Please Help me to Find a Laptop that will run The Sims 3 With All Expansions at Ultra Settings!

The SSD is definitely too small to fit Sims 3, all your saves (and custom content, store stuff, mods, etc.) and your operating system, while still giving Windows 10 enough room to maneuver. You would need to install the game and move the user folder (the one in Documents) to the much larger HDD, so you'd lose most of the benefits of having an SSD in the first place.

Yes, there's a risk to buying a refurbished model. The risk is lower if Asus itself has refurbished it, but I would guess that the most you could expect is that the laptop runs well right now. It might be fine for a while, or it might start to have problems quickly. You can't know why the original owner got rid of this computer, so you can't predict if the same problem will recur.

I looked at amazon's Italy store, and laptops that will run Sims 3 and all its packs on the highest settings, and that also have a larger SSD, start at about €1150. I don't know where else to shop for computers in Italy though; if there's another store or website you would be willing to buy from, I can check its prices too.

Yes, it's absolutely enough. That looks like a great computer.

I found some cheaper options though, if you're interested:
https://www.amazon.it/Asus-Vivobook-N580GD-DM264T-Notebook-I7-8750H/dp/B07FYHJTYZ
https://www.amazon.it/Asus-TUF-Gaming-FX705GE-EW104T-Notebook/dp/B07N6M86S7

The second one has more RAM than the first, as well as a bigger screen, and it's also built a bit better for gaming. The first one would be good enough too, though.

The one thing to keep in mind about both of these models, as well as the one you found, is that the SSD is still small. You can fit Sims 3 on it, but you'll need to move everything else (movies, music, other apps and games) to the 1 TB HDD. A laptop with a larger SSD will be more expensive; this is the only one I found for under €1500 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.it/Vivobook-N580GD-DM054T-Notebook-Monitor-i7-8750H/dp/B07N1YX8BN

If you have other questions about hardware, or other websites you want to try, feel free to ask.

The link isn't working for me (I'm looking at the site's options now), but from the specs listed in the link itself, that model is much more than you need for Sims 3. An Nvidia 2080 is powerful enough to run any game currently available on the highest settings, and its price will reflect that.

How much do you want to spend? If you have a budget in mind, I can look for good options from this seller, or amazon.it, or any other site you want me to try. It sounds aside from a 17" screen, you'd like a 512 GB SSD, and of course a processor and graphics card that can run Sims 3 on the highest settings. Is there anything else you'd like this laptop to do, like other games you'd like to play? There should be a decent option that doesn't include a 2080.

"puzzlezaddict;c-17047092" wrote:
The link isn't working for me (I'm looking at the site's options now), but from the specs listed in the link itself, that model is much more than you need for Sims 3. An Nvidia 2080 is powerful enough to run any game currently available on the highest settings, and its price will reflect that.

How much do you want to spend? If you have a budget in mind, I can look for good options from this seller, or amazon.it, or any other site you want me to try. It sounds aside from a 17" screen, you'd like a 512 GB SSD, and of course a processor and graphics card that can run Sims 3 on the highest settings. Is there anything else you'd like this laptop to do, like other games you'd like to play? There should be a decent option that doesn't include a 2080.

@puzzlezaddict Like I said before, I only need a laptop that will run The Sims 3 with all expansions on the SSD... anyway my budget is around 1500 €

...ok, I've also have The Sims 4 + all expansions/game/stuff packs, but they told me that installing on the HDD is fine too, because there's not a real benefit from installing on the SSD... is that true?

What type of external CD/DVD drive I have to buy in order to install all of my The Sims 3 discs properly? They are all the same or there is something more specific to consider? Please help me becuase I'm afraid to do something wrong...

Well, there aren't many options for a large SSD and a 17" screen, but I found this one:

https://www.newegg.com/global/it-en/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834155158

The Nvidia 1650 is a very new card, but it's meant to be the new version of the 1050, and it has the recommended 4 GB VRAM (like the 1050 ti.) This laptop also has a very new processor (Intel i7-9750H), so new it's hard to find reviews for it. But it's supposed to be the newer version of the i7-8750H you've been seeing, and Intel is generally very reliable. The last processor models that were failing to perform up to standards were cancelled before they were ever released.

Newegg is an American company with a very good reputation here. You might want to check reviews in Italy before ordering from newegg, but if things look good, this is probably the best option in your price range.

Edit: Yes, Sims 4 will run fine on an HDD; you wouldn't notice a difference in performance. You might want a stronger card than an Nvidia 1050 ti though. Right now, it's fine for TS4 and all packs, but the game might require more power later. I'd have to check the benchmarks on the 1650, although my guess is it would be at or almost at the level of a 1060 6 GB, which is the recommendation for futureproofing for TS4.

External DVD drives are cheap and easy to find. I have a Steam install, so I can't help you there. You could ask in the general discussion section what brands work, but it shouldn't be hard to find a good option.

Alright, I just did a live chat with someone from newegg, and it sounds like you would get a U.S. keyboard and OS. It wouldn't be that difficult to replace Windows 10 with an Italian version, but the keyboard might be more of a challenge.

If you're willing to spend a bit more than €1500, I can look at amazon.it again. In the meantime, the one you linked just now would be fine (I actually had the link saved), as would this slightly cheaper model:
https://www.eprice.it/Portatili-ASUS-NB-ROG-SRIX-GL704GW-I7-8750H-16GB-512-SSD-1TB-SSH8GB-17-3-RTX2080-8GB-WIN-10-HOME-GL704GW-EV003T/d-12917473

Edit: It looks like that's actually the same link you provided earlier. (The product page lists a 2070, not a 2080. No wonder I couldn't find it before.)

