Which computer to buy

BillFlowerpot​  Your best bet would be to buy an external DVD drive rather than trying to find a computer that has one built-in.  You could get a custom computer built however you want, but those tend to cost more than prebuilt options.  And last I checked, the external DVD drives cost around £30.

For the computer itself, how much would you like to spend?  Do you want a laptop or desktop, an if a desktop, does the price include a monitor or not?  I can make specific suggestions in any price range.

Hi, Thank you for responding.  To answer your statement, I already have an external DVD, however, thanks for the info.  As to what  I am willing to pay, I know that they can cost a great deal. I would prefer a desk top, although, I know that laptops can be as powerful,  I hope to get one for no more than 2,000 British Pounds.  Around 1,000 would be best.  I have been using a TV for many years as a monitor. Screen size 32 in.   I hope to be able to buy a computer that I can plug a TV into, but if not, I will have to include a monitor in the price.  (Computer monitor's tend to be more expensive than TVs) , also the software will need to be covered by this budget.   I would also like to purchase for a store that also provides tech support cover.  I have relied on this on any occasions.

BillFlowerpot​  These days, all gaming-tier graphics cards come with at least one HDMI port, and your TV likely uses HDMI.  So it shouldn't be a problem.  Nor do you need to spend £2000 or anywhere close to that for the computer itself.  Without taking a service contract into account, I should be able to find good options for somewhere in the £800-900 range.

Do you have any preference for the store involved?  I know Currys has a number of locations, but perhaps not near you, and maybe you have other stores that are more convenient.  Please list any that you're willing to use, and I'll link the best options I find.

As for the software, these systems typically come with Windows pre-installed.  For anything else, you'd have to buy a license, but I'm guessing that won't cost another £1000.

There is a local store that was once Curry's & PC world.  I think that it is now only Curry's.  It is from there that I purchased my current computer and tech coverage.  If you have any suggestion for me as regards Curry's I would be greatfull.

BillFlowerpot​  I'm not thrilled with the selection on the Currys website, in that there isn't much selection at all.  But if you want to keep the price down, this would be fine:

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-mag-infinite-e1-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-rtx-3050-1-tb-ssd-10275597.html

This is a higher-quality build for £100 more, not better parts (and the processor is weaker but still more than good enough for Sims games), but from a company that does high-end custom builds too.  So their standard is higher.  On the other hand, you'd have a two-year warranty either way, so maybe it doesn't matter to you.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/pcspecialist-icon-211-gaming-pc-amd-ryzen-5-rtx-3050-1-tb-ssd-10261457.html

This one is the same as the first except with a much faster graphics card.  You don't need it for Sims 3, so it's not worth the money if you're never going to play anything else, but I figured I'd mention it.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-mag-infinite-s3-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-rtx-5060-1-tb-ssd-10283888.html

If you have other stores in mind, I'm happy to check those out too.  Otherwise, these are your best bets at the moment; the others are from companies that have weak software support or use hard-to-replace parts, or both.  But if you don't like these, you could wait a few weeks and ask again.  Supply turns over rather quickly in this space, and prices change too.