Looking for an affordable laptop to run Sims 3

[PunkRockSims]

So I'm on the hunt for a new laptop. I currently have a tiny dell inspiron 11 3162, which my parents bought, all of us being oblivious to what it really takes to run such a huge game. I managed to get the base game, seasons, generations, and university in there before running out of hard drive space, leaving me with Pets, Late night, and Ambitions uninstalled. I've only had this computer for a little over a month, too long for me to return for a refund, and lately my game has been crashing before it even loads.

So I need a computer that will actually run the game and all of it's expansions and run it well, with at least
medium settings...

Now I know this isn't likely in my price range,  and probably not achievable on any of the laptops I'm currently looking at either, but I'd like to confirm, and maybe figure out an alternative.

Lenovo with 1TB hard drive 6GB RAM -
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-6gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-ebony-black/5707528.p?skuId=5707528

Lenovo with 500GB hard drive and 4GB RAM -
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-15-6-laptop-amd-a6-series-4gb-memory-amd-radeon-r4-500gb-hard-drive-black/5828200.p?skuId=5828200&extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=DWA&ksid=b008d1e2-68ab-4007-8cd9-329dc7541d7d&ksprof_id=3&ksaffcode=pg252543&ksdevice=m&lsft=ref:212,loc:2&gclid=CMDxmuyX-9QCFQSOaQod2dEMVQ


Dell with 1TB hard drive and 8GB RAM -
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i3-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/5835852.p?skuId=5835852&extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=b008d1e2-68ab-4007-8cd9-329dc7541d7d&ksprof_id=3&ksaffcode=pg253434&ksdevice=m&lsft=ref:212,loc:2&gclid=CNjbtN3qgdUCFRO2wAodRf8PWQ

And all the expansions/stuff I want

Expansions:
Seasons
Late night
University
Generations
Ambitions
Pets
Showtime
Supernatural

Stuff Packs:
Fast Lane Stuff
Town Life
70s 80s and 90s stuff
Movie stuff


Will those laptops work, or will I have to invest more into them? If that's the case, can I get recommendations that would run by those standards?

Thanks!

[MrsFlynn]

None of the laptops you posted will work well for Sims 3. As they are school/work computer not capable of running game well. They also lack dedicated video cards and adequate cooling the laptop needs.

You'll want to look for a laptop with these specs:

Laptop Specs:

Processor : i5 or i7 HQ or MQ quad ~ 2.4 GHz
Video card : Nvidia GTX 960m or better
computer ram 8gb
hard drive space at least 500 gb
windows 64 bit

Theses types specs won't come on a budget laptop. You'll be more looking in the range of $800 or more.

Anything less may end up not having a dedicated video card, or adequate cooling the laptop needs. Any game makes laptops run hot so adequate cooling is a must!!

Here's an example of what to look for:

Dell - Inspiron 15.6" Laptop = $799.99
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-1tb-8gb-hybrid-hard-drive-black/5709801.p?skuId=5709801

Processor: i5-7300HQ ~ 2.5 Ghz
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1050 graphics 4GB
System Memory: 8 GB

[KhaineGB]

To expand on what Mrs Flynn said, see if you can find a refurbished laptop. You absolutely need at LEAST an i5 CPU and a dedicated graphics card. For example, my laptop is pretty old (2012 model) and it can run Sims 3 on High (i5-2430 2.3ghz Dual-Core CPU, Radeon 6650M Graphics Card with 2GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM).

An SSD is absolutely necessary IMO. I'm using all expansions and all but 1 of the stuff packs. Cuts down loading times a LOT.

[PunkRockSims]

I believe I've got my heart set on Mrs Flynn's suggestion. It looks promising, and honestly I'm not sure I could be bothered to look for anything else, seeing as I can't find anything like that for cheaper. Maybe I'll wait until it goes on sale, for black friday or something... Until then, I guess I'll be dealing with Sims withdrawal... Thanks for the input!