Buying a Desktop or Laptop for The Sims 3

[Xrusaboom]

Hi  i m in the USA. I bought sims 3 and 8 expansions and I m looking laptops with i7 prossecor but I don t know about the windows and the grafic card. I  m looking ,more of nvidia but I found some GT cards but I didn't know if they are compatible. And yes I want to run with all expansions. I could give some links here with the laptops I found and if someone can take a look to tell me an opinion.

[SteveK]

Hi,
Can you tell me if this laptop can run the sims 3 please.
Hard Drive: 1TB Brand: Toshiba CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Drive: DVD Super Multi Drive (Double Layer) Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n Battery Life: Up to 4 hours Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 + LE Operating System: Windows 8.1 (64-bit) Processor and Speed: 4th Gen Intel Core i5-4200M Processor (2.50 GHz / 3.10 GHz Turbo) / 3MB L3 Cache Memory: 8GB Finish: Ice Blue Brushed Aluminium (Colour on Box Label: Silver) Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M with 2GB Dedicated Memory Weight: 2.7kg Screen Size: 17.3 inch 3D Ready: n/a Dimensions: W 41.3 x D 26.8 x H 3.1 cm
best regards
Stevek

[MrsFlynn]

Yes, the laptop will run Sims 3 on med settings, however may be slow to load the game.

If you're looking for something that runs Sims 3 better, let us know if your in the USA or not, and what your budget is and we'll see if we can help find something that will work.

MrsFlynn

[SteveK]

Hi,
The laptop is for my granddaughter and the budget is about £600 sterling which is about $1,000 US.
If you can find anything better in that range please let me know.
thanks for your time
best regards
Steve

[SteveK]

Sorry forgot to say I'm in the UK.
best regards
Steve

[KhaineGB]

I don't think you're gonna get much better than the laptop you've described for around £600.

I'm in the UK as well, so I'll have a bit of a look around for you But what you've described might be the best.

EDIT: I checked the card in that laptop. It's BETTER than the one in mine.

My laptop can run Sims 3, all expansions and all stuff packs on High detail. I do have to turn down the number of high detail lots to 1 or 2, and turn off edge smoothing. After that, it looks and runs great.

So it'll be absolutely fine.

[KhaineGB]

I'll have a proper dig around in a min.

But FYI, you don't -need- an i7 CPU. I play Sims 3 with all EP's and SP's fine on a laptop i5 CPU.

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Xrusaboom,
 
I passed along the links to Khaine a fellow member who helps with the tech questions. And we've found this laptop to be the best out of the links you shared.
 
HP ENVY 15t-j100 Quad Edition Notebook PC with Windows 7
http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/G1L49AV??jumpid=ba_r329_hhoaffiliate&aid=38293&pbid=NKa3hZyYoHA&aoid=35252&siteid=NKa3hZyYoHA-JBvl2CEiepESKlM3yJGuEA
 
This computer will run Sims 3, expansions and stuff packs good enough. But may be slow to load and play. It may also require lowering the in-game graphics and turning off some of the features within the game. To be able to play it smoothly.
 
MrsFlynn

[KhaineGB]

Going to have to agree with Mrs Flynn here.

The linked laptop is the best you're going to get on a budget. The nVidia GT740M it has is a mid-range card. My laptop has a Radeon 6650M and can run Sims 3 on high detail if I turn off edge smoothing and crank high detail lots down to 1 or 2 (I usually leave it at 2 as that's good enough)... and that card is considered Low-end these days!

I also highly recommend Windows 7 over Windows 8, as it has been known to have compatibility issues, while Windows 7 runs... well... pretty much everything.

[Xrusaboom]

Thank you both for your time. I send 2 laptops again in mrs Flynn inbox if she can to take a look. I might buy hp but If you know something better I would like to send me the link. Thanks again

[RichDude]

I am building a new PC. Can it run the Sims 3 with all expansions on max settings with no lag? I know it could run anything on max settings (my old computer could run most games on max) but I also know that the Sims 3 is a buggy, horribly optimized mess. Also, will my triple monitor setup work?



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant


CPU: Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  ($1030.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard  ($303.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($212.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($212.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($212.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($212.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($679.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($679.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case  ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 1300W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($178.84 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (32/64-bit)  ($170.99 @ Adorama)
Monitor: Asus VG27AH 27.0" Monitor  ($304.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VG27AH 27.0" Monitor  ($304.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VG27AH 27.0" Monitor  ($304.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Razer DeathStalker Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Touchpad  ($238.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Razer Ouroboros Wireless Laser Mouse  ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Headphones: Turtle Beach Z300 7.1 Channel Headset  ($164.74 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z906 500W 5.1ch Speakers  ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $6643.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 21:57 EDT-0400

[MrsFlynn]

Oh wow!! Yes it will definitely run Sims 3 and any Sims or game you throw at it and then some. However like you stated you might find Sims 3 still a bit laggy specially when your sims are traveling. Example: In our game, The frame rates were dipping while the sim was traveling between lots. There may not be anything you can do about it due to the way the game was made.

Edit - I'm not sure if Sims 3 will make use of the 3 monitors, as I don't think it was made to use 3 monitors.

Here's a topic that talks about using 2 monitors with Sims 3
Topic: Adjusting screen size.
http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,20742.0.html

MrsFlynn

[KhaineGB]

I wouldn't get that keyboard.

No point getting one with a touchpad built in when you're getting a gaming mouse. Get the Black Widow Mechanical keyboard instead... it's a LOT better (and only a few dollars cheaper, IIRC).

Sims 3 should run fine, but Sims 3 is a CPU hog. It will drag that 6-core i7 to it's knees easily.

Also... I have a suggestion. If you're going to throw that much cash at a PC, wait a few months. The new X99 motherboards supporting DDR4 RAM are out soon, so you might want to wait for that. They're designed for the 6-core extreme CPU's.

[RichDude]

I'll wait a few months. The Haswell-E processors are coming out very soon and I am going to get the 8-core(5960x)

[KhaineGB]

Yeah, the X99 motherboards with quad channel DDR4 should be out then.

The site I use for parts in england has the DDR4 on pre-order already. It's £260 for 16GB (I think that's around $400).