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Sims 4 mac advice

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Hi Simmers!

I recently got a MacBook Air (128 GB, 13') and I understand that I won't be able to play Sims 4.

Would you recommend downloading bootcamp? I have my windows 7 serial I can download.
Aussie_Simmer

Comments

  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    The MacBook Air does not come with a dedicated graphics card and its processor is underpowered for the task. These issues will follow you over to the Windows side if you Bootcamp. You're also not going to be able to create a very large Windows partition if its HD only has 128 GB total to work with. It's not a machine made for gaming; it's strengths are in other areas -- lightweight thus super-portable, the stable Mac OS, great for web surfing, email, light Office type tasks.

    If it were a MacBook Pro with better graphics, it would fare much better in the Sims arena.
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  • ewilson1114ewilson1114 Posts: 2,513 Member
    With such a small ssd, it will be hard to have enough room for two operating systems unless you don't store any media at all on your laptop. Plus the Sims wouldn't play well on it anyway.
  • MALAiA46MALAiA46 Posts: 1,436 Member
    I use windows parallels it works fine! Look at the mac section of the forum!
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    MALAiA46 wrote: »
    I use windows parallels it works fine! Look at the mac section of the forum!
    Parallels is a great product also, but for playing graphics oriented games on a MacBook AIR? Am surprised it even runs the Demo well.

    Totall off-topic, but thank you whoever it was who gave me my first Spam flag above merely for offering advice on Mac laptops. I was feeling so left out not getting any of those until now. (does happy dance) :D
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  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    igazor wrote: »
    The MacBook Air does not come with a dedicated graphics card and its processor is underpowered for the task. These issues will follow you over to the Windows side if you Bootcamp. You're also not going to be able to create a very large Windows partition if its HD only has 128 GB total to work with. It's not a machine made for gaming; it's strengths are in other areas -- lightweight thus super-portable, the stable Mac OS, great for web surfing, email, light Office type tasks.

    If it were a MacBook Pro with better graphics, it would fare much better in the Sims arena.

    1) The MacBook Air comes with Intel 5 built into the MacBook. I also had had Intel 5 on my old PC and Sims worked perfectly. The processing power is also fine.

    2) I can purchase a hard drive.
    Aussie_Simmer
  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    MALAiA46 wrote: »
    I use windows parallels it works fine! Look at the mac section of the forum!

    Thank you! I will definitely look into this program. :)
    Aussie_Simmer
  • ewilson1114ewilson1114 Posts: 2,513 Member
    igazor wrote: »
    The MacBook Air does not come with a dedicated graphics card and its processor is underpowered for the task. These issues will follow you over to the Windows side if you Bootcamp. You're also not going to be able to create a very large Windows partition if its HD only has 128 GB total to work with. It's not a machine made for gaming; it's strengths are in other areas -- lightweight thus super-portable, the stable Mac OS, great for web surfing, email, light Office type tasks.

    If it were a MacBook Pro with better graphics, it would fare much better in the Sims arena.

    1) The MacBook Air comes with Intel 5 built into the MacBook. I also had had Intel 5 on my old PC and Sims worked perfectly. The processing power is also fine.

    2) I can purchase a hard drive.

    The Macbook Air has an i5 but it has a very low speed (1.4 GHz). That's below the minimum requirements for Sims 4 which is 1.8 GHz.

    Yes you can purchase an external hard drive but I would recommend against trying to run boot camp off of it as USB hard drives have a slower transfer rate than the built in SSD (which uses PCI-E).

    Macbook Airs are a fantastic laptop (I have one myself, the 11 inch) but they are simply not meant for gaming. I strongly advise against it as you would be taxing the system more than it was designed for and would therefore shorten the life of it.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    1) The MacBook Air comes with Intel 5 built into the MacBook. I also had had Intel 5 on my old PC and Sims worked perfectly. The processing power is also fine.

    2) I can purchase a hard drive.

    I defer to your experience with the newer integrated graphics. Have admittedly never used that config.

