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- Can my Mac run The Sims 4? Answers can be found here -

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  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    @BluebellFlora just a curious question. Will the game run with all eps currently on the intel 520 card on Mac? I just had someone in the PC section with the 620 intel card that is having issues running the game with everything . i had to tell them they needed a new computer. They are at the point they can no loner run the game

    No Macs have that chip but some do have the 530 and 540 and yes, people are able to play with all packs so far. Apple write the drivers for Macs, not Intel.

    That's good that it will still work for Mac Thanks. Same cards on laptop have not been so lucky .

    I'm referring to Mac laptops :)

    I know. Macs laptop use same processors and video cards they use in PC laptops however those integrated cards for this game seem to work better on Mac than PC. Like Mac, laptop companies issue their own drivers.
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    I know. Macs laptop use same processors and video cards they use in PC laptops however those integrated cards for this game seem to work better on Mac than PC. Like Mac, laptop companies issue their own drivers.

    I think we've been here before................ You can't compare a PC and Mac at all. Who builds the PC Laptops? Toshiba/Sony/Lenovo/Dell etc. and they are running a 3rd party product, Windows. Apple build the laptop and the OS, they work together far more harmoniously as they are designed to work together and built around each other. I understand that you're interested in how the same Intel chips work on different platforms but it's irrelevant :)
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  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    I know. Macs laptop use same processors and video cards they use in PC laptops however those integrated cards for this game seem to work better on Mac than PC. Like Mac, laptop companies issue their own drivers.

    I think we've been here before................ You can't compare a PC and Mac at all. Who builds the PC Laptops? Toshiba/Sony/Lenovo/Dell etc. and they are running a 3rd party product, Windows. Apple build the laptop and the OS, they work together far more harmoniously as they are designed to work together and built around each other. I understand that you're interested in how the same Intel chips work on different platforms but it's irrelevant :)

    They work fine on PC laptop and work together harmoniously for general use, just not for gaming. I was just curious and suprised that a 520-540 intel integrated on Mac can run all EP, packs and GP issued to date when the pc laptop with same cards can't thats all
  • _ChasingStars_ChasingStars Posts: 2 New Member
    Will the 2016 MacBook pro (with touch bar) be okay with sims? Its been fine so far. Would be a shame be unable to play.
  • sooop606sooop606 Posts: 1 New Member
    I need help figuring out if my Macbook Pro can run The Sims 4.... I've updated everything today and I keep getting the error message saying something about a video card drive.... here are my mac's details......
    Version 10.12.6
    Macbook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
    Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
    Memory: 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
    Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB
    If anyone can help me figure out how to make the game run that would be greatly appreciated!!!!!
  • anniechristiina13anniechristiina13 Posts: 6 New Member
    Hi there (:

    I understand everything in the requirements apart from graphics cards. I want to buy a Mac Mini. The mini I’m looking at matches the requirements for ghz and ram but I am unsure if the graphics card it has will be okay. I see you mention Intel Iris should be fine. Does this apply also to Mac Mini’s with intel iris or only iMacs as the mini I am looking at (the mid range) has intel iris. Thank you kindly for any assisitance! (:

    Annie (:
  • scott_andrews92scott_andrews92 Posts: 16 New Member
    Sorry to resurrect this thread, but am hoping those can tell me if The Sims 4 should work fine on my system. Last time I used The Sims it was TS3, and my system did fail -- whether connected to TS3 or not, it shares me in pursuing TS4!

    My specs are:

    OS X Yosemite
    iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)

    2.9 GHz Intel Core i5
    8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M 512 MB
  • Tremayne4260Tremayne4260 Posts: 3,126 Member
    First of all, you shouldn't have many problems with Sims 4. However, I'd recommend buying more RAM (at least up to 32 GB) and upgrade your OS to High Sierra. Any version of the Sims will run better with more RAM.
    Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'til Morning.
  • scott_andrews92scott_andrews92 Posts: 16 New Member
    > @Tremayne4260 said:
    > First of all, you shouldn't have many problems with Sims 4. However, I'd recommend buying more RAM (at least up to 32 GB) and upgrade your OS to High Sierra. Any version of the Sims will run better with more RAM.

