Reasonable specs for running unity smoothly .

On my current computer , unity takes quite a while use . It take about 2 minutes to open everything up , playing/testing games takes a good couple of seconds (10-20) even if its just a terrain and a cube or something simple like that , and frame rate is awful . Like 20fps … Max . My current specs are 1.8 ghz and 2gb ram , 320gb hard drive . Will a laptop with 2.5ghz and 4gb ram be able to run and use unity alot faster . Or should I consider investing in more high end parts ???

Invest in more high end parts my man,
Unity is a 3/2D GAME development Engine.
Despite the obvious duty to optimize games wherever it is possible.
The machine you are developing on should be as fast as you can humanly/economically manage it to be.

For example:
My PC stands well with
MotherBoard: Intel Sandy Bridge II type Architecture(GigaByte)
CPU: Intel I5 2500K @ 3.30 GHz multiplier overclocked to 5.80 GHz
GPU (Graphics Card)GigaByte GTX 580 (only 1536MB RAM , not 3GB version…oh well )
And a power supply to handle it.

As an example, my power supply is 750 watts, I wish I had got a 1000 or 1200 Watts in hindsight though.

Ultimately the answer to your question is as i said though really…
as best as you can afford, try not to compromise within a price range you set out… you can always build things incrementally (a key game development aspect you`re gonna come across all the time, lol)

Overall, I would ask this.
If you wanted to make a steak dinner, you might have the choice of multiple places to buy it and it might seem like you get more for your money at the supermarkets, but the offset is quality compared for example; to a local Butchers.
The same applys to buying a PC.
You buy a generic form factor as a single unit (Steak wrapped in a plastic film on a plastic tray, thawed from a deep freezer full of more generic steaks just like it)( an ACER that, A Sony this, a HP that, even a Lenevo this ) All very capable of delivering great PCs for various tasks and the like, but the really good stuff comes from their "finest" like ranges havent you noticed?!.

Buying from a specialist butcher (Metaphorically: GigaByte, ASUS, GainWard and the like)) and using that concept spread over your component parts. you would do better to rethink your strategy maybe and just build something pretty good with a graphics card that can perform sufficiently.
all this on the assumption that you DO want to develop games and that at some very near point, with the initial improvements you stated

Will a laptop with 2.5ghz and 4gb ram be able to run and use unity allot faster?

Probably noticeable to what you have now? Yes i would think so!
Sufficient to your undoubtedly growing passion for game development with Unity? Most likely, No!

There are a million sites out there that will really help you put together something for development that may not cost as much as you think, plus like I said, you could build it gradually.
Making your first purchase a really decent CPU & Motherboard that could perhaps Handle the Graphics via more up to date drivers for it etc.

of course, if you are developing on a Laptop, the same applies, but your cost is always gonna be higher whatever for mobile computing and that always mean inferior consumer products at the mid-lower end but with features that grab your attention like “BluRay Player” or “1920 X 1200 full screen HD” and the like.

Arrgh, this could well easily become a rant eh.
Hope that at least gave you some food for thought bud.
Take care and proper thanks for reading all the way down to here.
i may have given up by now. lol.

Cheers dude
Gruffy :slight_smile:

I REALLY don’t want to be rude but I disagree almost wholeheartedly with Gruffy. I know that this is probably a long dead conversation but for anyone who reads this hereafter I would like to say that buying a new setup is not necessary, buying the BEST setup, is outright insulting.

The first fact is that if you love to program then let’s face it, you’re going to use what you use whether you like it or not. I have seen some AMAZING setups but honestly I don’t care if the device i use to program is a older model computer, an out of box supreme system, or a phone. As long as I can write, compile, test and share then I don’t care what I am using. So to straight forward answer your 5 year old question, “Will a laptop with 2.5ghz and 4gb ram be able to run and use unity alot faster . Or should I consider investing in more high end parts ???”. I would simply respond by saying the obvious, “dude just install it and see how it runs.” Granted modern computers(ones from the date this was written) can pretty much handle Unity, not all systems can, and its not always the computer’s fault.

The kid using their parent’s computer to learn program; The hand-me-down computers; The family computers used for everything under the sun. Nowadays everyone having their own system isn’t something to brag about but there are still some people who aren’t caught up or barely keep up. And to them I say work with what you have. Learn about vram, cleaning and optimizing and other performance settings that help your setup run a little better. And if your unity runs a little slow, so what, at least you can do some work. And guess what, there’s a benefit.

Now I’m positive Gruffy would agree and would’ve interjected to point out that they weren’t trying to be patronizing but unfortunately I don’t think Gruffy understands what working with the BEST system actually does.

Dear Gruffy,
I am sure you were trying to help but what you don’t consider is your impressive set up for back then would only make programming harder and inaccessible to programmers and gamers alike. Right now there is a push toward levels of technology that people simply can’t afford. If you build a program on the most baller system you can find, did you know that people are going to need to keep up with your setup in order to play your game? The problem with a lot of dev companies is the belief that YOU NEED THE BEST SETUP TO MAKE A GAME (this is WRONG). If you make a program with 4k, blueray, holographic, VR, AR blah blah blah, then you will need a fairly non-average computer to play it. This game will run smoothly and look fantastically… on YOUR setup. That doesn’t mean the poor kid in BFE with their uncle’s old hand me down pc is going to be able to play it. Sure, you can say that’s their problem, but guess what that makes you? (a dk).

Obviously I’m not trying to say all devs should use below average computers to ensure the programs run smoothly on others. What I’m saying is one should not concern themselves with peek performance setups, focus on what improvements you CAN make and with time, hopefully, you’ll get a better setup.

Best of luck and I hope if you’re reading this you just “install it and see how it runs”. Who knows, maybe the slow speed will force you to be a more clean cut programmer, maybe you make something simple with the setup and use it to make the money to buy a better one or set a little money aside every now and then to buy a new setup while using your current one to learn what you need to know.
Maybe you are completely capable of creating the program and it running smoothly on the setup you already have which means it’ll run amazingly on everyone else’s pc. At some point you’re going to have to try [something] in order to find out.