Re: Which one to go for?

@puzzlezaddict Not in the link I sent there isn’t multiple ones with the same price.

I’d like a laptop that will play all Sims and future Sims with no glitches nice and smoothly.

@WallFlower26  Would you like to link a few specific laptops for me to look at, or would you like me to make some suggestions?  Either way works for me.  Just drop the links here and I'll take a look, or I can look myself  tonight or tomorrow.

@puzzlezaddict here are the links. Can you make suggestions too?

https://www.box.co.uk/GA502DU-AL025T-ASUS-ROG-Zephyrus-G-GA502DU-AL025T_2550156.html

https://www.box.co.uk/FX505DV-AL014T-ASUS-FX505DV-AL014T_2601653.html

https://www.box.co.uk/G531GU-AL315T-ASUS-ROG-Strix-G531GU-AL315T_2601655.html

https://www.box.co.uk/GA502DU-AL025T-ASUS-ROG-Zephyrus-G-GA502DU-AL025T_2550156.html

@WallFlower26  Sorry for the delay; I didn't get a chance to do a thorough search until now.

Among the laptops you've linked, the first and fourth ones are the same model.  The second one is the best of the group: it has a significantly faster graphics card than the other two, and they all have 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB solid state drive.  The processor in the third option is a bit stronger than the one in the others, but the difference is small, and either one is more than fine for Sims 4.

However, an Nvidia 2060 is overkill for Sims 4; even a 1660 ti is more than is necessary for the game.  Even a 1650 will run all packs together on ultra graphics settings; the only question is whether that will be true for the entire run of the game.  (It will probably be a close call.)  So the biggest decision for you to make is whether you want a 1650 or a 1660  ti, and then you can go from there.

As far as models with a 1650 go, this is the cheapest decent one I saw, at £650.   Its hard drive is small, only 256 GB, but otherwise it's fine.  It does only have 8 GB RAM, but that's enough for the game.

https://www.box.co.uk/7VU82EAABU-HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec0002na_2788807.html

If you want a bigger hard drive, or an Asus, these two are £750 and have the same hardware as each other and the HP above, except they both have a 512 GB SSD.  The first has a 15" screen and the second a 17" screen, both IPS (the highest quality).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-FX505DT-Gaming-GeForce-Graphics/dp/B082323L62/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Graphics-R5-3550H-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B07S41LW71/

If you want an Nvidia 1660 ti, this MSI is the cheapest good option, at £950.  It has a slightly stronger processor than the ones above, and a 512 GB SSD.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-gf65-nvidia-gtx-1660-ti-8gb-ddr4-15.6-120hz-fhd-i5-9300h-gaming-laptop-lt-2a6-ms.html

This HP, for £1,000, has a much stronger processor than the MSI above, and otherwise the same hardware:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-15-dk0020na-Dedicated-Graphics/dp/B07S45H8DB/

This MSI is £1,050 and has 16 GB RAM plus the same stronger processor as the HP immediately above.  It has a 256 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD, in case you need the extra storage.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-gl63-nvidia-gtx-1660-ti-16gb-15.6-fhd-i7-9750h-gaming-laptop-lt-290-ms.html

And just to be clear, an AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor like in the first two options you found is a bit weaker than an Intel i5-9300H if you look at average benchmarks, and for games as well, but the gap is small.  A Ryzen 5 3550H is a bit weaker than the 3750H.  An Intel i7-9750H is much stronger than any of these.  But Sims 4 will run the same on any of the processors, so it's not necessary to pay more for a stronger one.

If you like a model that has only 8 GB RAM, it's also easy to get a computer shop to add another 8 GB for you.  Memory is cheap right now: a single 8 GB stick might only cost you £40, and you could install it yourself if you felt comfortable.  You'd need to make sure you bought something compatible with your computer, but that's not that difficult either: the manual should list compatible parts, or you could get something identical to what's already installed.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask.

@puzzlezaddict That’s ok. Sorry I took a while to reply.

What’s Nvidia?

Are GB, GB RAM and GB SSD different?

What would you choose?

I don’t know how I’m supposed to choose.

@WallFlower26  Nvidia is a manufacturer of graphics cards.  RAM is system memory, where data currently being used is stored.  Graphics cards have their own memory (video RAM) to handle their tasks separately instead of having to borrow from main memory.  Hard drives have a certain amount of storage, also measured in gigabytes.  If you're curious about these terms, you can google them and look for guides on computer terminology.

Which option is best for you depends on how much you want to spend.  I can't tell you whether an upgrade is worth the price.  If I were in your position and money wasn't a deciding factor, I'd get the last one I listed, the MSI with 16 GB RAM and a strong processor.  If I wanted to save money and only really wanted to play Sims 4, I'd get this Asus (15" or 17") and add more RAM myself, or have a shop do it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-FX505DT-Gaming-GeForce-Graphics/dp/B082323L62/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Graphics-R5-3550H-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B07S41LW71/

But I'm not the one getting a new laptop, you are.  So it's about your own priorities.

@puzzlezaddict It’s not available anymore - the MSI.

 I don’t want 8 GB RAM.

@WallFlower26  I'm not surprised the MSI is sold out; that was a really good deal for the hardware.

