Will This Laptop Run The Sims 3?

[xFezIsAFreakx]

The laptop I've used for simming since I started last April was really old and the hard drive has eventually died. Now, I have to wait till August for my new computer so I can play Sims.

But.. my Mum wants to get a new laptop this Friday - www.brighthouse.co.uk/computing/acer-platinum-15-point-6-inch-laptop-red/ - I've had a look but I can't tell what the specs are! I tried googling the name of the laptop and seeing if the specs were up anywhere so I could match them to the game's system requirements, but different sites said different things and so I got confused.

So, I was hoping that someone here might be able to help me! I just want to know if the laptop will run the base game as well as  a few EP/SPs. I have them all up to and including Pets, but my last laptop wasn't able to run Pets properly because the pets appeared deformed (graphics issue), so I'm not too bothered if this laptop will do the same or even if I need to knock off a few other Expansions as well.

The thing is, the last laptop I had had very low memory, was very old, and yet was still able to run 4 EPs and 5 SPs. I don't know if I was just lucky there, but seeing as this is a newer model I'm hoping I can at least run the stuff on low graphics.

So yea, does anyone here own this laptop or can anyone determine if I'd be able to run the game on it? I don't think the site shows much specs but I'm sure they're out there on the net or on that site somewhere and I'm just missing them!

Thank you to anyone who helps.

[wednesday21]

What do you mean you can't find the specs? There are right there under the laptop name at the website you linked to.

2.53GHz Intel Core i3-2330M Processor - that's very good. i3, i5 and i7 should be able to get you through daily activities and you can also play all current and old games with them. 2.53ghz is well over the game's system requirements, which is 2.0ghz. 4gb ram is good too since that's the recommended amount of ram you need to be able to play the game smoothly. I've used 4gb computers before and they are in general good for performing other tasks too, such as web browsing, using MSword, etc.

I've tried googling the laptop name too and it seems that the only sites that show up are online purchase sites and nothing really technical there. It would be good to find out the video card model before buying it so that you can expect which settings it'll be able to run the game on.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Yea that's what I meant - the graphics. I think there's a few other things on the system requirements list that they have missed out too, and so really I don't have much of an idea if I'll be able to run the game because the graphics card/chipset might not let me. I'm hoping for the best, though. It's fairly expensive and brand new as well so I'm expecting it to at least run base game. Thanks, Wednesday.

[Odie]

Hi!
Maybe you can ask the store what the video card is that comes with it?
Then you'd know for sure if you can play the sims 3 on it.
Good luck!

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Hi!
Maybe you can ask the store what the video card is that comes with it?
Then you'd know for sure if you can play the sims 3 on it.
Good luck!

Yea, we'll do that when we go to collect it on Friday. Thanks, Odie! So far, it's looking good so I do have my hopes up!

[MoonsAreBlue]

I just searched for Acer computers with that processor, and from what I can find I think the laptop you're about to buy is most likely going to have Intel HD 3000 Graphics. This website says the graphics are on par with Nvidia GeForce 310M (which is specifically advertised as compatible with Sims 3) and I have played Sims 3 with that Nvidia card just fine. Intel HD 3000 Graphics is not a very fancy video card, but I think you'd definitely be okay to play sims vanilla around medium settings. It's adding all of the EPs and SPs that's going to be tricky to predict.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

I just searched for Acer computers with that processor, and from what I can find I think the laptop you're about to buy is most likely going to have Intel HD 3000 Graphics. This website says the graphics are on par with Nvidia GeForce 310M (which is specifically advertised as compatible with Sims 3) and I have played Sims 3 with that Nvidia card just fine. Intel HD 3000 Graphics is not a very fancy video card, but I think you'd definitely be okay to play sims vanilla around medium settings. It's adding all of the EPs and SPs that's going to be tricky to predict.

Ooh, medium would be a lot better than I had hoped for, lol! Because I've got such a low threshold with stuff like lag, etc., even if I had to play on low settings with the other EPs and SPs, I really wouldn't mind. But knowing the laptop will run it has put a big smile on my face! The laptop I had before had an average frame rate of about 5/6 while playing the game, so even looking at that site and seeing that the base game averages on 18 for high settings is a real shocker! Thanks a lot, Moons!

