Buying a Desktop or Laptop for The Sims 3

[Waitinginthepen]

Hi, I've been running Sims 3 on minimum settings for years now and I've been getting so much lag and crashes recently, that I'm finally thinking about switching to a new desktop. Thing is, I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about hardware, so I'd be grateful for some help. I've been trying to read up on suggested system specs, but found myself a tad overwhealmed.   

I own all but three expansion packs, none of the stuff packs, but I have a fair amount of custom content. I'm from Germany and I'm looking for a desktop that'll run the game on 1680x1050 resolution on medium to high settings.  Is there any chance of getting a desktop capable of doing that for round about 500€, or is that wishful thinking on my part?

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Hi, I've been running Sims 3 on minimum settings for years now and I've been getting so much lag and crashes recently, that I'm finally thinking about switching to a new desktop. Thing is, I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about hardware, so I'd be grateful for some help. I've been trying to read up on suggested system specs, but found myself a tad overwhealmed.   

I own all but three expansion packs, none of the stuff packs, but I have a fair amount of custom content. I'm from Germany and I'm looking for a desktop that'll run the game on 1680x1050 resolution on medium to high settings.  Is there any chance of getting a desktop capable of doing that for round about 500€, or is that wishful thinking on my part?

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Wilkommen, Waitingintheopen!

I think we've found a pretty decent system -- MEDION AKOYA P5228 DR PC System. It is right at 500€ (499,99 to be precise). It has a processor well above the minimum requirements, a great graphics card in the GTX 650, and should play the game on high settings without too many problems. It will also play The Sims 4 at Ultra settings and (indeed) a number of more modern games also at high to ultra settings.

Hope this helps and happy Simming!

Flynn

[Waitinginthepen]

Very cool! Thanks a lot for the fast response. I'll look into it

[KK]

Hi, I've been looking for a laptop that would play Sims 3 plus all the expansions and stuff packs on medium or high settings and maybe Sims 4 too.

Will this computer do it for me http://www.acer.co.ee/ac/en/EE/content/model/NX.MQ0EL.023 ? Or what needs to be better?
You can recommend other options as well. The price should be max 750€/850$.

And just in case I would point out that I live in Estonia.

Sorry for my bad English! Thanks in advance! 

[MrsFlynn]

Hi KK,

The laptop you mention doesn't meet the required processor speed of 2.4 ghz. All other specs meet or exceed the minimum requirements.

So we'll have to find something else that has a better processor.

Here are the specs you'll want to look for:

Processor: 2.4 GHz or Better
Graphics: Dedicated video card with 2 GB memory
Memory: 8 GB memory

If you have any suggestions on stores that you shop at online that have laptops. Share the links so we can help find a laptop that will hopefully work well for Sims 3 and 4.

MrsFlynn

[KK]

I shop at http://www.1a.ee/arvutitehnika/sulearvutid and http://www.rde.ee/categories/ee/150/sort/1/filter/0_0_0_0/page/1/S%C3%BClearvutid.html.

I did some research myself and found some other options. The best one seemed to be this and it has really great price too: http://www.1a.ee/arvutitehnika/sulearvutid/acer_aspire_e5572g_full_hd_i5.

This page isn't in English but I hope you can understand the information despite that.

[MrsFlynn]

The laptop you linked to above will play the game, as it meets all the minimum requirements on medium settings and a resolution of 1366x768.

My husband and I also found a couple of laptops in your price range that will play the game with the expansions on medium settings. We have a couple of laptops with similar specs and it plays okay for the first hour or so, but then the game starts slowing down a bit. Also, the load times are pretty slow even with a previously saved game.

There's not a lot you can do about the loading times. Even with a solid state drive, the game loads somewhat slow. My husband has everything installed (all expansions/stuff packs/store content) and the game takes about five minutes to load. Also, Create a Household and Create a Style run slower for him as it has to load a ton of outfits/swatches.
 
But, we play with Advanced Rendering turned on, so we would suggest medium settings at 1366 x 768 resolution and turn off Advanced Rendering. The game should then run okay. You will still want to do a couple of things to help the system out: buy a cooling mat to help remove some of the heat from the system and take a break every hour or two to let the system cool off and clear memory.

As a test my husband turned off Advanced Rendering on his laptop and the game seems to perform better.

