Can this laptop run the game?

The short answer is yes.

The longer answer is that the 128 GB SSD is too small to carry the game well and both the game installation and the user Documents folder containing the TS3 user game folder will need to be on the much larger HDD. The longer answer also includes the fact that that laptop is showing as out of stock so technically it can't really run anything if you can't get one delivered, but maybe that's only a temporary condition. :)

That one's a fraction of a class above the first even though it's the same base model. Its SSD is twice as large, although at 256 GB you would still have to watch over drive space carefully if you install the game on it, and it has a more powerful graphics card. I would vote for that one over the first if it's in stock anywhere or if you can order it from HP directly, and if it wasn't astronomically more expensive.

I'm not a huge fan of HP laptops to begin with, but when it comes to the product line at this caliber that becomes more of a personal preference.

By reputation, I think Asus makes higher quality builds. They all make low-end laptops too, to some extent, but I mean I might put more trust in them at this caliber level. I would never want to Sim on a laptop though, all of my home computers have been Macs for decades, and I swear by Dells for office equipment but not so much for home use or games, really. I also see that you are shopping in a country where choices might be a bit more limited (or different) than here in the US, was that Slovenia I saw on the shopping site's About Us or did I look at that too quickly? So maybe I'm not the best one to be advising further.

I know she's been really busy lately, but let's give regular old paging a try and see what happens.
@puzzlezaddict

I would be more comfortable with 512 GB for an SSD running Windows and games like TS3. At 256 GB things are certainly workable, but you would have to really keep an eye on the drive's free space and not let it go under say around 35 GB. Some games do not really benefit from being installed on an SSD, TS4 does not for example, so those could be installed on the HDD instead but TS3 does benefit. Of course larger than 512 is fine too, but that does tend to drive the price up really fast.

Yes, in most circumstances you can upgrade to a larger SSD later but you would either lose all of your content on the original one or need to devise a way or pay to have the content preserved so you can put it back on the new, larger drive later on.

What, no catnip?

@fmil There are a lot of more or less equivalent laptops that would run Sims 3 on ultra graphics settings, and the best choice is often the cheapest one among the group that you can find, or maybe the best-rated laptop among the cheapest. Which model that is depends to a large extent on the country and how manufacturers' prices compare to each other. HP makes decent gaming laptops these days, but Asus, Lenovo, Dell, and even Acer (sometimes) can be good options.

If you let me know your budget and country, or alternately some sites where you'd be willing to shop, I can look for other good options for you. Just checking the first site you linked though, this HP has essentially the same hardware the other—its processor is only a bit weaker overall and is probably a tiny bit better for Sims 3. But instead of the small SSD and large HDD, it has a single 512 GB SSD, which is more than enough for Sims 3 and any content you'd want to create or download.

https://outletclick.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-gaming-laptop-15-dk0006nt

This one is the same as the above HP except for a much stronger processor. That extra power would be lost on Sims 3, but if you're into video or heavy photo editing, it would speed up the process considerably.

https://outletclick.com/laptops/gaming-hp-pavilion-15-dk0042nl

But like I said, let me know if you'd like other options, and I'll do a more thorough search. And don't worry about the language barrier; specs look the same in any language that uses the Roman alphabet.

P.S. If you do want to buy one of the above laptops, don't order the Kaspersky antivirus software to go with it. Kaspersky causes all kinds of headaches, for Origin games and in plenty of other circumstances.

There's nothing wrong with getting a laptop with an Nvidia 1660 ti, especially if you're willing to pay the premium. But it's certainly not necessary for Sims 3. The only way you'd likely notice a difference is if you wanted to play with framerates higher than 60, and of course you'd need a laptop with a 120 or 144 Hz screen to even see the higher fps. (Sims 3 also has fps drops due to the game engine regardless of how powerful your card is, but that's an entirely different story.)

There's no harm in having a look at Amazon, and if you want help with the process, let me know. I can take a look, or you can link some laptops you find appealing for us to check out. Amazon might be an overwhelming pile of links at first, but it's not so hard to narrow things down once you know what you're looking for.

Still, if you're not interested in comparison shopping, the HP should do well. I know someone with the 9750H/1660 ti version (and a 512 GB SSD) who's very happy with it and uses it to play much more demanding games than Sims 3.

@puzzlezaddict
So, i went into Amazon and looked at a few more since there is no harm in it like you said, but then got a little tired and got the one you linked since it is really good anyway!! Thanks so much for all your help <3 The store i ordered from is nearby so it might even arrive tomorrow! So excited!

Great, I hope you love it.

As soon as the game is installed, be sure to limit your in-game framerates to protect the graphics card; this is necessary with any GPU fast enough to run Sims 3 on high or ultra graphics settings. The simplest way, if you play in fullscreen, is through the built-in Nvidia Control Panel: right-click on the desktop, select the Control Panel, then Manage 3D settings, then Program Settings, then choose TS3.exe (for an Origin install) or TS3W.exe (with the W, for a disc or Steam install), and enable vertical sync.

You can confirm that fps is locked at the refresh rate of your monitor (60 Hz) by bring up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and entering fps on; the number will appear in the upper right corner of your screen. If vertical sync doesn't help, or you want to play in windowed mode, there are other approaches to try as well, but this is the easiest. Let me know if you need more help with this. Limiting fps is not so urgent that you can't experiment with the settings a bit, but you should definitely address it before settling in to play for a few hours.

@Strawberry100 Hello! I dont know for sure, but i looked quickly at what you posted and i dont know if their graphics card are strong enough to run the game. It might be better to get a laptop with a dedicated one if you can. There is a thread in this same section for new members to ask for help. It might be better to post there so everyone can see your post.

@igazor and @puzzlezaddict helped me find a new laptop as you can see above and it works great, so it is better to wait for their input and i am sure they are going to be much more helpful than me regarding this.

@Strawberry100 I would actually vote for none of the above. Games like Sims 3 should run on the hardware in these various laptops, and Sims 4 would run on any of them on medium or low-medium settings. However, Sims 3 doesn't adjust well to lower-end hardware. The integrated graphics chips in these laptops would probably not be able to run the game's most demanding packs (Pets, Seasons, then Isla Paradiso and Into the Future) very well, and might not run any of those packs at all, at least not without constant crashing and graphics glitches. Different players can have different experiences, but these integrated chips are not designed to handle the load that Sims 3 would place on them.

You could do a lot better for £600 though. This laptop should run all Sims 3 packs together on a mix of high and ultra settings:

https://www.box.co.uk/81LK0039UK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-Gaming-L340-15_2934443.html

While its hard drive is small, it's manageable if you're careful. You could also get an external hard drive later, or convert the one in your existing computer to an external drive if you can find a case for it, or perhaps even install it into the new computer, depending on what kind of drive it is.

I saw an even better laptop for £600 this morning, but it's apparently already out of stock. Things do tend to change quickly with laptops, particularly when there's one offered for a surprisingly low price. In case you're curious:

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/acer-aspire-7-ryzen-5-3550h-8gb-256gb-ssd-geforce-gtx-1650-15.6-inch-window-nh.q8lek.001/version.asp

Since prices do change so quickly, and inventory turns over, it would be best to check back when you're ready to buy a laptop. There's no point in saving up for something that might be £200 more expensive in a couple months, or could even be entirely unavailable. When you're ready, feel free to post back looking for recommendations. Since you're a student, you may also be able to get a significant discount, depending on where you choose to buy.

Paralives isn't out yet, so there's no way to tell how well it would run on a given computer. But any laptop that would run Sims 3 reasonably well would also be above the minimum requirements for Paralives by a comfortable margin.