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What is the best computer for Sims 4 and other gaming?

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  • LiELFLiELF Posts: 6,439 Member
    Hi everyone! I'm looking into getting the Vanquish 5 from Digital Storm, and I'm trying to decide on some of the components. They have a couple of optimized pre-built configurations that they offer, but they give the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade where needed. There is quite a price jump between the two, so I'm really trying to understand how noticeable the performance difference is, and also the longevity of usefulness.

    Here is the "low end" basic configuration, which, I believe, would run Sims 4 just fine: https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1379615

    And here is the next mid-range build: https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1436214

    Now, I was initially going with the lower one, and upgrading some of the components, because the rig I have now is rather old and my video card is very outdated, so even the low-end is a huge improvement to what I have now. But I do want something that can last a few years because, in the long run, I don't fully replace my PC very often. I have no problem with upgrading certain components as they get outdated, which is one of the reasons I want to go with this system. (Also, because it seems to get very good reviews, and the company does stress-test each system to ensure stability.)

    I have done some research on processors and video cards, and I keep going back and forth with my decisions. The i5 processors seem to be strong and capable, and I've been told that the i7 is not really a necessary investment for gaming use. But I believe that the Sims 4 can be heavy on the processor, is that correct? Would that make much of a difference? By the end of Sims 4's life span, I will most likely own all of the add-on content, plus about 5 gigs worth of CC and a few mods. I really want a system that will allow me to play on ultra settings for once, (at least for a year or so) because I've been getting jealous of other people's screen shots with the awesome lighting and detail, and I really want to see it for myself, lol. I also play some other games, mainly MMOs, particularly Lord of the Rings Online, which is an old game, but a favorite. I also occasionally play Secret World, The Elder Scrolls Online, and maybe occasionally World of Warcraft.

    As for the video card, the 1050ti gets very good reviews, but I notice it is often referred to as the "low-end" video card. My recent research has revealed that the 1060 card is almost double the performance, (if I understand it correctly) so now I'm a little conflicted that maybe I should just invest in that one now, and not have to replace it within a year. And another question I have is, is there a particular reason that the company paired the 1060 with the i7 processor and not the i5? I notice that it is VR ready, so I'm thinking it just has something to do with that. They do offer a "downgrade" on the processor to the i5, but my concern is that if I do decide to dabble in a VR game one day, will that hit my system's performance? And I noticed the RAM is a little more powerful too, but I don't know too much about what kind of difference that makes with the processor and video card.

    Basically, I just want to make sure that I don't order the mid-range rig, downgrade the wrong thing, and end up crippling my system, or upgrade a component in the low-end rig but not be able to really use it. I know that these builds are really just recommendations, but I appreciate any input, wisdom, or experience that anyone can offer.

    Thanks! :)

    #Team Occult
  • Nearia35Nearia35 Posts: 522 Member
    @LiELF The 1050ti is the "low end" of the newest generation - it's slightly above the 960 of last generation. It'll play the game just fine - but because TS4 is still a very "empty" game, as far as expansions and content, who knows what EA has up their sleeve. I would get the 1060, just for future proofing.

    Computers are kind of... "packaged," so to speak. Performance across the components is tiered - you're not going to buy a computer with a 1080 and an i3 processor. (As an extreme example.) If someone ups to a 1060, they are typically going to be interested in performance, and thus, the processor gets upgraded as well to prevent bottlenecks. TS4 is processor heavy, but the i5 you have configured is quad core, which is good, and it has a high TurboBoost clock speed - as long as the cooling in the system is strong enough to prevent the processor from slowing itself down because of heat.

    As for RAM, the higher the speed, the faster it can read and write data. The RAM it comes with is DDR4, which I think is fine - DDR5 can still be expensive and difficult to find, and is still mainly built into video cards. Only having 8GB may be a problem, depending on how you use the computer - Windows needs a GB or two just to run, and then the game will take a few GB as well. If you're the type of person who likes to have lots of programs open at once, you may find that 8GB isn't quite enough.
    Playing on an HP Z800: 2x 6-core Intel Xeon X5660s, 48GB RAM, 4GB nVidia GTX 970
    Alienware R4 17: i7 6700HQ, 16GB RAM, 8GB NVidia GTX 1070
  • chesterbigbirdchesterbigbird Posts: 8,581 Member
    edited March 2017
    @LiELF
    The i5 is more then capable, not a huge amount of difference in the i5 and i7 when it comes to gaming, only difference is when you are using software that will use 8 cores (editing software/encoding software.)
    There is not a huge amount of customization to choose from on Digital storm, this is why i mainly suggest other companies like cyberpower or AVAdirect.
    Is buying from digital storm a must?
    i7 6700K
    16GB hyper X fury
    MSI GTX 1080
    MSI gaming M5 mobo
    Evga 750 supernova
    Corsair hydro h110i GT
    Corsair obsidian 750D
    500GB SSD
    6TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
    LG 34" ultra wide


