Re: Buying a NEW Computer helppppp

@kymanii7979  Unfortunately, there aren't really a lot of options for gaming laptops out there right now, at least not around $700.  I did find this one, for exactly $700:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1542057-REG/msi_gf63_thin_9scx_005_gf63_i5_9300h_8gb.html

It would run Sims 4 and all packs together on ultra graphics settings, with some room to spare.  The 256 GB hard drive is small, but it's plenty for Sims 4 and all associated content, plus plenty of school projects.  If you're going to be doing multimedia projects though, it might not be enough storage.  You could always use an external drive if you needed it, but of course that can be inconvenient.

This one has the same processor, graphics card, and memory, but a combination 128 GB SSD/1 TB HDD and is $730.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-5-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-ssd-black/6344387.p?skuId=6344387

Among all the available new gaming laptops, the only others I saw that were below $700 had a significantly slower graphics card, and even those were only about $20 cheaper.  This HP is the only one I saw that wasn't from a third-party seller on Amazon.  It has the same hardware as the MSI, except for the slower GPU.

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-pavilion-gaming-laptop-17t-5xx64av-1

If you're thinking of something more portable, the options are even slimmer in the next category down.  I did see this one, which is an open-box model and would run the game on medium-high settings, or maybe high if you only had a couple of expansion packs.  It has a combination 256 GB SSD/1 TB HDD.  As a bonus, it has 16 GB RAM, which isn't strictly necessary for Sims 4 but would help with multitasking.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1556970-REG/lenovo_81ca0011us_ob_15_6_flex_5_multi_touch.html

This one has a somewhat faster graphics card, but still not in the class of the gaming laptops listed earlier.  It's $650 and has a 512 GB SSD, which is enough storage for most people.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Display-i5-10210U-802-11ax-A515-54G-53H6/dp/B07XJRGKKD/

Just to be clear though, these last two are a completely different class of laptops than the first three.  The Nvidia 1650 is several hundred percent faster than the MX250 in the last laptop, depending on the benchmark and who's running it.  So if you want the best gaming performance, the first two options are clearly better.  If you just want to be able to play and don't care about how the graphics look, then the last two would be fine.

Awesome feedback thanks so which out the first two would you suggest I get ... not sure what 1tb Hdd means if it makes it better than the msi 

@kymanii7979  Solid state drives (SSDs) are much faster than mechanical drives (HDDs), but they're also more expensive.  That's why some computers come with a single small SSD, like the MSI; or an even smaller SSD, with a large HDD for backup, like the Acer.  The disadvantage of the very small SSD is that you'd need to install most large programs on the HDD, where they'd load more slowly than if they were on an SSD.  But of course you get a lot more space overall.  Which one is better for you depends on how much storage you'll need.

The MSI's 256 GB drive is large enough for Sims 4 and all your associated content, plus plenty of small apps like browsers and music players, because those don't take much space.  If you plan to store a lot of data, e.g. a movie or photo collection, you'll probably need more space, and then the Acer would be more convenient than having to use an external drive.

Personally, I'd go with the MSI if I were only planning to play Sims 4, no other games.  I might still go with it if I were planning on playing Sims 3 as well.  But any more than that, and I'd want more storage.