I have installed just the base game of Sims 3 to my husband's computer as my computer keeps crashing. After I installed the game on his computer, I was able to load the game, create a couple and put them in a house like normal. Now today I am trying to load the game, the box comes up like it should when you first choose "run as administrator" but then it goes away and nothing happens. I can't even get Origin to load, to launch the game from there. Any ideas? Should I just give up.
> @sierradane1 said: > I have installed just the base game of Sims 3 to my husband's computer as my computer keeps crashing. After I installed the game on his computer, I was able to load the game, create a couple and put them in a house like normal. Now today I am trying to load the game, the box comes up like it should when you first choose "run as administrator" but then it goes away and nothing happens. I can't even get Origin to load, to launch the game from there. Any ideas? Should I just give up.
I'm not seeing the edit button in my post, so I'll add this here:
In order to post in this forum, I had to log in using my EA account name. By doing this, it brought up the Origin box where I could log into that, which I did. I then managed to load the game. It's loading as we speak, or rather, as I type. I guess if I want to play it again I will need to come here and log into my account here.
@sierradane1 If you keep having issues, try running Origin as an admin; if you're not already. It may also help to set exceptions in your antivirus/firewall for origin.exe and TS3.exe. Or, the next time you get the login screen, you could let Origin "remember" you so you don't have to sign in every time.
If you create a desktop shortcut for TS3.exe (or maybe Sims3Launcher.exe), trying to launch the game from there should bring up Origin instead, so that may be another viable approach.
I've just downloaded origin to my computer and it shows that I have both The Sims 4 and The Sims 3. (this is the first time I've logged in in years and on a new computer) The problem is, most of my expansion packs for The Sims 3 are not showing up. The only expansion packs showing up are University Life and Late Night. Most of the expansion packs I have downloaded have been through the discs, so I don't know if that's the reason or not?
@MeowGeek If you never registered your discs, either in Origin or on the Sims 3 Store site, then the packs wouldn't show in Origin now. But you can still add the codes to your account, provided they haven't been used by you or anyone else. If you don't have the CD case inserts with the codes printed on them anymore, you may still be able to find the codes on your old computer. Here's how:
If the codes read as already used, but you're the original owner, then maybe you added them to a different account. Since Origin and the store share information, registering your packs at the store on an old account would render the codes useless now. If you think that's what happened, try entering any email addresses you might have used into the Origin login window, then clicking "forgot your password?" Any address associated with an Origin account will get an email to reset its password.
Once you know your old account credentials, you can contact EA customer support and ask that the accounts be merged. Keep in mind that the account that's being merged, i.e. the one that will disappear, will likely not transfer its store content to the new one.
If you can't figure out what happened to your codes, you can ask someone from EA support to check. It would help to have photos of the discs and inserts with the codes showing; you can upload them directly to a live chat.
Hi if anyone here has late night, I have a problem i need some advice on. So I'm starting a legacy in Bridgeport, I wasted a lot of time in game and eventually Mathew hamming (a celeb) aged into an elder and I used mastercontroller to age him down so my sim could get with him, I also used instant baby (from mastercontroller) on some sim and now all of a sudden I'm having a bunch of lag and routing issues/ sims randomly resetting. My save is sort of bloating, I'm getting error 12's and I haven't used a lot of new cc- so I'm kind of confused if what I did with my mod is negatively affecting my save or if it's being caused by something else? I can give more info if needed, but I'm just wondering if these things are linked- and if they are what should I do to reverse it?
@ArfaF52 - Hi there. We can talk about ways in which to make Bridgeport more playable and less prone to resource overrun issues. It's one of the more problematic worlds to work with, not nearly to the same extent as say Isla Paradiso but it does have some issues that can be addressed.
First though, Instant Baby is typically harmless but how exactly did you age Matthew down? MasterController does not have a mechanism for aging a sim down into a younger age stage, it only provides the means to adjust their absolute or relative ages within their current stage (e.g., a first day elder or adult vs. a twentieth day elder or adult).
@igazor In terms of aging matthew down, I actually entered CAS from mastercontroller and simply changed his age from elder to adult in the basics panel and went back into game. I then had him quit his job (as he was already retired) and reset him. He seems fine in game and story progression even helped him have a child (outside of my active household) but for seem reason after that I've been having enormous lag/ errors, and such. I also understand bridgeport is a hefty world with its occasional issues, but its never been so bad as its becoming in my current save file. I've considered moving them to another town, but i'd like to keep using bridgeport as i've customized it quite a bit.
Can someone help me with this? Can’t post my own thread since I’m technically a new member. I have a MacBook Pro but it’s old and my husband and I are looking into Trident 3. It’s on sale so it isn’t as much as it was when it first came out, it’s around $800. We aren’t huge gamers, but he likes the desktop and we also need something for school work. I would play my Sims 4 on it and he would play a couple simple computer games as well. Would this work? I read a post about someone not recommending it, but wasn’t sure?
