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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 20th Aug 2017 at 3:12 PM
Default How Powerful PC to run all Expansions?
Hi all. I'm wondering how powerful a computer would have to be to run all expansions at once? My old laptop is on it's last legs & I might be shopping for a desktop to replace it. My long-term goal for my Legacy Challenge is to have all expansions running at once.. but maybe this is impossible because of resource-limitations? (I guess I could always uninstall old expansions once I'm done with them, like WA & UN, but that will surely mess up the game saves.)

Using Can I Run It, I found the requirements for TS3 as low-end requirements, & ITF as high-end requirements. But it only lists Base, or Expansion separately. I don't quite know how to find requirements for multiple games. ie: Base + Expansion + Expansion + Expansion etc. So any tips on requirements for a good machine?

Check out my Legacy Challenge:
Chapter 41: Do Babies Eat Sand?
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 20th Aug 2017 at 3:14 PM
You'll want at least 8 gigs of RAM, at least an i5-series card (preferably a newer one, obviously) and at least a 600-series NVIDIA card or an AMD equivalent.
At least, that's my experience. Maybe you could do with less, but I wouldn't recommend it.

insert signature here
( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Mad Poster
#3 Old 20th Aug 2017 at 5:52 PM
On the video card, I beg to differ. It's not the series a card is in that's as important, it's the card's strength and throughput. For new desktops on the market today, for the entire game (all EPs) that would be Nvidia GTX 950 or higher or 1050 or higher within that series. For laptops, we would recommend raising the bar a bit (960M or higher) as they require a bit more power to achieve the same functionality. Or, either way, the AMD equivalents.

The 600 and 700 Nvidia series had some great models within them too (and some not strong enough), but they aren't making new computers with those cards in them anymore.

If you expect this computer to handle other, more modern games, then we would set the bar higher still -- 970 or 1070 in the case of the two Nvidia series.
Mad Poster
#4 Old 20th Aug 2017 at 5:57 PM
Quote: Originally posted by igazor
On the video card, I beg to differ. It's not the series a card is in that's as important, it's the card's strength and throughput. For new desktops on the market today, for the entire game (all EPs) that would be Nvidia GTX 950 or higher or 1050 or higher within that series. For laptops, we would recommend raising the bar a bit (960M or higher) as they require a bit more power to achieve the same functionality. Or, either way, the AMD equivalents.

It's difficult to say - and sure, the card series is just a number. But it's a number we can all attribute some meaning to.
Here's the cards I can personally vouch for: GTX 650, GT 650M, GTX 960, GTX 1070.
These are all cards that can run the game with all EPs on the highest settings, as far as graphics go. Only the 650M, which is the laptop version of the regular 650, could possibly have some trouble when it comes to framerates.
But obviously I'd recommend a new and more powerful card over any other one. So the first card you should consider should be one from the 1000 series. Or if you insist on having an AMD, an AMD equivalent.

Now CPUs are a bit more difficult, but you can still simplify them. I've had these in the same PCs as the aforementioned GPUs: i5-3350P, i7-3630QM, i7-3770K, i5-6600K. So as a rule of thumb: the bigger the number, the better.

Now the first 3 PCs on my list are all from late 2012, though the GTX 960 was obviously put in there at a later point, and the last one, my current rig, is from 2016. Not that it matters.

insert signature here
( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Scholar
#5 Old 20th Aug 2017 at 10:03 PM
1050 or higher for such an old game? A 1050ti could run circles around recommended cards at TS3 release. I would expect TS3 to be relatively more cpu dependant. I don't know if TS3 does anything with more cores, if not, go for a cpu with high single core speed. I5 like GrijzePillon suggested or even an I3 would still work. For a small to medium budget anyway. But I doubt that a beefy graphics card will matter much when you hit lag from unroutable sims and ridiculous taxi and limousine spams. Or horses :p

Also, performance related mods (like NRAAS ones) will make a lot more difference then a faster graphics card. Also the neighbourhoods with improved routing from Ellacharmed or recommended playermade neighbourhoods. This should always be suggested before going to hardware imo.

Also if you are gaming on 1080p, a 1070 is really not needed (unless money does not matter ofc).

