@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.