@Allyanabell - The MSI Trident looks great on paper. I would say it gets mixed reviews for reliability, but I also have a funny feeling the reviews I've read are from people who don't really have any idea what they are talking about or maybe the earliest models were not QA tested enough.
This is the TS3 section of the forum, though. I see you've posted this question in a couple of places, but the best one would be the tech forum for TS4. It's not here anymore, it's been moved to EA's Answers HQ site. The players and helpers over there might be better able to answer from experience with TS4 and reports from others. https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/bd-p/The-Sims-4
@igazor thank you. Do you happen to know if my Origins account that I play with my Mac could be used for our new desktop, regardless of platform? I remember back in the day you had to download either for PC or Mac and now I believe it’s one download for both? I also remember when you could only download the game one time or on one computer. I just don’t want to get a new desktop and have to buy everything again...
@Allyanabell - If you own a license to any game through Origin, then you own it on both PC and Mac provided a PC and Mac version actually exist. It's never the same download, the two operating systems require very different program (application) files for games to run, but if you have the rights to one then you have the rights to the other. What you might be remembering is years ago when both PC and Mac versions were provided on the same CD/DVD discs, but the only one the player saw was the one that matched the system they were on at the time.
There has never been a one download-one computer limit for these games, players always have the rights to install on as many computers as they rightfully own. But only one of them can actually run/play the game at a time in online mode. The disc versions had a 5-install limit, that was quite common at one time, but it was easy to "decommission" one or more of them if computers were to be retired and the games to be installed elsewhere as needed or if more re-installs were called for. Not sure if even that limit is enforced any longer.
Hi guys! New (and somewhat befuddled, lol) user here, who has recently downloaded The Sims 3 and about 5 expansion packs before realizing my 2016 iMac doesn’t even play the thing! Rather than cut my losses, I am seriously considering buying a new computer to experience the game, but I’m afraid of plopping down a thousand dollars for a new computer that may end up not being friends with a 10-year-old game that is no longer being regularly updated. It would be a thousand-dollar lesson for me basically, because I am really only buying it to play TS3, as I’m not a big gamer otherwise.
I’ve read posts by @igazor giving general guidelines for what is needed to run TS3 on optimal settings with the most expansion/stuff packs added on, but I’ve also read other folks saying their graphics card is too new to be recognized by TS3. In my mind, I was thinking that having a new computer with a decade’s worth of technological advances would make playing TS3, well, child’s play — but now I’m wondering if the computer will be too powerful for its own good, and TS3 won’t be able to keep up, or even start up.
I thought about buying a computer like the iBUYPOWER Elite Gaming PC Desktop Computer ARCW 091i (cannot link to it as I’m too new on the forum to post links), currently valued at $949.99. With its Intel i5, 2.9 GHz, Geforce GTX 1660 6GB, 1TB HDD, 480GB SSD, 16GB DDR4 RAM, it seems to more than meet the required specs I’ve read in various posts on this forum. But now I’m worried about other hidden issues that a non-tech guy like myself would not have the basic understanding to foresee.
What do you guys think? Will it be too new to befriend TS3’s dated technology, or will it knock it out of the park and make playing a breeze? Would really appreciate your feedback.
@paperbackmummy3 - Hi there. The specs of the computer you have listed will be just fine for TS3. In fact a bit over the top, but it's of course logical to aim higher than needed as one expects other uses out of one's computers than only being able to play a single game (even if it's one we are fond of/addicted to). Someone else with a more finely tuned shopping gene may come along and suggest other similar models or find a sale that might be helpful.
No graphics card issued after 2013 or so will be recognized by the game. But not recognized doesn't mean the card won't be used as it should be, that would be undetected which is very different. We can help you get any of the newer cards formally recognized once you have the game installed so that the game doesn't mistakenly apply a too weak default profile to it, not that such really affects the quality of gameplay very much (or at all). More important than that will be the need to cap its frame rates as TS3 has no functional fps limiter, but that can be done with a couple of external tools. These are one-time things we all have to do with the newer graphics cards to get them to behave properly with an older game like TS3.
Before you make this purchase though, not that I am trying to discourage you, but have you considered the possibility of Bootcamping Windows onto your iMac and trying the Windows version of the game that way? If the Mac has strong enough components and you have the drive space and patience to manage two operating systems, many of us find this to be a very acceptable solution. I only just recently transitioned from playing TS3 on a 2011 iMac to a 2019 one through Bootcamp and it's all working just fine on my end. In fact, the new one runs the game "with two fingers up its nose" as the charming expression goes (meaning it doesn't flinch, make funny old computer noises, get hot, or seem to be stressed out by the game in any way). For almost everything else, I prefer to be in the macOS. The purchase of a standalone retail copy of Windows would be required to try this though, so a check on that Mac's specs would be in order first -- from Apple Menu > About This Mac, exact model name, processor, RAM, graphics card and a right-click to Get Info on the hard drive for total and currently available hard drive space.
