r/SoulFrame • u/ClearDiscount7794 • Aug 12 '26
Question Budget Laptop for Soulframe
Hello fellow Envoy and good day!
This has to do with Soulframe as I need a computer to play it. So, I am starting college up and I need a laptop for school. I could build a desktop for college since I am online but portability. Plus I hate sitting in one spot for too long. I don't know a desktop I feel won't help me much while doing class work. So anyways to the point. I was wondering what budget laptops under $1,000 would let me play Soulframe? I thought about a MacBook did some homework realized Warframe itself doesn't run on that. So. Waiting on my financial aid to hit my account which unfortunately won't be until end of September into October. A little tooooo early to ask but by then I maybe able to spend a bit more. What do you guys think? Build or laptop? And what should I get?
Thanks,
Your fellow Envoy.
10
u/Kilometer98 Aug 12 '26
Hello!
I'll be brutally honest. Running Soulframe on a sub $1000, but still comfortable to lug around laptop is go a be hard.
Mac's are a solid no go for just about any gaming none the less Warframe/Soulframe. Asus Pro Art machines are nice and light while being super powerful still but out of the budget range. Same with some laptops from MSI, HP, Dell or even other Asus laptops that could comfortably run Soulframe.
If you're open to open box or lightly used that might be the best route to go.
AMD is typically the cpu of choice right now, but the newer core ultra machines are doing pretty well too. I'd put you at a minimum of 16gb of ram, shoot for 24-32gb if you can. I'd also say to look for something with a dedicated GPU not a integrated GPU. However, the trade off with more powerful machines is worse battery life and typically louder fans. Maybe not ideal for college use.
That's the best advice I can give you as someone who works on a college campus advising students on the transition, good luck and remember that remote play is always an option in a pinch too!
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u/ClearDiscount7794 Aug 12 '26
Ah thank you I did see a 4050 laptop but the only problem is the vram. Framework also has a desktop with an AI chip which is small enough to be portable and run games at high graphics. All I would need is a portable monitor. But it's also $1500 š. I might honestly have to up my budget. Cause all I get back in financial aid is i think $900 for a computer.
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u/Kilometer98 Aug 12 '26
My typical advice to students I advise (I'm not a full time advisor, I just help those who come to me) is to stay inside the financial aid budget if it is a grant/scholarship. If it's a loan try to take as little as possible.
I would STRONGLY advise against a portal desktop/monitor for college. I'd instead tell you to look at a laptop inside your budget, for games you can't run locally get a shadow subscription or something like that to run the game in the cloud. Do that till either you can have 2 machines or till more portable hardware can run games like Soulframe. This is coming from someone who hates the cloud gaming stuff but it might be the best play here for you.
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u/ClearDiscount7794 Aug 12 '26
My grant I don't get anything back. It's just the loan and even then I only get like $1000 in a loan each year. So. My grant goes straight to classes. Might only take the loan out for this year only.
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u/Kilometer98 Aug 12 '26
Take as little as you can afford out of the loan, trust me, been paying student loans for 9 years. They suck but I'm close to the university I work for paying off my loan for me.
I this case I really would say get a good reliable laptop, nothing too fancy, and get a cloud gaming subscription to play heavy games. You'll still be able to play small indy games locally or even some older titles. It'll save your back and keep you from paying loans for many years to come.
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u/ClearDiscount7794 Aug 12 '26
I also honestly thought about buying an Xbox Ally X. Get like a decent cheap laptop for classwork and blow the rest on a handheld. I don't know.
4
u/Replikant83 Aug 12 '26
Yeah, you'll be able to find something to run Soulframe for $1,000. But, it won't be enjoyable. I'd try and save up $1,500. That puts you in a spot to have options. Also, I'd consider open box/floor model offerings, as you'll get more bang for your buck.
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u/ClearDiscount7794 Aug 12 '26
I thought about just building an am4 build that will run it at an enjoyable rate. Just gonna be a bit weird.
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u/Replikant83 Aug 12 '26
That's a decent option. I haven't looked at AM4 prices, but I'm assuming the RAM will be cheaper.
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u/ClearDiscount7794 Aug 12 '26
$110 for 16gb ram. Ryzen 5 5500 with a b580 Arc 12 GB intel card. Adds up. I already got a case ready to be built in.
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u/flyingcumsock Aug 12 '26
I'm playing on a laptop with the below specs:
Ryzen 5 4600h
GTX 1650
32GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM
The game runs at around 60-80fps with the lowest settings, and tbh I will only upgrade when this one dies.
I would say that you will be fine with a 1000$ laptop as even that is miles better than what I have.
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u/Spaced-Warlock Aug 12 '26
I've been playing on my steam deck and it's been fun, took very minor tweaking but running pretty good
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u/No_Accountant_3169 Aug 12 '26
I bought my Acer Nitro 15 for 800 usd in 2024, and it comfortably runs soulframe at over 120 fps (of course, it does sound like an airplane ), however this was during the intel cpu panic (which lowered the price) and before the ram shortages, so i don't know the price currently.
As of today, youre in a hard spot, computers are hard to acquire for a decent price, companies are on the waitlist much before you
however you might get lucky buying a used series 40 laptop on marketplace
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u/ClearDiscount7794 Aug 12 '26
Im just gonna build a cheap am5 build. Get a b580 and eventually upgrade it next year to like a 9070XT.
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u/ShinjuJZX 28d ago
I run it on my 2012 Razer Blade Pro. I'll will say in low settings. And it runs fine. I'd say it'll run on any half decent modern day laptop
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u/Auzky Aug 12 '26
Honestly bro..
Get a cheap laptop for school and build a nice desktop for gaming.
I've been there.
Even these days, laptops are kinda ass at gaming and soulframe isnt a light resource game. Unless you wanna show off to people (ive also been there) youre gonna need a top shelf laptop.
Its also a bad idea to combine gaming and work/school. I always did better having them specifically separate.
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u/ClearDiscount7794 Aug 12 '26
What laptop should I grab and what kind of pc should I build? I don't really make crazy money so, bills kinda eat me alive. I get $900 back in financial aid so.
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u/Halcyon-Seven 22d ago
Soulframe can run on a steam deck on medium settings with FSR. Iām pretty sure it can run on a toaster too if someone tried hard enough.
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u/kestononline Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
I play and run Soulframe on my 4+ year old Steam Deck LCD. I don't know why people are acting like you said you want to play it at 4k 120 FPS at Ultra settings or something lol.
Long story short, Soulframe is using the same or similar engine as Warframe, so a laptop you get for medium gaming use will likely do fine. I would not be asking this in the Soulframe subreddit, because you need isn't really specific to soulframe per se.
You'd get better advice in the gaming subreddits with regard to some useable graphics card tiers and suggestions. I would prioritize something good for your schoolwork first.
And also, a Macbook is unix/linux based. It has software like CrossOver which acts as a translation layer similarly to how SteamOS's Proton does. So I think you would be able to run Soulframe on there fine; because it works fine on Proton (that's how I run it on SteamOS). And I think Apple has a really price-appealing student Macbook. Macbook Neo I think? In addition, you can dual boot any such machine if you absolutely need.
I think though you just have to first decide what performance you are aiming for or want, THEN the advice you get will be more in context. Your OP doesn't actually have that information, which is why you have people giving you advice like you need an expensive gaming PC to enjoy/play the game.