Re: Looking for a new laptop for Sims 4 – please help me, I’m so confused
@Runaeir In your price range, and with the stipulation that you don't want a gaming laptop, 16 GB RAM is a major improvement over 8. While it's not strictly necessary for Sims 4, the extra memory allows for more efficient multitasking, plus the game itself will benefit. The issue here is that in laptops without a dedicated graphics card, the integrated graphics chip borrows from main memory to do its processing, so that 8 GB installed could quickly become 6 GB available once the iGPU has significant work to do. Windows will take 2-3 GB RAM by itself, and the system will likely come with some bloatware installed. So for Sims 4, the effective difference between 8 and 16 GB is significant.
You could absolutely get an external monitor and hook it up to your laptop. Just make sure that you have a cable that both devices support, for example most laptops and pretty much every monitor from the last decade or so supports HDMI. But check before you buy, or else get an adapter.
Of the options you listed, the first two are better than the third by virtue of having twice the RAM. Their graphics chip, Intel Iris Xe with 96 EUs if you want to get technical, is also a little faster. And in your price range, you're unlikely to see any faster integrated graphics, at least right now. I checked both sites you linked and didn't see anything faster. I can check other sites if you like, but this is in line with what I found the last time I looked around for someone in Finland and with current stock in other countries.
This Xe chip has been the high-end option for Intel integrated graphics for a few years now. It's capable of running all Sims 4 content together on medium-high to high graphics settings at the standard 1920x1080 resolution, and perhaps ultra while in build mode; I haven't really looked into this. But without sims on the lot, a portion of the graphical load would be removed.
Sims 4 will lag sometimes, on even the most powerful systems. It can definitely lag in build mode if the lot itself is large and/or has a lot of objects, again on any system. Perhaps the DirectX 11 update will help with this once it's been fine-tuned a bit, but at this point, none of us have any idea how that will turn out. In the interim, there's no real fix, just workarounds that range from saving/quitting/reloading frequently to using an edited GraphicsRules.sgr and hoping it addresses some of the lag.
Of all the other laptops on these two sites, the only one I found that was worth mentioning was this, which is as fast as the first two you linked but has a prettier, higher-resolution screen:
If you really enjoy crisp, clear images, it's worth at least considering. Otherwise, pick whichever one of the first two you prefer.
If you have more questions in general, please feel free to ask.
