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    Min specs for the game

    «134567…10
    SimGuruDreaSimGuruDrea Posts: 60 New Member
    edited February 2023 in The Sims 3 Help & Technical Discussion
    Hi everyone,
    As a reminder, here are the final minimum specs for the game (Mac & PC).

    FOR WINDOWS XP
    * 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
    * 1 GB RAM
    * A 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
    * The latest version of DirectX 9.0c
    * Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
    * At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

    FOR WINDOWS VISTA
    * 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
    * 1.5 GB RAM
    * A 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
    * Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1
    * At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

    For computers using built-in graphics chipsets under Windows, the game requires at least:
    * Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA 3-Series or above
    * 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
    * 0.5 GB additional RAM

    FOR MAC OS X
    * Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard or higher
    * Intel Core Duo Processor
    * 2 GB RAM
    * ATI X1600 or Nvidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100.
    * At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space, with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
    * This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems, or the GMA 950 class of integrated video cards.


    Windows Supported Video Cards

    NVIDIA GeForce series
    FX 5900, FX 5950
    6200, 6500, 6600, 6800
    7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
    8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
    9300, 9400, 9500, 9600, 9800
    G100, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150
    GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295

    ATI Radeon(TM) series
    9500, 9600, 9800
    X300, X600, X700, X800, X850
    X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
    2400, 2600, 2900
    3450, 3650, 3850, 3870
    4850, 4870

    Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)
    GMA 3-Series, GMA 4-Series

    Laptop versions of these chipsets may work, but may run comparatively slower. Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly.

    Integrated chipsets such as the ATI Xpress and the NVIDIA TurboCache variants may default to settings that are higher than what would be optimal for them. Graphics settings can be lowered to improve performance.

    The NVIDIA GeForce FX series is unsupported under Vista.


    MAC OS X Supported Video Cards

    NVIDIA GeForce series
    7300, 7600
    8600, 8800
    9400M, 9600M GT
    GT 120, GT 130

    ATI Radeon(TM) series
    X1600, X1900
    2400, 2600
    3870,
    4850, 4870

    Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)
    GMA 3-Series
    Post edited by EA_Cade on

    Comments

    • Options
      BlackLitheBlackLithe Posts: 143 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Would a NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE work? Because my sims look terrible.
    • Options
      MarkgsuMarkgsu Posts: 4 New Member
      edited June 2009
      RTFM
    • Options
      kittygirl9997kittygirl9997 Posts: 33 New Member
      edited June 2009
      .5 of Ram will that make a big diff.?
    • Options
      electrokuteelectrokute Posts: 26 New Member
      edited June 2009
      how do i find out what my specs or or w.e??? HELP!!!!!
    • Options
      xpennylanex19667xpennylanex19667 Posts: 35 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Im planning on buying a computer with Nvidia Geforce G100 that is found on the list above and on the back of my sims 3 case, However on the sims 3 system requirements on the website it does not list G100.. So Is it covered, because Im seeing to diffrent lists here? Thanks for any help


    • Options
      peacenlovepeacenlove Posts: 7 New Member
      edited June 2009
      I am getting a Nividia Geforce 9600 GT w/ 512 MB & a couple extra GB of sdram. hopefully it helps. I really want to play it with MUCH better graphics and speed.

      It will take a while to get these because of shipping and also I'd like a game patch if it's available at that time.. .

      good night.
    • Options
      Lover_BoyLover_Boy Posts: 2 New Member
      edited June 2009
      i love how my comoputer blows away these requirements but my game will crash when someone watches tv or walks out side the house or gets something to eat, i thought they delayed the game to fix **** like this
    • Options
      peacenlovepeacenlove Posts: 7 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Well the game patch better do wonders...
    • Options
      Kennybenny19Kennybenny19 Posts: 217 New Member
      edited June 2009
      It took me forever to install this on my mac. well first i had to have a software update and ****, then it just went downhill from there
    • Options
      AndreaKiddAndreaKidd Posts: 529 New Member
      edited June 2009
      same here, it took an hour to install on my PC, than it wouldn't let me play until I changed my anitalias to "let the program choose" or something like that and then my graphics were so crappy that it looked worse then "The Sims" and I lagged so bad, it took another hour just trying to set everything up and on top of that I couldn't even play.