  • LiELFLiELF Posts: 6,439 Member
    @chesterbigbird Hi! Not necessarily a must for Digital Storm, but the Vanquish had high ratings and I had checked another site (can't remember what company) and it would be more costly for the same builds. The links I gave are the standard builds that they offered, not exactly the components I've chosen. I do need a Blue Ray optical drive, SSD, and 2T Hard drive on top of the other stuff because I need some decent storage and I also make videos as a hobby. But I'm happy to hear any suggestions you have. :)

    @Nearia35 Thank you for the reply! I'm leaning toward the 1060 card now. :)
    #Team Occult
  • chesterbigbirdchesterbigbird Posts: 8,581 Member
    LiELF wrote: »
    @chesterbigbird Hi! Not necessarily a must for Digital Storm, but the Vanquish had high ratings and I had checked another site (can't remember what company) and it would be more costly for the same builds. The links I gave are the standard builds that they offered, not exactly the components I've chosen. I do need a Blue Ray optical drive, SSD, and 2T Hard drive on top of the other stuff because I need some decent storage and I also make videos as a hobby. But I'm happy to hear any suggestions you have. :)

    @Nearia35 Thank you for the reply! I'm leaning toward the 1060 card now. :)

    If you truly want a custom pc and want to make it your own with what parts you want then you are better off looking elsewhere.
    I will pm you with a few ideas so not to bog down this thread :)
    i7 6700K
    16GB hyper X fury
    MSI GTX 1080
    MSI gaming M5 mobo
    Evga 750 supernova
    Corsair hydro h110i GT
    Corsair obsidian 750D
    500GB SSD
    6TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
    LG 34" ultra wide


  • LiELFLiELF Posts: 6,439 Member
    LiELF wrote: »
    @chesterbigbird Hi! Not necessarily a must for Digital Storm, but the Vanquish had high ratings and I had checked another site (can't remember what company) and it would be more costly for the same builds. The links I gave are the standard builds that they offered, not exactly the components I've chosen. I do need a Blue Ray optical drive, SSD, and 2T Hard drive on top of the other stuff because I need some decent storage and I also make videos as a hobby. But I'm happy to hear any suggestions you have. :)

    @Nearia35 Thank you for the reply! I'm leaning toward the 1060 card now. :)

    If you truly want a custom pc and want to make it your own with what parts you want then you are better off looking elsewhere.
    I will pm you with a few ideas so not to bog down this thread :)

    Thank you kindly. :)
    #Team Occult
  • stacyringsstacyrings Posts: 9 New Member

    No . The sims 3 and 4 have the same computer requirements only the games are programed differently. If you had a computer that could run the whole sims 3 game it would also be able to run the sims 4.

    So if my daughter's laptop will play TS3 with several expansions and stuff packs, it should run TS4? I checked it on systemrequirementslab.com and it said it could not run TS4. She has no problem playing TS3.

    Also, I found this laptop since I'm considering getting a new one for one of us. How are the specs? (sorry, I can't post links yet apparently.)
    www.amazon.com/dp/B01DT4A2R4/ref=psdc_13896615011_t2_B015XBKYB0?th=1
    Screen Size 15.6 inches
    Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels
    Max Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels
    Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
    RAM 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM
    Hard Drive 256 GB flash_memory_solid_state
    Graphics Coprocessor geforce
    Chipset Brand NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Card Description Dedicated
    Graphics Card Ram Size 2000 MB
  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    stacyrings wrote: »

    No . The sims 3 and 4 have the same computer requirements only the games are programed differently. If you had a computer that could run the whole sims 3 game it would also be able to run the sims 4.

    So if my daughter's laptop will play TS3 with several expansions and stuff packs, it should run TS4? I checked it on systemrequirementslab.com and it said it could not run TS4. She has no problem playing TS3.

    Also, I found this laptop since I'm considering getting a new one for one of us. How are the specs? (sorry, I can't post links yet apparently.)
    www.amazon.com/dp/B01DT4A2R4/ref=psdc_13896615011_t2_B015XBKYB0?th=1
    Screen Size 15.6 inches
    Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels
    Max Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels
    Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
    RAM 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM
    Hard Drive 256 GB flash_memory_solid_state
    Graphics Coprocessor geforce
    Chipset Brand NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Card Description Dedicated
    Graphics Card Ram Size 2000 MB

    The sims 3 and 4 are programed differently. Both require a mid range gaming desktop. Laptops are weaker than desktop. You need a more powerful laptop to equal the requirements on desktop

    That laptop is below requirements, It will have trouble running the game. We have seen several people with those specs who have trouble running the game.

