I have already posted this
on my blog because so many people are asking this question. I'll post it again here:
- If you have a Mac that has an i3, i5 or i7 processor, you should be fine. These are more recent and powerful than the Intel Core 2 Duo stated in the CPU requirements.
- If you have a Mac which has the Intel 3000 or
Intel 4000* or Intel 5000 graphics cards, you should be fine. The same goes for the Intel Iris and Iris Pro cards.
- If you have a 13″ MacBook Pro (non-retina) with one of the integrated Intel cards, and it has 384Mb VRAM, you can increase this to 512Mb VRAM by upgrading the system RAM to 8Gb. This will boost your game performance.
- Remember that The Sims 3 runs so appallingly on Macs because EA used Cider to make the game OS X compatible. Your game thinks it’s running in Windows, not OS X. All signs indicate that The Sims 4 will be native to Mac, as The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 were.
- If you’ve Boot Camped your Mac and you can play The Sims 4 well, this is absolutely NO indication of how well the game will play in OS X. Remember, different operating system/different drivers, even though the hardware is the same.
If you have a retina MacBook Pro you cannot upgrade RAM or memory to free up more space. They are sealed units. Well, you can but you need to be technically proficient and it will invalidate any warranty or Applecare you have on the machine. Same goes for some of the more recent iMacs. And has always applied to the MacBook Airs (apart from the first gen. which had a SSD instead of flash memory).
Please remember one very, VERY important thing. No one can say 100% the game will run on your Mac because you may have conflicting software, or your Mac may be in dire need of some
basic housekeeping. But if your Mac meets these
minimum system requirements then there's a pretty good chance it should work.
Minimum Requirements -
- Minimum OS – Mac OS X Lion (10.7.5)
- CPU – Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz or better
- RAM – At least 4Gb RAM
- Hard Drive – At least 10Gb of free space with at least 1Gb additional space for custom content
- Video – NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro or better. Video RAM (VRAM) of 256 MB or better
- Input – Keyboard and Mouse
- Online Requirements: Internet Connection required for product activation
Recommended Requirements:
- Minimum OS – Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9 or later)
- CPU – Intel Core i5 or better
- RAM – 8Gb RAM
- Hard Drive – 12Gb Hard Drive space
- Video – NVIDIA GTX 650 or better
- Input – Keyboard and Mouse
- Online Requirements: Internet Connection required for product activation
- Don't forget that you can only get the game from Origin -
*UPDATE 17.02.15 - Please be aware there are currently issues with the Intel HD 4000 card on Macs. There is a
forum thread regarding this, please read it for possible workarounds. EA are aware of this issue.
Comments
I'll be able to report more on the play on February 17 once I have the game installed on the Mac side. But so far it runs fine.
I have snow leopard. I could get mavericks or yosemite but I like the one I have better.
I got mavericks once but then went to snow leopard again.
I am still going to try to play it and see.
If not then I guess i can upgrade.
Good luck - let us know how you get on
Mac model (late 2013 13" non-Retina MacBook Pro)
Processor (2.9 GHz Intel Core i7)
Memory (8 GB RAM)
Graphics (Intel HD 4000 512mb)
Operating System (OS X Yosemite 10.8.5)
Official EA DLC/EPs installed: none
Do you have antivirus or clean up apps installed? If so what are they? No
Are you running any background tasks? If so, what are they? No
Do you have any CC/mods installed? If so, what are they? No
It's a known issue, try the workaround in the opening post under Possible Bugs:
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/816108/the-sims-4-help-troubleshooting-bug-thread/p1
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
Processor 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7
RAM 16 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB
And as I've read... the fact that the 13" does not have a true graphics card makes me quite worried that I'm going to blow my money on something that doesn't work well.. even if I have upgraded the RAM and processor. :/
TS3 won't run well on the 13" because it has Intel Iris graphics which aren't supported. They cause issues with the game which make it virtually unplayable. Head over to the TS3 forum and read the stickied Mac Helper's Best Friend thread for more info. TS3 was also a Cider port whereas TS4 is natively written for OS X.