[loveSims]

Fez I'm not half as clever as moons or wednesday with computers, but I can tell you that is a very good cpu! I have a 2.6 intel dual core and the game didn't slow down on speed 4. I think the sims will be awesome on it!

[xFezIsAFreakx]

It's okay, guys. Mum can't afford the laptop anymore. Thanks for all your help anyways.

[Odie]

Aaah, really?
I am so sorry for the both of you!!!

(btw a laptop doesn't have to be ridiculously expensive to play the sims...)

So now you'll have to wait until August?

[EnglishRose]

Odie is right - I play the sims on my laptop which I got not the christmas just gone but the one before - it cost only about £350 and I have all EPs except Showtime (no SPs though). My settings are all on medium and it runs great, very little lag. The only problem is that it crashes from time to time since I installed Pets, but reading on here it seems most people have that problem!
So basically yeah, you really don't need a super expensive laptop for it to have good specs, and depending on what you and your mum need it for you could probably get a much cheaper one
I hope you'll be able to sort something out!

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Aaah, really?
I am so sorry for the both of you!!!

(btw a laptop doesn't have to be ridiculously expensive to play the sims...)

So now you'll have to wait until August?

I don't really know. Mum's taking out a loan to see if she can pay for it anyway but I'll just have to wait and see if they accept her loan thing.

Odie is right - I play the sims on my laptop which I got not the christmas just gone but the one before - it cost only about £350 and I have all EPs except Showtime (no SPs though). My settings are all on medium and it runs great, very little lag. The only problem is that it crashes from time to time since I installed Pets, but reading on here it seems most people have that problem!
So basically yeah, you really don't need a super expensive laptop for it to have good specs, and depending on what you and your mum need it for you could probably get a much cheaper one
I hope you'll be able to sort something out!

Well £300 was our budget to buy a laptop with cash on hand, lol, but this pay weekly thing means we can afford more expensive ones. As I said above, hopefully Mum can get a loan then repay it in bits but I'm not promising myself anything in case I'll just get disappointed. If I do get this laptop, I'm hoping it might be able to graphically handle Pets! But yea, thanks EnglishRose.

[Odie]

You probably already know this, but do realize that with a loan a laptop will be much more expensive in the end. When you are done paying, you have probably paid twice the price...!  Don't know if that's worth it...

Because of this my economics teacher always said you can better save money first instead of taking a loan for small things. The only thing you should need a loan for is your house. I think he's right. What he also said is: if you have a loan on something like a laptop and the laptop breaks, you don't have a laptop anymore but still have to pay the loan... If you're not careful you have to get another loan to get what you need and pay off the first loan at the same time. I don't want to sound very negative, but seriously some people have loan on loan on loan on...
Considering that and knowing you'll pay twice the price because of interest, it is much better to save for it first, I think.

That might be hard of course... I would not want to miss The Sims for 5 months But still... could be worth it knowing how much money you saved by not having to pay interest! On top of that I always enjoy my stuff much more if I needed to save money for it first!

Good luck with it anyway! I truly hope it will work out for you guys!

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Well, the laptop is my Mum's so it is up to Mum what she does with it and how she decides to pay for it. We know it'll end up being more, but without going into exactly how poor I am, our family is really at the lowest part of the scale, moneywise, and we can't really save up or anything. If I was in charge of our family funds, I would do things a lot differently but it is my Mum's choice. Also, that thing about if the laptop breaks is okay, because though my Mum is using a loan to pay for the laptop, she's also paying for the insurance for it as well as part of that loan.

So yea, basically what I'm trying to say is that I agree with you and all, but I'm not in charge of any of this and it's really all down to how Mum wants to go about it. Mum will get the laptop, but it's a laptop purely for her enjoyment and I'll probably only play sims for a few hours each weekend, but for the sake of my legacy thread I wanted to know how likely it was that I could run the game and confirm that and so that is why I started this thread. I really just work around my Mum's decisions, I am her daughter after all, lol. I'll be moving out soon, and then I'll start saving up for the laptop of my dreams that I shall call my own.

[Odie]

I hope I didn't come across the wrong way. I just wanted to give some honest advice, 'cause I am the type of girl that really cares about others like that
Of course, your mum's laptop is her business.
Well then, I sure hope for you that you can play The Sims on it! *fingers crossed*

(btw, good for you that you're gonna save up for a laptop when you're on your own!)