> @igazor said: Before you make this purchase though, not that I am trying to discourage you, but have you considered the possibility of Bootcamping Windows onto your iMac and trying the Windows version of the game that way? .... The purchase of a standalone retail copy of Windows would be required to try this though, so a check on that Mac's specs would be in order first -- from Apple Menu > About This Mac, exact model name, processor, RAM, graphics card and a right-click to Get Info on the hard drive for total and currently available hard drive space.
This sounds like a fantastic alternative! Thanks for the heads up. Here are the specs for my current computer:
@paperbackmummy3 - Oh good, you have a dedicated graphics card. Typically the next barrier to face is with the weaker integrated ones which can be limiting on the Windows side, but that wouldn't be an issue here. So Bootcamp would be a viable alternative if you have the drive space to work with, and the patience to tend to both the macOS and Windows on the same machine.
Yeah, now it just looks like I’ll have to buy Windows 10. I have the Bootcamp instructions pulled up already and it seems fairly straightforward. Thanks again for your help, I was ready to spend a lot of unnecessary money!
I have a little dilemma and I apologize in advance for the super long post : I used to play TS3 (and then TS4 for a little bit) on my current laptop and it ran fairly well. My game never crashed, but I also didn't have a lot of CCs (compared to most) and zero mod.
But I also used said laptop for school, especially for coding (some of my models ran for 1-2 days, I had uninstalled both TS3 and TS4 at that time). I think that tired my laptop a lot because it's definitely not as fast as it used to be. Now I'm done with school, and I also have a work laptop so I can use my personal laptop for whatever I want.
So here are the specs for my current laptop : ASUS Zenbook UX32V 4GB RAM Intel Core i5-3317U 1.70 Ghz NVIDIA GT 620M
& I have the following games : - TS3 + WA, Seasons, University Life, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations -TS4
So I guess my questions are :
1) Would the game run fairly well on my current laptop if I clean it out and buy accessories like a cooling pad etc...? (Looking at the recommended specs I saw, the answer is most likely no.)
2) If not, any recs for laptops? Keeping in mind that it would literally only be for TS3/TS4 as I don't play any other games. I'm not very tech savvy, I was looking for a new one and I got confused about the specs : for example it will say 8GB of RAM and then have a lower amount (4GB) of dedicated video ram, what is the difference and which one should I be looking at?
3) I'm also open to desktops, as I've heard they are cheaper and better for TS3. I'd rather a laptop, not because I plan on taking it anywhere but just because it takes less space. But if the price difference is really important for the same or better specs then OK. I also heard building your desktop is actually the cheapest but unfortunately I doubt I have the skills to do that.
I live in France and have a budget of about 700-800€. I usually look at Amazon France (since I have Prime and Prime Day is coming up) as well as Darty. There's sales everywhere at the moment (annual summer sales) so any recommendations would be great, thank you!
@ingridmf Long posts aren't a problem; more information is (almost) always better. To answer your questions:
1) Your current laptop would probably not run TS3 all that well. Seasons would likely be out of the question, although WA and Ambitions might be fine. (The others are somewhere in between, and performance is harder to predict.) The laptop does have a dedicated graphics card, but it's pretty weak; the processor is U-series, which the most demanding expansion packs don't handle well; the 4 GB RAM isn't going to help either. Even if you added more RAM, the graphics card and processor would still significantly limit performance.
Sims 4 runs better on lower-end hardware. I'm not an expert on that game, but I would think that this laptop could theoretically run the base game and a few expansions on low settings.
2) I'll list some recommendations below, but igazor summarized the requirements for TS3 quite well here:
To run TS4 on ultra settings, you wouldn't need a stronger graphics card than an Nvidia 1050 ti right now. But the game is still adding features, so the demands will continue to increase. Still, a 1050 ti should always be able to handle high settings, if not ultra, even with all packs installed. For ultra settings in the future, you'd probably need around an Nvidia 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580, but that's just an educated guess.
Dedicated video RAM, or VRAM, is the amount of memory a graphics card has built into it, which is separate from the RAM that the processor uses. Shared memory is the amount of main memory (regular RAM) a card can borrow for additional processing when it's already using all of its VRAM. Some models of graphics card come with multiple VRAM sizes, i.e. the Nvidia 1060 3 GB and 6 GB versions. More VRAM is better, but the more important detail is the model of card—a 1060 3 GB is better than a 1050 ti that has 4 GB VRAM.
3) The desktop options are cheaper, but then they don't come with a monitor. The major advantage is that you can upgrade desktop parts separately, for example installing a better graphics card, instead of having to buy a whole new computer. If you're not into do-it-yourself upgrades though, this might not matter to you. The parts are also usually going to be higher quality, and of course a laptop can be damaged as you carry it around.
