Re: Laptop Requirements for Sims 3 Expansions

@puzzlezaddict you are so kind, thank you so much!!
I’m not sure what my exact budget is yet, but I’ll probably buy used if I can. Definitely on the lower side of price if possible.
I live in the U.S.
As for other specs, as long as it can run the game smoothly they don’t matter as much. I really just want something for the Sims, not looking to use it for much else.
I really appreciate your help, thank you!

@jenn_sims1  If you're willing to get a used or open-box model, something like this would do nicely:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-512gb-solid-state-drive-black/6356774.p?skuId=6356774

That's just one example, so you know what's out there.

Whenever you're ready to buy, feel free to ask for advice, or link a few options and get some feedback before you spend the money.

@puzzlezaddict Thank you for the link and all of the information. It has been very helpful. I found a used laptop on a selling app and I think it hits most criteria but wanted to know your opinion.
Here are the specs:
Asus Q553U Intel Core i7-6500U (You mentioned avoiding processors with the letter U in the name).

Installed Memory: 12 GB RAM
Processor Type: Intel Core i76th Generation
Processr Speed: 2.50 GHz
Graphics Card: nvidia 940M 2G (not the 1650 or 1050 but wondering if it is still good enough to play on medium settings or how it could work)
Graphics Processing: dedicated graphics
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro
Hard Drive: 2 TB HDD

Could this work?

@jenn_sims1  The newer U-series processors can sometimes be managed by tweaking Windows's power settings.  (Of course this is with the laptop plugged in and able to properly cool itself.)  But the 6500U is older, dual-core, and not nearly as powerful as 8th-gen or newer Intel CPUs.  It's also dual-core, meaning those two cores will need to carry the load for Sims 3, Windows, and anything else you run while you play.

There are people who play on an Nvidia 940MX and do fine.  They certainly don't use the highest graphics settings, and most of them don't install Pets or Seasons (or they use Seasons but disable rain and snow).  I've seen other people try to play on the same card and have a lot more trouble.  So I can't really give you a good answer on that—a lot of it is your expectations for quality gameplay and the packs you want to use, and some of it is random.

I'm sorry I can't offer anything more definitive.  Sims 3 is more difficult than it should be to run on medium hardware, and it's not always clear why.  I don't want to tell you that this laptop will be fine and then have you barely be able to play at all.  On the other hand, you might be one of those who has a good experience.  In your position, I'd try to find something with at least a 1050, or a 960M or higher, just to be safe.  But it's your decision.

@puzzlezaddict Yes I had a hunch that the laptop would be okay, but not superb for game play depending on my standards. Thank you for the advice.

Do you know anything about Sims 2? I have all the expansion packs for it but haven't played it in years and am also unsure of what specs are needed in order to play with expansions. I've read a lot of different things on the internet.
In the last few days I have gained a little bit of computer knowledge surrounding Sims 3 specs but I am clueless again for Sims 2.

@puzzlezaddict I have a couple more questions.

What is the difference between a nvidia Quadro M1000M MXM and the nvidia 1050 or 960? Does it even compare?

Would I be able to play with an external USB CD ROM drive? I'm seeing that some laptops are not made with CD ROMs and the Sims 3 games that I have/will have are CDs.

@jenn_sims1  I know a little about Sims 2, not much.  There will definitely be fixes you need to apply to get the game running properly no matter which computer you end up buying.  Luckily, the minimum requirements for that game are quite low, so any laptop you're considering for Sims 3 should be more than fine for TS2.

Nvidia's Quadro series is a set of graphics cards for professional work.  The cards are not built for gaming, although they can certainly run many games well enough.  The real issue is that their drivers are not optimized for gaming.  What this means for practical purposes depends on the game; I'm not sure how these cards run Sims 3, or whether there's a distinction among them that matters, aside of course from the overall capabilities of a particular card.

The M1000M in particular is a much slower card than an Nvidia 1050, but much faster than a 940MX.  The gap in benchmarks is quite large in both cases.  But again, I've never heard how Quadro cards in general handle Sims 3, much less this particular card.