Laptop for the sims 4?

[und3rc0v3r_g0th]

This website is a little confusing so hopefully this question is in the right place. I was wondering if anyone had any laptop recommendations for the sims 4 since I’m looking to purchase a new one! I have all the extensions and I do use a significant amount of cc and mods so hopefully this new laptop will be able to run the sims 4 at high graphics (not even going to through out ultra 😭). However because I am paying for this laptop myself and will most likely be using it for school I would prefer that it doesn’t look so much like a gaming laptop and is a bit light weight. I know these are a lot of requirements but thank you all so much in advance 🙏🏽

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@und3rc0v3r_g0th  It's too early to be sure how an M2 chip would run Sims 4.  It should handle the game fine, in fact pretty well, since this chip is somewhat faster in graphics processing than the M1, but that would be a lot of money to spend without confirmation.

For Windows laptops, first is the easy part.  Any built-in webcam you'd get would be somewhere between mediocre and terrible, with most of them at least qualifying as bad.  Some high-end laptops have good cameras, but that's the exception; for the rest, it's too expensive and also a significant engineering problem to try to create a decent camera that fits into a laptop chassis.  As an example, a high-end laptop might have a two-megapixel camera, and a mid-range laptop will probably have a camera that's one megapixel or less.  In contrast, a good camera in a phone will be more like eight.  It's not a perfectly linear comparison, but there's only so much a computer can do with such little data, relatively speaking.

Of the laptops with good hardware that are priced below the gaming laptops I listed, this one has the best webcam, as far as I can tell.  It captures in 1080p rather than the 720p of the others, and its reviews say the camera is okay.  The graphics chip is in the same performance category as the others here: medium-high graphics settings should be absolutely fine, maybe high settings depending on your playstyle and preferences.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-2-in-1-14-fhd-touch-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-8gb-memory-512gb-s...

Reviews for this one say its camera is decent too, at least for a laptop.  Its graphics chip is a little faster than the chip in the one above.  Its screen is also higher-resolution and somewhat taller than the others, with a 3:2 rather than 16:9 aspect ratio.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1617646-REG/acer_nx_a4kaa_003_swift_3_i7_1165g7_8gb.html

In case you want more options, these all have the same graphics chip (about the same speed as the first one above), RAM, and storage; I'm only listing options with 500 GB, since you can afford it and you said you want to make sure you have enough.  So if you don't like either of the above options, any of them would be fine.  The main differences are screen size and aesthetics.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/274981158

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/497014617

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/991710002

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-14-laptop/spd/inspiron-14-5410-laptop/nn5410fl...

And these two are the same laptop except for the processor: the first has the same CPU as the first Dell laptop I listed, and the second has an upgraded CPU that's roughly equivalent to the one in the Acer:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-3000-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3525-laptop/nn3...

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-3000-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3525-laptop/nn3...

If you're not worried about squeezing every bit of gaming performance out of your laptop, it's totally reasonable to choose based on whatever other criteria matter to you, even just the way these look.  They're all going to give you a play experience in the same general range anyway.

[chinsrus101]

@und3rc0v3r_g0th I've moved your post to The Sims section so a Sims expert can help you out

[puzzlezaddict]

@und3rc0v3r_g0th  I can try to find some good options for you, but I need to know your country as well as your preferred budget.  Let me know, and I'll take a look.  Or if you prefer, you can link me the sites where you'd be willing to buy.

[und3rc0v3r_g0th]

I live in the US and because I’m paying for it myself I want to spend in the 400-600 range but I am willing to go up to 700! And I always o wanted to ask if any Apple laptops could run the sims 4 properly. I was looking at the HP omen mostly because it doesn’t really look to much like a gaming laptop even though it is a bit more expensive 

[puzzlezaddict]

@und3rc0v3r_g0th  There are plenty of Macs that run Sims 4 quite well, but not as well as equivalent Windows options.  Among other things, the ARM Macs need to translate Sims 4 for their processor architecture (look up Rosetta 2 if you're interested) and thus take a performance hit.  That's not to say an M1 chip runs the game poorly; on the contrary, it does quite well, and if you'd prefer a Mac above all else, the 13" MacBook Air is a good option and may drop into your price range once models with the M2 chip start circulating.  But it's not going to keep up with a Windows gaming laptop.

On that note, HP Omens are good-quality options, and if you really like the model, that's a very reasonable choice and you'll likely be happy with anything reasonably new.  An Nvidia 1650 can run Sims 4, all packs included, on ultra settings, so really any Omen that's less than four years old would be suitable.  Since you asked though, here are some other options.  I went up to $800 since you mentioned the Omen being more expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Display-GeForce-82K200UTUS/dp/B09BDFTX65

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-laptops/g15-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-15-5511-laptop/gn5511f...