    But the current MBA's processor is a 1.4 GHz i5, which does not meet EA's minimum requirements for the game. It may work well in the beginning despite that, but after a few EPs or whatever EA has in store for us in the future, things are going to get dicey there.
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  • stilljustme2stilljustme2 Posts: 25,082 Member
    Yeah, I probably wouldn't want to put Sims 4 on a laptop, even a Windows laptop unless it was designed for gaming; I would love to get a MacBook Air but I mainly want it for my side job of writing (would be easier to take it to the library for research).
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  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    "Processor
    1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
    Configurable to 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache."

    Someone explain this to me!
    Aussie_Simmer
  • ewilson1114ewilson1114 Posts: 2,513 Member
    "Processor
    1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
    Configurable to 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache."

    Someone explain this to me!

    Sure. Your processor has 1.3 GHz. The system requirements call for 1.8 GHz. And remember that these are the minimum system requirements, not the recommended requirements.
  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    "Processor
    1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
    Configurable to 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache."

    Someone explain this to me!

    Sure. Your processor has 1.3 GHz. The system requirements call for 1.8 GHz. And remember that these are the minimum system requirements, not the recommended requirements.

    That's only for the PC version though.... it could to be suit a mac.
    Aussie_Simmer
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    Just to compare, I am sitting here typing this on my almost three year old iMac, which has a 2.7 GHz i5 processor. It is also my TS3 machine (via Bootcamp) and plays it beautifully, or at least as well as any computer can run that game. I know it's not really fair to compare a desktop to an ultra-portable, but there's quite a jarring difference between 1.3 GHz and 2.7.
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  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member

    That's only for the PC version though.... it could to be suit a mac.

    If you are running a game through Bootcamp, it is the PC version's requirements that are relevant. A Mac running Windows via Bootcamp IS a PC while it is booted up that way.
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  • ewilson1114ewilson1114 Posts: 2,513 Member
    igazor wrote: »

    That's only for the PC version though.... it could to be suit a mac.

    If you are running a game through Bootcamp, it is the PC version's requirements that are relevant. A Mac running Windows via Bootcamp IS a PC while it is booted up that way.

    Exactly.
  • stilljustme2stilljustme2 Posts: 25,082 Member
    We must have the same iMac, igazor -- got mine the day after Pets came out (my old one conveniently picked that day to finally die). I Boot Camped Win7 on it and it plays it smoothly (well, with a little help from the good folks at NRaas :D ). Also handles the Sims 4 CAS demo well, as you can see in my avatar (which is me if I was about 30 years younger). I could probably go ahead and get Sims 4 and put it on there. But I'm still holding out hopes for a Mac version, plus I'm waiting to see what direction this game takes.
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  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    If I didn't run bootcamp and waited for the mac version..... would the minimum requirements change for Sims 4?
    Aussie_Simmer
  • ewilson1114ewilson1114 Posts: 2,513 Member
    If I didn't run bootcamp and waited for the mac version..... would the minimum requirements change for Sims 4?

    I can't know for sure, but looking at the Sims 3 requirements, the Mac ones were actually a little higher than the PC ones.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited August 2014
    If I didn't run bootcamp and waited for the mac version..... would the minimum requirements change for Sims 4?
    That's entirely possible. The number of ways in which they could arrange a port of the product to OS X are almost infinite, so we would really have no way of knowing until such a port was released.
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  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    Thank you both for commenting.
    Aussie_Simmer
  • ewilson1114ewilson1114 Posts: 2,513 Member
    No problem. Sorry it wasn't the news you were hoping for! Enjoy the computer though, its a great one.
  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    I was just reading some technical specifications for the MacBook Air. This device has two 1.3 GHZ processors... so I will be able to play Sims 4 through bootcamp.
    Aussie_Simmer
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    I was just reading some technical specifications for the MacBook Air. This device has two 1.3 GHZ processors... so I will be able to play Sims 4 through bootcamp.
    It has a dual core processor, not two processors. Just about any computer made in the last five years has dual core or more (most desktops other than the really cheap ones now are quad core). But hey, I hope it works for you.
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  • Aussie_SimmerAussie_Simmer Posts: 2,623 Member
    It doesn't bother me. I think it's best if I wait for the mac version. :)
    Aussie_Simmer
  • dukiebird23dukiebird23 Posts: 242 Member
    Does anyone actually know when it is going to be released? I really want it and I find it annoying how we have to wait longer.
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