Laptop Recommendations for Sims 3 and 4

Oh also to say I am happy for the laptop to be refurbished rather than new if that helps with the budget

@swebby21  The limiting factor for Sims 3 is likely the GPU, although the CPU would struggle as well.  For Sims 4, the loading times are about the CPU and the speed of the RAM (not so much the amount if you're not running anything alongside the game), but the fact that you can only play on low settings is mostly due to the GPU.  The processor and graphics in a laptop can't be upgraded, and this laptop's hardware is ten years old, so I wouldn't suggest investing in it anyway unless you really didn't have any other options.

You do have other options at or around £600 though, although the options below that price point are significantly worse, at least right now.  That's not to say you couldn't play either game on them, only that you might to turn down the settings a bit, depending on the packs you installed, especially in Sims 4.  If medium-high to high settings (depending on the model) is fine for Sims 4, and possibly only high-ultra for Sims 3, then there are options around £500 as well.  But a gaming laptop will be significantly faster in terms of in-game performance.

In terms of gaming laptops, this is clearly the best among the ones I could find around £600.  It's a little more, but it has 16 GB RAM and a significantly faster GPU than the other options at this price.  Its other hardware is more than fine.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3268753?clickPR=plp:4:43

These two have the slower graphics card but otherwise equivalent hardware, so they're an option if you really don't want to spend the extra £30.  I do think the extra money is worth it, but then it's not my money.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4460048?clickPR=plp:2:43

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/acer-nitro-v15-15.6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-rtx-2050-512-gb-ssd-10264766.html

Aside from that, the other options I'm seeing have 8 GB RAM (technically sufficient for both games, but more is definitely better) and/or a slower graphics card, and they're mostly not any cheaper either.

If you'd prefer a non-gaming laptop, you have a lot more options, depending on how much money you want to save.  For example, for just a little under £600 get maybe 75% of the performance of the RTX 2050 in the second and third links above; it's hard to say exactly since the GPUs will run each game differently.  This laptop has 16 GB RAM and a great screen, and it's clearly not a gaming laptop, nor does it weigh as much.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-prestige-14-ai-evo-14-laptop-intel-core-ultra-5-512-gb-ssd-grey-10267022.html

At the opposite end of the good-enough spectrum are models that are only about half as fast as the RTX 2050, but should still be able to handle high-ultra settings in Sims 3 and medium-high in Sims 4 with all current packs installed.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/acer-aspire-3-15.6-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10254475.html

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/6798062?clickPR=plp:2:101

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4163572?clickPR=plp:3:101

These are not the only ones available, just the cheapest in this category, with the third being a bit faster in terms of graphics processing than the other two.

Point is, if you want a non-gaming laptop, let me know your priorities: price, performance, screen size, aesthetics, whatever.  If you want a gaming laptop, then the options above are about as good as it ever gets in your price range.

Used laptops can be cheaper, but not that much if you're buying from a reputable vendor.  They're a lot cheaper on Ebay if you'd like to go that route.  Let me know, but I'd rather not even look there unless you're definitely going in that direction.  It's always a mess and the options change too quickly to keep track.

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks so much for your detailed reply, it is really helpful. 

On reflection I think a non gaming laptop will be best as I work for myself a few days a week and need something I can carry around easily to work on website/content editing, and take video meetings on (I have not had a gaming laptop before but assume from your comment that they are heavier and not very transportable).

I think the first non gaming laptop you have listed could work pretty well.

I also saw someone in another thread recommended this one which they said performs well on high res for sims, what is your opinion on specs? 

https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/product 

I think priority is price, but happy to go up to £650/700 for the right one as I will be using it for my work too. Screen ideally 14in to keep size compact, otherwise not fussed about aesthetics 

Really appreciate the help! 

@swebby21  In terms of performance, the one you've linked is in the same class as the two cheapest options I linked.  That's not to say it's bad, just that the MSI is significantly faster.  So are these:

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptops-2-in-1-pcs/inspiron-14/spd/inspiron-14-5445-amd-laptop/cn54905sc

https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-2-in-1-series/lenovo-ideapad-5-2-in-1-gen-9-14-inch-amd/83drcto1wwgb1

https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-500-series/ideapad-slim-5-gen-9-(14-inch-amd)/83dbcto1wwgb1

The Lenovos have the same internal specs, and the iGPU is somewhat faster than the one in the Dell; they also have a better screen.  But the Dell is significantly cheaper and still faster than the HP you linked.  That's not to say the HP is a bad choice, only that you could do better for your money.

I can also find a lot of laptops with equivalent specs to the HP, so if you would be fine with its performance but would prefer slightly different details, let me know and I'll have a look around.  I personally am biased towards performance, but that's not the right answer for everyone.

Thanks, super helpful. I am very clueless with how to read the specs and understand the performance! But would agree I value performance for money paid, and also screen quality

So in terms of what I am after is this option the best currently? :

 https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-prestige-14-ai-evo-14-laptop-intel-core-ultra-5-512-gb-ssd-grey-10267022.html 

I was disappointed with my last laptop purchase in both performance speed and screen so looking to not make the same error! 

@swebby21  The iGPU in the MSI is a little faster than the one in the Lenovos, but not so much that that should overrule other considerations.  (It's less than 10% in gaming, on average, although results in individual games vary somewhat.)  In terms of performance, either iGPU should be great.  So pick the one you like based on whatever other factors matter to you, or get the MSI if they're otherwise equal or you care about performance the most.

I do want to mention that with the MSI, you might need a one-time workaround to get Sims 3 running.  It's simple and well-tested, so it's not a reason to avoid Intel processors, so it's not a big deal.  But don't panic if the game won't start; just run the Alder Lake patch described here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-won-t-open-Alder-Lake-Intel-12th-gen-CPU/m-p/11057820

Got it, thanks for your help! 

Hiya, 

When I was looking at the MSI I noticed that there was another version a bit more expensive, would this one perform even better? Looks like I can get cashback to bring it more into my price range 

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-prestige-14-ai-evo-14-laptop-intel-core-ultra-7-512-gb-ssd-grey-10266448.html 

Thanks

Oh great, I will take a look. Appreciate the knowledgeable advice - Thanks v much!