I checked a few different French sites to see what was available. (Darty is definitely overpriced.) For laptops, I couldn't find anything with a 1050 ti for less than 800€, other than a couple of models that don't come with Windows 10. (The models with a 1060 are much more expensive.) These two are both 800€ on amazon.fr right now, although it's possible they'll be cheaper on Prime Day:
Both have the same processor and graphics card. The Asus has a better quality screen than the Dell. The advantage of the Dell is that it has a 256 GB solid state drive in addition to its 1 TB mechanical drive; SSDs are much faster than HDDs. The Asus has Optane memory, which is basically an accelerator applied to the hard drive to make it run faster for any task you perform more than once. An SSD will still be faster than any HDD, but an HDD with Optane will be a lot faster than one without.
For desktops, Amazon is a pain to navigate, but there are plenty of good options. This one, at 639€, is as low as I'd go. Its processor is about equal to the above models, and it has the same 1050 ti. It does have 16 GB RAM, which is nice, but it also only has an HDD.
These two have a much stronger processor and better graphics cards: the first one has an Nvidia 1060 3 GB, and the second a 1060 6 GB. They both have 16 GB RAM. The first has only a single HDD, while the second has a 240 GB SSD as well. They're 700 and 750€, respectively.
I will add to the above excellent analysis and suggestions if I may that Asus Zenbooks are really cool if one can withstand the price tags and can be deceptively powerful given how lightweight they are. Years ago I had a user bring one to me at work that they had purchased to sort out some kind of graphics/resolution problem they were having with our remote access solution and I made the horrible mistake of making an awful face and asking how powerful could such a lightweight laptop really be (not realizing what I was looking at, I had at that point never seen a Zenbook before). It only took me a few minutes with it to realize that it was really very suitable for what the user was doing once some adjustments were made. And I've spent the last few years apologizing for that incorrect assessment; some bosses love to jump all over an IT person's initial mistake and just not let things go already even after they had been retracted and apologized for ("My son helped me pick this out, it cost thousands of (US) dollars, he knows what he is doing and you are being insulting" from a user who admittedly doesn't know anything about tech, etc.).
But the model already in hand and described above is indeed on the lower end of that range and not really suitable for TS3 once we get beyond the base game and perhaps a couple of the earliest released EPs.
1) I figured about my current laptop's specs, but never hurts to ask!
2) Thanks for explaining the difference between RAM and VRAM, I get it now! And will also be looking into the laptops you linked! From your explanations, I'd say the Dell is better overall since it has an SSD? Also another question : which "spec" would you say is the most important between processor, RAM, graphics card and hard drive? Like if you could rank them, or are they all about as important? Like for example should i get the laptop with the better graphics card even if the processor isn't that great or there's no SSD or is the processor/SSD more important?
3) For the desktops, I have more questions : - So there's no advantage to getting a desktop if I'm not gonna be upgrading it? I feel like it's not so much that I can't do it, just that I'm too scared to mess it all up lol - Are the required specs the same as for laptops? - What is the price range for a god monitor? Are there brands/specs I should be looking at? - Would i need anything else other than the monitor? (this might be a dumb question but I've never had a desktop before)
@ingridmf It's hard to give definitive rankings to the various components because each one needs to be above a certain minimum to handle TS3 at all, although TS4 is more forgiving in that department. Plus, once you get past a certain max, you wouldn't notice a difference in performance. Still, an informal and slightly messy ranking might look something like this:
Graphics card is first, because it's the single biggest determining factor for how well a computer will run a given game. But Sims 4 will do fine with a 1050 ti, even if you have to turn down the settings from ultra to merely high. Sims 3 will not run nearly as well on anything lower than a 1050 (not ti).
Hard drive is next for Sims 3, and for Windows as well. An SSD is faster than an HDD with Optane, which is about the same as a hybrid drive (SSHD). Regular HDDs are much slower than the rest. Sims 3 will load quickly on anything that isn't a plain HDD. Sims 4 runs pretty much the same on any drive once the game is loaded.
The processor would be higher, but all the options I linked have strong enough CPUs for both games plus some multitasking. For Sims 3, almost anything made in the last couple of years that doesn't have a U or Y in its model number is fine. Sims 4 is more processor intensive, but again, any of the models mentioned would be fine.
RAM is last, because while 4 GB isn't enough for either game to run well, 8 GB is plenty. 16 GB is great for multitasking but won't give any performance boost to the games themselves if you're not doing anything else while playing.
As a practical matter, I might lean towards the Asus, but that's because I don't like the look of Dell screens as much. (It's just a personal preference.) I would expect the Dell to run Sims 3 a bit faster, but that refers to the time needed to load saves, CAS, Build/Buy, and Edit Town, and to travel from one world to another. The game itself wouldn't lag either way.