SSD might help a lot with all the loading, especially if you plan to use a lot of CC.
Mad Poster
#6 Old 20th Aug 2017 at 10:05 PM
I know diddly squat about graphic cards, but can say my 5 year old i7 plays 3 well with all installed except K Perry that I did not get. Just looked and I have an AMD Radeon HD 6570 which I am sure is a dinosaur now, but it works. And I am running on a very old driver as an update blew away the catalyst control center which I liked, so I went back to the old now ancient driver.
Mad Poster
#8 Old 21st Aug 2017 at 12:14 AM Last edited by igazor : 21st Aug 2017 at 12:38 AM.
@mithrak_nl - The game is GPU intensive, by 2009 standards that is. CPU strength is important too, but most any modern i5 or i7 would already be running over 2.4 GHz which is the required speed. Some of the newest i3s would be okay in that regard too, but not all of them. The game can only utilize two cores, but that doesn't mean quad or higher core would be useless as Windows or other applications running at the same time can make use of them.

I never said that a GTX 1050 was needed to run the game. The NEW computers they sell today with Nvidia cards will have cards in them in the 900 and 1000 series. If the purchaser is going to land on either of those two series, for a desktop a GTX 950 or 1050 would be sufficient, a 960 or 1050Ti or higher would probably not be necessary but there might be a small performance improvement. A 940 or lower would not be as good. They don't make lower end cards in the 1000 series, at least none that I've seen.

We can talk about the older series cards sure as others are mentioning them, but those aren't what are going to be seen on today's pre-configured models on the shelf or in the warehouse for sale now.

@daislylee - The AMD card on my simming computer is similar to yours, actually it's a 6770. It's no powerhouse, but for TS3 it's just fine (for me) as I am sure yours is for you. But again, they don't put these older series cards in new computers anymore, they stopped making them years ago. On the AMD side we would now be talking about the R9 and RX series.


Edited for clarity - and since I just got post-ninja'd by @Nitromon, to show whom I was responding to.
Scholar
#9 Old 22nd Aug 2017 at 1:15 AM
I still think an important message here should be, don't overkill with hardware to offset the crappy engine from TS3. Use performance related mods (NRAAS ones) and neighbourhoods (think Ellacharmed fixed ones) with better routing instead. Saves you money. Any pc that can run modern games (TS3 is not a modern game) on high for 1080p is more then enough for TS3.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 22nd Aug 2017 at 5:17 AM Last edited by igazor : 22nd Aug 2017 at 6:49 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
I still think an important message here should be, don't overkill with hardware to offset the crappy engine from TS3. Use performance related mods (NRAAS ones) and neighbourhoods (think Ellacharmed fixed ones) with better routing instead. Saves you money. Any pc that can run modern games (TS3 is not a modern game) on high for 1080p is more then enough for TS3.

The problem with the bolded part of this message is that it's subject to different interpretations. Leaving aside the < $200 (US Dollar) laptops with Atom processors that can barely play solitaire without overheating, and office/web suitable but not really GPU capable ones on the next level up or two that are not under serious consideration here, we still have players going out and buying shiny new computers that are relatively decent machines in other ways but struggle to run this game. Yes, of course on the performance and bug fixing mods and worlds with improved routing fixes, but still the best favor we can do this game is to respect the needs of that crappy game engine and its lack of optimization when all EPs and very heavy doses of CC and mods are in play and give it the best possible environment in which to run. Therefore, we are still talking at least $750 for desktops and $900 for laptops at current US prices, less some for awesome deals and sales that periodically show up (and admittedly not taking custom builds into account). Sure the game can be run on less, but that would be by cutting corners and putting up with some limitations as to how far we can push things.

On the overkill end, we should also be mindful that not everyone who purchases a computer today will be expecting to play TS3 on it exclusively for the next five years. Some of us do have other relatively intensive uses for our machines in mind or will come up with some over time, so aiming a little higher than the game really needs, within reason, is not necessarily a waste of money.
Scholar
#11 Old 22nd Aug 2017 at 8:39 AM
The OP never asked for 'other relatively intensive uses for our machines' , but for a pc powerful enough to run TS3+expansion packs. And if I say, a PC fast enough to run modern games on high on 1080p, I mean games like The Witcher 3 and GTA5. 2009 GPU intensive is light when considering modern hardware.
So when looking at fps , any pc that can run those games on high, is fast enough for TS3. So I5 (thanks nitromon for mentioning TS3 supports multithreading) +1050ti is more then enough. I think that 1050TI would be even overkill for fps. For modern hardware fps is the least important challenge with TS3.

