SheSlayedGames An external drive is fine for storage but won't make your graphics any better. And depending on the drive and the speed of its connection, you might see significantly slower loading times, and possibly even graphical issues if the pipeline is slow enough. An SSD would be much better than a mechanical drive, but some cheaper SSDs come with very slow cables, I guess as a cost-saving measure; swapping the drive to a quality enclosure makes a big difference, but you don't want to have to do that with a drive you just bought.
Having said all that, if this laptop is only for Sims 4 content, you shouldn't need an external drive at all. These days, most entry-level gaming laptops come with at least a 500 GB drive, which is enough for the entire game, saves, saved households and builds, and a massive cc collection.
If you really want to keep the price down, this one is $550 and has hardware that's more than good enough for ultra graphics settings, even with ReShade or some high poly custom content in the mix. It also runs hot and loud, which might matter a lot if you're playing in bed, but it's your call. Considering the price difference between this and the next-cheapest options I'm seeing (at least new), it's a reasonable trade-off, but I'm not the one who'll be using it.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/15843466879
These are in the same performance category but not as loud and typically not as hot either, and with slightly-to-somewhat better screens than the MSI. The Asus does have a 16" screen, but that's not so much more than 15.6", certainly not as awkward to handle as a 17" or higher model.
https://www.bestbuy.com/product/gigabyte-gaming-a16-16-165hz-1920x1200-wuxga-intel-core-i7-13620h-512gb-ssd-16gb-ddr5-ram-geforce-rtx-4050-black-steel/J3GWPQCCVJ
https://www.walmart.com/ip/16276372539
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/victus-gaming-laptop-15-fb3025nr
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/loq-laptops/loq-15-series/Lenovo-LOQ-15ARP9/83jc00gkus
This is a bit more but has the newer RTX 5050, which is not necessary for Sims 4 but is worth considering if you're already looking at options in the $850-900 range:
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/loq-laptops/loq-15-series/Lenovo-LOQ-15AHP10/83jg000fus
Feel free to ask more questions, about these or in general. And if none of them are what you want, let me know what details matter to you, and I'll have another look. You do have a lot of flexibility in your budget, after all.
I skipped the integrated graphics category for now because if you want a good iGPU and 16 GB RAM, you're probably looking at spending at least $450 (typically, although I didn't check today), and the MSI is only $100 more for much better performance. But I can list some of those too if you like.
yes please do
