November 2020
I’m looking for a laptop for my kid for Christmas so she doesn’t need to keep using mine to play Sims 4. I’m not great with comparing specs. Any suggestions for laptops under $500 (or even under $350), that will run the game?
I saw this one is on sale but again, not sure if it’ll work.
https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-laptop-15z-ef100-touch-optional-8ze47av-1
November 2020 - last edited November 2020
@killerrose09 If you could find a store near you that has one of these ($450), that would be the best choice available by a significant margin:
It could run all current Sims 4 packs together on ultra settings with some room to spare. And it's really a $700 laptop that's massively discounted because I guess Best Buy wants to clear the stock.
Otherwise, you can do better than the one you linked for $500, or even $400. That laptop's hard drive is small enough that your daughter could run out of space even with just Sims 4 and some custom content. Plus, its graphics chip is pretty slow, and its processor is relatively weak. It should still run the game, just maybe not all that well.
These options should all do significantly better, from almost twice as fast to closer to three times as fast for the more expensive HP.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/103437747
https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-laptop-17z-5nv50av-1
https://www.walmart.com/ip/223381882
https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-pavilion-laptop-15z-eh000-touch-optional-9yv59av-1
I think I'd go with one of the HPs, either the cheaper one because it has more RAM than the other cheapest options, or the more expensive one for performance. But the other laptops are quality models too and should be fine.
If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
November 2020
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. I will check out these options.