And what I meant with 'don't overkill with hardware to offset the crappy engine from TS3' is, don't waste money on faster hardware (beyond the I5+1050) if there are mods and better/improved neighbourhoods that can do it better. Especially if you are on a budget. Which most people are for a new gaming pc.

Actually I would go Ryzen + 1050 now. And you save some money. 1500x or something.

Anyway, if the OP asks what he needs for X, dont give him an answer for Y (because he might maybe also want this and that in the future). Don't try to predict that, if you wonder about that, ask him instead of critisizing others who just look at his specific question. And to run TS3 smoothly (with all ep's included), there is no way you can avoid those mods. Sure, you can go for the fastest CPU and a fat graphics card, SSD's in RAID 0, but then the whole question becomes irrelevant.
Scholar
#12 Old 22nd Aug 2017 at 9:34 AM
You guys kinda scary me... if such trend shall expand next generation Tetris will require TARDIS as bare minimals...

@OP
the answer is purely driven by your expectations, which should be managed very carefully to avoid confusion, broken heart, whilring eye syndrome, hard divorce, kids running away from home, animals pissing on the computer and also severe brain damage.

The game (complete but without KP abomination) is working acceptable on even ancient machine *if* you keep control what you throw at the back of such ancient machinery; i3 line works flawless - for me anyway.
And graphics... guys, RLY? Visuals in the game are so dated (because of failed "realism") than there is no reason to go into "best quality", according to awful shadows and lightning it's even better to stay "medium". As long as you do not aim for post processing filters, but that's another story. Not really related to the game's own visuals.

(and there's no point to using 4k textures on sim (e.g.) while game uses 1k at best... - result is awful)


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Mad Poster
#13 Old 22nd Aug 2017 at 10:09 AM Last edited by igazor : 22nd Aug 2017 at 5:05 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
Anyway, if the OP asks what he needs for X, dont give him an answer for Y (because he might maybe also want this and that in the future). Don't try to predict that, if you wonder about that, ask him instead of critisizing others who just look at his specific question. And to run TS3 smoothly (with all ep's included), there is no way you can avoid those mods. Sure, you can go for the fastest CPU and a fat graphics card, SSD's in RAID 0, but then the whole question becomes irrelevant.

Whoa there. What I thought we are having here is a mild friendly disagreement on how to approach recommendations based on pre-built models currently in the marketplace. I have no idea how that rose to the level of being considered "criticizing" or why I am suddenly being told what to recommend or not recommend, so something I said must have been phrased poorly. I will add that informing a staff member at NRaas that NRaas mods (among other helpful things like Ella's world fixes) are almost required to run the game smoothly on any kind of system is also a bit unnecessary, I see that as a given and already acknowledged as much.

We can easily provide slightly conflicting recommendations and still be helpful to those requesting them without it actually turning into an unpleasant argument. I'm sorry if you took my comments personally in any way, they were intended to be helpful and keep what I thought was an interesting conversation going. Nothing more than that.
Lab Assistant
#14 Old 22nd Aug 2017 at 11:13 AM
...I'm just going to sidestep around some of the subsequent discussions, and mention that my 660 GTX has been doing okay for my game at max settings. I have six of the Expansion Packs and no Stuff Packs.

I'd also like to recommend using a 4GB-RAM-aware version of the executable file. Textures eat up RAM fast, and Create-A-Style effectively generates a lot of textures, AFAIK. (I suspect heavily that this is the reason CAST got cut from TS4.)
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#15 Old 24th Aug 2017 at 5:41 PM
Mer de noms! So many suggestions, thank you! Before I get too deep into this I want to ask; nobody mentioned a preference for Windows or Mac*. Is one desirable over the other? Also I know I keep flip-flopping, but is it better for Desktop than Laptop?
*My dad thinks I should get a Mac that runs Windows as a second OS. His Desktop seems okay with this, but he doesn't use any high-intensive RAM programs so I have no idea how it would affect gaming.

I'm completely lost when it comes to hardware & software specifications, so I tried to sum up all suggestions:
@GrijzePilion: GTX 650, GT 650M, GTX 960, or GTX 1070 NVIDIA video card or AMD equiv, i5 (or newer) CPU, and 8 GB of RAM.

@igazor: Nvidia GTX 970, 1070 or higher video card for Desktop, slightly higher for Laptop. Or AMD equiv of R9 or RX.

