most cases, you need a x60 or higher, or older ones, x70 or higher, like 770 (do not do 760 and lower) or 1060, do not blindly buy a "gaming laptop" because even though they can play games, they may not be up to speed as far as performance.

You do not need a big ssd card, but you do want a SSD card to boot off of (so windows and ffxiv install) while you install everything else on a secondary data HDD. Make sure in every setup you save on the HDD, you dont want to fill the SSD with stuff pointlessly.

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Originally Posted by Kuzulo

I'm on a desktop, pretty outdated now probably. 3200 (DUAL CORE ONLY ) CPU, Gtx 750 TI 2 gig (yeah, so kind of dated.) 8 gig system ram.

I'm also playing in OpenSuse Linux, since I've been Windows free since the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade expansion (so 12 years, or something?)

Yet I'm able to play the game, I just turn some stuff down (grass, shadows, stuff I don't need anyway.)

I don't do raiding or anything anyway, this system seems fine for this and for Wow for general play/dungeons, etc.

So this game doesn't seem THAT demanding.

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http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-...eForce-GT-750M
laptops and desktops , the difference between them is night and day, you need to go a step up just to get a more even ( though desktops still get a slight edge)

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Originally Posted by Sunako

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjVFQS0gnV4

There is pretty good comparison. 1050 ti is already enough for this game, but fps may drop between 40 - 50 fps. 1060 would bring constantly good frames.

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No it isn't that is for DESKTOPS, (you really want to see a "m" noted, 1050 M etc, 1050 =/= 1050 M

See how the 1050 hovers around 50 fps? you really don't want a 1050 M, stay away from x50 Ms, a 1050 M would be significantly less performance then that.


http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare...23242vsm164336
just to give an idea, mobile is very different then desktops, you really want a 1060 M or better.

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Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

Dunno how helpful it will be, but I play on a laptop with an i7 6700 @ 2.60 GHz (not overclocked) and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M with 6GB VRAM. 16 GB RAM, and my FFXIV install is on an SSD. I get 60 FPS 95% of the time in borderless window mode while running ReShade on custom settings (some things I have off but mostly everything is set to high); only when things are graphically intense does it dip to 45-50 FPS (phase transitions can do this sometimes). But I play on an Asus ROG Strix, and unless you find one on sale (like I did), that may be outside of your budget.

I’ve used this for about 2 years though, and it holds up pretty nicely.

I’d recommend a 1060 for a card, personally. And try to get something with an i7 in it. I’ve heard i5 is okay, but I’ve also heard it can be not so okay. I prefer an i7, personally. My CPU sits at sub 30% usually with FFXIV running and other stuff up in the background.

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yup, this is the best post in this thread, tbh

I’ve seen a laptop at Costco for $850 with a Nivida 1060 if that helps

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Originally Posted by Hamada

No it isn't that is for DESKTOPS, (you really want to see a "m" noted, 1050 M etc, 1050 =/= 1050 M

See how the 1050 hovers around 50 fps? you really don't want a 1050 M, stay away from x50 Ms, a 1050 M would be significantly less performance then that.


http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare...23242vsm164336
just to give an idea, mobile is very different then desktops, you really want a 1060 M or better.

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Well if you compare 1050 ti mobile and normal it have only 6% difference. Surely desktop is better, but difference is not really that huge.
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare.../m223242vs3649

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Good morning all

Just have a quick question. Other than checking the specs on a specific laptop, what is the best way to check to see if a potential purchase can run this game? I'm still in budget laptop range, so I can't spend too much on a high end laptop. To clarify, I'm not buying a laptop solely for FFXIV either, but being able to run it smoothly will influence which one I get.

Would I need to run a benchmark?

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Look at the specs and if you have it at home there is a internetside where you can let the side check if you meet the requirements (search for "can you run it").

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Originally Posted by Sunako

Well if you compare 1050 ti mobile and normal it have only 6% difference. Surely desktop is better, but difference is not really that huge.
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare.../m223242vs3649

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I am well aware, you do realize graphics card is not the only thing in the mix with this? a laptop built around a 1050 ti is not going to have the same specs as a desktop with that. generally a rule a thumb is you want to get the next stage up to be around equal ground. x50s are not really future proof and on the borderline of being out of date on release. It is much more effective to do a x60 so it lasts 2-5 years longer.

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Originally Posted by Hamada

I am well aware, you do realize graphics card is not the only thing in the mix with this? a laptop built around a 1050 ti is not going to have the same specs as a desktop with that. generally a rule a thumb is you want to get the next stage up to be around equal ground. x50s are not really future proof and on the borderline of being out of date on release. It is much more effective to do a x60 so it lasts 2-5 years longer.

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Yes graphic card is not only thing that affect performance, but it should be paired with components that not cause bottlenecking. Processors are really good and technology have improved lot, but graphic cards are literally same than 2 years ago in term of price per performance, i think graphic card is mainly only one that cause bottlenecking. And yes i said fps may drop somewhere between 40 - 50 and that is probably pretty near 1050 ti and 1060 would be overall better choice. In general I would not recommend playing video games with laptop at all if it is possible. Laptops that have 1060 or better card may cost 1.5k € +. With half budget you can build similar desktop.

Play the demo to level 30

Free trial would be the best way to go. You could also purchase it through Steam, see if it runs, and if it doesn't get a refund. Just don't play for more than 2 hours or the refund won't happen.

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Originally Posted by Sunako

Yes graphic card is not only thing that affect performance, but it should be paired with components that not cause bottlenecking. Processors are really good and technology have improved lot, but graphic cards are literally same than 2 years ago in term of price per performance, i think graphic card is mainly only one that cause bottlenecking. And yes i said fps may drop somewhere between 40 - 50 and that is probably pretty near 1050 ti and 1060 would be overall better choice. In general I would not recommend playing video games with laptop at all if it is possible. Laptops that have 1060 or better card may cost 1.5k € +. With half budget you can build similar desktop.

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I would go as far as say if you can't get a 1060 or 970,870, etc, then do not bother at all. As you see from the desktop link, even if you clone all those specs in laptop form, you are going to have a lot less performance since that holds true for all the components. I would hate the TC to get a 1050 only to be underwhelmed performance wise because of the difference of putting desktop specs in a laptop.

You are right, g cards do not change much, that's why I know 50s series are on the borderline, they always are, 60s is where the high end starts and where you have them last a bit, i/e 1060 would be better then the next few gens of 50's where the current 50 will not do that, thus what I meant when I said a 1060 will last a few years longer then a 50, since it is borderline now, it quickly goes out of date.

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

Free trial would be the best way to go. You could also purchase it through Steam, see if it runs, and if it doesn't get a refund. Just don't play for more than 2 hours or the refund won't happen.

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laptops tend to have a restocking fee.. the issue here is trying not to have buyers remorse for the laptop, not FFXIV.