The biggest advantage of a desktop is the ability to upgrade, but you'd also be getting better parts. Like I mentioned, the processor and graphics cards in the two more expensive desktops are better than in the laptops, and the desktops have more RAM. Desktops also tend to last longer because of less wear and tear, combined with the fact that they're easier to repair if necessary. Mobile hardware has improved a lot in recent years, but desktops still have better cooling and other components. So given the same hardware specs, you could expect a desktop to perform a bit better than a laptop, althoug the gap might not be large.
A prebuilt desktop usually comes with everything you'd need, although you'd want to confirm it had a mouse and keyboard. Plug it in, attach the monitor, and turn everything on. You might need to find an ethernet cable somewhere, but those are cheap, and most desktops these days have built-in wifi anyway. A monitor's built-in speakers generally aren't great though, so you'd want your own, or a nice pair of headphones, same as with a laptop.
Monitor searches are even more of a mess to search for on Amazon than desktops are, and I'm not good with monitors anyway. But the most important thing is how you feel when looking at the screen, as in, would you be comfortable using it? So the best approach would be to go to a local shop and look at the different models to get an idea of what you like. There are plenty of good brands to choose from, and once you know what you like looking at, you can search for the best deals online. (Even Amazon is easier when you have a product number.) Among the good choices are Dell, Acer, and BenQ; Samsung, Asus, and MSI are more expensive. But that's not an exhaustive list.
Also, lol on the ZenBook masquerading as a glorified tablet. I only learned about them when someone asked me if it was a good idea to drop almost $2000 U.S. on a Lenovo Yoga to play TS4 (no), and I had to scramble to find something better with a touchscreen.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation as always!
So I'll look at the graphics card (1050 ti) and hard drive (SSD) first and go from there for the rest. (Also I honestly don't mind loading screens taking a bit longer, as long it doesn't take forever lol)
I was looking over at Cdiscount and I found these two : - HP PC Portable Gamer Pavilion 15-cx0006nf : Intel Core i5 (8ème génération) 8300H / 2.3 GHz - HP PC Portable Gamer Pavilion 15-cx0007nf : Intel Core i7 (8ème génération) 8750H / 2.2 GHz How come the i7 has less GHz? Or at the two not related?
Another question : for 8GB of RAM, is it better for it to be 1x8 or 2x4?
Re the desktop : it does seem better to see it for myself before going online shopping, will do!
I am so glad this exists! I have not played the sims since 2011. I still have Sims 3 installed on my computer with world adventures, loft stuff, ambitions, fast lane, and late night. I saw my cousins daughter playing on her tablet the other day and I would LOVE to get back into playing. I thought I kept all of my sims stuff but I can not find the disc to late night so I can play. It says I need to insert that disc ( I always used discs and played on a computer).I have the box but ambitions is inside and the disc is nowhere to be found. Are there any other expansion packs that I can buy and install and use the disc for instead? If so, I will make a trip to the store right now
Comments
> I have installed just the base game of Sims 3 to my husband's computer as my computer keeps crashing. After I installed the game on his computer, I was able to load the game, create a couple and put them in a house like normal. Now today I am trying to load the game, the box comes up like it should when you first choose "run as administrator" but then it goes away and nothing happens. I can't even get Origin to load, to launch the game from there. Any ideas? Should I just give up.
I'm not seeing the edit button in my post, so I'll add this here:
In order to post in this forum, I had to log in using my EA account name. By doing this, it brought up the Origin box where I could log into that, which I did. I then managed to load the game. It's loading as we speak, or rather, as I type. I guess if I want to play it again I will need to come here and log into my account here.
If you create a desktop shortcut for TS3.exe (or maybe Sims3Launcher.exe), trying to launch the game from there should bring up Origin instead, so that may be another viable approach.
Windows: https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2013/09/how-to-find-your-serial-number.html
macOS: https://bluebellflora.com/finding-your-serial-key-using-terminal/
You can also try clearing Origin's cache to see if the packs turn up. Sometimes it helps.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/
If the codes read as already used, but you're the original owner, then maybe you added them to a different account. Since Origin and the store share information, registering your packs at the store on an old account would render the codes useless now. If you think that's what happened, try entering any email addresses you might have used into the Origin login window, then clicking "forgot your password?" Any address associated with an Origin account will get an email to reset its password.
Once you know your old account credentials, you can contact EA customer support and ask that the accounts be merged. Keep in mind that the account that's being merged, i.e. the one that will disappear, will likely not transfer its store content to the new one.
https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/
If you can't figure out what happened to your codes, you can ask someone from EA support to check. It would help to have photos of the discs and inserts with the codes showing; you can upload them directly to a live chat.
