Laptop for General Use/Sims 3

[Neodymium17]

Hello,

My sister recently purchased this laptop: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230600

I took a glance at the specs and wasn't too sure it'd be able to handle playing The Sims 3 at all. I'd like more input on the purchase and if this laptop would be able to play the game (maxing the game is not an issue, she'd simply like to play the game semi-smoothly at minimum settings). Also, if there's a better purchase around the same price, I'd like to hear those suggestions!

Thanks for the time, help, and advice!

ps: And yes, unfortunately it does have to be a laptop

 

[bobusboy]

What is your budget for the purchase?

 

[Neodymium17]

Sorry, I should have put in all the details beforehand (I'm new here, thanks!):

1. What is your budget?
$300 - $400 (slightly over would be reasonable, but the sweet spot is in between)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6" or lower

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1366x768 (pretty flexible with this)

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
More or less portability with the ability to play Sims 3

5. How much battery life do you need?
Anything will do (plan on being plugged in most of the time)

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Yes, but only Sims 3, preferably on medium settings but given the budget and the fact that it's a laptop, low would be fine.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Just simple usage, browsing internet etc.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Pretty flexible here, around 300GB would do, although less is manageable

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
newegg, tigerdirect, amazon

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Over the next 2-3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
A simple DVD Rom/Writer would work

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

13. What country do you live in?
United States of America

 

[jaguarskx]

No.

That laptop is a bit too underpowered. She needs to bring that budget up to about $500. That is a reasonable for a laptop will limited gaming capabilities. The laptop you linked to has a relatively slow CPU and the Intel HD graphics is pretty weak as well. That the "original" Intel HD graphic core, not the Intel HD 3000 (which should be good enough) or the current Intel HD 4000 graphic core.

I recommend the following 15.6" Acer with an AMD APU with the Radeon HD 7640G graphic core for $480.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215622

Or the following 15.6" Acer with an Intel CPU and Intel HD 3000 graphic core for $450.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215617

For basic browsing either would be fine, but for games the 15.6" Acer laptop with the AMD APU is better for games because the graphic core is more powerful than Intel's HD 3000.