Buying a laptop for sims

I have another question. which would be better for the sims 4 an external hdd or an ssd? And do you have any recommendations for any within 40-50 usd price range?

@prettypinkroses  There are no quality SSDs in the $50 U.S. range, and a cheaper one or an HDD would be a bad idea for Sims 4.  You're much better off keeping the game data on the internal drive and your other data on an external, if you need the extra space at all.  You might not need it at all though—the last laptop has enough storage for Sims 4 and a massive pile of custom content.

The problem is that Sims 4, like most games, requires constant reads from disk.  The pipeline from installed game to what you see on-screen involves the processor and graphics card but also the disk itself AND the connection between the disk and the other hardware.  If you put that data on an external drive, and the drive is slow or has a low-quality cable, or the drive has very little cache, the entire process can be slowed down to a significant extent.  These are not issues with internal SSDs because they're connected to the motherboard.

Point is, try using the internal drive for Sims 4, and if and when you find you absolutely need an external drive, install whatever else you have that's not Sims 4 on it.

Hi, I’m responding a month later because I was waiting for the money to buy the laptop and the one you recommended is sold out. So I went looking for some to pick up today and I found a couple. I need help to see which one would run the sims 4 smoothly and handle a lot of cc. 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-16-1-165hz-full-hd-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-1tb-ssd-shadow-black/6571057.p?skuId=6571057 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-acer-nitro-15-6-fhd-ips-144hz-gaming-laptop-13th-gen-intel-core-i7-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-16gb-ddr5-512gb-ssd-obsidian-black/6576934.p?skuId=6576934 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-predator-helios-neo-16-wqxga-ips-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i9-14900hx-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-16gb-ddr5-1tb-ssd-abyssal-black/6585161.p?skuId=6585161 

@prettypinkroses  The first and third laptops are more expensive than they need to be for the hardware they contain, and they're not going to be much better than the second (if at all), so I'd cross both of them off.

You could save a little money by dropping down to an RTX 4050, but the cheapest decent options I could find are $800, so if the extra $50 doesn't matter to you, the Acer Nitro is a better option.  And I didn't find any other laptops with an RTX 4060 for less than about $950 either.

Point is, if you like this laptop and are ready to buy in the next 22 hours or so (until the sale ends), it's a very good option.  If you'd rather choose something else, let me know what you're looking for now.

I’m looking for something that will run the sims on high to ultra settings and to run the sims smoothly. I might download other games and a bulk of cc/mods on it so maybe something with a lot of storage. Anything like that will be fine.

@prettypinkroses  Both of these are overkill for Sims 4, even on ultra settings and with a giant pile of custom content, and should run any current game out there.  They both have high-refresh-rate screens, making everything from Sims 4 to everyday use feel smoother, and a full terabyte of storage.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-g15-15-6-fhd-120hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-1tb-ssd-dark-shadow-gray-w-black-thermal-shelf/6576920.p?skuId=6576920

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-16-1-165hz-full-hd-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-1tb-ssd-shadow-black/6571057.p?skuId=6571057

If I had to guess, the main difference between them is that the Omen would perform slightly better and run slightly hotter, based on how these models do in general.  But the differences wouldn't likely be noticeable unless you had the two systems side by side.  The Dell is a full pound heavier though, in case that matters to you.

This one has an even faster graphics card and otherwise the same specs:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-1tb-ssd-mecha-grey/6573673.p?skuId=6573673

If performance in other, newer, AAA games is important to you, then this is the better choice.  But the extra power will make no difference at all to Sims 4 or to almost any game that's more than a couple years old.