@BMO_girl_simmer I looked too, and I didn't see any Lenovo Legion models at reasonable prices, but that's not the only good option. The ones you listed all look good to me; I wouldn't try to dissuade someone from getting any one of them on hardware alone. I'd cross off the Victus because of the high cost and the fact that it runs a bit hot, which is something you just deal with if the price is good but not if you're already paying a premium.
The Dash will run somewhat hot but not out of control, so if you like it, go ahead and get it. You can do better on the price though, on a few different sites:
https://www.jw.com.au/asus-15-6-fhd-i7-11370h-rtx3060-16gb-512gb-w10-509702
https://www.centrecom.com.au/asus-tuf-dash-f15-156-fhd-240hz-i7-11370h-rtx-3060-laptop
I found a couple other laptops worth mentioning as well. If you'd like to save a lot of money and just get something that works, this Acer is cheaper than any of the other models you've listed and has a 3060:
To be clear, this isn't a high-end laptop, but it also runs decently cool and quiet—the AMD processor produces significantly less heat than its Intel equivalent—and gets good performance in gaming.
On the high end, Gigabyte makes laptops that are close to premium quality and usually close to premium prices, but a few good ones are within your price range. I'd avoid the G5, which has its issues; the Aero is premium, and the Aorus is similar but cuts corners on battery and noise. (Its noise level isn't terrible, just not better than entry-level options.) This Aero has an excellent screen as well:
https://www.centrecom.com.au/giagbyte-aero-15-oled-kd-156-uhd-oled-i7-11800h-rtx3060p-laptop
If you don't want to risk OLED burn-in, which is a real issue when you have static images on-screen, the Aorus is a reasonable alternative. A couple places offer it for $2,300:
https://www.centrecom.com.au/gigabyte-aorus-15p-kd-156-240hz-i7-11800h-rtx3060p-laptop-2
If you decide you don't need as fast a graphics card, another excellent option is the Asus Zephyrus G14 with a 3050 (ti or not). Its very well-built and lighter than the others; you'd just be paying somewhat of a premium. For example:
https://www.centrecom.com.au/asus-rog-zephyrus-g15-156-wqhd-165hz-ryzen-9-5900hs-rtx3050ti-laptop
There are a lot more options with a 3050, but if you're getting the slower card, you really want a high-quality laptop that will get the full performance out of the card.
Really though, with your budget, you have plenty of good choices, including those you listed. So there's nothing wrong with taking these lists and choosing based on other factors, even aesthetics if that's what matters to you.
@puzzlezaddictThank you ! Your response has been incredibly helpful and I'll definitely take your suggestions on board and look into them further !!
I was just wondering if I did end up going with one of the two I listed, the Asus TUF Dash 15.6" FHD 144Hz Gaming Laptop (Intel i7) [RTX 3060] or the Asus TUF Gaming F15 15.6-inch i7-10870H/16GB/512GB SSD/GTX1660Ti 6GB, which one would you go with ?
@BMO_girl_simmer I personally would get the Dash with the 3060, but that's because I play other games that are more demanding than Sims 3 or 4. I don't think the 3060 is worth the extra money if all you're doing is running Sims games with one possible caveat: if you notice the difference between 60 fps and higher, you'll probably enjoy the 144 Hz screen.
You can actually go to a physical store and test a few high-refresh-rate screens yourself—the best test is to find one that runs at 120 or 144 Hz, try it out, and then set it to run at 60 and see if you notice a difference. (This is so screen quality isn't a factor.) One obvious difference, at least for people who can distinguish between 60 fps and higher, is quickly dragging a File Explorer window around the screen: it looks and feels smoother at higher refresh rates. But if you don't notice the difference at all, then the extra cost of a 144 Hz screen and the faster card to drive it won't be worth it to you.
And to be clear, you can do this with any monitor you find that runs at a high refresh rate. So any store that would let you play with a random laptop or standalone monitor would work.
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