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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 11th Mar 2019 at 8:03 PM
Default Help!
So I need help with specs and things lol. I'm trying to buy a new laptop (preferably on the cheaper end) that I can actually play Sims 3 on. The last 2 I've had have given me nothing but problems with the game. I know a desktop would be better AND cheaper, but I currently have no space for a desk/gaming setup, so laptop it is. I want to be able to run the base game, like 5-7 expansion packs, a little bit of store content, and quite a bit of mods and custom content. Can anyone advise me on the specs I would need to run all of that smoothly (at least like medium game graphics and settings)? Like what kind of processor and stuff I need? Sorry, I'm not a very tech savvy person lol. Thank you in advance for your help!
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 11th Mar 2019 at 8:38 PM
-- i5 quad core or higher processor (or the AMD equivalents), 2.4 GHz or faster. Avoid the U- and Y- series processors at all costs. The newest H- and I think a couple of other letter series i5s and i7s may show as just under 2.4 GHz, this is okay because they will turbo slightly as needed.

-- 8 GB of RAM, with more than that running things like a web browser alongside of the game are less troublesome.

-- GTX 1050 mobile or higher (or the AMD equivalents), a 1050Ti or 1060 would be stronger but will drive the price tag up. The also current MX 130s and 150s should be avoided, they don't have the required throughput.

-- At least 500 GB for the hard drive. SSDs are great and TS3 can benefit from them with faster load, save, caching, and catalog loading times, but they are not a requirement and actual gameplay would be the same. Larger internal SSDs will still drive the price tag higher.

I guess it depends on what one calls "the cheaper end," but a new laptop that will run all EPs at medium to high settings would start at around $900 (USD), plus or minus some for sales, prices will be different/higher in other countries. If Pets and Seasons are not in the plans, one could cut corners but may regret doing so later on.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 11th Mar 2019 at 9:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by igazor
-- i5 quad core or higher processor (or the AMD equivalents), 2.4 GHz or faster. Avoid the U- and Y- series processors at all costs. The newest H- and I think a couple of other letter series i5s and i7s may show as just under 2.4 GHz, this is okay because they will turbo slightly as needed.

-- 8 GB of RAM, with more than that running things like a web browser alongside of the game are less troublesome.

-- GTX 1050 mobile or higher (or the AMD equivalents), a 1050Ti or 1060 would be stronger but will drive the price tag up. The also current MX 130s and 150s should be avoided, they don't have the required throughput.

-- At least 500 GB for the hard drive. SSDs are great and TS3 can benefit from them with faster load, save, caching, and catalog loading times, but they are not a requirement and actual gameplay would be the same. Larger internal SSDs will still drive the price tag higher.

I guess it depends on what one calls "the cheaper end," but a new laptop that will run all EPs at medium to high settings would start at around $900 (USD), plus or minus some for sales, prices will be different/higher in other countries. If Pets and Seasons are not in the plans, one could cut corners but may regret doing so later on.

Thank you! That helps so much.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 12th Mar 2019 at 1:44 AM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
anything modern is fine for 2009 game.

You may want to define modern (or fine). From what we have seen many times over, the newest U-series processors and lowest end but still dedicated graphics cards with a total of 4 GB of RAM (or less) are not going to provide most players with what they would think is acceptable performance. In many cases they just won't run the game, especially on Win 10 and with the heavier EPs in play. It sounds like the OP has had enough of those kinds of experiences on their prior laptops already.
Scholar
#6 Old 12th Mar 2019 at 2:40 AM
It would be probably better if the companies instead mindlessly copying Apple's design "on the cheap way" (give me ThinkPad back, you barbarians!!!!), actually did they job properly (4GB for Windows 10 machine? like "RLY?" what kind of genius says it is a good idea?).

Anyway I'd dare to say that most of the current modern constructions do fine even around 400-500 bucks price range. I'd agree that 4-cores' CPU's will be beneficial, though I'd not insist on seriously avoiding ULV (U etc) lines. It does not really matter that much today for the average consumer who will throw off the machine within 2-3 years anyway (or pass it to younger sibling, maybe: disliked one). It would be significant for someone who want to upgrade machine later, keeping it going for the some time.

