Reddit mentions of HP Pavilion Power 15" IPS Display NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Gaming Laptop with Intel Quad Core i7-7700HQ Processor

Idk your budget, but something that has at the minimum an Intel Core i3 processor with Intel Integrated graphics card and 4GB Ram. This would go for about $300-$400 dollars, would be able to play the Sims 4 at very low settings and the Sims 2 Ultimate Collection at comfortable settings/smooth gameplay.

If you can spare some more money, ideally you should get an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, preferably a 6/7/8th generation (generation indicated by the first of number that follows, so for example I have an i5 6200U processor). 8GB+ RAM (more the better) is all suggested. The processors I just mentioned will suit the game fine for medium/high settings but for ultra settings look for one of the i5/i7 with “HQ” at the end. The difference between a processor ending is that 6/7th gen and below processors that end with U are only “dual core” while HQ means “quad core”. If you don’t have the money to grab a quad core/HQ that’s ok, but it leads to my next point.

If you can’t get an HQ processor, try to at least get a U processor accompanied by a dedicated graphics card! Some dgpu’s in a decent price range that work well for sims are the Nvidia GeForce 940m, or MX150 made by the same company! Ultra settings could benefit from a Nvidia GeForce GTX1050 or above (1050,1060,1070,1080). That’s basically it!

The first option is only recommended if you’re on a tight budget. You can get more bang for your buck if you go for a desktop, ie. better processor/graphics card for less money but you use the portability factor. I like to game in bed and also have college to worry about so I need my machine to be portable.

Here are some good laptop choices

If you’re on a really tight budget (ie. first option):
Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575-33BM 15.6-Inch FHD Notebook (Intel Core i3-7100U 7th Generation , 4GB DDR4, 1TB 5400RPM HD, Intel HD Graphics 620, Windows 10 Home), Obsidian Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K1IO3QW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_oHeJAb87X98XF

Have a bit more money to spare:
Acer Aspire E 15, 15.6" Full HD, 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U, GeForce MX150, 8GB RAM Memory, 256GB SSD, E5-576G-5762 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FLBJV7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nIeJAbZFVCXT4

Other pricier ($600+) but better choices:
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5577 Gaming Laptop - (15.6" FHD (1920x1080), Intel Quad-Core i5-7300HQ, 1TB HDD, 8GB DDR4, NVIDIA GTX 1050 4GB, Windows 10 - Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XFG7157/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_iJeJAbCQ911ZA

HP Pavilion Power GTX 1050 Gaming Laptop - 15" Full HD, Intel Core i7-7700HQ , 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Windows 10 Home, Black - 15-cb077nr https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075VT9LFD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6KeJAbYG1C2XN

Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i5-7300HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 15.6" Full HD, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, AN515-51-55WL https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Q54GSR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wLeJAb9TZ7ZEH

Pro.

Well, i5-7200u is not designed for gaming so it cannot handle your games fluently. No, not even old RTSs. They are CPU intensive.

But an i5-8250u is great for CPU-intensive gaming (it has 8 logical cores!), and MX 150 is helpful for Cities: Skylines.

As a Chinese I can tell you that Xiaomi Pro is quite reliable. There are two downsides though:the OS is locked in Chinese and warranty will be a catastrophe as Xiaomi does not have support systems in North America.

I would suggest Acer Aspire E15 over Xiaomi Pro.
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i5-8250U-GeForce-E5-576G-5762/dp/B075FLBJV7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1517551963&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=acer+aspire+e15&psc=1


Or the HP Pavilion Power:
https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-Power-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B075VT9LFD/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1517551465&sr=8-6&keywords=hp+pavilion+power

Yes, that HP Pavilion Power 15 laptop is one I used to recommend a lot for persons who want a laptop that can run mid level games decently while still having a good battery life.... It has the GTX 1050 graphics card which is really a low end graphics card today, but it can suffice if you are not really a heavy gamer which I actually dont think you are.. It will run Doom very well...

You can look at the HP Pavilion Power

• GTX 1050
  
• 15" Full HD IPS
  
• Intel Core i7-7700HQ
  
• 8GB RAM
  
• 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
  
  Your OS can go on the SSD for a fast boot time, you can also install your critical programs there for speed. It has a powerful CPU and a decent GPU which is powerful enough for most games at high settings

US link, i paid $699 +tax for it
Honestly I'm pretty satisfied with it. Good battery life, paid a good price for it, good specs. The only negative to it is probably the build quality. It is a pretty durable plastic. It doesn't look cheap, just not high end. And it shows fingerprints. The hinge cover part doesn't seem like its an issue.
https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-Power-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B075VT9LFD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518798750&sr=8-1&keywords=hp+pavilion+power

Thanks for the info. I haven't really had the need for a laptop up until this point and I don't really know what to look for exactly. I'm going to take a look after replying here. I did find something though that peaked my interest. I found this laptop on Amazon after submitting my post. Unless I'm missing something, it looks relatively decent and has good specifications. Thoughts?

Thanks for the help!

But I saw this and for an extra $30 is it worth it?

Hp Pavillion Power 15-cb077nr

• i7-700Hq 4 core processor
• 16 GB of RAM
• 1 TB HDD and 128gb SSD
• 1080p 15.6in display
• GTX 1050
• Weighs 4.87 lbs battery life up to 11.5 hours

It feels too good to be true, any catch? I know the GPU isnt as good but how weak would it be

That laptops $850. The i5-7200U is dual core.

Around that price point, you can find gaming laptops with four cores and discrete GPUs. The benefits are:

• More cores should help with graphic/design rendering.
  
• NVIDIA GPUs have CUDA cores which may also speed up rending/effects/filters (it varies).
  
  Here's a couple of example gaming laptops:
  
  
• Dell Inspiron i7-7700HQ (4 cores/8 threads), 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD + 128 GB SSD, GTX 1050 - $750.
  
  • Click on the core i5 button. That version is a quad-core i5-7300HQ for $636.50, but no SSD.
    
• An HP Pavilion that's basically the same as above for $740.
  
  You should probably look up the recommended laptop for the software you plan to run. (Your software might benefit more from a GTX 1060 than hyperthreading, for instance.)

It is already been said, but this is your best option.

I just bought this. It has a 128 GB SSD, 1 TB HDD, 8 GB Ram, I7 7700HQ, and NVIDIA GTX 1050. I bought it for $750. It has since went up to $850.

According to its description, it has “Serious storage. Serious possibilities.” That’s what sold me.

So far I've been looking at these, although I really don't know how to interpret specs:

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/lenovo-legion-y-series-laptops/Legion-Y520/p/88GMY500808

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746P25QX/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=mathew_icon_list-20&linkId=4ad94fd26add2ce84b11ce3d608e9f86

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-Power-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B075VT9LFD/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8