Re: LENOVO IdeaPad 3i 15.6" Laptop - Intel® Core™ i5
@beccadeville If you're comfortable with 8 GB RAM instead of 16, you could save a little money and get otherwise the same hardware. These options all have 512 GB storage because at current prices, you'd only save about £20 by dropping down to 256 GB, and having double is certainly convenient, particularly if you like to hoard saves or custom content. It also gives you a bit more flexibility.
Dropping down another level in performance, i.e. getting a processor and graphics chip that are one tier down from the one I linked and the one you found, doesn't save a lot of money either. Most of the options I'm listing are around £450, and I'm not seeing a laptop in the next tier down for less than £400, at least not new. So you'd only be saving a little and taking a significant hit to performance. I'd suggest avoiding that if your budget can accommodate the decision. Even if you don't need ultra settings, it's more fun to play Sims games when you can admire the view.
If you really want to keep the price down, this is the one laptop I found with performance equivalent to the ones we've been discussing and also under £400. The graphics chip in the Ryzen 5 5500U is a few percentage points slower than the Xe graphics, but not enough to be a significant downgrade.
It also comes in a 16 GB/Ryzen 7 configuration, a little faster and more RAM, plus more storage than you'll realistically need, for £500:
These all have the same i5 processor as the ones we've discussed, but 8 GB RAM and a lower price than those others. The first two are the same Acer I linked before other than the RAM, in two colors.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3188462?clickPR=plp:19:102
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3412406?clickPR=plp:23:102
This one has the more powerful i7 with a graphics chip that's a little faster. It's clearly better than the ones above, all else being equal, but not enough better to compensate if you don't like it for other reasons.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3284359?clickPR=plp:24:102
These are all very similar, so just pick the one you like the best for whatever reasons matter to you. All of them should run Sims 4 within a few percentage points of each other, as will the one you asked about and the one I linked in my first post.
