SSD is a solid state drive and that is usually, in this case, used to store the programmes on your computer. its much quicker than an HDD or hard disk drive. the HDD, which is the 1TB is then just used for your general storage of files. so for example by having VLC on the SSD itll make the programme run quicker while the film youre playing will be stored on the HDD.

i would highly reccomend the HP Omen range of laptops. i have the 2016 version and its amaaazing and ill likely stick to them when i next need a new laptop. theyre fast, big storage and it looks pretty too ^.^

http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?...

being in a relationship with an IT guy for 4 years had its perks xD

theres different versions of it, theres less highly specd ones. its overkill for what i need but i love it so much! nothing angers me more than a slow laptop. and i game occasionally so and its great for that too.

Depending on how long you can wait, AMD's newest n greatest is becoming available. Much better graphics than Intel CPU's with comparable CPU performance (and cheaper too!). Also, with Intel, there's the performance drop mitigating the meltdown vulnerability is said to entail.

Wow...I'm following this post. I never understand all the tech stuff

Good luck, Nix. Sounds like ppl here will be helping you find your next laptop

Me? Simple. I would check out some quality used HP's and use an external, USB powered hard drive for additional storage.
I think Vampy's right on though - I would strive for it. "Over-kill" is decided based on the moment. Times change and things have a way of catching up.

I have an HP Slimline desk system (obviously not a laptop), but many laptops are very compatible when it comes to function.
I run Paint Shop Pro and Animation shop for graphics design. I also use Windows Live Movie Maker for videos I upload to You Tube. Social media would be no problem if I were on-line.
All of this with a standard duel core processor and 10gb of Ram. My C-Drive has a threshold 320GB of storage.

Unless you're into gaming and/or game design, you'll never really need a "quad processor."

I've been told ssd, on account of no mechanical components, could be completely wiped if some issue arises. Isn't that a slight (or major) cause for concern?

ive had them in my past 2 laptops and never had an issue? though im sure it would be no different to when something goes wrong with an HDD and you can still lose everything

Acer has the best buys. Avoid Asus. HP customer service is abysmal. My Dell has survived four trips to Africa!

ah yes the trials of animals! my cat has been known to try and use my laptop as a diving board if its slightly hanging over the edge of my desk. one day he'll do real damage to it but so far my Omen is surviving well!

I highly recommend the HP PROBOOK X360. It is military spec grade laptop with added features to survive in a school environment. Many available on Amazon but they have been out for years and used ones you may find to suit your specific needs.

Have been doing some reading, and there are some factors affecting this: ssd utilises this function called TRIM which frees up blocks, since they have low overwrite performance. Activated upon delete, translates to no chance of restoration; whereas hdd unlinks whilst leaving the data intact.
There's some more stuff about starting to lose data when not plugged in for a year or two, high susceptibility to power outages and limitation on number of rewrites per block; not sure whether those have been addressed in recent years. More resistant to environmental factors (magnetism, temperature) and faster, yes.
How long have you had the 2 laptops?

Had one notable leap wherein some usb ports were bent yet survived. Added an elevated surface for a more fixed position and extra friction, nowadays.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/12...

my laptops usually onyl last me a couple of years. not because theyre broken or anything, i just get bored and want an upgrade. bigger, better, faster all that jazz. cant help myself :3 i'd be the same with my car if i could afford it xD

haha yeh that can do it! ill do the typical stuff like cc cleaner and doing a defrag. ssds dont need to be refraged as instead of bits being saved all over the drive theyll all be stored together. like updates for a programme for example. also not updating windows can lead to it being slow. and aage does get to them after a while, like phones never lasting more than the 2years of a contract nowadays.

I've had that in the past, at work. Don't think hardware will solve that as well as self management, taking into account the occasional reset (to clear up leaks) or crash. If we're talking web tabs, folder sorted bookmarks for stuff that's just "there for when you have time" or "check periodically" or "ALWAYS OPEN (and helpcom)" should permit some leeway. Favourites bar or relevant shortcuts in file explorer.
Problem's when you're forced to use terrible software: memory hogging, multi windowed and bug prone.

Hum, I've never really had that sort of urge. Transition is a pain with the preference setups, broken features and checking which (open source) software is trending nowadays, and don't tend to partake in the latest releases to warrant nor notice any speed gain, till issues of compatibility arise.

It took over 24 hours to fully set up my daughter's laptop!

look decent and itll be pretty quick but very limited storage on it. 256gb. depends how much 'stuff'you have on your laptop i suppose

not sure how much Sims5 require required graphic, but i doubt that laptop will be able to run it.

CPU: i3,i5,i7 (any will do)
RAM: 8+
HDD: 1Tb (for storage, put all the games in there)
SSD : 128 (for ur OS to be installed on, thank me later :P )
Graphic: 1050+ or AMD 460+

Actually, specifically for sims I think you could do with a laptop, if not obsessed with the graphical aspect. Have been requested to install 4 on a couple mediocre (tested on the somewhat old one) laptops, and found it has this simple "laptop mode" in the graphics section. With that setting, testing showed no issue with speed (fps), although if I recall correctly took a few minutes to start up (perhaps due to hdd) and may have caused some heating, pretty much anything with graphics does that.

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/7790...
A discussion of the difference - mostly lighting, as it seems. Note that 5 may or may not change this feature.

Found this Nix. Does not sound good for 5...

More Problems For SIMS 5: EA Shuts Down Simscity Maxis Studio
March 8, 2015 - Archieve, News - no comments

EA Shuts Down Simscity Maxis StudioFew days ago, latest update highlighted about the SIMS upcoming sequel has wondered many people to think that whether the popular game of Sims franchise will go forward to its next sequel or simply culminate with the previous one as “SIMS 4”. Indeed, the update does not prescribe the idea about job loss of many employees working in the studio.

However, game play scripter and the designer of SimCity named as Guillaume Pierre highlighted in a tweet as “Yes, everybody would be out of their jobs.” Last year, producer of the movie named as Grant Rodiek expressed his thoughts about the new purported sequel. In this case, official forum has taken proper note of the spoken words, “We are now not putting any of our efforts for the next sequel of SIMS game as SIMS 5. Even we are not thinking about it. This is because; if SIM 4 fails to get success, we would never introduce the new SIMS 5 version.”

Don't buy an HP. Personally whilst they can be a little more pricey Dell is my go to. But I've been using home build PC's for years now. If you're looking for something like sim city, get Cities: Skylines, it's fantastic.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/255710/Cities...

So I am curious...
Which brand and model did you end up getting, @Nix

Sounds good 👍

Did you get Sims to run on it?