My computer, my trusty old Toshiba Satellite (L355D) is, well, about to be sent out to pasture. I've been wanting to retire it for awhile, and I've decided that I just may as well suck it up and start shopping around. I toyed with the idea of just upgrading some things on it so it can better accommodate TS3 but with its age (6 years...) there's only so much I can do.

So I'm just wondering...who is planning to purchase a new machine? I will likely eventually get TS4 before the end of the year but only after I hear more reviews about actual gameplay.

I'd like to hear your recs or selections. Here are my must-haves:

8GB+ (are 12 or 16 worth it?? I currently have 3...yep, 3)
15"+ screen
Laptop - I have to be portable

Optical much preferred for the money I'd be spending, but not absolutely necessary.

Pretty much the only gaming I do is TS3. I have Pets, Generations, and Seasons, but would like to snap up more EPs like Ambitions, University, Supernatural, and WA once TS4 comes out and they'll all be on sale As well as all the stuff packs, and I miiiiight want to eventually get into content creation, but we'll see. Otherwise I'm a regular consumer, I like to make ASMR videos and sometimes dabble in digital art but nothing very serious and I'm gonna take a stab and assume that TS3 is still more demanding than those, so if I can get that to run smoothly then I'm set

I'm not in a huge rush to buy as I'm pretty broke right now due to crappy life things happening this summer, but will be back on my feet soon. Also will have a raise and maybe a bonus from work soon, so I'd be looking to purchase between now and the holidays, probably before then. My top range is ~$1,000 but of course want to stay under, may go above if something is worth it and meets all my requirements.