First though, Instant Baby is typically harmless but how exactly did you age Matthew down? MasterController does not have a mechanism for aging a sim down into a younger age stage, it only provides the means to adjust their absolute or relative ages within their current stage (e.g., a first day elder or adult vs. a twentieth day elder or adult).
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Our new site is at http://nraas.net
This is the TS3 section of the forum, though. I see you've posted this question in a couple of places, but the best one would be the tech forum for TS4. It's not here anymore, it's been moved to EA's Answers HQ site. The players and helpers over there might be better able to answer from experience with TS4 and reports from others.
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/bd-p/The-Sims-4
NRaas has moved!
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There has never been a one download-one computer limit for these games, players always have the rights to install on as many computers as they rightfully own. But only one of them can actually run/play the game at a time in online mode. The disc versions had a 5-install limit, that was quite common at one time, but it was easy to "decommission" one or more of them if computers were to be retired and the games to be installed elsewhere as needed or if more re-installs were called for. Not sure if even that limit is enforced any longer.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
I’ve read posts by @igazor giving general guidelines for what is needed to run TS3 on optimal settings with the most expansion/stuff packs added on, but I’ve also read other folks saying their graphics card is too new to be recognized by TS3. In my mind, I was thinking that having a new computer with a decade’s worth of technological advances would make playing TS3, well, child’s play — but now I’m wondering if the computer will be too powerful for its own good, and TS3 won’t be able to keep up, or even start up.
I thought about buying a computer like the iBUYPOWER Elite Gaming PC Desktop Computer ARCW 091i (cannot link to it as I’m too new on the forum to post links), currently valued at $949.99. With its Intel i5, 2.9 GHz, Geforce GTX 1660 6GB, 1TB HDD, 480GB SSD, 16GB DDR4 RAM, it seems to more than meet the required specs I’ve read in various posts on this forum. But now I’m worried about other hidden issues that a non-tech guy like myself would not have the basic understanding to foresee.
What do you guys think? Will it be too new to befriend TS3’s dated technology, or will it knock it out of the park and make playing a breeze? Would really appreciate your feedback.
No graphics card issued after 2013 or so will be recognized by the game. But not recognized doesn't mean the card won't be used as it should be, that would be undetected which is very different. We can help you get any of the newer cards formally recognized once you have the game installed so that the game doesn't mistakenly apply a too weak default profile to it, not that such really affects the quality of gameplay very much (or at all). More important than that will be the need to cap its frame rates as TS3 has no functional fps limiter, but that can be done with a couple of external tools. These are one-time things we all have to do with the newer graphics cards to get them to behave properly with an older game like TS3.
Before you make this purchase though, not that I am trying to discourage you, but have you considered the possibility of Bootcamping Windows onto your iMac and trying the Windows version of the game that way? If the Mac has strong enough components and you have the drive space and patience to manage two operating systems, many of us find this to be a very acceptable solution. I only just recently transitioned from playing TS3 on a 2011 iMac to a 2019 one through Bootcamp and it's all working just fine on my end. In fact, the new one runs the game "with two fingers up its nose" as the charming expression goes (meaning it doesn't flinch, make funny old computer noises, get hot, or seem to be stressed out by the game in any way). For almost everything else, I prefer to be in the macOS. The purchase of a standalone retail copy of Windows would be required to try this though, so a check on that Mac's specs would be in order first -- from Apple Menu > About This Mac, exact model name, processor, RAM, graphics card and a right-click to Get Info on the hard drive for total and currently available hard drive space.
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Before you make this purchase though, not that I am trying to discourage you, but have you considered the possibility of Bootcamping Windows onto your iMac and trying the Windows version of the game that way? .... The purchase of a standalone retail copy of Windows would be required to try this though, so a check on that Mac's specs would be in order first -- from Apple Menu > About This Mac, exact model name, processor, RAM, graphics card and a right-click to Get Info on the hard drive for total and currently available hard drive space.
This sounds like a fantastic alternative! Thanks for the heads up. Here are the specs for my current computer:
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015); Processor 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5; Memory 16 GB 1867 MHz DDR3; Graphics AMD Radeon R9 M380 2 GB.
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I have a little dilemma and I apologize in advance for the super long post : I used to play TS3 (and then TS4 for a little bit) on my current laptop and it ran fairly well. My game never crashed, but I also didn't have a lot of CCs (compared to most) and zero mod.
But I also used said laptop for school, especially for coding (some of my models ran for 1-2 days, I had uninstalled both TS3 and TS4 at that time). I think that tired my laptop a lot because it's definitely not as fast as it used to be.
Now I'm done with school, and I also have a work laptop so I can use my personal laptop for whatever I want.
So here are the specs for my current laptop :
ASUS Zenbook UX32V
4GB RAM
Intel Core i5-3317U 1.70 Ghz
NVIDIA GT 620M
& I have the following games :
- TS3 + WA, Seasons, University Life, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations
-TS4
So I guess my questions are :
1) Would the game run fairly well on my current laptop if I clean it out and buy accessories like a cooling pad etc...? (Looking at the recommended specs I saw, the answer is most likely no.)
