Laptop advice (UK)
Hello,
I'm looking to buy a new laptop to play the Sims 4 (plus expansions) as well as other general laptop uses. I'd also like to future proof with the potential near release of the Sims 5. I have a very basic knowledge of computers so any advice is appreciated. I am based in the UK and have a budget of about £500 but could possibly stretch that a little. Thanks in advance.
Rach
@rachk116 There are two categories to consider here. The first is gaming laptops, which generally start around £650 but can be cheaper (see below). Any new gaming laptop can run Sims 4, all current packs included, on ultra graphics settings. There's a significant drop-off below that level—the next-fastest models only have integrated graphics chips and can probably only handle medium-high or high settings with all packs installed. But they're also cheaper, starting around £400 and only getting a little more expensive if you want extra storage.
In the second category, there are plenty of examples that would fit your budget. These all have 512 GB storage, which, while not necessary, is nice to have and still within your budget:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9560716?clickPR=plp:76:92
https://www.box.co.uk/82KD002LUK-Lenovo-V15-G2-Ryzen-5-8GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-_3614141.html
There are certainly other options if you don't like these; the first three were just the cheapest good options I saw, plus I threw in a Dell because some people prefer them. All of these have the same or roughly equivalent hardware and should perform within a few percentage points of each other in-game.
If you're thinking about a gaming laptop, this one is £550 and, like I said, should run all current Sims 4 content on ultra settings:
https://www.box.co.uk/82K100HDUK-Lenovo-ideaPad-Gaming-3-Intel-Core-i5-8G_3778691.html
This one is a similar model, except with a newer and faster graphics card, and costs £600:
https://www.box.co.uk/82K200C3UK-Lenovo-ideaPad-Gaming-3-AMD-Ryzen-5-8GB-_3638080.html
In terms of other stores, these are the two cheapest options I found elsewhere; they have the same graphics cards as the first and second one above, respectively:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1184327?clickPR=plp:1:52
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4745880?clickPR=plp:3:52
So the question is really whether you'd prefer to save money and get a good-quality gaming experience, or spend a little more for ultra graphics settings. Either answer is reasonable, of course; this just depends on your priorities.
If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