@mithrak_nl: i3 or i5 CPU, SSD hardrive. Use NRAAS performance Mods, Ellacharmed routing, or recommended playermade neigbhourhoods. I think I'm in trouble for routing, I can't find any for Lucky Palms. But I can dispose of Nightlife elevators & limit roaming Horses.

@daisylee: Me too. :S i7 CPU, AMD Radeon HD 6570 or better video card.

@nitromon: i5 or i7 CPU at 2.4 (turbo to 3.2) gHz, NVIDIA 3,4,or 5, or 650M video card. Not an integrated Video Card, SSD Hardrive.

@ElaineNualla: Ooh, are we talking virtual scenarios or real-life ones? i3 CPU. Medium settings, avoid Post-Processing filters. Avoid 4k textures; how do you do that exactly?

@AdmiralDefiant: 660 GTX video card. Use CAS lightly. Use 4-GB RAM-aware of executable file. How do you do that?


Addendum: I am hoping to play other games too. My HLTB backlog has like 90+ games on it, but aside from TS3 the games I am aiming for are (from newest to oldest) : Mass Effect: Andromeda, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Fallout 4, Game of Thrones by Telltale, Dishonored 1, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and Dragon Age 2. Also occasional Photoshop.

Check out my Legacy Challenge:
Chapter 41: Do Babies Eat Sand?
Mad Poster
#16 Old 24th Aug 2017 at 6:32 PM Last edited by igazor : 24th Aug 2017 at 7:34 PM.
Going to try to explain again, if I may. I am not recommending a GTX 970 or 1070 just for TS3. That would be if you want one to run much more graphics intensive games in the future and can withstand the expense. What I said was, or at least what I meant to say was, 950, 1050 or higher for desktop, 960M or 1050 mobile or higher for laptop. I'll leave it to the others here to say if the games you have listed for today already fall into the more intensive category or not.

Desktop is always going to require slightly less in resources than laptop to deliver the same power, and will in many cases tend to be more upgradable.

No one can seriously recommend cards in the 600, 700 series and prior or the Radeon HD four-digit series unless you are building a computer out of used spare parts or building one and happen across one of the older cards for sale still unused. Yes, many of them are fine (some are not) and many of us still have them, but they don't make new off the shelf computers with those cards in them anymore and haven't for a long time. There is no need to worry about the Large Address (4 GB) Aware executable file as TS3 for Windows has been LAA all by itself ever since Patch 1.17.

Some Mac models are fine, the ones with dedicated graphics cards at least and large enough drives, and are perfectly suitable for Bootcamping Windows onto them. This would be the way to go if you really want OS X for other, non-TS3 related things and can withstand the expense and the need to manage two operating systems. TS3 for Mac, as you probably realize, is a crippled version of its Windows counterpart hence the second OS thing which would bypass all of that. This is how I've been playing for many years on my iMac. It doesn't require "extra" RAM beyond the usual 8 GB minimum recommendation, though of course more is nice to have, because under Bootcamp the second OS runs natively, not on top of the original one. We select which OS we want to startup in either by control panel or holding down the option (alt)-key on our keyboard during each startup. Having to reboot to get back into the "other" system each time is annoying but one gets used to it after a while, and at least they do share files with each other. The newest iMac models with the Radeon Pro graphics look great, though I don't know anyone personally who has one yet.

OS virtualization systems like Parallels or VMware that do allow Windows to run on top of OS X at the same time are great in their own right, but not so much for gaming as then both systems have to share resources. Sims games don't run very well that way.
Mad Poster
#17 Old 24th Aug 2017 at 7:38 PM
Quote: Originally posted by igazor
No one can seriously recommend cards in the 600, 700 series and prior or the Radeon HD four-digit series unless you are building a computer out of used spare parts or building one and happen across one of the older cards for sale still unused. Yes, many of them are fine (some are not) and many of us still have them, but they don't make new off the shelf computers with those cards in them anymore and haven't for a long time. There is no need to worry about the Large Address (4 GB) Aware executable file as TS3 for Windows has been LAA all by itself ever since Patch 1.17.

OP didn't ask for recommendations on building a new PC, they asked for recommendations on PCs in general. The matter of fact is that my old 650 was good enough to run TS3, even though it would be madness to get a card like that if you're building a PC now. But that's what was asked for.

