Gaming laptop for sims4, expansion packs, mods and CC’s!

[CuzzZoovier]

I am looking to buy a gaming laptop pretty soon that will be able to support the sims 4, the expansion packs, mods and cc’s smoothly. I would like to really get back into my gaming. I live in the US and I wouldn’t mind spending $1,000-1,200(Or even cheaper if possible). I will only being using the laptop for the sims, shopping and browsing the web. I would like to play my game with high graphics and have a good amount of storage. I don’t know anything about computers so I am hoping for  a answer that I could easily comprehend. Thank you in advance for the help.

[puzzlezaddict]

@CuzzZoovier  As with most games, the single most important component in determining how well a given laptop will run Sims 4 is the graphics card.  An Nvidia 1650 will run all current packs together on ultra graphics settings with some room to spare.  That may or may not be true by the time the game is out of development—we don't know how demanding future packs will be.  But at the very least, a 1650 should always handle all Sims 4 content on a mix of high and ultra settings.

The next card up, the Nvidia 1660 ti, should always handle ultra settings easily and is kind of overkill for Sims 4, not that that's a bad thing.  An Nvidia 2060 is only about 5% faster in gaming, although it depends in part on the game, and the cards faster than that are significantly more expensive.

Custom content by itself doesn't necessarily raise the demands of the game, but high poly (high-resolution) cc does, as it takes more resources to render than lower poly cc or EA items.  So if you like using high poly cc, you may want a faster card than the 1650, although the 1660 ti should still be more than sufficient.  It's not always obvious which items are high poly, but good creators will list the polygon count on their download pages, so you should at least be able to get an idea of what you currently like to use in-game.

As far as the other components are concerned, there are only a few details to address.  The processor matters, but any processor that comes with at least a 1650 will be more than strong enough for Sims 4.  Most entry-level gaming laptops come with 8 GB memory, which is enough for Sims 4, but 16 GB would be convenient for other reasons.  Still, RAM is the easiest component to upgrade: you should be able to find a matching 8 GB stick for under $50.

You mentioned wanting a lot of storage, and there are a number of options with a 512 GB solid state drive (the very fast kind), which is more than enough storage for most people, even people who like to hoard cc and spare saves.  There are only a few options with both a SSD large enough to hold Windows and Sims 4 plus a secondary mechanical drive for overflow storage, but they're out there too, and it's possible to add a 2.5" hard drive to most gaming laptops that don't already have one.  Since the processor and graphics card generally can't be upgraded, those are usually the priorities.

For your budget, you could get a laptop with an Nvidia 1660 ti or even a 2060.  If you're not ready to buy yet, there's not much point in picking out what you want, since prices can change quickly.  But here are some examples of what's out there, so you have an idea of your options.

In the category of laptops with an Nvidia 1650, these two are both $700 and are quite similar, except for their storage options.  They're "coming soon," but maybe you don't mind waiting.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1561720-REG/lenovo_81y4001wus_l350_15_i5_10300_8gb_256gb.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1560811-REG/acer_nh_q5uaa_008_nitro_i5_9300h_8gb_512gb_ssd.ht...

This is the cheapest good option I saw that's available now:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-5-17-3-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce...

Laptops with a 1660 ti generally start at $900, but with less storage than you'd want.  This one is $950, although one thing to note is if you wanted to add more memory, you'd need to buy the full 16 GB, since this one comes with 2x4 GB rather than 1x8 GB.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-laptops/dell-g3-15-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-15-3590-laptop/...

For $1,000 and a several week wait, you could get a much stronger processor plus 16 GB memory already installed.  Or for $1,100, you could get a full terabyte of SSD storage in otherwise the same computer, other than the slightly larger screen.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558021-REG/asus_tuf506iu_es74_tuf_a17_gaming_laptop.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558023-REG/asus_tuf706iu_as76_tuf_a17_gaming_laptop.html

Among the options available now are a couple of MSI laptops with a 1660 ti and a stronger processor, and a 2060 and a weaker (but good enough) processor, both with 8 GB memory and a 512 GB SSD.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gf65-9sd-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-16...

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gf65-9sexr-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-...

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.  And whenever you're ready to buy, you're welcome to link the options you're considering for a second opinion, or ask about anything new that might have become available in the interim.

[CuzzZoovier]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so much for replying. I really do appreciate you explaining the specs and giving a great amount of buying options.
I want to know if you thinking investing in this gaming laptop is a good idea for a long term sim player? I’m afraid to waste my money and get a laptop now that won’t be able to play the same quality as the game grows. I watch a lot of sims play on YouTube and see a lot of the subscribers talk about building there own pc
vs buying a gaming laptop.

From the options you did list I do like the Lenovo Idea pad and I assume it has a good amount of storage because of the 1 TB HDD? Is it bad that graphics card is only 4gb? I do like the price and if it can run it on at least high settings and store what I need this could be good match. I did also like the $1000 options you provided as well. I haven’t really been researching any other laptops at the moment since I’m leaning on the side to wait a bit more. Again thanks for being so helpful.

[puzzlezaddict]

@CuzzZoovier  It's difficult to say for sure how demanding the game will be as time goes on, because the only people who know what the devs' plans might be are the devs themselves, and even they might be thinking more in terms of features they'd like to implement rather than the resources required to handle them.  If you want to be reasonably sure that your computer will always handle ultra settings and have the extra money to spend, a 1660 ti would give you a significantly larger margin to absorb the increased demands of later packs.  But the game might never need it.  And at any rate, a 1650 should never struggle at all with high settings or even a mix of high and ultra.

In terms of long-term investments, a gaming desktop is going to be better overall because you can upgrade the components individually if you want, or at least you can with the right system.  So you might pay the same price, or close enough now, but in four years when you're ready for an upgrade, you'd be replacing the graphics card for $300 rather than getting an entirely new computer.  But laptops are convenient, and a lot of people find the portability worth the higher long-term cost.

The Lenovo's extra storage is convenient for other purposes but not necessary for Sims 4.  The 4 GB video memory of a 1650 shouldn't be an issue at all.  I often look at how my computer runs the game, and even playing on ultra settings at 2560x1440, VRAM use tops out at almost exactly 2 GB, usually staying below that.  I don't use custom content, so that number might be low for some people.  But you'd be playing at a lower resolution and should still have plenty of VRAM.  Besides, a graphics card can borrow from main memory when it's already using all its own.

Waiting to make up your mind is perfectly reasonable.  If you have more questions at any point, feel free to come back and ask.  And when you are ready to buy, you can link any systems you're considering, or want some suggestions, we'll be here.