@JasonD716 If you're considering buying a specific laptop, please link it. Surface laptops come in a very wide variety of configurations, so it's impossible to say how well a particular model would run Sims 4 without seeing its specs.
These are the specs
@JasonD716 That's not all the info I'd normally want, but there's one obvious issue right away: the size of the hard drive. 128 GB is enough for Sims 4 itself, barely, in addition to Windows and the other small apps like browsers you'd probably want to install. But if you'd like to use even a moderate amount of custom content, or even save a bunch of screenshots, you might soon run out of space.
If you'd like other suggestions for laptops, let me know what details matter to you, as well as your preferred budget.
@JasonD716 256 GB would probably be fine, unless you're planning on installing other games as well or storing other large files (movies, a music collection, etc.). 512 GB gives more breathing room but shouldn't be necessary if Sims 4 is the only thing taking up a lot of space on your hard drive.
@JasonD716 The limiting factor here will be the graphics card or chip, not the processor. The graphics chip integrated into this processor should be capable of running Sims 4 on medium settings. Any more than that might be pushing things, unless you make other compromises, for example reducing the resolution or not installing all the demanding expansions.
If this laptop happened to have a dedicated graphics card as well, that would change the equation, but I'm not sure it has one. That's why I wanted to look at the specs page, by the way—it would list all the hardware, not just what's in your screenshot.
Here is all the configurations
Here are the tech specs I made a mistake with the last photo
@JasonD716 Right, none of the configurations for this particular model include a dedicated graphics card, just the integrated chip. So the answer is the same as before: medium settings should be doable, more than that may not be.
If you want to see other options, let me know your preferred budget as well as any other details that matter to you.
@JasonD716 You can certainly do better than the Surface for your budget, although the thin and light requirement does constrain things a bit. There aren't many light laptops in this range with dedicated graphics cards, but even the high-end integrated graphics chips should still run the game on medium-high settings. Then the question becomes whether you want to pay extra for a slightly lighter model or some other feature that matters to you.
The processors with the fastest integrated graphics chips available right now, at least in normal laptops with reasonable prices, are the Ryzen 7 4700U and the Intel i7-1165G7. The graphics chip in the 4700U is a bit faster on average, but there's a lot of variation depending on the game involved, so I'm not sure which would be better specifically for Sims 4. You could actually get one of these for $800, although most other options for both are a bit more expensive. Since I don't know how thin and light you want your laptop to be, or how much storage you want, here are a few different examples:
https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1912_1909&item_id=182956
https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops/thinkbook-series/ThinkBook-14-Gen-2-AMD/p/20VF004JUS
This laptop has an entry-level dedicated graphics card, one that's not all that much faster in synthetic tests than the integrated chips in the laptops above. But the advantage of a dedicated card is that it handles the graphics load separately from the processor, which will presumably have a moderate workload already while you're playing. This laptop also has 16 GB RAM, which is convenient for multitasking if not strictly necessary.
https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1912_1909&item_id=165763
This is a real gaming laptop, just thinner and lighter than most. Its graphics card should be able to run all current Sims 4 packs together on ultra settings.
I know these are a lot of links, but there aren't really that many details to keep track of. For the first list, the point is that the underlying hardware is essentially the same, other than a couple having a larger hard drive or more RAM. So the important question there is which one you like the best. Or if you want something a bit faster, take a look at the two with dedicated cards.
And feel free to keep asking questions as well.
@JasonD716 The only laptop on the list capable of running all Sims 4 packs on ultra settings is the last one I linked. There are plenty of laptops in your price range that could handle ultra settings, but they're all bulkier, like you'd expect gaming laptops to be, so I didn't include those. The second-to-last laptop should probably handle high settings without a problem, but ultra may be out of the question.
Which laptop is "best" depends on your priorities, as in, how small and light do you want it to be, would you like to save some money to get a cheaper option, are there other features that matter to you, etc.? I can't tell you what matters to you, but if you tell me, I can let you know which laptops have those features.
@JasonD716 The first group of laptops might be able to run Sims 4 on high settings, but I wouldn't say it's guaranteed. The settings you could use would depend on which expansions you installed, whether you added high poly (high-resolution) custom content and how much, other details relating to your playstyle, and other factors about the laptop itself.
As an example, all modern computer hardware will throttle performance to protect itself from overheating, but some laptops are tweaked to throttle at lower temperatures than others. It's very difficult to be sure exactly how a given system will behave until you have it in front of you. That's why I don't want to make promises a laptop might not be able to keep, especially when the laptop hardware is only borderline powerful enough for high settings under ideal conditions.
Not to complicate things further, but if you don't mind ordering from a store that ships from the U.S., this laptop has the same MX350 graphics card as the Asus Zenbook and is only slightly more expensive.
https://www.newegg.ca/slate-gray-lenovo-ideapad-slim-7-14iil-82a4000mus-mainstream/p/N82E16834645108
If you don't think any of these are quite what you want, you could always look again in a week or two. Inventory turns over quickly, and prices change as well.
@JasonD716 There are no new laptops in your price range that can handle ultra graphics settings and have a 14" or smaller screen. The closest is the Asus Zephyrus G14 model, but its cheapest configuration is more like $1,500-1,600 CAD under normal circumstances. (If you really like it, you might be able to find one used for a lower price.)
The problem is, a fast graphics card is physically somewhat large, even in its laptop version, and powerful hardware requires powerful cooling. So it's difficult to fit everything necessary into a small chassis. That translates into a higher price for carefully engineered and arranged smaller components. The issue doesn't exist with laptops that have integrated graphics chips, because the chip is part of the processor and not a separate component. And it's not as pronounced with the MX-series graphics cards because they're specifically made to be smaller, with some compromises on speed as a result.
The Lenovo's i5 processor doesn't matter as much because the graphics card would be doing the graphics rendering, not the processor itself. The i7 and Ryzen 7 are stronger, for sure, but the processing load of Sims 4 can easily be handled by an i5. It's the graphics part that would be sensitive to the speed of the processor's graphics chip, but if the graphics chip isn't being used (as it wouldn't be with a dedicated card in place), it's a moot point.
@JasonD716 The Dell with the Nvidia 1650 would handle Sims 4 the best by virtue of having the 1650, which is much faster than an MX350, more than twice as fast (on average) in games. But if the Dell isn't what you want for other reasons, you could still get a good play experience on other laptops. It just depends on your priorities. And that's why I'm not giving you an answer: your priorities are not for me to say.
