I thought this would be a good topic to start regarding macs and what they can handle regarding Sims 3. I will also be discussing some glitches I have encountered playing the Sims 3 and the best way to keep your mac safe from overheating from Sims 3. Feel free to add on comments if you have any tips to also keep your mac regarding the Sims 3. Just a quick reminder though, this is not a thread for complaining about EA, this is for information on how well your mac can handle Sims 3. This may be edited in the near future. This is also a thread based on my personal experience of playing the game, all macs are different and some may not be able to handle as much.
My stats on my Mac:
Mac-Air 11-inch (Mid - 2011)
Processor - 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory - 4 GB
Storage - 120 GB
Graphics - Intel HD 3000
Version - 10.11.1
Sims 3 Base Game Lets start with the basics, literally the Sims 3 Base Game. How well can your mac handle that?
When I first pulled up the game I was greeted with a loud wheezing fan sound that sounded like the computer itself was going to overheat. After awhile of playing the game I noticed the mac was not showing any issues that were irregular or showed any significant damage to my mac.(After a recent visit to the Apple Store for a checkup my computer was perfectly healthy.) Just to rest my nerves I purchased a large fan and placed it near my mac just make me feel better. In the end my computer did not heat up, so if this happens be wise and check it out, though if the fan continues to be loud and your computer is just warm,(Not blistering hot), it should be fine. It is also normal for your computer to get hot near your charger port if the charger is plugged in while playing the Sims 3. Can your Mac handle the Sims 3? Yes, though be wise about it.
Sims 3 World Adventures One of the worst expansion packs I had for my mac. Though, it may not be the same for you. World Adventures is a great expansion pack if you are into traveling the world though it comes with some costs. After having my current household travel there once, I started noticing issues after my sims came back. My current game would freeze and wouldn't save, I couldn't go on vacation or move to new towns. It was a nightmare. After several hours on tech support repeatedly having to call, one of the workers had me make a fatal mistake that virtually wiped out my game.(Though we found a solution of deleting caches that I would have to do before every game play). After giving up on saving my game I ended factory resetting my computer. (I could of reinstalled all the games though my Mac is just for gaming at this time.) It worked miraculously and I didn't end up having that issue again for a long time, it was also my very last call to tech support. Starting a fresh factory reset here seemed to fix the issue, the file itself was the only one having this specific issue. Still I'm weary about installing World Adventures. Can your mac handle this expansion pack? Here is the thing, my mac has been able to handle all expansion packs. It can, though I don't recommend traveling too much, if you plan to and you run into this issue you can also try resetting your RAM. This is a moderate expansion pack that requires work to keep it running smoothly, personally it is not installed on my game and I don't plan on reinstalling it in the future.
Resetting RAM -
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063Deleting Caches -
http://help.ea.com/en/article/how-to-clear-your-cache-for-the-sims-3-on-a-mac/Sims 3 Ambitions The most recent expansion pack I have gotten. Quite a good expansion pack with the addition of new careers and professions. A new town that also isn't to large and won't cause to much lag for your game. Can your mac handle it? Yes, your mac should be able to handle it without to many issues. This is one of the expansion packs that your mac should easily be able to handle.
Sims 3 Late Night A great expansion pack that brings the big city to your game. A world that may cause you issues and lags though. The elevators are an issue to begin with. Your sims can get stuck and die inside of them, it is best you go back to an older save.
Going back to an older game. -
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Restoring_Backup_Saves I had experienced one infuriating glitch though, this stupid line that went through my penthouse. My mac does not have cracks inside or outside of the screen and this does not happen on anything except The Sims 3. This a glitch that does happen on some other community lots that will be discussed later. After reinstalling this expansion pack and trying to get rid of the strange glitch it was still there. It was also still there after a fresh factory reset. If you can stand the annoying glitches and bugs then this is a great expansion pack. Do I recommend this expansion pack on Mac? Yes, though be aware of the bugs and if it causes too much trouble, uninstall it.