TS4 should run but bear in mind the 13" MBP has dual core processors, not quad core like the 15" MBPs. The only MacBook which has dedicated graphics is the high end 15", all others have integrated including the entry level 15". BUT, loads of Simmers are happily playing on 13" MBPs and even MBAs
Depends how much you want to spend, how smooth you want your gameplay to be, how high you want your graphics options to be set at and how future proof you want your machine to be, especially if looking to buy all future EPs and GPs.
> michikorc wrote: »
>
> Hi, thanks very much for this quick guide. I'm looking to purchase either Sims 3 or 4, but after reading quite a fair bit on this forum, I'm a little hesitant because of the tech specs of my new MacBook Pro:
>
> MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
> Processor 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7
> RAM 16 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
> Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB
>
> And as I've read... the fact that the 13" does not have a true graphics card makes me quite worried that I'm going to blow my money on something that doesn't work well.. even if I have upgraded the RAM and processor.
>
>
>
>
> TS3 won't run well on the 13" because it has Intel Iris graphics which aren't supported. They cause issues with the game which make it virtually unplayable. Head over to the TS3 forum and read the stickied Mac Helper's Best Friend thread for more info. TS3 was also a Cider port whereas TS4 is natively written for OS X.
>
> TS4 should run but bear in mind the 13" MBP has dual core processors, not quad core like the 15" MBPs. The only MacBook which has dedicated graphics is the high end 15", all others have integrated including the entry level 15". BUT, loads of Simmers are happily playing on 13" MBPs and even MBAs
>
> Depends how much you want to spend, how smooth you want your gameplay to be, how high you want your graphics options to be set at and how future proof you want your machine to be, especially if looking to buy all future EPs and GPs.
Thanks very much! :smile: I might be trying out the Mac version of TS2 Super Collection on App Store for starters... I've played with The Sims since TS1 (collected all the expansion packs!) but somehow that interest faded off during college and I sold my TS2 off without trying it out!
Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Processor: 2 GHz Core 2 Duo T7200
RAM: 1 GB DDR2
Hard Drive: 160 GB
Graphics Coprocessor: Intel GMA 950
OS X Yosemite
Macbook air 13 inches early 2014
1,4 GHz Intel Core i5
4 Go 1600 MHz DDR3
Intel HD Graphic 5000 1536 Mo
I think it meets the minimum requirements, but it's a macbook air so... I know they weren't meant for gaming.
MacBook Pro 15in mid 2010
OS X 10.9.5
2.66 GHz Intel Core i7
4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 512 MB
Well it happily exceeds the recommended requirements. You might like to install more RAM though, not just for TS4 but to give your Mac a boost Your MBP can support 8Gb RAM.
Retina display
12-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology
2304-by-1440 resolution at 226 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
16:10 aspect ratio
Supported scaled resolutions:
1440 by 900
1280 by 800
1024 by 640
1.2GHz
1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache
Configurable to 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache.
GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
512GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 5300
Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 3840 by 2160 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
OS X 10.10.3
Is it possible to run the sims 4 plus the expansion packs or not? I have had alot of trouble with sims on past computers and I was finally hoping to be able to play again. If not, can you tell me what would happen if I do run it?
Thanks! :smile:
@BlueBellFlora have you seen people with Nvidia 300 series cards on Mac that can play this game? I know on PC its been a problem
The new MacBook has a very low spec. processor and no fan. If you can get the game to run it will most likely fry your Mac after a while due to stresses and heat. The new MacBook is the most underpowered of all Macs, even the MacBook Air is more powerful.
Let us know how you get on though if you decide to install it but honestly, I absolutely would not risk installing it on the MacBook. I've seen articles online where people have installed games but for me it would be too much of a risk.
What Sims games were you playing before and on what computers?