Laptop recommendations for sims 3 and 4

@Simsprincess80  If you're talking about an i5-1135G7, then the answer for Sims 4 is yes, this processor and its integrated graphics chip should be able to run the game on medium-high or high graphics settings even with all packs installed.  For Sims 3, it's right on the border: another player with this chip reported that she could run most packs together, I think 9 or 10 EPs out of 11, on a mix of high and ultra settings with no signs of lag.  Sims 2 should be fine if you're willing to manually apply a couple of fixes.  (I'm not the person to ask about those.)

If you have a choice among models, look for one with RAM that runs at a higher speed, preferably above 4000 MHz.  Because the graphics chip will be borrowing from main memory, it will help performance for that memory to be running at faster speeds.

I'd also suggest 512 GB storage since you'll presumably want to store screenshots and other user data in addition to the games themselves.  Sims 3 saves in particular can get quite large, and it's always good to have backups.  But technically, you could fit all three games and some user content on a 256 GB drive if you were careful about cleaning out excess data or transferring files to an external drive.

If your copy of Sims 3 is registered in Origin, you'll be able to download it with no disc required.  That's not the case for Sims 2 though unless you already have the Ultimate Collection.

Hi, thanks for replying. I hoped it would be you as I was recommended I speak to you on this forum by someone on Facebook sims group.

Thanks for what you have said. Yes it's that i5 processor you mentioned that I mean. 

How do I know if a laptop has 4000mhz ram? 

It's not always listed in the specs on display in shop or online 

Would 8gb or 16gb be ok? Unsure if that has anything to do with speed lol 

Are there any laptops you recommend? (ok if your not sure or don't have time to look)

I want to spend between £400 and £800 at the most.

Many thanks,

Helen 

@Simsprincess80  Without knowing for sure where you're shopping, it's difficult to come up with a good list of recommendations.  But since you mentioned Currys, this laptop is a good place to start, at least.  It's £600 (silver) or £630 (black), it has 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage, plus it has a very nice screen.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/asus-vivobook-k553-15.6-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10224577.html

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/asus-vivobook-k513e-15.6-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-black-10224714.html

The downside, although it's not fatal, is that its RAM only runs at 3200 MHz.  The Currys product page doesn't mention this, and, oddly enough, neither does the Asus product page.  But if you google "Vivobook K513E," you get plenty of results, for example this one:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-VivoBook-K513EA-L512TS.584805.0.html

Some site or other will have the info, although you'd still have to double-check to make sure you were looking at the exact same configuration as the one you were considering buying.  If you're in-store and can see a floor model, it's even easier: bring up the Task Manager, click the Performance tab and then the Memory section, and you'll see the speed listed on the right.  The laptop's box should also list the specs.

But this isn't a huge deal, just a detail that can have a small impact on performance.  If you find a laptop you really like for other reasons and its memory doesn't run at a high clock speed, it's likely you'll still be happy with it.

As far as other options go, there are a number of laptops with this kind of hardware that should all perform within a few percentage points of each other.  So it's fine to choose based on other details, for example maybe you'd prefer a certain size screen or you want a number pad on the keyboard (or you really don't want one).  Long-term, those details will probably matter more to you than a few extra framerates.  So I guess what I'm saying is that memory speed is a useful metric if you're looking for the best performance, but it's not worth sacrificing anything else.

By the way, while 16 GB RAM is nice to have, it's not critical, and most laptops are upgradable after the fact.  So if you find the otherwise-perfect computer that only has 8 GB, or the 16 GB version is £200 more (as is sometimes the case), just remember that you can buy more RAM for around £40 and either install it yourself or pay a computer shop to do it for you.

@Simsprincess80 , one thing i'd be careful with regarding running two or three versions of the sims on the one system - and i'm speaking from experience here - is conflict. If you have everything running through the one engine (steam or origin), then - for some reason - there is conflict between at least sims 3 and 4 running on the same computer. I recently had both sims 3 (not everything, but enough) and sims 4 (everything but Batuu and the last three kits) on my lap top and sims 3 would run, but sims 4 wouldn't even load - due to conflict. So .... just be aware that this could occur.

@taffster74  Sims 3 and Sims 4 do not conflict with each other regardless of how each one is installed.

From your earlier posts, it sounded like your sims 4 issues were due to a problem with the previous major patch, just as was the case for many other players.  That issue had nothing to do with the presence of Sims 3 for you or anyone else.