2) If not, any recs for laptops? Keeping in mind that it would literally only be for TS3/TS4 as I don't play any other games. I'm not very tech savvy, I was looking for a new one and I got confused about the specs : for example it will say 8GB of RAM and then have a lower amount (4GB) of dedicated video ram, what is the difference and which one should I be looking at?
3) I'm also open to desktops, as I've heard they are cheaper and better for TS3. I'd rather a laptop, not because I plan on taking it anywhere but just because it takes less space. But if the price difference is really important for the same or better specs then OK.
I also heard building your desktop is actually the cheapest but unfortunately I doubt I have the skills to do that.
I live in France and have a budget of about 700-800€. I usually look at Amazon France (since I have Prime and Prime Day is coming up) as well as Darty. There's sales everywhere at the moment (annual summer sales) so any recommendations would be great, thank you!
1) Your current laptop would probably not run TS3 all that well. Seasons would likely be out of the question, although WA and Ambitions might be fine. (The others are somewhere in between, and performance is harder to predict.) The laptop does have a dedicated graphics card, but it's pretty weak; the processor is U-series, which the most demanding expansion packs don't handle well; the 4 GB RAM isn't going to help either. Even if you added more RAM, the graphics card and processor would still significantly limit performance.
Sims 4 runs better on lower-end hardware. I'm not an expert on that game, but I would think that this laptop could theoretically run the base game and a few expansions on low settings.
2) I'll list some recommendations below, but igazor summarized the requirements for TS3 quite well here:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/17068099/#Comment_17068099
To run TS4 on ultra settings, you wouldn't need a stronger graphics card than an Nvidia 1050 ti right now. But the game is still adding features, so the demands will continue to increase. Still, a 1050 ti should always be able to handle high settings, if not ultra, even with all packs installed. For ultra settings in the future, you'd probably need around an Nvidia 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580, but that's just an educated guess.
Dedicated video RAM, or VRAM, is the amount of memory a graphics card has built into it, which is separate from the RAM that the processor uses. Shared memory is the amount of main memory (regular RAM) a card can borrow for additional processing when it's already using all of its VRAM. Some models of graphics card come with multiple VRAM sizes, i.e. the Nvidia 1060 3 GB and 6 GB versions. More VRAM is better, but the more important detail is the model of card—a 1060 3 GB is better than a 1050 ti that has 4 GB VRAM.
3) The desktop options are cheaper, but then they don't come with a monitor. The major advantage is that you can upgrade desktop parts separately, for example installing a better graphics card, instead of having to buy a whole new computer. If you're not into do-it-yourself upgrades though, this might not matter to you. The parts are also usually going to be higher quality, and of course a laptop can be damaged as you carry it around.
I checked a few different French sites to see what was available. (Darty is definitely overpriced.) For laptops, I couldn't find anything with a 1050 ti for less than 800€, other than a couple of models that don't come with Windows 10. (The models with a 1060 are much more expensive.) These two are both 800€ on amazon.fr right now, although it's possible they'll be cheaper on Prime Day:
https://www.amazon.fr/Asus-TUF504GE-DM563T-Portable-GTX1050-Français/dp/B07H47H65Y
https://www.amazon.fr/Dell-Inspiron-15-5590-Portable-Français/dp/B07QFBLC2Y
Both have the same processor and graphics card. The Asus has a better quality screen than the Dell. The advantage of the Dell is that it has a 256 GB solid state drive in addition to its 1 TB mechanical drive; SSDs are much faster than HDDs. The Asus has Optane memory, which is basically an accelerator applied to the hard drive to make it run faster for any task you perform more than once. An SSD will still be faster than any HDD, but an HDD with Optane will be a lot faster than one without.
For desktops, Amazon is a pain to navigate, but there are plenty of good options. This one, at 639€, is as low as I'd go. Its processor is about equal to the above models, and it has the same 1050 ti. It does have 16 GB RAM, which is nice, but it also only has an HDD.
https://www.amazon.fr/Megaport-GeForce-GTX1050ti-Centrale-Ordinateur/dp/B010GBVUY2
These two have a much stronger processor and better graphics cards: the first one has an Nvidia 1060 3 GB, and the second a 1060 6 GB. They both have 16 GB RAM. The first has only a single HDD, while the second has a 240 GB SSD as well. They're 700 and 750€, respectively.
https://www.amazon.fr/Megaport-GeForce-GTX1060-Centrale-Ordinateur/dp/B074G1K77L
https://www.amazon.fr/Megaport-GeForce-GTX1060-centrale-ordinateur/dp/B010GBVV6O
If you have any other questions, or you'd like something different than the above options, please feel free to ask.
