What laptop is recommended for Sims 3?

[OneSmugPuggo]

I am going to buy a new, really nice laptop before starting university, and gaming  is a pretty big part of my hobbies (assuming I even have time XD)

Keeping in mind I really don't know much about specs or computers in general, what would be a nice laptop that would be able to run sims 3 without issues? I'm not planning on having many packs, and I don't mind lowering the graphics, most of them you can't even tell anyways. My parents will be helping me pay for half of the computer, so my budget will be about $1800 max probably.

Any suggestions for good computers would be great! I'd rather not get a computer primarily for gaming, especially because I've heard they can overheat. This is going to be my college laptop, I would just like to also play games on it lol

Thank you!

[puzzlezaddict]

@OneSmugPuggo  Gaming laptops can certainly overheat while running games, because games are demanding to run.  But gaming laptops actually have better cooling than non-gaming models, since they're expected to be able to handle gaming, i.e. a high workload for a sustained period of time.  Other laptops with less-powerful cooling apparatus will overheat more quickly or will throttle the components sooner to avoid it, so you end up with noticeably worse performance.

Having said that, you don't necessarily need a "gaming laptop," just one with gaming hardware and the cooling to protect it.  The most important component is a dedicated graphics card, and the Nvidia 1650 can run all Sims 3 packs together on ultra graphics settings, minus a couple that need to be turned down to lower the stress on the game engine.  For $1,800 U.S., you have a lot of options; $1,800 in other currencies make it a bit harder to find something suitable, but it should still be doable.  Getting a slower graphics card may not work out well: you might have a good play experience, or you might not, depending on factors that get very complicated very quickly.

Are you looking to buy now?  If so, I can look for good options for you.  Let me know what country you're in, and any other details that matter to you, and I'll try to find some good examples.  Or if you'd prefer to shop yourself, just look for something you like with a 1650 or higher, then you can list the ones you've found if you want a second opinion.