The 5 Best Laptops for Sims 4 Reviewed

Whether you’re trying to murder your mortal enemies by trapping them in a pool without a ladder or you’re looking to create the perfect dream home for you and your future spouse (they just don’t know it yet!), The Sims is the ideal way to pass a couple of hours.

This highly addictive game is now on its fourth generation, and it’s imperative that you buy a great laptop that can run the game at its full potential.

The Sims 4 has been designed so that it can be supported on most computers or laptops, especially with the introduction of the legacy edition. Of course, you may be looking for something just a little better so you can see your virtual life in ultra HD graphics.

As fellow ardent simmers, we’re here to help you to find the best possible laptop for all of your life simulation needs.

Read on to find out about our choices of the best laptops for The Sims 4.

We’ve also written a handy buyer’s guide to help you to make your decision.

Best Laptops for Sims 4

1. MSI GL65 Leopard

If you’re an avid gamer and you’re looking for a laptop that can fulfill all of your wildest gaming dreams, then the MSI GL65 Leopard is a fantastic choice for you.

This gaming laptop can handle not only The Sims 4, but also a bunch of other demanding AAA games.

The laptop features a powerful Intel Core i7-10750H processor. It also has an incredible graphics performance, allowing you to see every image in the game at the best possible quality.

You should be able to run The Sims 4 base game and all of its expansions with ease using this laptop. It features an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU and 8GB VRAM.

The laptop also has a 15.6 inch Full HD screen. The laptop also looks pretty good from an aesthetic standpoint too, with a backlit keyboard that you can use even when it’s dark.

You can also listen to some music on your favorite streaming service while you play with the powerful speakers.

Of course, probably the biggest downside of this laptop is that it’s pretty expensive and may be considered a little bit overkill if you’re only buying it for The Sims 4, so if that’s your only purpose then you may be able to save a few pennies by opting for a more affordable alternative.

2. Lenovo IdeaPad L340

When you don’t have the budget to spend thousands of dollars on a gaming laptop, you may worry that you may not be able to get the laptop with the specifications that you need in order to run The Sims 4.

Thankfully you need not fear, as the Lenovo IdeaPad L340 is the ideal choice if you want a good quality laptop that will efficiently run The Sims 4, and it’s perfect if you’re looking to save a couple of pennies.

The laptop has a fairly decent Intel Core i5-9300H processor that can run The Sims 4 very smoothly. It also features a maximum turbo clock speed of 4.1 GHz. This is a quad core processor, which is ideal for running The Sims 4. It also features a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU.

The laptop comes with 8GB RAM and 4GB VRAM. It has a decent amount of storage space, with a 512 GB SSD. It’s fairly portable as a result of the 15.6 inch display. It comes with some powerful speakers and a backlit keyboard.

It can also run for a couple of hours, as it has decent battery life. It should be noted though that the ClickPad isn’t ideal, so this is something that you should think about.

3. ASUS ROG Strix

If you’re looking for a good laptop that you can take with you wherever you want to go, then the ASUS ROG Strix is a fantastic choice.

This is an ultra thin laptop that is designed specifically for gaming, so it’s ideal for The Sims 4.

The laptop features a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor. This means that you get impeccable performance in the game. Even better, the laptop has a dedicated graphics card and 12 GB DDR4, which is very fast.

It also means that you can load the game much faster and considering the number of loading screens that The Sims 4 has, this is certainly something that you will want to have.

The laptop features a pretty large screen measuring 17.3 inches, with crystal clear 1920 x 1080 pixel screen resolution. It even has heat control mechanisms that help to ensure that the laptop doesn’t get overheated while you play.

Of course, the laptop is not without its faults. If you plan on using the laptop for video recording then you should think about getting a separate camera, because the camera on this laptop is not the best.

4. Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop

The Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop is a fantastic choice if you want something affordable that will give you the high performance that you would expect when playing The Sims 4.

It’s pretty hard to beat this laptop when it comes to affordability when you consider everything that it has to offer.

The laptop features a 9th gen Core i7 processor which means that the game loads pretty fast, without you needing to worry about boring lag taking away from your gameplay experience.

The GPU is also pretty impressive, as the laptop comes with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card that has 6GB of dedicated VRAM. This will allow you to play the game on ultra settings with no problems whatsoever.

The laptop also comes with 16 GB DDR4 RAM and a memory size of 2666MHz, which means that you can have The Sims 4 open while you switch over to Facebook, or to Tumblr to check out the latest mods and custom content.

It should be noted though that if you’re planning on blasting your favorite tunes you should probably invest in a separate speaker, as the ones that come with this laptop are pretty poor.

5. Acer Aspire 5

The Acer Aspire 5 is yet another great option if you want an affordable option that will allow you to play The Sims 5.

It comes at a decent price and it’s actually a pretty popular laptop, which gives you an indication of its power.

The laptop comes with an Intel Core i5 processor that will be able to run the game rather smoothly. It comes with 12GB of RAM. It also has a high storage capacity, with 512 GB of SSD storage. The graphics are also stellar, thanks to the dedicated GeForce MX250 graphics card.

The laptop features a sleek, all black look that doesn’t excessively stand out if you also wanted to use the laptop for work, for example.

Of course, it doesn’t have anything fancy like a multicolored keyboard but it’s more than sufficient for building your dream house in The Sims.

Laptops for Sims 4 Buyers Guide

Choosing the Best Laptop for Sims 4

So, now you know about our picks, what now?

