Buying a Desktop or Laptop for The Sims 3

[LibbaSunshine]

Hello im wondering if you can help me choose a new pc. I would like it to be capable of playing sims3, multiple expansion packs and downloads. Ive been browsing around and found two that i think might be okay but im not completely sure.

Ibuypower- intel core i5, 8 GB Ram, 1TB harddrive, 3.2 Ghz processor, nvidia geforce gtx 750ti
Cyberpower Pc- AMD FX Series, 16 GB Ram, 1TB Hard drive, 3.5 ghz processor, nvidia geforce gtx 960...

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much 

[MrsFlynn]

Hi LibbaSunshine,

Either of these desktops should be fine to run Sims 3, it's expansions, stuff packs, store content and/or custom content. But if I were to pick between the two. I'd go for the Cyberpower = More memory, better processor and video card. And overall better gaming experience.

Hope this helps,

MrsFlynn

[Faithers1R_99]

Hi all! I really really REALLY need advice on a new laptop that I can find for under $750. I am brain fried looking and comparing, and if you can recommend any that would play The Sims 3 and 4 plus expansions and CC that would be lovely! My HP Pavillion G6, before i killed it , worked pretty well for all the expansions I had, and CC, so if there is a good HP out there that would be awesome, if not any brand that works best for my price range.

Thanks!

[furelise22]

Hello,
I was hoping for help in finding a laptop that will run sims 3 and 4 well. I'm in the United States, and I'm looking for a laptop around $1000, larger than 13 inches, I'm willing to pay for a good computer but I don't want to get something too powerful that I will not be using to its full potential. So far I've seen these listed below, but if you have other suggestions that would be helpful also.

HP Envy 15t slim Quad Laptop
windows 8.1
4 Generation Intel Core i7 4722HQ Quad core
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M 4GB
8GB memory
2.4 up to 3.4 GHz processing
5.6 lbs
$860

Alienware 15
Intel Core i5 4210H
dual core
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB
7lbs
$1200

MSi GE62 Apache
windows 8.1
2.6 to 3.6 GHz
Intel Core i7 4720HQ
Quad Core
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M
8GB
6lb
$1100-1300

Acer Aspire V Nitro VN7-591G-70RT
windows 8.1
Intel Core i7 4720HQ
2.6 GHz
Quad Core
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4GB
8GB memory
5.29 lb
$1100

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Furelise,

You picked some really good laptops. Most of these would do fine with both all Sims 3, and what's out currently for Sims 4 and maybe beyond - depending on what they do with the series in medium to high settings.

In any of these laptops though you will run into lag and slowdown while using create a style. Whether in build mode or Create a Sim. This is just the nature of the game. Sims 3 was not made to be played well on laptops. It was made for desktops.

Over all I'd recommend the MSI or the Acer for best gaming experience.

MSi GE62 Apache = $1100-1300

- Intel Core i7 4720HQ ~ 2.6GHz
- 8GB memory
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M

 =====

Acer Aspire V Nitro VN7-591G-70RT = $1100

- Intel Core i7 4720HQ ~ 2.6 GHz
- 8GB memory
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4GB

I hope this helps, and Thank you for asking for our help!!

MrsFlynn

[racheledwardo]

Hi,

I'm planning on buying a new laptop that I can use to play the sims 3 and all of its expansion packs as well as custom content. What type of specs should I be looking for?

All I've been able to gather is that I need around a 2.6 GHz processor, at least 8GBs of RAM and that I'm to avoid Intel graphic cards like the plague. What else should I be looking for?

Thanks!

[MrsFlynn]

Hi racheledwardo,

Specs to look for:

2.5 ghz or better
8 - 16 GB Memory - Anymore than that won't really help game performance.
GTX model video card with at least 2GB of dedicated video memory.

You may run into some laptops that will have both a GTX model of video card with a Intel Graphics chip. These are okay, as you can tell your computer to have games and such run on the GTX video card instead within the video card software.

Thanks for asking,

MrsFlynn

[Brightgirl]

Hello I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on the laptop "HP Stream 13-c020na Notebook PC" for playing sims 3 with expansion packs.
The specifications are:
Intel CeleronN2840 Processor
Intel HD Graphics
Memory 2GB
Storage 32GB
WIndows 8.1 (windows 10 update)

I find it very hard to understand which laptops can and can't run the sims so your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Brightgirl,

I wouldn't recommend this laptop. These types of laptops are more made for office/homework, watching videos, listening to music and other light tasks. Not so much for gaming.

Plus it doesn't meet the minimum requirements at all for the game.

What you'd want to be looking for is:

2.5 ghz or better processor
8 - 16 GB Memory - Anymore than that won't really help game performance.
GTX model video card with at least 2GB of dedicated video memory.

I hope this helps, If you would like help in searching for a laptop please note your budget is, and what country you live in.

MrsFlynn

[Brightgirl]

Hi thank you for replying.

I am in the United Kingdom and my budget ideally would be around £200 though might be able to stretch upwards a bit.

[MrsFlynn]

You'll definitely want to budget more that that. I'll give an example of what would run Sims 3 well enough, to help give an idea of what to look for.

Here's two examples:

MSI GP62 Leopard 031UK 15.6-Inch Laptop = £659.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-Leopard-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Windows/dp/B013K54BCE

- Intel Core i5 2.9GHz
- 8 GB Memory
- NVIDIA GeForce 940M 2GB
++ This system will play Sims 3 on medium settings in a in-game resolution of 1366x768

==========
Lenovo Z50 15.6-inch Notebook = £479.97
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-15-6-inch-Notebook-Graphics-Bluetooth/dp/B00O8SDRKK

- AMD FX-7500 3.3 GHz
- 8 GB Memory
- 2 GB Radeon R7 M260DX
++ This system will play Sims 3 on medium settings in a in-game resolution of 1366x768

==========

Hopefully this will help,

MrsFlynn

[TonyTajiri]

I am not sure which of the following partlists would be the best for TS3:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rQVNbv

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VPjcK8

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CdmFD3

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jxjjMp

I made the second through fourth partlists myself; I slightly altered the first one.  Thank you for reading, and also thank you for the help in choosing in advance.

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

I am not sure which of the following partlists would be the best for TS3:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rQVNbv

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VPjcK8

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CdmFD3

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jxjjMp

I made the second through fourth partlists myself; I slightly altered the first one.  Thank you for reading, and also thank you for the help in choosing in advance.

Any of these will work fine for The Sims 3, so you just need to ask yourself what else will you be using the computer for that will help determine which system would work well for you. Overall, I would recommend either the third system or the fourth system, especially if you're also looking at other graphic intensive games, or video/music editing, or game development.

Hope this helps and happy Simming!

Flynn

[TonyTajiri]

So, could they run with high settings with lots of EP/SPs?

[MrsFlynn]

Yes, the computers listed will run the game on high settings. Keep in mind the more content you add through store content and custom content, the more the game will lag while in Create a Style (loading patterns) and Create a Sim (loading outfits). This is due to the way the game handles additional content. Not much can be done to speed that up, unfortunately. This isn't as noticeable on a good desktop, but it is very noticeable even on a decent gaming laptop.

MrsFlynn