Laptop upgrade

@infinitespectral  It's not too difficult to find a laptop for Sims 4 for significantly less than $800, but for Sims 3, things are a bit more complicated.  Until the most recent generation, the game didn't run well on integrated graphics, although the outcome varied widely from one player to the next.  With the 11th-gen Intel processors, I've seen what looks like much better results, and one person whose information I trust was able to play on high (but not ultra) graphics settings with all packs installed.  However, I'm still not sure that this is always true even on that particular graphics chip, so I don't want to tell you it will be fine for sure.

On the other hand, if you're not going to install Pets or Seasons, you shouldn't have any trouble running Sims 3 on the current fastest integrated graphics available.  In that case, or if you don't mind having to potentially turn down some graphics or make other adjustments, a laptop like this one ($650) would do well:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-6-FHD-Intel-Core-i7-1165G7-8GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-Silver-Windows-10-15-dy2172wm/649015725

It should run Sims 4 on high settings without any trouble—that game sizes down well—and it's the same chip as the person whose reporting I trust has.  It also has 512 GB storage, which you'll definitely want if you're planning to install both games and also have room left over for school.  Other laptops with the same Intel i7-1165G7 processor should perform the same, give or take a few percentage points; let me know if you'd like to see more options similar to the one above.

You could instead get a true gaming laptop, one capable of running both games on ultra graphics settings with some room to spare.  I'm seeing a few options for $700 or less with only 256 GB storage, which would likely be a tight fit once you installed your custom content and built up a few saves.  Unfortunately, the options with 500 GB storage are mostly $800 or significantly higher.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-AN515-55-53E5-i5-10300H-GeForce-Keyboard/dp/B092YHJGMN

https://www.walmart.com/ip/797151449

The graphics card in these two is more than fast enough for both games; in fact the older Nvidia GTX 1650 would also be more than fast enough, but I'm not seeing much stock in new laptops with that card and enough storage.  As far as used options go, there are plenty, but I'm hesitant to recommend one from a third-party seller on Amazon with ratings hovering in the low 80s.

This laptop is $750 and has the same graphics cards as the one above.  Its build quality isn't quite the same, although it should still be more than fine as long as you don't let it overheat (i.e. don't play on top of blankets or while the laptop is inside a case).

https://www.walmart.com/ip/744908020

If you don't need the laptop right away, you could upgrade this one to have more storage.  It has a 1650 and a $600 base price; going to a 512 GB costs $70 extra.

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-pavilion-gaming-laptop-15z-ec200-2r1x7av-1

If these aren't quite what you're looking for, let me know what other details matter to you, and I'll do another search.  And if you have questions in general, please feel free to ask.

@puzzlezaddict Thank you for the information! I went and uninstalled the sims 4 from my current MacBook and have it now set just for sims 3, which surprisingly works well. Eventually I plan on building a gaming desktop, but I will still need a laptop for school and whatnot. Since my mac appears to be doing well with just the sims 3, I think I would be able to focus on getting a new laptop for life and being able to play sims 4 along with steam games.

With this, would you still recommend the same laptops or are there now other options I could consider? I have been looking at what Micro Center has to offer, as there a few near the city I work in, but again, I am still not sure what options would be best for my situation. Again, thank you.

@infinitespectral  If you're satisfied with how your Mac runs Sims 3 and are eventually going to build a gaming desktop, then you could certainly spend a lot less on a laptop for Sims 4, maybe somewhere around $500.  In this range, all the options have integrated graphics (a chip integrated into the processor), so the only question is how good that processor's graphics chip is.

To that end, a laptop with an i5-1135G7 and at least 256 GB storage is your best bet.  If you saw an i7-1165G7, that would be even better, but those often come in more expensive laptops, and while Sims 4 would benefit from that extra power, the difference probably isn't worth an extra $200, especially when that $200 would put you in range of a proper gaming laptop.  256 GB is enough storage for Sims 4 and all your content, plus however many smaller apps you want to install, but you might want 512 GB just so you don't need to worry about it in the future (or if you want to install other games).

I have no idea what your local Microcenter will have in stock, but you can look over the options with those specs and pick something that works for you.  Before buying, google the exact model and the word cooling; if you see any red flags, pick something else.  And if you see a specific model and would like a second opinion, feel free to link it here.

Again, it's possible that a laptop with one of these processors would also run Sims 3 perfectly well, but it's not guaranteed.  So feel free to experiment if you want; just be prepared to go back to your Mac for Sims 3.

@darkaudit  Out of curiosity, which Sims 3 packs do you have installed, and if Seasons is among them, how does the laptop handle inclement weather?  What graphics settings do you use?  I don't have a lot of data about this particular processor and graphics chip.

@darkaudit  I'd love to know how the game runs when it's raining or snowing, as well as how well your laptop handles horses and long-haired dogs: these are the most taxing elements to render on any system.  So whenever you do encounter any of them, your impressions would be great.

The Sims 3 graphicsrules.sgr file contains a line that instructs the game to rank any AMD card not in the database as uber.

@darkaudit  It may be useful, from a temperature/workload perspective, to limit your in-game framerates to the refresh rate of your screen (probably 60).  The Adrenalin tool should do it, but if it doesn't cooperate, RivaTuner Statistics Server would work too.

You might also see better performance with the Sims 3 Smooth Patch.  I can't link it here, but google should find it.  What it does is increase the game engine's tasks per second from the default 30 to 500, or whatever you want if you edit the config file.  You'd notice the biggest difference when loading Build/Buy and CASt, but I personally think it helps to a smaller extent elsewhere as well.

I also wanted to mention that if the well-known NSFW mod has the initials K and W, it will bork your saves sooner or later.  Maybe you don't mind, but if you're interested in playing long-term saves, you'll need to get rid of it, and in fact start over with a new save that has never been exposed to the mod.  On the other hand, if you're using a different famous NSFW mod, either one from NRaas or elsewhere, you're likely fine—there aren't that many of those mods around, and most of them work well enough.

@darkaudit Thank you for the input and suggestions! Ideally I would love to have a setup that lets me play both sims 3 and sims 4, so it is good to read abour others having success running both on the same computer.

@puzzlezaddict. Could I get your input on these specs? Again, I am woefully ignorant as to what would be considered good and/or what would run the game. Also, how does the Intel Iris XE graphics card stack up compared to Nvidia and AMD Radeon?

HP Pavilion 15-ec2121nr 15.6" Gaming Laptop Computer - BlackAMD Ryzen 5 5600H 3.3GHz Processor; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5; 8GB DDR4-3200 RAM; 512GB Solid State Drive