That they also implied to be looking for a new PC is a different subject, and not strictly related to my prior recommendations. Yes, if you're going to get a new PC, make sure to get a 900 or 1000 series card.

insert signature here
( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Lab Assistant
#18 Old 24th Aug 2017 at 7:40 PM
Quote: Originally posted by mister_wolfe
@AdmiralDefiant: 660 GTX video card. Use CAS lightly. Use 4-GB RAM-aware of executable file. How do you do that?

Oh, I do use CAST heavily; I was just citing that as a reason why the 4GB-aware executable is a good idea.

The directions for making this adjustment to your game can be found here. I strongly recommend making backups of any affected files first, though.

Also, I hadn't intended to say that I recommended the 660 GTX over later cards, merely that mine worked okay for the purposes of the game. Also, for reference, I'm on a desktop with pretty good cooling.
Mad Poster
#19 Old 24th Aug 2017 at 7:47 PM
We're in 2017, TS3 is from 2009. Any suggestion that we must compromise to be able to enjoy TS3 - playing in smaller worlds, not using CASt, installing a limited number of packs et cetera - should be rejected. You should be able to CASt all you want because this game is 8 years old. So the hardware that you're looking for is hardware that supports that.

Now my old i5 with the 650 and 8 gigs of RAM was only just powerful enough for that, so it's important to keep in mind that JUST being able to run all expansions isn't going to be enough. You're going to want to be able to run all expansions, AND do with them whatever you like, AND clutter your game with all the CC and resource-hogging crap in the world. And that takes a more powerful PC.

insert signature here
( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Scholar
#20 Old 24th Aug 2017 at 8:07 PM
Quote: Originally posted by mister_wolfe
...


Now I got lost. You already answered your question, though indirectly and not exactly into "Sims 3" area of demands. Since ME:A and DE:MD are on the list, you should aim for theirs demands, not the game which is seriously outdated; demanding in some areas: yes, but outdated, too.

And again - the overall argument always should be balanced with users' expectations, financial (and not only) possibilities, particular system version, and so on. Does "creating a super rig" just for playing S3 is not really reasonable? I'd say so (but who am I to judge what anybody does with his or hers money?) . Does the game may work in acceptable way even on weak or "ancient" machine? Yes. It can.

BTW: There is similar topic in the S2 area which is even more rudiculous if someone would read "demands and recommendations" and really compare to to the actual software capabilities and demands.

Direct-> @ElaineNualla: Ooh, are we talking virtual scenarios or real-life ones? i3 CPU. Medium settings, avoid Post-Processing filters. Avoid 4k textures; how do you do that exactly?

On a (unfortunatelly not nowadays) daily basis. I played the game very long on the weaker machine (Celeron M 6 GB RAM). So: yes, it's a "real life" , if that sentence have any sense in such context, scenario. The difference between "High" and "Medium" is not worth additional stress for the machine, which is mostly true for any game with a very few exceptions (Crysis for example, that one was made to show "the difference", it was mostly the engine showoff ) until you actually have the machine which is able to do it without a sweat. In which case it does not matter. And I did not write "avoid postprocessing" - you can love it but definitelly it is not necessary.

But someone may say I'm heavy biased 'cause 'visual quality' is on the bottom level of my demands from a game, anyway.

Anyway - the additional 'quality' or resources' margin may be appealing or even considered practical but stating that they're "necessary" or a part of "requirements" is seriously overshot. Be a reasonable, guys; otherwise we all needs Galactic Overlord implants installed just to play with some pixels ... ^^


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Mad Poster
#21 Old 24th Aug 2017 at 8:29 PM
Quote: Originally posted by AdmiralDefiant
Oh, I do use CAST heavily; I was just citing that as a reason why the 4GB-aware executable is a good idea.

The directions for making this adjustment to your game can be found here. I strongly recommend making backups of any affected files first, though.

I'm sorry, but you might want to take a closer look at that page before advising players to take LAA-enabling actions. It says in bold, in the Overview of the page that you linked to:
"If your game is patched to 1.17/2.12/3.8/4.5/5.2/6.0 or newer, the necessary files are already large address aware so there is no reason to follow the instructions on this page."

