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Looking for the best laptop for Cities Skylines 2? We have got you covered.
Cities Skylines 2 brings improvements over the original game across the board. You can now not only make much more complex and massive cities, but you also get to experience how every decision you make ripples through your city with the help of AI. Plus, the introduction of signature buildings and ever-changing weather and climates means you need to level up your strategies as you build your city.
To have the best experience, the Cities Skylines 2 system requirements suggest an i5-12600K or Ryzen 7 5800X with 16GB RAM and an RTX 3080 is recommended. However, we all know how quickly our cities can grow and become more sophisticated. So, it is essential to have the best gaming laptop if you want to enjoy Cities Skylines 2 truly. To help you out, we have rounded up a variety of laptops with guidance from Aaron Ritchie – our in-house laptop expert. Let’s get straight into it.
Best gaming laptop for Cities Skylines 2
Choosing a laptop can feel strenuous when you appreciate how many types of laptops are out there. To make it easier we’ve broken down our choices into different sections. For those who are prioritising affordability, we have included a budget-friendly option. If you are seeking a cheaper option then we’d recommend checking out the best gaming laptops under $1000.
Best 4K laptop for Cities Skylines 2
Razer Blade 16
GPU
Nvidia RTX 4070
CPU
Intel Core i9-13950HX
RAM
32GB DDR5
SSD
1TB
Display
16” 4K UHD+ 120Hz (or FHD+ 240Hz)
- Jaw-dropping dual-mode display
- Exceptional performance
- Perfect for 4K gaming
- Pricey
Want the best 4K laptop for Cities Skylines 2? The Razer Blade 16 is meant for you. First up, the laptop has an i9-13950HX paired with an RTX 4070. The i9-13950HX is perfect for 4K gaming; it has the raw performance for it, and it sips relatively less power than high-end i9 variants. Plus, the RTX 4070 has support for DLSS 3, which means the graphics card can handle upscaled 4K gaming without breaking a sweat. Feel free to have a look at WePC’s review of the RTX 4070, to appreciate how well this GPU performs.
Topped with 32GB DDR5 RAM and 1TB SSD, the Razer Blade 16 is the ideal laptop for 4K gaming, but it’s still not its most impressive feature. That title goes to the display. By the looks of it, you get a fairly high-end 4K display that can refresh at up to 120Hz. But what if you want to play CS2 or any other competitive game? After all, your laptop has the specs to run it flawlessly.
Well, that’s where you switch to the ultra-fast refresh rate mode. In this mode, you get a whopping 240Hz refresh rate at 1080p, perfect for fast-paced gaming. In addition to that, the display can also reach a 1,000 nits peak brightness, making it ideal for outdoor gaming. In short, if you can pay the big bucks to afford this beast, then there is no better laptop that is more suited for playing Cities Skylines 2 at 4K than the Razer Blade 16. It can be easily considered as one of the best 4K gaming laptops.
Best budget laptop for Cities Skylines 2
ASUS ROG Strix G16
GPU
Nvidia RTX 4060
CPU
Intel Core i7-13650HX
RAM
16GB DDR5
Resolution
1920 x 1080 pixels
Display size
16″
- Pocket-friendly
- Solid 1080p gaming
- Powerful processor
- Only 512GB storage
When it comes to the best budget laptop for Cities Skylines 2, the ASUS ROG Strix G16 takes the crown. Thanks to its latest-gen components, the laptop packs excellent performance for 1080p gaming at high settings. You get an i7-13650HX and an RTX 4060, and both of these components are absolutely perfect for handling large cities with great details. Take a look at the breakdown of the RTX 3070 vs the RTX 4060, to get a more detailed breakdown of what you’re getting with this graphics card.
The i7-13650HX has 14 cores and can achieve a 4.90GHz boost clock for its 6 Performance cores. Basically, the processor nails both single- and multi-core performance, and its capabilities come very handy in simulation games like Cities Skylines. In the same way, the RTX 4060 is perfect for 1080p gaming. It has 8GB VRAM, 3,072 shading units, and even 24 RT cores for real-time Ray Tracing. It’s no doubt a strong contender for the best cheap gaming laptop.
While the storage space could be better than 512GB, you can always upgrade your SSD for more capacity if you need it. Make sure you know whether to get an SSD or an HDD first, Apart from that, the laptop has 16GB DDR5 RAM and beautiful RGB lighting on the keyboard and the body. All things considered, if you want to save big bucks and still enjoy Cities Skylines 2 at 1080p without any performance hiccups, the ASUS ROG Strix G16 is your best bet.
Best gaming laptop overall for Cities Skylines 2
MSI Raider GE78HX Gaming Laptop
Display Size
17.3in
Resolution
2560 x 1440
RAM
32GB
Refresh Rate
240Hz
GPU
RTX 4090
CPU
Intel i9-13980HX
- Unparalleled performance
- Plenty of RGB lighting
- High refresh rate panel
- Can get loud
The best overall laptop for Cities Skylines 2 has to be MSI Raider GE78 HX. It is undoubtedly one of the best MSI gaming laptops. After all, the laptop is filled to the brim with top-tier specs. By top-tier, we mean an i9-13980HX paired with an RTX 4090. As such, the MSI Raider will knock Cities Skylines 2 out of the dust in 4K.
The i9-13980HX is a 24-core monster that delivers jaw-dropping performance from its 24 cores and max 5.60GHz turbo frequency. In addition to that, the RTX 4090 is the world’s fastest and most powerful gaming graphics card you can get right now. It has 24GB VRAM, 16,384 shading units, and support for the latest DLSS 3 for unparalleled performance. With these figures, how could it not be one of the best RTX 4090 laptops?
Given the sheer gaming performance of this laptop, it is practically overkill for Cities Skylines 2, but if you have the money for it and you’ve been planning to upgrade, then you should definitely go for it. It even comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a whopping 2TB NVMe SSD. On top of that, the 17.3” display can refresh at up to 240Hz. As a result, you get top-notch performance from every angle.
Can you play Cities Skylines 2 on a laptop?
Yes, you can easily play Cities Skylines 2 2023 on a laptop and have fun bringing your imagination to light. There are many laptops that can run the game without any hiccups, and we have rounded them up to you as the best overall laptop, the best budget laptop, and the best 4K laptop
Is Cities Skylines 2 CPU or GPU intensive?
Unlike many modern games Cities Skyline is more CPU intensive. It’s also very RAM intensive, which may come as a surprise to some gamers. In fact, even 16GB of RAM is often not enough, with 32GB being preferable.
What laptop can run Cities Skylines 2?
If your goal is to run Cities Skylines 2 2023 at low settings, then you don’t need a high-end laptop. Anything with an i7-6700K or Ryzen 5 2600X, a GTX 970, and 8GB RAM should do the job. But we all know how complex and big our imaginary cities can get with time. So, for the best experience, you should at least have the following system specifications:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 Home 64 Bit | Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i5-12600K | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- Memory: 32GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia RTX 3080 (10 GB) | AMD equivalent
