BEST computer to play Sims 3 «123...Next Go

CloeHeartsTim

I'm really thinking about buying a new computer since mine is alright..but it lags sometimes while playing. I was thinking of purchasing an Alienware computer since they are made for gaming. I mean Alienware is really expensive so im not sure. Any decent priced comps that are wonderful for playing? ALso while im here could anyone tell me if my display adapter is good enough for sims 3? Its a ATI Radeon HD 4600 series.

DarkAmaranth1966

Look at the game requirements, get one that meets or exceeds (preferably by a lot) ALL of them, update it as soon as you get it as it likely was in a box for at least six months.

fire331

i have the ati 4670 and it plays the sims 3 with most setting, but not all, on high

marianna88813

I am getting new laptop as well. My choise was ASUS G53JW-A1 i7-740QM 1.5G GTX 460M 8GB RAM FHD DVDRW. Quite expensive as well as Alienware, But you can have look on it, if you want to get good gaming laptop.

bob007

If you buy the right desktop computer you can fudge a little and upgrade later but if buy a bargain laptop that's all you'll ever have. If you want to play games on a laptop, buy the best gaming laptop you can (hold the emails!). Reason - If you buy a good laptop today you stand a good chance on playing next years games and there is NO upgrading that laptop. If you buy a laptop at the flashing blue light special and have trouble with it right away, I can say one thing with certainty - it probably won't get better. Let's compare this to buying a car. You want this car to be an off road vehicle. Would you buy a Ford Escort or a Jeep Wrangler?


I'm such a tool!

ladynaava

I splurged a few years back and bought an alienware notebook to game on. I think it was a bad purchase. First, its way too heavy. I have to put it on a stand to use so that sort of defeats the idea of buying a laptop. Second, it runs hot. So playing games like sims 3 requires I also get a cooling pad to play it on. It is also loud and noisy with its fan going. Further negatives, is I bought the alienware before the merger with dell, so trying to get support for it is tough. Dell techs, know nothing about older alienwares, even though they use the exact same model the parts inside are dell, so tech support is awful.

Alienware never did updates for drivers, so games which required driver updates, I was supposed to mod my own drivers.

Plus sides, is that even though it is 2 or 3 years old, it is still a solid rig. It plays sims 3 fine and other games.

I love gaming on a notebook, since I move around a lot, but I'm not overly excited by alienware/dell.

pam4402003

I have a Alienware desktop, and I love it! I never had a problem getting driver updates for it. and it runs great with all the sims3 games.(I do have glitches with the game though but that is the game!) It will be a year old in mid Feb.
It was pricey but for me it was well worth the buy. I did put my own upgrades on it right away so my price was more than if I were to take the machine they were offering at the time.

sammyskillzz

Hi I'm also looking into getting a new desktop and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if this one http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1363156&Sku=SYX-2074 would play Sims 3 on high settings with no lag, because I hate lag and there is no point of playing the game on low settings. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated thanks :]

bob007

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
It has integrated Intel graphics that is not on the supported list. It shows a PCIe X16 slot but only has a 300W power supply so any video card upgrade will probably require a power supply upgrade.

Psst - take a look at http://www.ibuypower.com/ibppages/AMDLobby.aspx

sammyskillzz

Yeah I know every says bad things about in the intel cards, but the laptop I have now has an intel HD card and the graphics are perfectly fine its just since getting pets my processor isnt high enough. I figured since that computer is an i7, had a 2 TB hard drive, and 8GB of ram then that would fix everything. I don't know much about computers. I was also looking into the Ibuypower ones as well but since I don't know much it all sounds like a bunch of blah blah blah to me lol. Is their one that you recommend that isn't too expensive, my boyfriend is also looking to play minecraft on it.

xifu

I will always pick a desktop for gaming over a laptop. In this generation of computers, here's what I recommend you look for:

1. Processor: Intel i5 2500 or higher.

Alternatively: AMD Phenom II x6 1055T or higher. These chips are cheaper than Intel's offerings, but the Phenom II's were built to go head to head with the Intel Core2 chips which was a generation ago for Intel. AMD's new FX chips' price/performance ratio is nowhere near as good as Intel's chips. Don't even bother with them.

Don't take my word for it, though. Check out various computer sites like Ars Technica, Tom's Hardware, [H]ardOCP, Anandtech, etc. for reviews and benchmarks on these chips.

2. Always go with a discreet graphics card like:

nvidia's GeForce GTX (not GT or GTS) 560 or higher
AMD's Radeon HD 6790 or higher

Even though I have a soft spot in my heart for AMD/ATi's graphics cards (my first love was the Radeon 9800 Pro), their driver support isn't as polished as nvidia's. nvidia usually has driver fixes out faster than AMD.

If you're looking at laptops check out my post here:

http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/467446.page#7067573

Happy hunting! :thumbup:

chobits

Looking at buying a new Dell XPS 8300 Desktop, would these specs be able to play The Sims 3:
XPS 8300
Intel® Core™ i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
1TB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 500GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs)
Single AMD Radeon™ HD 6870
Thanks in advance!

bob007

chobits - I don't see a problem.

Moonkisss

Is this an alright computer to play the sims 3?

HP Dandelion Breeze 15.6" Pavilion G6-1B59WM Laptop PC with AMD A4-3300M Processor and Windows 7 Home Premium

Key Features and Benefits:

•AMD processor, A4-3300M

2.5GHz, 2MB L2 cache featuring AMD AllDay Power with extended battery life.
•4GB of DDR3 SDRAM system memory

•640GB SATA hard drive

•SuperMulti DVD burner

•Integrated 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN

802.11b/g/n connection built into your HP laptop PC
•15.6" HP BrightView LED display @ 1366x768 max resolution.