But the model already in hand and described above is indeed on the lower end of that range and not really suitable for TS3 once we get beyond the base game and perhaps a couple of the earliest released EPs.
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1) I figured about my current laptop's specs, but never hurts to ask!
2) Thanks for explaining the difference between RAM and VRAM, I get it now! And will also be looking into the laptops you linked!
From your explanations, I'd say the Dell is better overall since it has an SSD?
Also another question : which "spec" would you say is the most important between processor, RAM, graphics card and hard drive? Like if you could rank them, or are they all about as important? Like for example should i get the laptop with the better graphics card even if the processor isn't that great or there's no SSD or is the processor/SSD more important?
3) For the desktops, I have more questions :
- So there's no advantage to getting a desktop if I'm not gonna be upgrading it? I feel like it's not so much that I can't do it, just that I'm too scared to mess it all up lol
- Are the required specs the same as for laptops?
- What is the price range for a god monitor? Are there brands/specs I should be looking at?
- Would i need anything else other than the monitor? (this might be a dumb question but I've never had a desktop before)
Again, thank you for your help!
- Graphics card is first, because it's the single biggest determining factor for how well a computer will run a given game. But Sims 4 will do fine with a 1050 ti, even if you have to turn down the settings from ultra to merely high. Sims 3 will not run nearly as well on anything lower than a 1050 (not ti).
- Hard drive is next for Sims 3, and for Windows as well. An SSD is faster than an HDD with Optane, which is about the same as a hybrid drive (SSHD). Regular HDDs are much slower than the rest. Sims 3 will load quickly on anything that isn't a plain HDD. Sims 4 runs pretty much the same on any drive once the game is loaded.
- The processor would be higher, but all the options I linked have strong enough CPUs for both games plus some multitasking. For Sims 3, almost anything made in the last couple of years that doesn't have a U or Y in its model number is fine. Sims 4 is more processor intensive, but again, any of the models mentioned would be fine.
- RAM is last, because while 4 GB isn't enough for either game to run well, 8 GB is plenty. 16 GB is great for multitasking but won't give any performance boost to the games themselves if you're not doing anything else while playing.
As a practical matter, I might lean towards the Asus, but that's because I don't like the look of Dell screens as much. (It's just a personal preference.) I would expect the Dell to run Sims 3 a bit faster, but that refers to the time needed to load saves, CAS, Build/Buy, and Edit Town, and to travel from one world to another. The game itself wouldn't lag either way.The biggest advantage of a desktop is the ability to upgrade, but you'd also be getting better parts. Like I mentioned, the processor and graphics cards in the two more expensive desktops are better than in the laptops, and the desktops have more RAM. Desktops also tend to last longer because of less wear and tear, combined with the fact that they're easier to repair if necessary. Mobile hardware has improved a lot in recent years, but desktops still have better cooling and other components. So given the same hardware specs, you could expect a desktop to perform a bit better than a laptop, althoug the gap might not be large.
A prebuilt desktop usually comes with everything you'd need, although you'd want to confirm it had a mouse and keyboard. Plug it in, attach the monitor, and turn everything on. You might need to find an ethernet cable somewhere, but those are cheap, and most desktops these days have built-in wifi anyway. A monitor's built-in speakers generally aren't great though, so you'd want your own, or a nice pair of headphones, same as with a laptop.
Monitor searches are even more of a mess to search for on Amazon than desktops are, and I'm not good with monitors anyway. But the most important thing is how you feel when looking at the screen, as in, would you be comfortable using it? So the best approach would be to go to a local shop and look at the different models to get an idea of what you like. There are plenty of good brands to choose from, and once you know what you like looking at, you can search for the best deals online. (Even Amazon is easier when you have a product number.) Among the good choices are Dell, Acer, and BenQ; Samsung, Asus, and MSI are more expensive. But that's not an exhaustive list.
Also, lol on the ZenBook masquerading as a glorified tablet. I only learned about them when someone asked me if it was a good idea to drop almost $2000 U.S. on a Lenovo Yoga to play TS4 (no), and I had to scramble to find something better with a touchscreen.
So I'll look at the graphics card (1050 ti) and hard drive (SSD) first and go from there for the rest.
(Also I honestly don't mind loading screens taking a bit longer, as long it doesn't take forever lol)
I was looking over at Cdiscount and I found these two :
- HP PC Portable Gamer Pavilion 15-cx0006nf : Intel Core i5 (8ème génération) 8300H / 2.3 GHz
- HP PC Portable Gamer Pavilion 15-cx0007nf : Intel Core i7 (8ème génération) 8750H / 2.2 GHz
How come the i7 has less GHz? Or at the two not related?
Another question : for 8GB of RAM, is it better for it to be 1x8 or 2x4?
Re the desktop : it does seem better to see it for myself before going online shopping, will do!