Can my laptop play all the expansion packs?

[HannahEloiseee]

Hey, how many Gb's do you need on a laptop to play all the sims 3 expansion packs?

[KrispyNickyB]

Well what are the spec's for your laptop?

[HannahEloiseee]

I don't know, my dads just ordered me a laptop and I've got all the sims 3 expansion packs. Just getting worried that my laptop wont play with all the laptop cost about £600 and that's all I know

[KrispyNickyB]

My advice is take the CD case in to your Dad and ask him to compare the minimum requirements on the back of the case to what he ordered.

[TheCub]

My advice is take the CD case in to your Dad and ask him to compare the minimum requirements on the back of the case to what he ordered.

Yes, make sure to check the minimum requirements. The amount of RAM isn't the only thing that's important. I have 4 GB of RAM which is more than enough for the base game and most expansions, but my video card isn't supported for Late Night or Outdoor Living Stuff. I'm glad I checked the requirements before buying something I can't use.

[Saltypaws]

What I have noticed most on laptops, is the integrated video card.  Usually those cannot handle the sims games.  Don't get me wrong, not all are like that, but from the posts we get on here about laptops, that is probably the case.  So far, I believe, I have added up, just for the base game and expansions, is around 12 gigs of harddrive space.  That does not count the stuff packs.  I think you will be fine on your space.  Medieval is a little over 5 gigs on its own.  I hope it works fine for you and I know you will have alot of fun with the games.

[TheChronicR]

The base game is 5 gb. Expansion packs are each from 5 to 6 gb. Stuff packs, if I remember right, are a bit less. My laptop runs Sims fine and it's a 2009 Acer with only 1 gb RAM. I have everything except Late Night and Outdoor Living. Medieval runs fine too.

[HannahEloiseee]

Okay, thanks. I've got the min requirement for all the expansion packs and the stuff packs but what's this about 'video card isn't supported for late night and outdoor living'? Is that something that most laptops have problems with?

[HannahEloiseee]

Also, my laptop is being made now. It's a Dell and a brand new model, if that helps? 

[malteser60]

Basically the game needs a decent amount of onboard RAM to run the game. But video cards also have their own RAM, and if it doesn't then no matter how fast your computer is your video card will not be able to render the graphics properly. The problem with laptops is they tend to come with poor video cards, unless you get a dedicated gaming laptop. The good news is, at least with the sims, you can tweak the graphics in-game is it is less graphics intensive but it means your video card can cope. Depending on how you tweak it depends on how much 'graphics' you lose. So maybe you will have to have no shadows, or only the first layer of buildings will render. Or you may get a bit of lag as the video card renders the graphics.

I also have an acer laptop with 4gb of RAM. My onboard video card though uses the onboard ram so I tend to do ok with the sims. I've had to reduce some of the graphics a bit. So, for example, only the close-up trees and buildings will render. But it has meant that I can keep the close-up graphics quite high.

[Gheez]

I'm not sure that most new laptops, with integrated graphics, will have problems running Late Night.  Mine doesn't.  (Apart from a lag in Bridgeport that a lot of people, with better specs, also seem to have.)  Mine isn't new though - it'll be three this summer.

If your dad will let you have the specs of your new laptop, then I'd recommend searching using the name of the graphics and Sims 3 and looking for videos.  Hopefully there will be a video of someone playing the game.

EG if the graphics are 'Integrated Intel® 4500MHD Graphics Media Accelerator' use as your search: Integrated Intel 4500MHD sims 3

Why not have a chat with your dad and explain your concerns - then double-check together that your new laptop will be able to play the game that you love?  I'm sure that he wants you to be happy, after all, he's not getting you the cheapest laptop out there.

Edit: My laptop is a Dell.  I tried looking up the latest models for around £600 but there are several of them, so not too sure which one you're having.  The two I looked at in more detail seemed likely to be able to play the Sims.  Fingers crossed for you.

[HannahEloiseee]

Yeah, my dads just checked the requirements for the sims 3 and the expansion packs and they all say it'll work. I will have a 1GB video card and I think 5.0 pixel shader, I'm not sure but I think mine will be the same. My dad says that my laptop will be better but I guess I can't be sure untill it comes  thankyou

[Ellenser]

4 GB of RAM seems to be the bare minimum needed to play the game fluently. If you happen to only have 2 GB, most laptops are upgradable and RAM doesn't cost very much.

In order to have room for all of the expansion packs, you should probably have at least 20 GB of hard drive space. (Leave some room for new ones). This shouldn't be a problem if your laptop is going to be a new one. Probably more like 30-40GB once every single stuff pack/expansion pack is out. Once again, shouldn't be a problem. And if it is, you can always upgrade your hard drive to a 500 GB one, which doesn't cost very much.
 
The video card, however, can be the deal breaker. You cannot upgrade the video card on your laptop. Most laptops come with an integrated graphics card. If this card is the Intel HD (most common graphics card), then you can play the Sims on low-medium settings with advanced rendering disabled. Ideally, you'd shoot for a middle-class, dedicated laptop graphics card so you can play the Sims 3 on medium-high settings (depending on how many expansions). To check if your graphics card is adequate, you can go to Google and type in, "________ graphics card review" and one of the first sites on the list should be Notebookcheck.org (or .net?) and should provide the necessary information.

It would help to know the specs of the laptop you're getting. Perhaps a link to it (if that's allowed)?

I remember when I bought the laptop I'm using now, I had to do quite a bit of research to make sure I can play the games I wanted to (including games that are more demanding than Sims 3).

[HannahEloiseee]

My graphics card is '1gb ati mobility radeon hd 5650' and my GB for my whole laptop is 640gb.