Best gaming laptop for Hearts Of Iron IV
Hearts Of Iron 4 laptop compatibility: can you play Hearts Of Iron 4 on your laptop?
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- 01Best gaming laptop for Hearts Of Iron IV @ 1080p
- 02Best gaming laptop for Hearts Of Iron IV @ 1440p
- 03Best gaming laptop for Hearts Of Iron IV @ 4K
This brief guide is designed to help you find the best gaming laptop for Hearts of Iron 4, or at the very least help you answer the question: can my laptop run Hearts Of Iron 4? if you want to keep your current machine.
The Hearts of Iron IV laptop requirements are listed below. Meanwhile, we took the time to recommend a few different gaming laptops suitable for playing Hearts of Iron IV at different settings and resolutions. The laptops we recommend will meet your necessary criteria while staying within a budget.
Ultimately, Hearts of Iron IV is a strategy game and doesn’t require running top-of-the-line gaming laptops, though 4K laptops don’t come cheap regardless if that’s the way you want to go.
Best gaming laptop for Hearts of Iron 4 @ 1080p
MSI GF65 Thin (15.6″, 144Hz)
CPU
Intel i7-9750H / i7-10750H
Graphics Card
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 / RTX 3060
RAM
8GB
Max Refresh Rate
144Hz
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Screen Size
15.6”
Hearts of Iron IV isn’t a graphically demanding game. So, locating a laptop capable of running the game at 1080p was easy, and our recommendation is the MSI GF65 Thin. The GF65 Thin is one of the best-performing affordable laptops in the market with a sleek design. Hence, the company added the “Thin” moniker.
To be clear, two iterations of this laptop are available – an RTX 3060 version and an RTX 2060 version. We consider both equally great laptops (with the former being more powerful and ore expensive), and have both made it into our best gaming laptop under $1,000 guide in consecutive years.
In terms of CPU options, we prefer getting at least the Intel Core i7. However, the Intel Core 15 is still an excellent budget choice, but the primary drawback would be the limited 8GB RAM. It isn’t a concern if you are willing to upgrade it to 16GB after the purchase. However, if you want to be free from all these hassles, go for ASUS TUF DASH without hesitation.
Best gaming laptop for Hearts of Iron 4 @ 1440p
ASUS ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition (165Hz 1440p)
CPU
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX
GPU
AMD Radeon RX 6800M
RAM
16GB
Storage
512GB SSD
Screen Size
15.6″
Max Refresh Rate
165Hz
We recommend ththis ASUS laptop if you want to play Hearts of Iron IV at 1440p on a laptop. The ASUS ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition is an excellent option if you want to enjoy the game at the highest settings.
The ROG Strix G15 AE comes with both AMD CPU and GPU to enhance the two components’ synergies. The performance is equivalent to RTX 3070 laptops with a cheaper price tag. However, the laptop’s Ray-Tracing capability is subpar compared to Nvidia GPUs – but this doesn’t matter at all when playing a game like HOI4 (given it doesn’t have this feature). Ultimately, the ASUS laptop has more than enough power to handle a game like Hearts of Iron IV at a relatively lower price point.
The one downside of the ROG Strix G15 is the absence of a webcam. You have to purchase one separately if you need one. If this is a problem, you can check our best gaming laptops under $1,500 list. However, you won’t find a better performer than Strix G15 AE. On a side note, the laptop has a 300Hz variant, so don’t pick this up by mistake, unless you’re happy with only 1080p resolution and an unnecessarily higher refresh rate for this game.
Best gaming laptop for Hearts of Iron 4 @ 4K
MSI Creator 17 (120Hz UHD, i7-11800H, RTX 3060)
CPU
Intel Core i7-11800H
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
RAM
16GB RAM
Storage
512GB NVME SSD
Max Refresh Rate
120Hz
Resolution
4K (UHD)
Most of the 4K laptops are capped at a 60Hz refresh rate, far too low for a few specific gaming genres, but for a slow-paced strategy game like Hearts of Iron IV, the 60Hz cap is okay, as the need to boost the reaction time is unnecessary.
That being said, a laptop with a higher refresh rate is always better for playing other titles, so, the 17-inch MSI Creator 17 with RTX 3060 graphics card and 120Hz 4K display would be ideal. Do stay away from the 15-inch variant of the laptop: 4K is too high of a resolution for a display of that size to make the most of it.
The Creator 17 will struggle to play more demanding games at 4K resolution unless you opt for a more powerful GPU, so, consider something far more powerful if you want to do this alongside Hearts of Iron IV. A few options come to mind, the ASUS Zephyrus S17, MSI Raider GE76, or the Razer Blade 17, which comes with a 144Hz 4K screen. These choices are all considerably more expensive however.
Can my laptop run Hearts Of Iron 4?
The developers of Heart of Iron IV have released the official system requirements for the game, and as expected, it is not too demanding. But there’s one thing that needs to be clarified, which most gamers misunderstand; the official system requirements refer to desktop components only, not laptops.
These days both desktop and laptop components, such as graphics cards and processors, have the same name, but compared to specific desktop components the laptop counterparts are underpowered. The laptop manufacturers had to take this measure considering the smaller chassis size and limited cooling options. Hence, when it comes to system requirements, you need to go up another notch to achieve desktop-level performance on a laptop.
Despite common perception, minimum system requirements will barely run the game even at the lowest setting – the FPS will be painfully slow. The recommended system requirements are typically for mid-range graphical settings at 1080p for an enjoyable level of performance, so these are what you should aim for.
Below we have suggested a few models of different capacities, resolutions, and price points – check them out.
Hearts of Iron IV Recommended Specifications (Desktop)
- OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K | AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 (1.28GB) | AMD Radeon HD 7970 (3GB) | Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake)
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Sound Card: Direct X- compatible soundcard.
- Additional Notes: Mouse and keyboard are required. / Latest available WHQL drivers from both manufacturers. / Internet Connection or LAN for multiplayer, Up to 32 other players in multiplayer mode.
Best gaming laptop for Hearts Of Iron IV : Final Word
With any luck you’ll now know the answer to the question can my laptop run Hearts Of Iron IV? If it turns out it cannot, then the various contenders for the best gaming laptop for Hearts Of Iron 4 listed above should see you right. In the event you’re not feeling any of these picks, see our other gaming laptop guides in the mega menu above, organised by price point and brand.
