What "trait" makes a computer better at handling bloated save files?

[Emily Redbird]

Hey guys,

I'm looking into buying a new computer, and while I'm not sure I have the funds to buy a good gaming PC, I still want my Sims 3 to run well, especially in longer games.

I've noticed (and heard in here somewhere) that the longer into the game you get (say week 4, f.ex.), the more bugs you experience, the slower it loads, the slower it renders and so on. So my question is, which characteristic in the computer is it that helps it handle this?

If it wasn't clear, I don't know much about computers

Hope you can help me here,
~Emily

PS. Yes, I did read the "buying a computer for the sims 3 or 4" article, but I didn't find the answer to my question there.

[MrsFlynn]

If you like to play the game for long periods of time, say more than 2 hours you may consider getting a desktop instead. Laptops run hot when they are used for gaming, even with a cooling mat. If you want or need a laptop then it's recommended to shut down the computer every couple of hours to help refresh it.

Airflow is crucial to the computer, regardless of desktop or laptop. This is to help not overheat the video card and other hardware inside the computer.

With a desktop, you wouldn't necessarily need to restart every couple hours, as they have better airflow and can handle gaming better.

Please note, regardless of playing on a desktop or laptop with powerful specs, you may run into issues such as game lag, slowdowns and stuttering due to the way the game has been optimized. There isn't anything that can be done about that.

It's normal for the game and it's camera to have some stuttering when zooming in/out and scrolling around.

That said, you want a computer that can handle playing games and have good airflow. Most most office/work laptops don't so we don't recommend them. Those are the most cheap laptops you see around.

Budget:

Desktops range between $600 - $800 or more.
Laptops range between $800 and up.

Here's what we recommend:

Desktop Specs:

Processor 2.4 Ghz or better
Video Card GTX 950, GTX 960, AMD R9 380, AMD RX 480 or better
Computer Ram 8gb
hard drive space at least 500 gb
windows 64 bit

Laptop Specs:

Processor : i5 or i7 HQ or MQ quad core ~ 2.4 GHz
Video card : Nvidia GTX 960m or better (GTX 1050, 1050ti or 1060)
computer ram 8GB
hard drive space at least 500 GB
windows 64 bit

Processor Intel i5 or i7 quad core which will end in HQ or MQ after the series number

Here's an example of a desktop and laptop that will run the game well.

CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXIVR8020A4 Desktop Gaming PC
https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXIVR8020A4-Desktop-i5-7400-7200RPM/dp/B0747W15QL
Price: $719.99

- Intel i5-7400 3.0GHz
- AMD RX 580 4GB
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 1TB 7200RPM HDD

====

MSI GL62M 7RDX-1408 15.6" Gaming Laptop Computer
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GL62M-7RDX-1408-Performance-SteelSeries/dp/B071K1Q8TK
Price:    $829.00

- Quad Core i7-7700HQ
- GeForce GTX 1050 2G Graphics
- 8GB DRAM
- 128GB SSD+1TB Hard Drive

[Emily Redbird]

Thank you, Mrs. Flynn, for the informative and quick answer I feel like I can make a more qualified decision on which computer to get.

~Emily