The Sims 3 Generations One of my uttermost favorite expansion packs, adore it, use it all the time. It doesn't include a town though it has some honorable mentions and some honorable glitches. It contributes to the eternal loading screens. Quite a tricky expansion pack with the bugs, though I have not had much issues with it. Can your mac handle it? I would say it is a expansion pack that gives lots of people trouble, so be careful with this one. Personally I will keep this one installed onto my Mac though. If you have trouble with the lag, you can always disable memories or get mods to help with the lag.
Disabling Memories -
http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/06/tutorial-turn-off-memory-notifications.htmlThe Sims 3 Pets Here is an expansion pack that has given so many simmers issues. A great edition with pets and a new town though so buggy. The first thing that happened to me is that I couldn't download anything or install anything. It was quite a downer and soon I was running to EA. After hours of trying to solve the issue I got the great super patch and I was back to being able to download my store content. Though I'm sure many simmers have had more issue than that. Do I recommend this expansion pack for your Mac? I do though this is a sensitive expansion pack and I recommend downloading the super patch.
Super-Patcher for Mac -
https://help.ea.com/en/article/the-sims-3-super-patcher/#macThe Sims 3 Showtime Due to the fact I don't own this expansion pack at this time, I can't give advice on it from personal experience I'm sure I will cave in and buy it though.
The Sims 3 Supernatural One of my favorite expansion packs ever. Adore this one to pieces. It hasn't caused any strange bugs for me and it doesn't have a buggy town. Do I recommend you getting this expansion pack for your Mac? From personal experience I think it is a great expansion pack that doesn't cause me any issues, though as always be careful. Your mac should be able to handle this one fine.
The Sims 3 Seasons Alien abductions and snow days. Quite a good expansion pack to go with Sims 3 Generations. Though a sensitive expansion pack. The first few days my computer crashed several times. Especially the time when my sim got struck by lightning. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you this is the best expansion pack for your game, it isn't. It is fun though it is very buggy. How will your Mac handle it? Mine finally got use to it, though many experience issues with it. I recommend before you even consider purchasing this expansion pack you should do research regarding how it will affect your model.
The Sims 3 University An expansion pack that allows your sims to attend the local university and yet another buggy expansion pack. After getting in the van you are redirected to a long loading screen. You can do laundry, clean the house, or if you are child clean your room or not during that long wait Again, I'm not a huge fan of traveling and I don't recommend doing too much of it. The town also seems to be laggy and has the annoying line from Late Night. All in all, it is cute expansion pack though it's a difficult expansion pack to run. My trusty fan is definitely near my mac when playing this expansion pack. Do I recommend getting this expansion pack? Be very, very wise and do research on this one. The only reason I have it installed is because of the interactions it added, if you are dead set on having this one then don't travel to much.
The Sims 3 Island Paradise Island Paradise is, (frozen screen), a tropical, (frozen screen), island that is the most buggy expansion pack. It freezes every ten minutes, the island is almost to laggy to play and the graphics will give you issues. The graphics will take a long time to load and the majority of the time I just made my sims stay home. It was enjoyable once I got use to the frozen screen every ten minutes though I do not recommend getting this expansion pack. It is very buggy and unless you have a gaming computer, (I'm not sure there is such thing as a gaming mac, yet), it is very hard to play.
The Sims 3 Into The Future Welcome to the future! We promise you lag! (sigh) You eventually get use to the idea of buggy expansion packs. You travel to the future with another long loading screen. Yes another one, traveling is just not the greatest thing ever in this game. Then you are greeted with a line through the community lot, again. Don't worry, you have gotten though the worst of it. The town itself is laggy though not as bad as the others. It is all in all, a moderate expansion pack that should be watched.
Congrats for reading all of this! (Throws confetti) I will be updating this again with more glitch stories, mods and how they work, and custom content instructions and how to avoid bad custom content. (No links will be given, if a moderator would prefer I wouldn't do custom content instructions and mods and how they work I totally understand, please send me a PM and I will remove it right away.)
Macs are different from PC computers and handle things differently. Due to the fact my mac has integrated graphics it is more likely to have more issues then computers with proper graphic cards. (Integrated graphics are designed for computers without fans.) If you have any sims 3 issues with your mac you can always PM me or the other moderators, (have the most uttermost respect for them they are awesome and will answer your questions.) Thanks for reading.
Updated: 12/31/15