    This game requires an i5 quad core on desktop so on laptop you would need a stronger laptop i7 processor quad core which will end in HQ or MQ

    The video card is DDR3 vram You want a video card that is DDR 5 vram. You need a GTX 960m or better on laptop.

    The first number is the series for Nvidia 900, 1000 etc. The 1000 series is better and newer than the 900

    The second number , the higher the second number the better the card 50, 60, 70, 80. On laptop in the 900 series I would not go under 60 but over is fine. With the 1000 series on laptop you can go 1050 ti and up

    8gb of computer ram is fine

    hard drive at least 1tb
  • Sid1701D9Sid1701D9 Posts: 4,718 Member
    edited March 2017
    You got to remember if its not a gaming computer in laptops it most likely has a intergraded graphic chipset.

    Edit: systemrequirementslab.com is a joke, because it only checks your systems it knowns, it don't even known if you have the game installed or not.
    Sid1701d-"I love my life, live my life and live to play, laugh and have fun."

    "Love will Fight, Love will Win and Love will Survive."
  • stacyringsstacyrings Posts: 9 New Member
    Thank you both. I did some shopping around on Newegg yesterday and found a few more that look good, dedicated card, i7 quad core, enough memory and ram. I'll probably wait until I get my tax refund in a couple of weeks, then buy. I'll also check with you guys then too.
  • Milan14Milan14 Posts: 31 Member
    @LiELF
    The i5 is more then capable, not a huge amount of difference in the i5 and i7 when it comes to gaming, only difference is when you are using software that will use 8 cores (editing software/encoding software.)
    There is not a huge amount of customization to choose from on Digital storm, this is why i mainly suggest other companies like cyberpower or AVAdirect.
    Is buying from digital storm a must?

    my i5 6500 struggles with the crowded city world on high and ultra though. FPS drops down to the 40's.
    The game could just be badly optimized
  • chesterbigbirdchesterbigbird Posts: 8,581 Member
    edited March 2017
    Milan14 wrote: »
    @LiELF
    The i5 is more then capable, not a huge amount of difference in the i5 and i7 when it comes to gaming, only difference is when you are using software that will use 8 cores (editing software/encoding software.)
    There is not a huge amount of customization to choose from on Digital storm, this is why i mainly suggest other companies like cyberpower or AVAdirect.
    Is buying from digital storm a must?

    my i5 6500 struggles with the crowded city world on high and ultra though. FPS drops down to the 40's.
    The game could just be badly optimized

    The game is not optimized at all. The fps will drop allot, not much anyone can do about it. Drops on my i7 6700K too.
    When it comes to gaming there is not much difference between i7 and i5. i7 has hyper threading which currently does not make much of a difference in gaming and that's its only advantage over the i5 in gaming. real world difference would be 4fps at the most.

    i7 6700K
    16GB hyper X fury
    MSI GTX 1080
    MSI gaming M5 mobo
    Evga 750 supernova
    Corsair hydro h110i GT
    Corsair obsidian 750D
    500GB SSD
    6TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
    LG 34" ultra wide


  • chesterbigbirdchesterbigbird Posts: 8,581 Member

    Which one were you looking at? there are a few on there.
    They all should play the game at at least medium settings, The ones with the I7 are better.
    i7 6700K
    16GB hyper X fury
    MSI GTX 1080
    MSI gaming M5 mobo
    Evga 750 supernova
    Corsair hydro h110i GT
    Corsair obsidian 750D
    500GB SSD
    6TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
    LG 34" ultra wide


  • PinkjamsunshinePinkjamsunshine Posts: 57 New Member

    Which one were you looking at? there are a few on there.
    They all should play the game at at least medium settings, The ones with the I7 are better.

    The one on the top that is for $749.99.
  • chesterbigbirdchesterbigbird Posts: 8,581 Member

    Which one were you looking at? there are a few on there.
    They all should play the game at at least medium settings, The ones with the I7 are better.

    The one on the top that is for $749.99.

    That should get the job done on med/high settings. :)
    i7 6700K
    16GB hyper X fury
    MSI GTX 1080
    MSI gaming M5 mobo
    Evga 750 supernova
    Corsair hydro h110i GT
    Corsair obsidian 750D
    500GB SSD
    6TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
    LG 34" ultra wide


  • PinkjamsunshinePinkjamsunshine Posts: 57 New Member

    Which one were you looking at? there are a few on there.
    They all should play the game at at least medium settings, The ones with the I7 are better.