AMD Radeon HD 6480M Discrete-Class graphics card

bob007

Moonkisss - The chart I go by indicates the base game will work but there are problems with the xp/sps. That AMD processor target market is budget laptops. This game does not like budget anything. With all the problems I'd recommend getting something that is tried and proved. I recommend a pass.

Kristopherson

ok so i know this is an old thread but i was wondering anyone's opinion on which PC would be best to play sims 3 on? i like using copious amounts of custom content while i play (so you know i get that awful lag) does anyone know of a good PC to withstand alla that. i am an apple lover (currently playing on a macbook '09) so i initially thought of getting the iMac but i've been reading about how that probably isnt the best idea. i've been seeing that alienware might be a good idea but if there are some other PC's that might be better specifically for sims i'd love to know. by the way, i am not tech savvy whatsoever so i don't speak graphic card specs in anyway shape or form so im basically planning on basing my purchase on what seems the best from reviews and word of mouth please help? :oops:

eddyzahu

Hi there , just a feedback about laptops and desktops, laps with nvidia onboard will be faster, but they'll get hot faster, nvidia chip is smaller than AMD (i mean the size not about performance) that mean a problema for the computer trying to cool down, most of nvidia chips die about a year after buying the computer specialy for those who doesn't use laptops in a proper way (using them at bed, have the computer running longer than the battery lasts), remeber do not use the charger at same time as battery, and even better never use the charger with the computer turned on, because the charger is about 19 or 20 volts and the battery a half of it arround 10.5,10.8 volts so volts become hot in computer electronic terms. Desktops are more hardwork resistance, so yeah u can buy a computer with a nvidia onboard but as an advice better into a desktop than in a lap. A know fact is that video-chips die right after the warranty ended, (it happens with fast video-chips)Then you'll find yourself with the need to pay a guy for a reflow, with none warranty that it works more than a day, or a reballing to change all the weldings for something else than only pewter adding silver or so :shock:

By the way, sorry for my English is not my native language.

SimmerSophie96

im looking to buy a laptop, and here is one i have in mind, i just dont know if it will work.

acer aspire 5733z-15.6" Laptop

500gb hardrive
4gb memory

intel pentium dualcore p62002.13GHz

operatin system- windows 7 home premium

saphory

I just got a hp pavilion m6-1035 dx entertainment laptop and it runs sims 3 plus expansion effortlessly and it's just 649.00

loosma

saphory wrote:

I just got a hp pavilion m6-1035 dx entertainment laptop and it runs sims 3 plus expansion effortlessly and it's just 649.00

do you have all the eps and sps? :O

Bluechipcookies

- 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
- Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
- 8GB (2 X 4GB) Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
- 750GB 7,200 RPM SATA + 32GB mSATA Caching SSD
- Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0
- Slot Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW)
Are these specs good enough to play The Sims 3 and all of the Expansion and Stuff Packs??
These are an Alienware Laptop's specs
Website where I found this:
http://www.alienware.com/Landings/promotions.aspx?ST=alienware laptop&dgc=ST&cid=246707&lid=4263763&acd=sRlKHJpEN,25910492515,901pdb6671
Someone answer back please!!
Thanks!!
:shock: :roll: :!: :?

darkravencroft

If you want to know if your computer is compatable with Sims 3 or any other game this is the site that will tell you if you meet the requirements. http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri

cannedcream

Hello sirs and madams.

I'm seriously looking into buying a new gaming PC and I have two I'm currently looking at. I was hoping someone would be kind enough to give them a once-over and tell if they will do a good job of running Sims 3, plus almost all the expansions, plus mods, for the price I'd be paying.

Here is one and here is the other.

All the specs and located right on those pages, and ANY help or suggestions would be met with heartfelt thanks and a lifetime supply of free air.

danivixen

Hello cannedcream!

Those are some perteh looking PCs! The only thing I'd say is better (and this is not optimal for gaming, but is just all around better for video-editing and such) is the first PC. But, that does not knock the second computer out at all. What mattes the most is your graphics card and the 650 is great for playing on high/ultra. The second machine is more future-proof (as good as future proofing gets, anyway).

I'd go with #2 on your list. #1 is perfectly fine, too, in all honesty. If you really want to save money, #1 will serve your purposes and run just as well as #2 - there will just be marginal differences and #2 is a higher-end (midrange) build. #1 is a lower-end build

Goldmoldar

Intel chips may have an edge on AMD right now, but a good AMD system should be do okay if you are not into crunching numbers or building space stations. Some AMD chips can play the Sims 3 just as fine as a Intel chip. I have two Intel systems and one AMD system as well as a Intel server and they all play the Sims 3 very well with the exception of the server which is not for playing games. However for a AMD system go for a four core or better cpu and get a good GPU as well Nvidia or AMD. Something that is not going to get bottlenecked because of a powerful CPU and a mediocre video card and vice versa. If you want Intel the I5 3570K chip is a very good CPU for gaming and can hang with the I7 when it comes to gaming and out of the I5 class it is the only CPU that has 4000 HD onboard as well as being the only I5 that can be overclocked because of the "K" marking. also it is cheaper than the I7's.

ewilson1114

I'd definitely go for the one with the Nvidia 650 as its a better graphics card.