Build/Buy/Budget Recommendations for PCs

[retailprices]

I feel like this has probably been posted a million times before, yet here I am. I have read the Sims 3 and 4 Buying guide but honestly, the information on there flies straight past my head.

My parents are looking to buy a new desktop, mostly for my younger to use for homework, but it would be a bonus if they bought one that was able to run the Sims 3 at its full capacity. Although, I own TS3 and most expansions I haven't been able to use them for years because my laptop is not capable.

That was probably a bit too much detail. Anyway, our budget is around $1000 (CAD) including monitor and accessories. I think I have found a desktop that fits but wanted to double check. Here are the specs:

System: AMD FX-6300 3.50GHZ Six-Core | AMD 760G Chipset | 8GB DDR3 | 1TB HDD | Genuine Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Graphics: AMD Radeon R7 250 2GB Video Card | 24X DVDRW Dual-Layer Drive | Audio: 7.1 Channel | Gigabit LAN | Keyboard and Mouse
Connectivity: 8x USB 2.0 | 1x RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 | Audio | 1x VGA | 1x DVI | 1x HDMI

All of this just flies right over my head so any help would be appreciated! Also, if anyone has recommendations for PCs at that price point please let me know!

I have thought that I would eventually learn to build my own. I have heard it is cheaper to do it that way. But also, I have no idea where to start. Recommendations for parts and guides for building my own would be helpful too!

[MrsFlynn]

This will get you medium/high graphics, due to onboard video and weaker processor. If you want to run at best graphics, you'll want a dedicated video card, and a better processor.

If you're an AMD fan, you might go with something like:

Processor: FX 8000 series, or Ryzen series.
Memory: 8 - 16 GB
Video: RX 480 or better
Video: GTX 1050Ti or better

Here's an example of what I'm talking about

BUYPOWER Gaming Computer Desktop PC AM006A = Price:    $879.99
AMD FX-8320 8-Core 3.5Ghz (4.0Ghz),
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB,
16GB DDR3 RAM,
2TB 7200RPM HDD
https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-AM006A-GTX-1050-Ti/dp/B06X1H3QK7

Buying vs building a pc, it depends on what you want in your machine and if you've got the skill to put it together yourself, or can find someone to build it for you.

We've found it's about the same, specially if you're trying to stick within a budget. For example, when we build our last desktop, it cost in total of $750. We later found a pre-built for $700.

We have a buying guide post linked below:

Buying a Computer For The Sims 3 & The Sims 4
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=6ilgq9lmmubsrjkpvbkaq7veg2&topic=21609.0