    The one on the top that is for $749.99.

    That should get the job done on med/high settings. :)

    Okay thank you so much! :smiley:
  • GambleGamble Posts: 19 New Member
    Hi would any one be able to tell me if this pc would play sims 4 and some map packs.on high setings As this is the main thing I want it for. And want to try and keep it around £700 to £800. This is the one im not sure about.
    VIBOX Gaming pc- spark package 7-4.1GHz AMD FX6-core CPU, GTX 1050 Ti GPU, Advanced, desktop computer with 2game bundle (including for honor code), 22" HG monitor, speakers, Gameing keyboard & mouse. Windows 10 OS, Green internal lighting and lifetime warranty. (Super fast AMD FX 6300 six 6-core CPU processer, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Graphics card GPU , 16GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM, 1TB (1000GB) sata lll 7200rpm hard drive HDD, 85 & rated PSU, vibox green case, AM3 & Motherboard). Any help will be appreciated. Thank you
  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    edited May 2017
    Gamble wrote: »
    Hi would any one be able to tell me if this pc would play sims 4 and some map packs.on high setings As this is the main thing I want it for. And want to try and keep it around £700 to £800. This is the one im not sure about.
    VIBOX Gaming pc- spark package 7-4.1GHz AMD FX6-core CPU, GTX 1050 Ti GPU, Advanced, desktop computer with 2game bundle (including for honor code), 22" HG monitor, speakers, Gameing keyboard & mouse. Windows 10 OS, Green internal lighting and lifetime warranty. (Super fast AMD FX 6300 six 6-core CPU processer, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Graphics card GPU , 16GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM, 1TB (1000GB) sata lll 7200rpm hard drive HDD, 85 & rated PSU, vibox green case, AM3 & Motherboard). Any help will be appreciated. Thank you

    You were asked not to post this same question over and over again days ago all over these boards. EA will see it as spam. You were already given an answer regarding this PC

    PS same people that help in sims 3 tech also help in sims 4 so the answer is not going to be any different
  • GambleGamble Posts: 19 New Member
    It didn't say where to put on sims 4 so sorry and have trouble writeing and did try makeing my own post and the one you put on keeps puting mr on wrong one now. Dont help im on a phone. Sorry again and will save this one this time. And need a all in one as its my 1st pc. Thanks n
  • GambleGamble Posts: 19 New Member
    Thay all writing about sims 4 so thought it was ok to post on here. 1st time and the one thay put on wont put me on it again. And where should I post for help thay all asking things im not good at this sort off stuff wont post anthing again soz
  • luthienrisingluthienrising Posts: 37,617 Member
    Gamble wrote: »
    Thay all writing about sims 4 so thought it was ok to post on here. 1st time and the one thay put on wont put me on it again. And where should I post for help thay all asking things im not good at this sort off stuff wont post anthing again soz

    What is it that you need help with? You can start at Categories to find the section that might fit in, then find a topic about the same thing to post on.
    EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    edited May 2017
    Gamble wrote: »
    Thay all writing about sims 4 so thought it was ok to post on here. 1st time and the one thay put on wont put me on it again. And where should I post for help thay all asking things im not good at this sort off stuff wont post anthing again soz

    What is it that you need help with? You can start at Categories to find the section that might fit in, then find a topic about the same thing to post on.

    They were already helped a few days go. Check their posting history. We told them for the sims 4 they need a better processor. We gave them desktop advice over in the sims 3 section.
  • luthienrisingluthienrising Posts: 37,617 Member
    Gamble wrote: »
    Thay all writing about sims 4 so thought it was ok to post on here. 1st time and the one thay put on wont put me on it again. And where should I post for help thay all asking things im not good at this sort off stuff wont post anthing again soz

    What is it that you need help with? You can start at Categories to find the section that might fit in, then find a topic about the same thing to post on.

    They were already helped a few days go. Check their posting history. We told them for the sims 4 they need a better processor. We gave them desktop advice over in the sims 3 section.

    Ah - thanks. Hopefully they'll figure it out.
    EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
  • GambleGamble Posts: 19 New Member
    I did go on my post you put me on a nice blue one with every thing I need now its put me onto someother one and I thought this was the best place to ask as I dont know anything about pc and just want a full set up so I can play sims 4 and dcl with out it playing up alot. Am sorry for keep asking want to make sure I getthe right one
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