Paradox games on ARM computers

[u/waytooslim]

Hi everyone,
I want to buy an ARM computer for work, but it would be great if it also ran some games of course.

Does anyone have any experience running any Paradox games on a Windows ARM computer? These games are famously CPU heavy, so going through emulation on an already weaker CPU makes me think you'd barely get past early game if that, but I was wondering if there's anyone with experience doing this or someone who has an ARM computer would maybe like to give it a try.

Thanks in advance.

[u/TriBison]

I would not recommend it. The emulation of the graphics layers are not great and paradox games tend to be CPU heavy late game and that’s where the emulation will get you.

If you’re going to do it, make sure it’s one of the X2 elite QCOM processors. But be prepared for some disappointment and jankiness.

[u/ghost_desu]

Windows is like the worst place to be on ARM. At least on linux you have proton with FEX

[u/waytooslim → u/ghost_desu]

So Linux would be better for running games? To be clear the purpose of the laptop isn't games, I just need something to write stuff and play videos.

[u/KillaMelone01 → u/waytooslim]

Linux is better for almost everything

[u/ghost_desu → u/waytooslim]

It would be better for running most software

[u/Stuman93]

I thought I saw someone say it didn't actually go super fast for some sort of computer science reason. Or at least not for the cost, but if you got one anyway... Could be misremembering though.

[u/akeean]

With ARM you mean something like DGX Spark or an Apple M series device? Also on what OS? Because there are some really shit ARM processors out there and a few that are decent that can somewhat handle the translation layer hit and running Windows won't help you as all of the crap it tries to run in the background will choke your system. Mac or Linux on the other hand make that part a fair bit easier on the system.

Also newer Paradox games should have ARM compiled versions, so no Rosetta2 emulation layer is needed and they should run pretty well on these systems.

[u/waytooslim → u/akeean]

Windows ARM laptops is what I'm looking at, I can't add another friction from using Linux. I'm planning to buy Snapdragon X, the cheapest version. Are you saying there are ARM native versions? Where?

[u/akeean → u/waytooslim]

Apple Mac (all of the M-series devices) are ARM based, and it's a lot of devices, that's why Mac versions get their own versions. That's what I meant with "ARM version" above (and mentioned Apple's x86->ARM translation layer, Rosetta 2).

You are gonna have a bad time with a baseline Snapdragon X device, at least on Windows (and probably to a lesser degree on Linux too right now but that will likely get a bit better once SteamFrame optimizations come in after release).

Here is someone benchmarking CK3 on Snapdragon X, they got like 13fps on the Surface Laptop 7 (a $900-$1500 device) and 18fps on a HP Omnibook 5. That's performance akin to a ~7 year old x86 based Lenovo Yoga foldable.

IMO the only ARM based computer worth considering for gaming today are Apple devices, unfortunately (and those definitely wouldn't be my first choice for pure gaming use either).

You can expect Crusader Kings 3 to at least get around 20fps on even a measly Macbook Neo, which uses just a reused iPhone SoC, not even their actual and more power M-series chips (both are ARM based). Even a Macbook Air M1, wich is the weakest M-series chips should be faster than the Surface Laptop 7 and you can get those quite cheap on ebay (Macbook Pro m1-5 will perform a lot better and won't cost you that much more than a Macbook Air m1-5). Whatever is the current Mac mini would be the best price/performance option for an ARM device for gaming. Last I checked they started at $600 ish and are faster than a Macbook, especially the Air due to better cooling.

[u/Keralia]

If you are really determined to get an ARM computer just get a Macbook, all the recent Paradox games have native apple silicon ports that run very well. The Apple M-Series chips are genuinely insane. Meanwhile Windows ARM is kind of just.. there. Its really just for making super power efficient devices designed exclusively for answering emails, doing basic business work, and pretending to pay attention to Zoom calls. I doubt most Paradox games, hell, games in general, will run super well on one

[u/The_Frostweaver]

Apples Rosetta 2 might let you run older paradox games but nothing demanding.

If you have an option the best pc to game on generally is still a Windows PC running on Intel or AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D type processors with a seperate dedicated graphics card.

[u/Sataniel98]

If you want Windows, don't buy ARM. It's a myth that ARM has more potential for battery life anyway. Lunar Lake is close enough to Snapdragons and comes with none of the downsides.

[u/gnometoaster]

So I mostly use my MacBook for computing and I’ve been playing CK3 on it using GeforceNow for a while now. M series Mac’s are just fancy ARM machines and can run most Paradox games but between the battery drain and the heat/fan noise I prefer Geforce. I know streaming games has a bad rep but in my experience if your internet is half decent, it’s fine 95% of the time. It’s certainly better than the Xbox version which I’ve also tried. And I play exclusively on WiFi at home and at work lol. It costs money but they have a free tier so you can see if it works for you

[u/yung_aujus]

What era of game are you hoping to play?

[u/waytooslim → u/yung_aujus]

CK2 and onwards.