Two Computer Questions

LaBlue0314

The computer that I now have does not play TS3, so I've had to put one of my favorite Sim series to rest. It is an older computer, but there are some things in it that are not compatible with TS3. But in the next couple of months, that is going to change, and I'm getting a little excited just thinking about the idea of once again playing with some of my favorite characters in the game.

When I look up information on the web it talks about what I need for the base game and other stuff, and then I start to get a bit confused when they get into the technical details. My basic computer knowledge is not very much. What would you all recommend that I should be looking at as far as computers that can handle TS3 and everything that goes with it? I have all the packs, most of the store items, and several mods and CC.

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My second question is what does everyone think about Windows 10? I've heard quite a few negative things about it. How does it play with Sims 2, 3, and 4?

IreneSwift

I don't have Windows 10, so I don't know how it works with Sims 3, but my IT tech son hates Windows 10 with a passion. He has to be familiar with it for his work, but he won't use it himself.

duhboy2u2

I can say that my issues running Sims 3 ended with my newest PC upgrade. I got one with (my brother in law built) an Nvidia GForce GT 1030 video card. I also have a normal 1 terabyte hard drive and a 512GB solid state one. I don't know how much it matters, but its a Quad core 4 Ghz processor running windows 10.

I'm having 0 issues running Sims 1, 2, 3 or 4 on Windows 10. Two had the standard issues it has with newer pc's with the video card not being recognized and the blocky square shadows, but there are some great walkthroughs online that show well how to fix it (which have nothing to do with Windows 10 and everything to do with the game being too old to recognize modern video cards). Even with my own lack of tech savvy, they were pretty easy to follow to make it work right. That said, All I had to do to make Sims 3 run was install it and play. Highly recommend getting the NRAAS mods - if not story progression- then certainly the ones that fix the lag and error issues Sims 3 has innately.

puzzlezaddict

EA's official requirements were posted ten years ago, and they haven't even been updated to account for the features patched into the base game, let alone the expansion packs. These are the recommendations for running TS3 with all packs on high settings:

• Processor: Intel i5 or i7, at least 2.4 GHz, not U- or Y-series, or AMD equivalent. A quad (or more) core i7 would be better on a laptop. The newer i5-8300 and i7-8750 are also fine, even on a laptop, even though their base clock speeds are a bit below 2.4 GHz.
• Memory: At least 8 GB RAM for the game and Windows. 16 GB would be better for multitasking or futureproofing.
• Graphics card: An Nvidia 950 or 1050 for a desktop, or 960 or 1050 ti on a laptop, or AMD equivalent.
• Storage: A drive of at least 512 GB on which to install TS3. TS3 will run faster on a solid state drive, but it's not critical. Many computers come with a small 128 or 256 GB SSD and a larger mechanical drive, in which case it's necessary to install on the large HDD and move Documents there too.

If you'd like help picking out a computer, just post your budget and country, as well as any other features you want, like if you'd prefer a laptop or need to run other games or software.

As far as Windows 10 goes, I don't like it at all. But I'm a Mac person, so I'm quite biased. I will say that Windows 10 has been easy to use ever since I Bootcamped my MacBook Pro, and I've had only the smallest issues, all of which were fixable. Sims 2 might be much more of a hassle, but you could always ask for help in the TS2 section; I think some of the posters there play in Windows 10. But if your older computer runs TS2 just fine, you could leave it there and use the newer one for 3 and 4.

bklienhart

I've been using Windows 10 for a couple years now, and I haven't had any problems with it. I even made my mother and brother switch to Win10.
I haven't had any problems with Sims 3, and I don't have Sims 4, and haven't installed Sims 1 or 2 in over a decade.

The main problem you'll run into with a new computer is that Sims 3 won't recognize your video card (if it's a newer one) and sets all your settings to the lowest level. You can either manually increase them, or if you have an NVidia card their GeForce experience will put in the correct settings for you.