"puzzlezaddict;c-17047141" wrote:
Alright, I just did a live chat with someone from newegg, and it sounds like you would get a U.S. keyboard and OS. It wouldn't be that difficult to replace Windows 10 with an Italian version, but the keyboard might be more of a challenge.

If you're willing to spend a bit more than €1500, I can look at amazon.it again. In the meantime, the one you linked just now would be fine (I actually had the link saved), as would this slightly cheaper model:
https://www.eprice.it/Portatili-ASUS-NB-ROG-SRIX-GL704GW-I7-8750H-16GB-512-SSD-1TB-SSH8GB-17-3-RTX2080-8GB-WIN-10-HOME-GL704GW-EV003T/d-12917473

Edit: It looks like that's actually the same link you provided earlier. (The product page lists a 2070, not a 2080. No wonder I couldn't find it before.)

@puzzlezaddict I really appreciate the help that you are dedicating to me... yes I can spend even 2000 € if necessary, so please look at amazon again

So, after spending more time not finding what you want on Amazon (unless you're comfortable buying from a third-party seller), I found an Italian website that lets you customize a laptop:

https://www.raiontech.com/categoria-prodotto/gaming/

I haven't checked all the possible configurations yet, but it looks like you could get a 17" screen, an i7-8750H. a 512 GB SSD (a Samsung 860 EVO, not one of the low-end stock versions), 16 GB RAM, and an Nvidia 1050 ti for €1471, including tax. (And an Italian keyboard.) You could add a second drive too, depending on what you want, or upgrade the RAM (speed or timing), or get a 1060 6 GB (+€159), or get the 1 TB version of the SSD (+€110).

If you're interested in ordring from this company, just let me know what options you'd like, and I'll find a couple of configurations for you to consider. I need to go for a couple of hours, but I'll be back later, or we can pick this up tomorrow if you want.

"puzzlezaddict;c-17047179" wrote:
So, after spending more time not finding what you want on Amazon (unless you're comfortable buying from a third-party seller), I found an Italian website that lets you customize a laptop:

https://www.raiontech.com/categoria-prodotto/gaming/

I haven't checked all the possible configurations yet, but it looks like you could get a 17" screen, an i7-8750H. a 512 GB SSD (a Samsung 860 EVO, not one of the low-end stock versions), 16 GB RAM, and an Nvidia 1050 ti for €1471, including tax. (And an Italian keyboard.) You could add a second drive too, depending on what you want, or upgrade the RAM (speed or timing), or get a 1060 6 GB (+€159), or get the 1 TB version of the SSD (+€110).

If you're interested in ordring from this company, just let me know what options you'd like, and I'll find a couple of configurations for you to consider. I need to go for a couple of hours, but I'll be back later, or we can pick this up tomorrow if you want.

@puzzlezaddict Sorry for the late response... I don't know what to do honestly, I'm not familiar with these things. Could you please tell me which of those many laptop are you referring to? This one (the cheaper) will be ok?

https://www.raiontech.com/prodotto/raionbook/home_office/raionbook-n3c/

At this point I preffer to have a only one big 1 TB SSD rather than adding a useless HDD, since I only want to play The Sims 3 & The Sims 4 with best experince in fact of loading times... please help me

Don't worry about the late response, and sorry about mine (I was running late this morning and didn't have time to jump on the forums).

I looked at the laptop options more closely last night, and I think that the cheapest model is not what you want. This is just a guess, but it probably doesn't have the cooling necessary to run Sims 3 and 4 for long periods of time. It would be better to start with a slightly more expensive model, one that can be upgraded with a more powerful graphics card. Even if you don't need that card, the computer will be built with enough cooling to handle the card you do want. The same goes for the processor—I would worry about a model that was designed to support an i5-8300H being upgraded to the more powerful i7-8750H, as the i7 will need better cooling.

The two models I would recommend are these:
https://www.raiontech.com/prodotto/raionbook/gaming/raionbook-g4c/
https://www.raiontech.com/prodotto/raionbook/gaming/raionbook-g6/

It looks like the second one was just newly added, maybe even since yesterday (I don't remember seeing it). With 16 GB RAM, a 1 TB Samsung 860 Evo SSD, a 17" screen, and Windows 10 preinstalled, these models would cost €1541 and €1551, respectively. There are a couple of differences that may matter to you:

• The first one has a screen with a 144 Hz refresh rate, as opposed to 60 Hz on the second one. Many people can't tell the difference, but it matters very much to some.
  
• The second one has a slightly better processor. The i7-9750H is just the newer version of the 8750H, and the benchmarks, few that I can find, suggest that the improvement was small.
  
• The second model has slightly faster RAM. It's not a big difference, and it wouldn't affect your game performance at all. If it doesn't matter to you, I'd go with the cheaper option. That also applies to the timing—unless you really care (and I don't know why you would), it's not worth the extra money. And to get better timing, you'd have to go with the slower RAM option anyway.
  
• Also, I've been assuming you want 16 GB RAM, but if this isn't the case, please let me know.
  
• The second one has an Nvidia 1650. Again, this is the newer version of the 1050 ti in the first model. You won't need the extra power for TS3, but it may help with TS4.
  

On that note, you do need to decide whether you want a stronger graphics card. TS3 will never need more than a 1050 ti, but TS4 might in a year or two. It's impossible to say for sure, but to be on the safe side, you might want the 1650 or a 1060 6 GB. (There's no way TS4 will ever need more than a 1060.)

Let me know what you think, and I'll show you which options to select. And of course if you have any questions about the components, I'm happy to explain.