@igazor I understand that your (hidden but obvious) argument is that the OP probably want this machine not only for playing Sims 3 but also newer, more demanding games, so you press 1050Ti, but honestly - even embedded 520/620 will do fine in double-channel configuration with Sims 3 in mind. If the OP won't play any really demanding title I'd rather invest in memory, and look for the models without soldered (speaking of atrocities) modules. But I'd also exterminate Windows installation immediatelly, so... I dunno if it counts


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 12th Mar 2019 at 3:29 AM
https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri
You can either have it check your computer or you can put in what computer you might buy. Then you can see what games you can run

Sims are better than us.
Scholar
#9 Old 12th Mar 2019 at 7:48 AM
a lot of them is on the market, many quite new budget machines (iX-8xxx series) have 4GB soldered.


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Mad Poster
#10 Old 12th Mar 2019 at 9:53 AM Last edited by igazor : 12th Mar 2019 at 10:03 AM.
Sorry I don't really mean to sound off here as it's great to provide differing informed opinions, but I think I have come in recent contact with more players who have recently gone computer shopping or intend to than some of the respondents here. Yes, there are still plenty of brand new shiny 4 GB (and less) configs out there, no the ultra low voltage U-series processors and their siblings are not going to take to the game well, I would still not recommend trying to take this game very far on integrated 520/620 chips as there will be a painful barrier to the player as they try to add more content and EPs to their game and want ongoing game saves to last for a long time, not everyone wants to be in a position to throw their computer away every 2 years, and the Can You Run It types of sites do not provide especially helpful results as they tend to compare systems to the game manufacturers' stated minimum requirements for unpatched games that are always very understated (and they often get things all wrong anyway).

I don't want anyone to consider even for a moment forgoing important things like accessibility to food, shelter, tuition, child care, and loan payments to reach for a higher class of computer than they can afford but I stand by my initial recommendations. Anyone in the market for a new computer to play TS3 can of course use those, take them with grains of salt and cut corners as said if they really need to, or discard them entirely as they see fit.
Field Researcher
#12 Old 12th Mar 2019 at 2:18 PM
In case $900 seems awfully lot of money for somebody to spend on a pc, I bought a laptop for $1000 from Amazon in 2012 (ok, it was a good deal on some Lenovo with a dedicated graphics card, must make sure sims uses that instead of the intel one). What would that be valued today? Not much, I think. I played all the EP's (or maybe not ITF, but def seasons and pets, lots of horses!) on high graphics (not tree detail tho) with minimal issues. Now, edge smoothing wasn't as pretty as it could be, I must say. You probably could push it more if you cared more about pretty graphics than playing and exploring the worlds.

One family would have completed all the tombs, knew nearly everybody in town, one sims had over 25 friends, and have multiple generations (also some other families had multiple generations as well), have pretty much all skills and hidden skills maxed (family members combined, not an individual sim) When I got lag I'd use NRAAS porter to pack up 6-5 important families in that save and move them to a fresh neighbourhood and my game was fine again. (relationships from WA tend to be problematic, I noticed) I had a lot of CC, managed by CC magic and there was probably some dodgy ones but I was too lazy to care.
Scholar
#13 Old 12th Mar 2019 at 9:59 PM Last edited by ElaineNualla : 12th Mar 2019 at 10:20 PM.
I'd dare to say that nobody but OP is able to say what is "a valid budget" in this case. Nor what the "medium settings" really means, also.

There's currently a high presence on the market (maybe only outside CA ?) really awful devices in barely understable price ranges and just brain-breaking configurations, it's especially tricky with these "universal multimedia" devices (every so often broken by design) and cheaper "budget gaming laptops" which will mostly start to break very quickly considering theirs terrible assembly and engeneering quality. Personally I'd go for the second hand/refurbished market. But it's just me.

*and - speaking of cores I had in mind real ones, not including virtual units; presence of 4 cores (8 threads) in the i5 8xxx architecture is it's most attractive feature in $ for power exchange.


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Scholar
#15 Old 13th Mar 2019 at 2:38 PM Last edited by ElaineNualla : 13th Mar 2019 at 5:31 PM.
emmm... I was thinking we're discussing a modern composition. I don't want to hurt your feelings @nitromon but iX-3xxx line is not really "modern". I'd consider "modern" something maybe 2 generation back from current leading model, which means: Skylake models (7xxx/8xxx) equipped with UHD 520/620 or at last Broadwell (6xxx) line. These chips with double channel configurations does quite impressive job (for "fake GPU" I mean). Especially if you use intel drivers without power saving scheme enabled (that's mean eating battery quickly but playing the game on battery would be... weird). *

Also I'd not easily dismiss these low end nvidia chips (150), though if the 100-250$ more for something better is no problem I'd not hesitate. However, we're suppousedly "on the budget" there.

