Laptop for Running the Sims 4 + CC

gamercora22​  I apologize for the late reply.  If you're still interested in suggestions, please let me know whether you'd like gaming laptop—bulkier and heavier, but also more powerful—or something a bit more portable, or you just want the most for your money.  I can make suggestions in any case.

I think I'm looking for a gaming laptop, something more powerful and reliable, but I would also be curious to hear your recommendations for the most I can get for my money. 

gamercora22​  In terms of raw performance, a gaming laptop is going to give you the most for your money.  What I meant was just that some people have a preference for one type of laptop over the other, and some people just want the best performance they can buy.

I'm not seeing a lot of great options right now, perhaps because of the uncertainty surrounding tariffs.  But these one has hardware that's as good as I'd typically see for under around $1,100 anyway:

https://store.acer.com/en-us/nitro-16-gaming-laptop-an16-41-r148

This one isn't as good because it only has 8 GB RAM, but that's upgradable for not much money: maybe $40, maybe less, depending on the configuration of the existing memory.  And it's a very simple upgrade to do.  The graphics card is the same as the one above, which is the most important detail:

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834725219

If you decide you don't want a gaming laptop, I can look for other options.  But performance won't be anywhere close to these—the best non-gaming graphics chips are only about half as fast, maybe less depending on the game in question.

I like the Nitro 16 Gaming Laptop - AN16-41-R148, but was also looking at the ANV16-41-R5J0. Do you think it's worth spending the extra few hundred bucks to upgrade to the 4060 GPU instead of the 4050 GPU, as well as the 16 GB RAM?

gamercora22​  Strange, the Nitro I linked listed 16 GB RAM on the search page but only says 8 GB on the product page.  Sorry about that.  The info about upgrading applies equally to this laptop too though, in fact the Nitro model is one of the easiest to upgrade.

An RTX 4060 is absolutely not necessary for Sims 4.  It's nice to have if you're going to pile on the high poly custom content and Reshade filters, or record your play, but the 4050 can handle everything the game throws at it without trouble.  So whether it's worth the money to upgrade depends on your plans for the laptop, and whether you might play other games that are more demanding, and of course what that money means to you.

If you do want to upgrade, you could do better on the price though:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/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/gigabyte-g6-kf-16-165hz-gaming-laptop-ips-intel-i7-13620h-with-32gb-ram-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-1tb-ssd-black/6576659.p?skuId=6576659
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-loq-15-6-gaming-laptop-full-hd-amd-ryzen-7-7435hs-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-8gb-512gb-ssd-luna-grey/6578511.p?skuId=6578511
https://www.newegg.com/p/2S3-0008-006F7
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834233581

Note that the Acers are only on sale for a couple more hours.  But there are plenty of options for around $1,000, so there's no need to rush the decision.

If you really do want to save the money, I found this one that comes with a rebate:

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834156648

This model tends to run hot and noisy, but it's not a problem if you play with the laptop on a desk and with headphones on.  I wouldn't recommend it if you like to use speakers though.  My brother has a similar one, and when we're both at our parents' house and he's playing almost anything, I can hear the fans from three rooms away.  I'm not kidding.