We don't really refer to version numbers like this anymore, the page was last updated in 2011. But what it means is what I said earlier, Patch 1.17 renders these further actions obsolete. Most players (I hope!) are way beyond that patch level by now. Certainly anyone who has LateNite and/or any EP/SP released after it already is, which means the game can access up to 4 GB of RAM (it's actually more like ~3.7 GB due to some overhead) all by itself when it needs to, provided the RAM is available for use.
Scholar
#22 Old 25th Aug 2017 at 3:52 AM
Quote: Originally posted by igazor
Whoa there. What I thought we are having here is a mild friendly disagreement on how to approach recommendations based on pre-built models currently in the marketplace. I have no idea how that rose to the level of being considered "criticizing" or why I am suddenly being told what to recommend or not recommend, so something I said must have been phrased poorly. I will add that informing a staff member at NRaas that NRaas mods (among other helpful things like Ella's world fixes) are almost required to run the game smoothly on any kind of system is also a bit unnecessary, I see that as a given and already acknowledged as much.

We can easily provide slightly conflicting recommendations and still be helpful to those requesting them without it actually turning into an unpleasant argument. I'm sorry if you took my comments personally in any way, they were intended to be helpful and keep what I thought was an interesting conversation going. Nothing more than that.


Just to be clear, I am still very friendly (no Whoa needed :p)

If you type :
@mithrak_nl - The game is GPU intensive, by 2009 standards that is. CPU strength is important too, but most any modern i5 or i7 would already be running over 2.4 GHz which is the required speed. Some of the newest i3s would be okay in that regard too, but not all of them. The game can only utilize two cores, but that doesn't mean quad or higher core would be useless as Windows or other applications running at the same time can make use of them.

Then that suggests that I claimed otherwise. I never claimed that cpu strenght was not important (I even said more so then GPU). I only let the choice between I3 or I5 to be dependant on whether TS3 can use multiple cores. Which nitromon answered.
All I said that a pc that can run a modern game on 1080p on high (Witcher 3, GTA V), is good enough for TS3. And the performance related mods should be an integral part of any advice about how to run TS3 with all ep's smoothly. Which was all the more surprising that you didn't mention those (I know you are part of the NRAAS team). You can do without and just invest in more expensive hardware, but if someone is specifically asking for what is needed to run TS3 smoothly, it implies a budget. So we basically agree, it is just that you are kind of making TS3 GPU requirements a big deal, but 2009 big deal is low requirements for 2017.

I think no one was suggesting any cheap business type pc, only you kept mentioning those laptops and cheap pc's.

@ general : If I say don't overkill on hardware to offset the crappy TS3 engine, it means, if you are on a budget, keep in mind that there are mods that could make more of a difference then saving up an extra 1000$ on hardware. And that extra faster hardware (while not using mods), will never be a guarantee. In the case of TS3, the mods and routing fixes should be integral part of any recommendation. TS3 vanilla just runs like shit.

Any basic gaming pc will have a graphics card good enough.
Mad Poster
#23 Old 25th Aug 2017 at 4:14 AM
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
Just to be clear, I am still very friendly (no Whoa needed :p)

If you type :
@mithrak_nl - The game is GPU intensive, by 2009 standards that is. CPU strength is important too, but most any modern i5 or i7 would already be running over 2.4 GHz which is the required speed. Some of the newest i3s would be okay in that regard too, but not all of them. The game can only utilize two cores, but that doesn't mean quad or higher core would be useless as Windows or other applications running at the same time can make use of them.

Then that suggests that I claimed otherwise. I never claimed that cpu strenght was not important (I even said more so then GPU). I only let the choice between I3 or I5 to be dependant on whether TS3 can use multiple cores. Which nitromon answered.
All I said that a pc that can run a modern game on 1080p on high (Witcher 3, GTA V), is good enough for TS3. And the performance related mods should be an integral part of any advice about how to run TS3 with all ep's smoothly. Which was all the more surprising that you didn't mention those (I know you are part of the NRAAS team). You can do without and just invest in more expensive hardware, but if someone is specifically asking for what is needed to run TS3 smoothly, it implies a budget. So we basically agree, it is just that you are kind of making TS3 GPU requirements a big deal, but 2009 big deal is low requirements for 2017.

I think no one was suggesting any cheap business type pc, only you kept mentioning those laptops and cheap pc's.