*actually these chips would work even better without Windows10 burden, but however with some knowledge and serious determination it is possible to enforce Windows7 installation on skylake CPUs there're no drivers for iGPUs. That's not a case for Linux, intel drivers works just fine (or better if you get experimental ones).
BTW does the anti-trust law in US is not working anymore? Because that "agreement" of skylake only for Windows 10 looks like commercial collusion (I don't know if it is proper word).


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Mad Poster
#17 Old 13th Mar 2019 at 11:41 PM
For one, I'd start with tossing every iGPU you can come up with out the window because iGPUs are trash. They're cute for hardcore spreadsheetery but unless you've got to save every penny you can, you'd be much better off getting like a GT 1030 or something, it's a decent entry level card that's powerful enough to run most mid-2010s titles on high settings and by extension, more than powerful enough to run TS3 well.

Now graphics are one thing, but TS3 is a CPU-heavy game and that means you'll want something that can take on TS3 reasonably well. Something with good single-core performance is always nice, since this'll benefit games of TS3's age along with some more recent titles with questionable optimization. Of course a good SSD is mandatory in this day and age, I'd recommend 250 gigs minimum, and since both Windows and TS3 will want to be able to use up to 4 gigs of RAM I'd suggest having a minimum of 8 gigs installed.

All in all that should be a pretty cheap setup, think $400-500, and more than powerful enough to do some heavier-duty gaming.
Edit: just noticed the OP calls for recommendations and advice in the laptop department. Sorry OP, completely misread the question. I don't have anything useful to add regarding laptops, since mine wasn't particularly cheap and doesn't even have TS3 installed on it to begin with. Having said that I'm sure it would run flawlessly, since I use my laptop to do heavy-duty image and video editing.

insert signature here
( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Mad Poster
#18 Old 14th Mar 2019 at 8:39 AM Last edited by daisylee : 15th Mar 2019 at 7:55 AM.
The laptop I am on now has 5 EPs and 3 SPs installed and plays the game beautifully. But it is ancient and so will not post specs as you all would laugh so hard. Desktop at home is less ancient but old and has all but KP and plays game well. Still hanging onto that one as working well.

edit: my mom got an AARP mag today and there is an article that says if you have a 7 year old computer it is like driving a 66 Chevy. (!) I have not read it yet. Will look now to see how old this is.

edit: Jan 2008 and still running well. Has Vista. Cannot update, but minor detail. LOL
Mad Poster
#19 Old 17th Mar 2019 at 8:07 AM
Don't shoot me for double post but want to bump this. Actually looking at a new laptop. What do you all think of this? Can it handle all of 3 and pretty much any other current game I may want to play? Dread having to get 10, but....

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-17-...p?skuId=6261500
Mad Poster
#21 Old 17th Mar 2019 at 11:33 AM
One place where Nitromon and I agree it seems is that BestBuy does not live up to its name as (usually) being one of the best places to shop for laptops. The one linked to would be fine for your purposes from the sound of it if you had to buy a laptop today and be done with the shopping experience, they aren't bad for customers in a big hurry, but it's not what I would call a good value. Costco and I are not on speaking terms, but in that price range you could do much better and/or save a couple hundred dollars on equal or better configurations at Amazon or NewEgg. I could make some suggestions by way of PMs if you are really in the market for that class of machine, who has exactly what on sale tends to change rather quickly. Acer and MSI currently have some very nice what they would call lower level gaming machines that would arguably be better choices in the same price range or lower.

The MX 130s and 150s still give me an itchy rash, but maybe I have to find a way to get over that.
Scholar
#22 Old 17th Mar 2019 at 3:50 PM Last edited by ElaineNualla : 17th Mar 2019 at 4:24 PM.
{disclaimer}I do not live in the US{/disclaimer}

There's a little catch; well it's not exactly "a little one" but so often omitted that it seems that way. That is: assembly quality, design validity, service avaibility. Most of current constructions in the lower end (but you'll be surprised how many suppousedly higher end also qualifies) gets lowest rates there. Soldered ram, very limited upgrade capabilities, cheap fragile case, thermal design problems, symbolic battery life (with internal, hard to replace one for even more fun) etc. At last in many cases this terrible era of the atrocious TN panels in the even premium (suppousedly) models has come to an end.

That is case by case of course, but if someone is on the budget and does not expect that situation will soon improve - I mean: that new machine should last for some time and be able to slowly grow with the user (within the limitations of base design), the careful calculations are needed. This practicly excludes most of the very popular models in this segment unfortunatelly. Most of them are "you've bougth it, now you will live with that (and probably cry)".



favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
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