    I will definitely look into getting more RAM. If I don't get it, will it still run fine? And I thought about updating my OS, but given what I've heard about Sierra/High Sierra, I am kind of turned off, honestly!
  • Tremayne4260Tremayne4260 Posts: 3,126 Member
    8GB will run the game, but I recommend getting more. I run the game on high settings and have no problems. The only reason I upgraded to High Sierra and the game runs fine.
    Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'til Morning.
  • scott_andrews92scott_andrews92 Posts: 16 New Member
    > @Tremayne4260 said:
    > 8GB will run the game, but I recommend getting more. I run the game on high settings and have no problems. The only reason I upgraded to High Sierra and the game runs fine.

    I will definitely look into getting more sometime soon! My main worry was that the game would crash my system for good, and my graphics card would fry out. My last system fried out, whether by TS3 or another reason, and it was my main gripe about installing TS4!
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    I will definitely look into getting more sometime soon! My main worry was that the game would crash my system for good, and my graphics card would fry out. My last system fried out, whether by TS3 or another reason, and it was my main gripe about installing TS4!

    You'll be absolutely fine with 16Gb RAM. The OS is very efficient with memory management. And don't bother comparing TS3 and TS4, TS4 is natively written for macOS whereas TS3 wasn't which was the root of all problems with the game, especially the memory issues.

    If you decide to upgrade your OS you need to be aware of the NVIDIA issue on El Capitan and later. You have to manually update the NVIDIA driver to get the game working which is not normal practice. The issue may have been fixed now.....
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  • scott_andrews92scott_andrews92 Posts: 16 New Member
    > @BluebellFlora said:
    > scott_andrews92 wrote: »
    >
    > I will definitely look into getting more sometime soon! My main worry was that the game would crash my system for good, and my graphics card would fry out. My last system fried out, whether by TS3 or another reason, and it was my main gripe about installing TS4!
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > You'll be absolutely fine with 16Gb RAM. The OS is very efficient with memory management. And don't bother comparing TS3 and TS4, TS4 is natively written for macOS whereas TS3 wasn't which was the root of all problems with the game, especially the memory issues.
    >
    > If you decide to upgrade your OS you need to be aware of the NVIDIA issue on El Capitan and later. You have to manually update the NVIDIA driver to get the game working which is not normal practice. The issue may have been fixed now.....

    I honestly am not intending on upgrading my OS, if I am going to be completely transparent. I barely went to Yosemite, and the things I hear about macOS Sierra and macOS High Sierra are not making me want to upgrade, honestly. I plan on staying with macOS Yosemite until I feel an upgrade is supportive enough, etc.

    My main concern was the game running on my system without it crashing and my graphics card failing. Like I said, with TS3, around the time I installed it my system crashed, and I could only log on at certain times and could not visit selective sites, etc. But it sounds like TS4 will survive, yay!
  • Aleia1Aleia1 Posts: 68 Member
    Hi, I hope it is ok to post a new q on this thread. I have read this one and others like it thoroughly today because my MacBook Pro has just died and I am looking to replace it.

    Getting a new laptop that works well with S4 as it stands - and future proofing for future expansions (even sims 5 if I can dare to dream/speculate about that) is very important to me. So is being able to transfer my existing sims 4 saved games over to the new laptop. Luckily I had just backed them up when my old one died so I am keeping my fingers crossed that will work.

    My old laptop was a 15 inch MacBook Pro from late 2011. 8gb ram. Two graphics cards and I was using the Radeon one, hd6770m I believe. I am told by Apple it died because the graphics card wore out (they used more technical language) and it would be hard to impossible to get a replacement card and not worth the expense if I did.

    So, from what I read here, I will need a new 15 inch MacBook Pro with a dedicated graphics card, pref i7 (or more?), quad core, and at least 8gb again. Is there anything else I should ask for/avoid? Is it possible to get more than 8gb ram (my last had 4 and I added more to get the max poss of 8).