I mentioned them more than once? Look, games and GPUs scare me (I am admittedly a simmer, not a gamer) and I manage a network of what we could certainly call garbage...I mean fine quality but somewhat lower end workstations by these standards for a living then constantly have to explain to non-techie staff members what they really need to purchase for their own use at home to stay productive and that isn't going to fall apart or worse the day after the warranty expires. Guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Seriously though, I think a couple of other things were getting lost in interpretation there. But you're right, in the end we aren't really all that far apart in our assessments. There's nothing wrong with presenting a reasonable range of recommendations with explanations for them in most cases.
Inventor
#24 Old 25th Aug 2017 at 5:15 AM
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
All I said that a pc that can run a modern game on 1080p on high (Witcher 3, GTA V), is good enough for TS3. And the performance related mods should be an integral part of any advice about how to run TS3 with all ep's smoothly. Which was all the more surprising that you didn't mention those (I know you are part of the NRAAS team).


EXACTLY! I will probably add an SSD as crucial to improve loading times, texture loading/caching, saving, etc. Not every modern game requires an SSD, but since TS3 caches so much information to your drive, it is a necessity. No matter how powerful your PC is if you don't get Overwatch AND the World fixes for EA worlds, your game is going to lag. Stuck Sims, abandoned cars, stereos left on, etc. plague the game so getting Overwatch and ErrorTrap mainly, and cleaning up your savegame file every once in a while is really important.

I've been reading some of the comments and I want to clarify something. Yes, The Sims 3 BASE game is from 2009, however if you run it with all EPs you're pretty much running a game from 2013 for all intents and purposes. EPs like Late Night, Pets, Seasons and Island Paradise added very taxing elements to the game, both graphically and in terms of CPU power.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#25 Old 24th Sep 2017 at 5:43 PM
The shorter story:
Hello all. It's been kindof a crazy month; the bad combination of computer breaking, moving to a new place, fighting with family, and an issue at work. But this is the computer I finally chose:
ASUS ROG GR8 II-T043Z mini-desktop . It has GeForce GTX 1060 3GB graphics card, Windows 10, Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD drive, and 1TB harddrive. It cost $1589.99 Canadian from Staples.ca.
Also Samsung 24" LED Gaming Monitor with Game mode . It has 1920 x 1080 resolution and 1ms response time. It cost $179.98 CN from Walmart.ca.

Sofar I'm very happy with it. Because of the SSD drive (which I have nick-named the sciency magic drive) it can reboot in about 10 seconds! And everything loads really fast. I also like playing with the AURA lights on the side to get different effects. I'm a bit worried about overheating, but I might just be paranoid. It took about 2 days to deliver the desktop from Staples, and then about 7 days to get the monitor from Wal-Mart. I haven't installed Sims 3 yet, but Dishonored works amazing.

The longer story:
It takes me forever to make a decision. At first I was just going to get a replacement laptop, but then I realized it wasn't as powerful and I don't really need mobility. Then 3 family members had me 98% convinced to get an iMac and installing Windows on it, but after I went to the Apple Store I was completely convinced that a Mac would be wasted on me. Then I looked at the all-in-ones, but they just don't have a good power to dollars ratio. And for one frantic night I considered building a computer, before I came to my senses. For all the above reasons, it had to be a desktop. Comfortable, familiar, powerful, not too expensive.

I basically narrowed it down to 6 similar machines with these specifications; Windows 10, with i7 and at least 3.0 gHz, 16 GB of RAM, with a high end Graphics Card, 1TB HDD, at least 120GB SSD, under $2000 CN, with some kind of warranty. What finally sold me was size of the SSD drive, and it had the 3rd-best graphics card. But all of these machines were serious contenders too:
A iBUYPOWER Element VR-Ready Gaming Computer - $1899 CN from Staples.ca.

B ASUS ROG Strix GD30CI-RB71-GTX1070-CB Gaming PC - $1699.99 CN from Staples.ca.

C HP ENVY 750-430 Desktop - $1468 CN from BestBuy.ca.

D Aeon 2700 Gaming Tower Intel Core - $1499 CN from Canada Computers.
*Model no longer listed

E ASUS GR8 II-T043Z Ready Mini PC Gaming Desktop - (This is the one I bought.)

F iBUYPOWER CA670K Gaming PC - $1399 CN from Staples.ca.

*Please note; most of these models were available on multiple sites. These were just the lowest prices I found that gave also met the specifications at the time of my purchase.

Check out my Legacy Challenge:
Chapter 41: Do Babies Eat Sand?
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