You have a couple of options here.  One is you buy a laptop with 8 GB RAM and then have a computer shop upgrade it.  This is an easy upgrade to do, it shouldn't be too expensive, and it doesn't void the warranty.  Then you can choose from among the options that have the other features you want.  These would be examples with otherwise the same hardware as the MSI (except for the hard drive in the second one):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-15-6-inch-Anti-Glare-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B07TS97JKR/

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/hp-pavilion-15-dk0026na-nvidia-gtx-1660ti-8gb-15.6-fhd-ips-intel-i7-9750h-gaming-laptop-lt-04k-hp.html

This has a slower processor (still very good though) and is £100 cheaper:

https://www.box.co.uk/9S7-16W112-010-MSI-GF65-Thin-9SD-010UK_2737195.html

You could pay more for a model with 16 GB out of the box.  This one is £1,100, has a weaker processor, and is somewhat back-ordered:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-i5-9300H-GeForce-Graphics-NumberPad/dp/B07TPNJG8S/

Or you could configure a Cyberpower laptop with 16 GB RAM and the hard drive size and type of your choice.  When this model is tweaked to have an Nvidia 1660 ti, 16 GB memory and a very fast 512 GB SSD, it costs £1,113.  (With a 1650 instead, it costs £965.)

https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Tracer-III-17-Turbo-100-Configurator

The version of the above with a 15" screen costs £1,124 with the same hardware:

https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Tracer-III-15-Slim-Configurator

So you need to decide how you want to approach this, and then it will be easy to find the best option.

@puzzlezaddict what is there equivalent to the MSI?

@WallFlower26  I meant that the hardware was equivalent to the hardware in the MSI.  But really, if you're willing to spend over £1,000, you can get what you want.  Decide what that is, and I will point you towards a couple of good options.

I’d like a laptop that has 18 GB, equivalent specs to the MSI that’s sold out.

@WallFlower26  There are two other MSIs with the same specs at Overclockers, both for £1,200.  The only difference is the screen size: 15" vs. 17":

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-gl65-nvidia-gtx-1660-ti-16gb-15.6-120hz-fhd-i7-9750h-gaming-laptop-lt-2ae-ms.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-gf75-nvidia-gtx-1660-ti-16gb-17.3-120hz-fhd-i7-9750h-gaming-laptop-lt-2ad-ms.html

You could get the 15" version for £1,127 from a third-party seller on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-Gaming-9SD-478UK-Notebook-i7-9750H/dp/B07RT1Z55R/

Or you could get a custom built PC with the same hardware.  Cyberpower's 15" (slim) and 17" models are £1,147 and £1,136, respectively.

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/saved/1940982

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/saved/1940985

You could also get this one from PC Specialist:

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusX-15/

which is £1,122 when it has the same hardware as the MSI.  (I can't send you a direct link to that configuration for whatever reason, but I can show you how to get it.)

All other options I saw are more expensive or don't have exactly what you want.

@puzzlezaddict I like the look of the Tracers and the Optimus. Do you know why laptops that work best for gaming are ones from brands that aren’t mainstream and why mainstream ones are no good for gaming?

@WallFlower26  I wouldn't say that mainstream brands are bad for gaming.  Some, like MSI, are very good.  Other companies make good high-end laptops and also cheaper options that don't always run games as well, probably because the manufacturer cut some corners to keep the price down.  But that all depends on the particular company and the specific model of laptop (or desktop).

The other issue is that many laptops are designed primarily for some other purpose, and gaming is kind of an afterthought.  A model designed to be lightweight and portable might not have the necessary cooling for games, and it probably won't have a strong enough graphics card either.  Even a laptop meant for graphic design or video editing will have hardware tailored to that, and not necessarily the best components to run games.  But gaming laptops are specifically for gaming, and as long as you get a quality one, you should be fine.

@puzzlezaddict I’ve just seen that the Tracers don’t have operating systems. On the Tracer laptop it says ‘(Note: We will install your Windows operating system on your fastest hard drive)’ do you know what that means? Do you know if the prices of the operating system and Microsoft office packages are one time costs or subscriptions on the Tracer laptop?

@WallFlower26  Cyberpower would build you the laptop of your choice, according to your instructions, then install Windows 10 on the fastest hard drive inside the laptop.  Windows is included in the price of the laptop and is a one-time purchase, just like any other time you buy a Windows 10 license.  If you want Office, you can pay extra for a yearlong subscription; the price depends on what version you want.  Scroll down to Software for a look.

@puzzlezaddict Is the hardware that’s selected on the Tracers the same as the MSI? Which is it: operating system included in the price of the laptop or a separate one off payment? This is what it shows on the software tab:

Is there more than one hard drive in laptops then? Do laptops need specific mouses? Or doesn’t it matter? Do the Tracers have a disk drive? I can’t tell.

@WallFlower26  That is strange; when I initially checked the configurations, they both listed Windows 10 as included.  (I even went back to the original page once.)  But you're right, it's not listed on the saved configurations.  You could have it added, or pick a different configuration, but it looks like the prices went up in the last couple of days.

I put the same hardware in both Cyberpower laptops that was in the MSI, as you requested.  Of course you could change the hard drives if you wanted, but as it stands, they each have two: a 256 GB SSD and a 1 TB mechanical drive.

Any mouse should work with any Windows laptop, excluding very old models that might not have driver support.  Even those are usually fine with the standard Windows driver though.

The Tracers do not have a disc drive, and I think they don't have room for one either.

If you like the other custom build company better, let me know, and I'll list the components to tweak so you can have exactly what you want.  I'd send you a saved configuration, but apparently you can't see it unless you login to the account that created it.

@puzzlezaddict That sucks ☹️

Pick a different configuration of what?

I’ll keep 2 hard drives.

I like the 17” Optimus.

@puzzlezaddict Did you miss the (email) notification that I replied to your last comment.

@puzzlezaddict I’ve ordered my laptop! 😃