Good Windows Laptop for Sims 4?

@Lyoufln  There are a lot of articles that explain graphics cards, but most of them are either too oversimplified or extremely detailed.  I can try to find an article or two at your preferred level of detail if you want.  Or, if you'd just prefer a shorthand, these are the cards you'd see in new laptops:

Nvidia 1650 < 1650 ti < AMD 5500M << 5600M < 1660 ti < 2060

A 1650 will run all current Sims 4 packs together on ultra settings, but that may not be true by the time the game is out of development.  (A mix of high and ultra settings would probably always be fine, although we obviously don't know what future packs will look like.)  A 5500M is a few percentage points faster.  The 5600M and 1660 ti are closer to 60% faster in gaming, although the gap is smaller for older games; they're both kind of overkill for Sims 4.

There are many options with at least a 1650 for a lot cheaper than $1,600 CAD.  I'd have to look up reviews for touchpads, since I don't know which are the best off the top of my head.  But if you like Dell laptops, these two are worth considering.  The first has a much stronger processor, although the one in the second is more than fine for your games; the second has 16 GB RAM, although the first could be upgraded; the first is much lighter, around the same weight as a MacBook Pro.  They both have a 512 GB solid state drive, more than enough storage for several Sims 4-sized games and lots of custom content.

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/dell-laptops/new-inspiron-15-7000-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-7501-laptop/ni157501_d_h014e

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/gaming-laptops/new-dell-g3-15-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-15-3500-laptop/ng153500_sb_h3800pe

If you want overkill, this one has a powerful processor, 16 GB RAM, a 512 GB SSD, and an Nvidia 2060, for $1,430:

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/gaming-laptops/new-dell-g5-15-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-15-5500-laptop/ng155500_d_s2600e

There are lots of other options though, both from Dell and from other brands.  If you'd like me to look around more, let me know whether you'd prefer to get the best computer $1,600 CAD can buy, or the cheapest very good option, or something in between; and any other details that matter to you.  If you have more questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Hi @puzzlezaddict Thank you so much for your help! 🙂

Thank you for your explanation on video cards! I'm not a super computer-y person, so something that explains the basics would be good for me (but only if you have time!)

Also, I like the sound of that first laptop (Dell Inspiration 15 7000). Though it's video card isn't as "powerful" as the second laptop's, it's more than enough for the Sims 4, Stardew Valley, and Octopath Traveller (I checked out their recommended specs).

However, I have no brand preference. My family had a Dell desktop growing up, so that's all I know much about. All I really know is that I'm not a fan of ThinkPad laptops. Are there computers like Dells that you suggested?

Thanks again! 🙂

@Lyoufln  There are plenty of very good laptops available in your price range, so you have a lot of options, in fact too many to properly summarize.  What makes things more complicated is that you want a quality trackpad.  There aren't many gaming laptops with good trackpads, and even among the better ones, two models that should have the same trackpad can be evaluated quite differently.  And none of them are going to compare with a Mac's trackpad.  The only Windows laptops that come close are the Microsoft Surface line, but to get a Surface with a gaming graphics card, you'd probably need to spend well over $2,000.

Overall though, there are some trends.  MSI and HP laptops generally have lower quality trackpads, Asus models are a bit better, and Lenovo a bit better than that.  With Dell, it depends on the model; the G-series laptops rate lower than the others.  The Acer Predator line has a great one, but there are other reasons you might not want one: battery life is bad, the display isn't as good as the one on some other models, and application performance is pretty mediocre for the hardware.  On the other hand, you have the budget to get an overpowered laptop for Sims 4, so maybe you don't care about giving up a fraction of the ideal performance.  And you'd always want to play with the laptop plugged in anyway.

Point is, you'll need to decide what your priorities are and go from there.  As a couple of examples, these two laptops are both highly rated overall for different reasons, they're both well within your budget, and they're both reasonable choices.  But neither has an excellent trackpad.

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1920_1923&item_id=173777

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-fortress-grey-amd-ryzen-7-4800h-512gb-ssd-16gb-ram-geforce-gtx-1660ti/14584169

This is a high-end laptop, again not with an outstanding trackpad, but an example of one that's very highly rated on other metrics.

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1920_1924&item_id=163579

I'm happy to keep looking, once I have a better idea of what you want.

As for guides that explain graphics cards, most of the ones I found are geared towards desktop cards and have a lot of irrelevant info.  This one is a couple years old, but it's a good place to start:

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/gpu-comparison

At the very least, it should get you oriented.  If you have more questions, or want something more technical, feel free to ask.

Edit:  Actually, take a look at this one:

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1920_1923&item_id=168421

and some info about it:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/ADATA-debuts-its-first-XPG-XENIA-gaming-laptop-but-we-already-reviewed-the-system-last-year.462121.0.html

It apparently has the same chassis, including the trackpad, as this model:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-Fusion-15-in-Review-Intel-s-reference-design-challenges-the-competition.435952.0.html