Hey guys,
I'm about to get a new computer,but it has an Amd Sempron 3400+ processor,it has 80gb of space,and 512mb of DDR2 memory.I have no idea what some of this means,but i need to know if i'll run the game well?.
Help is greatly appreciated!

Could you give us some idea of the graphics processing unit?

It's kind of low on RAM, but that's not a deal-breaker.

Assuming you're running Windows XP, go to 'Run', and type in 'dxdiag'. Click on display, and tell us the information listed in the box labeled 'device'.

I don't really have all the specs yet,i just needed to know about the DDR2 part and i it would be enough,also would the graphics be good?

Just out of curiosity is it going to be more a gaming computer? If so I personally would get no less than a gig of ram and would get a bigger Hard Drive like 250gig. But yeah graphics card is a need to know thing too.

No,i'm just going to use it to run the sims 2,so it'a not really hardcore gaming,an i'll get the graphics specs soon.

The Sims 2 is hard-core enough to wanna make sure that the graphics card that is installed onto that machine will work for this game. If you don't think it's hard core, why do so many people (including myself) have to upgrade their machines or purchase newer ones to play it?

But hey, that's just my observation

PS: This doesn't even include the CC you "Might" want to install in your game....just think about it. You might as well get a pc that has a good enough graphics card because you are going to be quite un-satisfied if you don't. Oh, is this going to be a desktop or laptop? If a laptop, you might want to purchase the one that has the best graphics card because you cannot upgrade those....another piece of advice .

Happy Computer Shopping,


LaTasha

You need more RAM. My son has that exact setup , but 2 gigs of RAM and he has no problems running the game. You'll probably need a better graphics adapter though. I'm sure that one has an integrated chip

A better graphics card could easily go with 1gb ram as opposed to 2gb and an integrated chip.

Whats your budget?

Thanks guys for your help i got the computer,it ran the sims 2 fine and has pretty good graphics,but it came with vista,now within just days of using it i have decided that vista sucks.I'm downgrading back because vista just takes up too much space,and i want to get seasons but there's not much space left so would this be a good decision?

You have Vista but you want to install XP on it? That's what I would do in your case LOL.

You have only 512mb and Vista? I'm surprised your game runs well :\ I had a laptop with 512mb with Vista that lasted only a few days and nothing at all worked well LMAO 512mb is not enough with Vista. Even if you install XP I would reccomend increasing your ram to 1 GB. Especially since with the low specs you listed I would be very surprised if you weren't running integrated graphics.

Can you tell us now that you have the laptop what graphics it has?

You really need to know the full specs before you can know if you can do that - certain graphics cards and the like (especially ones in laptops) don't even have XP drivers so sometimes you -can't- put XP on.

i was pretty surprised too,but it runs well,and it's a desktop though,so should i downgrade?,oh and i was wondering i want to find out my system specs but it's not like xp with the run function so what do i do?

Again, you need to know your specs and make sure that you can get drivers for everything first. You -should- still be able to run dxdiag in Vista... I think. Otherwise it'll probably be roughly the same... device manager in Control Panel should be able to tell you.

Do you know how to get to your device manager? Also, typically new computers come with documentation..

ohh,okay i'll go check and get back to you then,and no i don't really know how,i feel so dumb now among you computer gurus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Device_Manager



Your computer really didn't come with any documenation telling you what hardware is in it? You can use device manager.. but normally new computers will come with documentation..

I don't really know,my dad set it up when i wasn't there,so it probably did and i didn't know

Okay so.. use device manager to determine what hardware you have, or if that really confuses you, then you can use this program: http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

thanks for your help will do and i hope i can,so i can at least get seasons.

Sorry for the double posting but recently while playing i noticed that my sims had kind of webbed fingers?!,i so don't want this and i was wondering if it was my video card or maybe something i downloaded?

Game Options - Graphics Options - Sim/Object Detail - Set to High.

Their low specs suggest they most likely have integrated and not dedicated graphics.. I thought you said not to run integrated chips on high.. ?

I don't believe she's actually ever -given- her specs (though we've certainly asked). You can run integrated graphics on those settings temporarily. Wasn't so much suggesting she actually -do- that so much as... that it's a game setting, not really a problem with the graphics card (as one would find in, say, not viewing bump maps or the snow x-ray) or something downloaded.

You're right she hasn't given her graphics specs, but in her first post she said the computer has a sempron 3400+ processor with a 80gb hdd and 512mb of ram. She may have a dedicated graphics card, but those specs so low and budget oriented that, personally, I'd be shocked to find they included a decent graphics processor. Anyway, I understand now!

Although sometimes, the game thinks that it can handle only very low graphics settings, but can actually handle more. I know this from experience with my old PC.

But those specs are quite low for Sims 2 with all expansions. Base game will probably work fine, with maybe 1 or 2 EPs. Hopefully, she can post all her specs.

But for integrated cards, If you can't get a decent graphics card (and PSU if needed), all settings must be low except maybe Sim and Object Detail to see those fingers.