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-victus-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-12450h-8gb-memory-nvidia-gef...

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gigabyte-15-6-fhd-ips-144hz-gaming-laptop-i5-11400h-16gb-nvidia-geforce...

The first and second don't have a lot of storage, but 256 GB is still plenty for Sims 4 and associated content, including a reasonable pile of cc.  The second and fourth have a graphics card that's somewhat faster than the one in the first and third, but all four should run the game on ultra graphics settings.

The HP store does offer customizable laptops as well, for example these two:

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/victus-by-hp-laptop-15z-fb000-598v4av-1

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/omen-laptop-16z-c000-2y0v1av-1

I'm not sure what the ship date would be if you didn't customize the configuration, or whether you mind waiting a few weeks, but if that's not an issue, they're good options too.

If you decide you don't want a gaming laptop, you really have a lot of good options for under $600.  These would likely not run Sims 4 on ultra settings, but high settings might be doable, and medium-high shouldn't be an issue.  I'm happy to look for one of those too, but please let me know any other details that matter to you (storage, screen size, whatever) or if you just want the cheapest decent options available; that makes it easier to narrow things down.

If you have more questions about any of this or in general, please feel free to ask.

[und3rc0v3r_g0th]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! Do you think the new M2 Chip will be able to run the sims 4or is it too early to find out yet?

This is the specific omen i was looking at but Ive heard some bad reviews on it:

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/omen-laptop-16z-c000-2y0v1av-1?&a=1&jumpid=cs_con_nc_ns&utm_medium...

Id also like to hear about the other non gaming laptops that might be able to run the game on high setting (medium high is fine as well). I don’t really have too many requirements other than that it has a decent amount of storage as I will also be using this laptop for school (Nothing too crazy, just enough for like papers etc). I also would like a decent webcam and screen size(though this isn’t as important) 

Thank you!

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@und3rc0v3r_g0th  It's too early to be sure how an M2 chip would run Sims 4.  It should handle the game fine, in fact pretty well, since this chip is somewhat faster in graphics processing than the M1, but that would be a lot of money to spend without confirmation.

For Windows laptops, first is the easy part.  Any built-in webcam you'd get would be somewhere between mediocre and terrible, with most of them at least qualifying as bad.  Some high-end laptops have good cameras, but that's the exception; for the rest, it's too expensive and also a significant engineering problem to try to create a decent camera that fits into a laptop chassis.  As an example, a high-end laptop might have a two-megapixel camera, and a mid-range laptop will probably have a camera that's one megapixel or less.  In contrast, a good camera in a phone will be more like eight.  It's not a perfectly linear comparison, but there's only so much a computer can do with such little data, relatively speaking.

Of the laptops with good hardware that are priced below the gaming laptops I listed, this one has the best webcam, as far as I can tell.  It captures in 1080p rather than the 720p of the others, and its reviews say the camera is okay.  The graphics chip is in the same performance category as the others here: medium-high graphics settings should be absolutely fine, maybe high settings depending on your playstyle and preferences.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-2-in-1-14-fhd-touch-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-8gb-memory-512gb-s...

Reviews for this one say its camera is decent too, at least for a laptop.  Its graphics chip is a little faster than the chip in the one above.  Its screen is also higher-resolution and somewhat taller than the others, with a 3:2 rather than 16:9 aspect ratio.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1617646-REG/acer_nx_a4kaa_003_swift_3_i7_1165g7_8gb.html

In case you want more options, these all have the same graphics chip (about the same speed as the first one above), RAM, and storage; I'm only listing options with 500 GB, since you can afford it and you said you want to make sure you have enough.  So if you don't like either of the above options, any of them would be fine.  The main differences are screen size and aesthetics.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/274981158

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/497014617

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/991710002

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-14-laptop/spd/inspiron-14-5410-laptop/nn5410fl...

And these two are the same laptop except for the processor: the first has the same CPU as the first Dell laptop I listed, and the second has an upgraded CPU that's roughly equivalent to the one in the Acer:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-3000-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3525-laptop/nn3...

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-3000-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3525-laptop/nn3...

If you're not worried about squeezing every bit of gaming performance out of your laptop, it's totally reasonable to choose based on whatever other criteria matter to you, even just the way these look.  They're all going to give you a play experience in the same general range anyway.

[und3rc0v3r_g0th]

Thank you so much for the in-depth response! I think I have an idea of which laptop I’ll buy!