Looking for a reliable laptop for my sister for her birthday. The most demanding thing she'll want out of it is to play the Sims 3 smoothly. Other than that she'll use it for music downloads and opening multiple browser windows.
I'm familiar with laptop components and their functions, however I have little experience when it comes to reliable brands/models so hoping you guys can help me out there. Budget is £300 or less so not looking for anything special.
P.S. In your opinion would Intel HD 4000 stock graphics chip handle the Sims 3 well? I'm assuming it will however I've no experience with it so couldn't say for sure.
Update:P.S.S. Longevity is key here, so my main focus is getting a reliable system that should last a while. (I've told her how to prolong the life of her laptop and its battery by keeping it cool, using decent antivirus, taking out the battery when she's running it on mains etc). Just after some ideas as to which brands are considered more reliable thanks.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Yes, the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics will be able to run Sims 3 smoothly at medium settings and somewhat less smoothly at higher settings but it should be fine. You can check the gaming performance of that here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-400...
As far as longevity goes, it's debatable. Some people will say some brands are worse/better but it really just comes down to chance and how you take care of your laptop. For example, I've had an Acer laptop in my house for 5 years and not a single thing has gone wrong with it, however I'm sure you'll find a lot of people on the internet saying they've lasted for less than a year before needing repair.
If you're buying a laptop, stick to any major brand and you'll be golden. I'm talking about Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Toshiba, etc. You're just asking for opinions here and everyone has different experiences with each brand. Focus on the specifications instead, like the CPU, HDD, RAM and Graphics Card - they're the important factors and will give you an idea of how well it will run.
Good luck!