    I have always had macs and I love them but I don't need to tell anyone on a thread like this they are not great with sims. Am I mad to consider buying another pricey Mac or should I start researching from scratch PCs fhat are good with sims. But I literally know nothing about PCs. And also if I did that would my saved games from the Mac transfer ok to that or would they not work?

    Sorry, this is a lot of Qs. Literally any answer to any of them would be gratefully received, or please tell me where else to post this. I am trying not to be all 'WOE!' here but my Mac just died and I'm trying to get my head round the horrendous cost of replacing it and how best to do it so I don't buy something that turns out to be a dud for sims. Many thanks to anyone who read to the end of this and can give me any advice whatsoever
  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    Aleia1 wrote: »
    Hi, I hope it is ok to post a new q on this thread. I have read this one and others like it thoroughly today because my MacBook Pro has just died and I am looking to replace it.

    Getting a new laptop that works well with S4 as it stands - and future proofing for future expansions (even sims 5 if I can dare to dream/speculate about that) is very important to me. So is being able to transfer my existing sims 4 saved games over to the new laptop. Luckily I had just backed them up when my old one died so I am keeping my fingers crossed that will work.

    My old laptop was a 15 inch MacBook Pro from late 2011. 8gb ram. Two graphics cards and I was using the Radeon one, hd6770m I believe. I am told by Apple it died because the graphics card wore out (they used more technical language) and it would be hard to impossible to get a replacement card and not worth the expense if I did.

    So, from what I read here, I will need a new 15 inch MacBook Pro with a dedicated graphics card, pref i7 (or more?), quad core, and at least 8gb again. Is there anything else I should ask for/avoid? Is it possible to get more than 8gb ram (my last had 4 and I added more to get the max poss of 8).

    I have always had macs and I love them but I don't need to tell anyone on a thread like this they are not great with sims. Am I mad to consider buying another pricey Mac or should I start researching from scratch PCs fhat are good with sims. But I literally know nothing about PCs. And also if I did that would my saved games from the Mac transfer ok to that or would they not work?

    Sorry, this is a lot of Qs. Literally any answer to any of them would be gratefully received, or please tell me where else to post this. I am trying not to be all 'WOE!' here but my Mac just died and I'm trying to get my head round the horrendous cost of replacing it and how best to do it so I don't buy something that turns out to be a dud for sims. Many thanks to anyone who read to the end of this and can give me any advice whatsoever




    If you want PC advice, I suggest posting in the tech section and not the Mac Section.

    Hardware moves so quickly these days and hardware becomes outdated. There is no word on a TS5 or what the specs would be. No one can tell you if you bought a computer today it would be able to survive TS5 . As you see laptops can not be upgraded when it comes to video card or processor. Once their hardware goes, they become a throw away computer when they no longer make the hardware in your laptop. Desktops are the best for gaming. If you buy a right desktop tower where hardware can be switched out or upgraded is the best way to go. Desktops hardware for gaming is more powerful and will last allot longer than a laptop. A desktop to run this game would also be allot cheaper than a new Mac
  • southaltansouthaltan Posts: 152 Member
    edited December 2017
    If you decide to upgrade your OS you need to be aware of the NVIDIA issue on El Capitan and later. You have to manually update the NVIDIA driver to get the game working which is not normal practice. The issue may have been fixed now.....

    FYI the NVIDIA issue hasn’t been fixed. I had to manually upgrade the driver. :smile:
    mid 2012 15”
  • Aleia1Aleia1 Posts: 68 Member
    Thanks, Phoebebebe. I prefer to get another Mac and for practical reasons - outside of gaming - I need it to be a laptop. It sounds like getting one with a dedicated graphics card is a must but of course they are more expensive.
  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    edited December 2017
    Aleia1 wrote: »
    Thanks, Phoebebebe. I prefer to get another Mac and for practical reasons - outside of gaming - I need it to be a laptop. It sounds like getting one with a dedicated graphics card is a must but of course they are more expensive.