Hope this helps,

MrsFlynn

==========
Acer Aspire E5-572G FULL HD i5 + W8.1 = 699.00 €
http://www.1a.ee/arvutitehnika/sulearvutid/acer_aspire_e5572g_full_hd_i5_w81
----
Protsessori sagedus: 2.6 GHz
Videokaart: GeForce 940M 
Operatiivmälu: 8 GB
Resolution (1366x768) and medium detail settings. (Sims 3)
Medium to high settings (Sims 4)
==========

ACER E5-572G 15.6 i5-4210M 8GB 1TB EN W8.1 NX.MQ0EL.015 sülearvuti
http://www.rde.ee/products/ee/150/15908/sort/1/filter/18_0_0_0/E5-572G-15.6-i5-4210M-8GB-1TB-EN-W8.1-NX.MQ0EL.015-s%C3%BClearvuti.html
682.99 €
----
Protsessori sagedus: 2.6 GHz
Videokaardi mudel: NVIDIA GeForce 840M
Operatiivmälu maht: 8 GB
Resolution (1366x768) and medium detail settings. (Sims 3)
Medium to high settings (Sims 4)
==========

Dell Inspiron 3543 Silver 272476661 = 709.00 €
http://www.1a.ee/arvutitehnika/sulearvutid/dell_inspiron_3543_silver_272476661
----
Protsessori sagedus: 2.4 GHz
Videokaart: GeForce 840M
Operatiivmälu: 8 GB
Resolution (1366x768) and medium detail settings. (Sims 3)
Medium to high settings (Sims 4)

[KK]

Thank you very much for those helpful and quick responses! 

All the best,
KK

[lovely6324]

Hi again,

I am now looking for a laptop that can play the sims 3 and all expanisons as well as playing the sims 4.

My budget is 1000.

Can you guys please help me

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Lovely6324,

Sorry we haven't gotten back to you. It's been a crazy week. Anyway, we got a chance to put together a list of potential laptops and these two are the best ones. (links below) Both can play Sims 3 with all eps/sps installed, as well as 4 on High settings.

Hope this helps,

MrsFlynn

==========
Lenovo Y50 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (59441555) Black
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-59441555/dp/B00SATBQVK
Price:    $999.90

    Intel Core i7-4720HQ 2.6 GHz Processor
    8 GB RAM
    1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive, 8 GB Solid-State Drive
    15.6-Inch Screen; NVIDA GeForce 860M Graphics
    Windows 8.1, 5-hour battery life

==========
==========
Acer Aspire V17 Nitro Black Edition VN7-791G-76Z8 17.3-Inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) Gaming Laptop
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-VN7-791G-76Z8-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B00WJSQREY
Price:    $999.00

    Intel Core i7-4720HQ Processor (2.6 GHz)
    8 GB DDR3 RAM
    1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
    17.3-Inch Screen, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
    Windows 8.1, 4-hour battery life

[Kimmi81]

Hello! You've been great at helping people out and I was wondering if you could help me out too.
I'm looking for a laptop which can run my Sims 3 game with nearly all expansions and stuff packs. I also have a LOT of CC and a very big town with many sims and big full lots (not able to look up the exact size atm). I don't mind playing on low settings, although I obviously much rather play on high(er) settings.

I'm in The Netherlands and have a budget of around €700,- but one or two hundred more is doable.

What can you recommend? You don't need to go out of your way to find links to Dutch sellers, a link to just a laptop is fine. 

Thanks in advance!

- Kim

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Kimmie,

Here's what Hubby and I were able to find for you. (links below) Thank you for asking.

Hope this helps,

MrsFlynn

==========
Lenovo Y50-70 = EUR 788,57
http://www.amazon.de/Lenovo-Notebook-i7-4710HQ-GeForce-schwarz/dp/B00KH6PARK/

- Intel Core i7-4710HQ ~ 3.5 GHz
- 8GB Memory
- 512 GB SSD
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 4GB GDDR5
- Model: IDEAPAD Y50-70
--
Can play Sims 3 in high detail settings.

==========
==========
MSI GE70 = EUR 874,00
http://www.amazon.de/MSI-GE70-2PCi581FD-Notebook-Core-i5-Betriebssystem/dp/B00NAQG3DO/

- Intel Core-i5 4200H ~ 2.8 GHz
- 8GB Memory
- 1TB HDD
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M 2GB
- Model: MSI Notebook GE70-2PCi581FD
--
Can play Sims 3 in high detail settings.

==========

Hello! You've been great at helping people out and I was wondering if you could help me out too.
I'm looking for a laptop which can run my Sims 3 game with nearly all expansions and stuff packs. I also have a LOT of CC and a very big town with many sims and big full lots (not able to look up the exact size atm). I don't mind playing on low settings, although I obviously much rather play on high(er) settings.

I'm in The Netherlands and have a budget of around €700,- but one or two hundred more is doable.

What can you recommend? You don't need to go out of your way to find links to Dutch sellers, a link to just a laptop is fine. 

Thanks in advance!

- Kim

[Kimmi81]

Thank you so much for your quick reply! I'll have a look

ETA: I myself found this one.
Could you give me your opinion on that one as well? Much appreciated!

[MrsFlynn]

Hi Kimmie,

We in good-faith can't recommend this laptop due to it doesn't quite meet the minimum processor requirement which is a 2.4 ghz, and the processor itself isn't very good for gaming. We're trying to aim for a good/better gaming experience.

MrsFlynn

[Kimmi81]

Thanks again for your reply.  I'll try to find one you suggested for a good price then.