How do you know what laptop will be the best choice for you and your gaming needs?

The choice you make is largely going to depend on your requirements and your budget. Do you want something high end that will allow you to see everything in HD, do you need a laptop that will support a massive amount of mods and new lighting engines?

Or are you just looking for something to run the bare bones? This buyer’s guide will help you to be able to narrow down exactly what you’re looking for.

What Specifications Do You Need to Run The Sims 4?

The key requirements to run The Sims 4 are as follows:

Minimum System Requirements:

CPU – 7th Gen Intel Core i5
RAM – 8GB
Storage – 256GB SSD or 1TB HDD
Display – 15.6 inch HD
Graphics – 2GB NVIDIA GeForce MX250
Battery – Up to 4 Hours

Recommended System Requirements:

CPU – 8th Gen Intel Core i7
RAM – 16GB
Storage – 512GB SSD or Dual Storage
Display – 15.6 inch FHD IPS
Graphics – 4GB+ NVIDIA GeForce GTX/RTX Series
Battery – Up to 7 Hours

With that in mind, here are some of the things that you need to think about when you’re making your purchase.

CPU

So, as far as CPU is concerned, the minimum requirement is a 7th Gen Intel Core i5, whereas the recommended specification is an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor.

Now, ultimately the more cores your processor has the better The Sims 4 is going to run on your laptop.

With that being said, you should be looking out for laptops with a HQ label as this means it has 4 cores, whereas if you find a dual core processor it will have a U label instead.

If you opt for a CPU with fewer cores then you are going to need to use lower settings on the game, so you won’t be able to put the game on Ultra HD graphics and you will need to play around with settings such as shadows to see what your processor is able to deal with.

The Sims 4 honestly doesn’t crash that often anyway so long as your settings are compatible with your CPU, unlike its predecessor, The Sims 3, which would crash if you just looked at it funny.

So, if possible you should be trying to opt for a HQ processor if you have the budget. For instance, you could opt for an i5-7300HQ processor, i5-6300HQ, and i7-6500 HQ.

GPU

It’s always important to think about your graphics card whenever you’re trying to run any kind of video game.

The graphics card that you have is going to determine the smoothness of gameplay, depending on the settings you have on your game.

If you have the budget then you should certainly try to get a dedicated GPU. This is especially true if you are trying to run a number of different expansion packs.

Some of the best graphics cards to opt for include GTX 940M, GTX 960, 1050ti, 1060, 1070 and 1080.

If you have an older graphics card then you will need to check if it’s compatible with The Sims 4. You can often check your graphics card compatibility online.

RAM

If you are only running the base game of The Sims 4, then you are going to need a minimum of 4GB of RAM.

Of course, if you add more expansion packs onto this then you are going to need more RAM. You should be trying to get a laptop with at least 8GB of RAM.

This may be a bit more difficult to get if you don’t have a high budget, but if you do have more money to play with then you should think about buying a laptop with more RAM.

In fact, it’s also worth looking at laptops that allow you to upgrade the RAM later down the line. Usually though, if you’re buying a more expensive laptop then it will generally come with 8GB of RAM or more.

Storage

Ultimately, while the base game of The Sims 4 requires 10GB of storage space, you should really be looking at getting more.

The Sims 4 has a bunch of add ons that you may want to invest in, such as the expansion packs for the game and custom content and mods that you can find online. If you have hardly any storage space then you will struggle to get all of these extras onto your computer.

You should also try and have extra storage space so that you can do other things on the laptop, such as browsing the web or doing work.

With that being said, if you are only using the laptop to play The Sims 4, then you should be just fine using a 256GB laptop.

If on the other hand you are aiming to use the laptop for other purposes such as playing other games, then you should be looking for a hard drive with around 256GB of memory. This will largely depend on what other games you wish to play, however.

In addition to this, you should also think about getting an SSD hard drive. Sure, you don’t have to have one, but it;’s certainly beneficial. Your game is going to take slightly longer to load on a regular hard drive, so getting an SSD should help to speed the game up.

Battery Life

When you’re playing on your laptop, the last thing you want is to make a mad dash to your nearest plug socket to save your dying laptop from killing off a mere 30 minutes of Sims progress.

With that being said, you should certainly be thinking about a laptop with a decent battery life. The better the battery life, the longer you can play when you’re out and about and you don’t have a plug nearby.

You should be looking for something with at least 4 hours of battery life, but more than this if possible. It should be noted though that a gaming laptop will likely have a shorter battery life, so you should keep this in mind if you plan on buying one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to play The Sims 4 on a MacBook?

Of course, so long as your MacBook model is compatible with the laptop, then you can play The Sims 4 with it.

You will need to ensure that the MacBook that you buy was released after 2012. A range of newer laptops can run The Sims 4 without any problems whatsoever.

How can I make The Sims 4 more fun to play on my new laptop?

The Sims is a life simulation game, so you have a lot of creativity in how you can play the game.

You are not resigned to simply one mode of gameplay!

If you’re looking for more ideas on how you can get more enjoyment out of your simming experience, you can try and switch up your gameplay, for instance if you are usually fond of playing with Create a Sim, you could try and build instead for a while and brush up on your architectural skills.

There are also a bunch of fun challenges online, such as the 100 Baby Challenge, legacy challenges or various build challenges. You can even try out some videos on YouTube to give you some inspiration!

To learn the basics of Sims 4, we recommend watching this video:

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