    Your welcome. Yes I would suggest whether you go Mac laptop or PC laptop that it has a dedicated graphics card. The PC laptop would still be cheaper than the Mac laptop

    If you want Mac laptop ask @BluebellFlora which would be your best options with a dedicated video card

    If you want PC laptop you need specs below

    Video card Nvidia GTX 960m, 970m, 1050, 1050 ti or1060. The 1000 series is newer and better than the 900 series

    Processor intel i5 or i7 quad core. Quad core will end in HQ or MQ after the series number.

    ram at least 8gb

    hard drive space 500gb or more

    windows 64 bit
  • Aleia1Aleia1 Posts: 68 Member
    I have a feeling my best option for a MacBook Pro with the dedicated card is the most expensive one *sigh*.

    But I'll take those pc details and look at them too. Do you think the saved sims games on my external hd would be compatible with a PC though, if you don't mind me asking another q

    Thanks again.
  • phoebebebe13phoebebebe13 Posts: 19,400 Member
    Aleia1 wrote: »
    I have a feeling my best option for a MacBook Pro with the dedicated card is the most expensive one *sigh*.

    But I'll take those pc details and look at them too. Do you think the saved sims games on my external hd would be compatible with a PC though, if you don't mind me asking another q

    Thanks again.

    I help with PC. You would need to ask @BluebellFlora . I know Mac has it's own version so I am not sure if Mac saves will work on PC version but they might .
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    @southaltan Ugh, thanks for letting me know though :(

    @Aleia1

    I am currently playing on the 2017 15" with 3.1GHz i7, 4Gb AMD Radeon Pro 560 and 16Gb RAM. The game looks amazing and plays really well. I have all packs to date. I also have Sims 3 installed which, after a few workarounds, works great. It was horrifically expensive but if you can get education discount that will save several hundred pounds/dollars/euros/whatever currency you use :) I upgraded from a 2012 15" which still plays brilliantly. It has 2.6GHz i7, 1Gb NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, 16Gb RAM.

    A Mac will cost you more than the equivalent PC but it's a completely different machine and experience. But you already know that :)

    Replacing the GPU on your 2011 MBP would mean replacing the whole logic board which would cost a few hundred pounds (etc.).
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  • Aleia1Aleia1 Posts: 68 Member
    Thanks, BluebellFlora. That new model you have now is the one I am looking at getting after researching all the latest ones online. It's reassuring to know it works so brilliantly with sims 4. It will mean a sudden and shocking depletion of my savings but I'm trying to resign myself. I can't get a discount but the place I plan to buy from offers an inclusive three year warranty on MacBooks.

    The Apple authorised repair firm who pronounced my old laptop dead yesterday said they didn't have the parts to fix it. The guy said I could try to find a third party firm that did but it would cost around £600 and wasn't worth it because it would just go again. Since he didn't want to fix it and they didn't sell new macs there, I decided to believe him.

    Friends I've told my tale of woe to are divided over whether five and a half years is a fairly decent lifespan for a laptop or disgracefully short. I've had two other Mac laptops which both lasted longer. But I've used this one pretty much every day since I got it - some heavy sims use included. On a rough calculation, I reckon it's cost me about a pound a day. The new one will need to last longer to match that.

    Your and Phoebebebe's advice is much appreciated. It's been a grim week (especially for my finances) but it's been good to come here and talk to people who aren't going to judge for me for wanting a fancy Mac with the main goal of optimising my sims game. I just hope my saved games transfer ok but in theory there shouldn't be an issue so I am trying not to dwell on that.
  • anniechristiina13anniechristiina13 Posts: 6 New Member
    Hi. Can someone please help answer my question about Mac Mini running sims 4 with expansion using Intel Iris? I posted this question earlier in this thread but it seems to have been ignored..?

    Thankyou to anyone who doesn’t ignore me this time.
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    Hi. Can someone please help answer my question about Mac Mini running sims 4 with expansion using Intel Iris? I posted this question earlier in this thread but it seems to have been ignored..?

    Thankyou to anyone who doesn’t ignore me this time.

    Have you posted the exact year, model and OS of your Mac mini? Full specs please - Processor/Graphics/RAM etc.
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  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    @Aleia1 You're very welcome :)
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