      I just found out I have Nvidia GeForce FX 5200, is this even okay to use with TS3? Does updating it cost money? I hope I can update it and finally ejoy my game.

      :x
      Post edited by Unknown User on
    • Options
      PML07PML07 Posts: 7 New Member
      edited June 2009
      electrokute wrote:
      how do i find out what my specs or or w.e??? HELP!!!!!

      www.systemrequirementslab.com/

      Select "Can You Run It", then The Sims 3. It'll let you know if your computer meets the minimum reqs. Just to let you know though, my laptop failed the cpu speed (Vista needs 2.4 ghz and i only have 1.66 ghz), but i can still run the game properly with all the settings set to low. So dont give up hope if you dont pass the reqs. Havent tried setting to Med or HIgh yet...dont want to crash my comp. :lol:
    • Options
      mrskow030505mrskow030505 Posts: 2 New Member
      edited June 2009
      i managed to install n played the game though my processor does nt meet the min. requirement of 2.0 GHz P4 processor, my P4 processor is oni 1.66 GHz.
    • Options
      Kittie0CatKittie0Cat Posts: 7 New Member
      edited June 2009
      PML07 wrote:
      electrokute wrote:
      how do i find out what my specs or or w.e??? HELP!!!!!

      www.systemrequirementslab.com/

      Select "Can You Run It", then The Sims 3. It'll let you know if your computer meets the minimum reqs. Just to let you know though, my laptop failed the cpu speed (Vista needs 2.4 ghz and i only have 1.66 ghz), but i can still run the game properly with all the settings set to low. So dont give up hope if you dont pass the reqs. Havent tried setting to Med or HIgh yet...dont want to crash my comp. :lol:

      I took that "Can You Run It" test days before the game came out, and it failed me because of my cpu speed and video card [which does not meet the requirements for the game] however, I installed this game fine and It plays fine now that it dosen't freeze anymore. So, just because that test fails you I recommend that you still buy the game and test it to see if it will run because most it probably will. It if will run for me with an unsupported video card I'm sure it'll run for others.
    • Options
      DefenderofFutureDefenderofFuture Posts: 2 New Member
      edited June 2009
      kittygirl9997 wrote:
      .5 of Ram will that make a big diff.?

      Yeah I'm using a laptop that fulfills all the base requirements, plus the additional laptop requirements except the additional 0.5 gig of RAM. I want to make sure before I buy the extra RAM that it will actually help to end crashes.
    • Options
      kascrashkascrash Posts: 3 New Member
      edited June 2009
      well we have the game running fine under windows xp using only a 1.6 cpu but with 1.5 gigs of ram and a good ati agp video card .
    • Options
      marcuzxdmarcuzxd Posts: 48 New Member
      edited June 2009
      peacenlove wrote:
      I am getting a Nividia Geforce 9600 GT w/ 512 MB & a couple extra GB of sdram. hopefully it helps. I really want to play it with MUCH better graphics and speed.

      It will take a while to get these because of shipping and also I'd like a game patch if it's available at that time.. .

      good night.

      You should be good! I just installed a BFG 9600GT 512mb cards two weeks ago (running on an HP Pavilion with 3GB Ram, and a 2.20ghz Pentium Duo-Core Processor) and it runs pretty well! The graphics do look good, although the game is kinda choppy. Good luck! :)
    • Options
      vbsmw3vbsmw3 Posts: 17 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Hello everyone,
      Any and ALL help is appreciated. I'm buying a laptop for college soon and I found one I really like, here are it's specs:

      It's a Dell-Intel Core 2 Duo P8600-Laptop Model:SX13-1633
      CPU: 2.4GHz
      RAM: 4GB
      Windows Vista Home Premium
      Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9400

      Will this meet the sims 3 requirements?
      Also, I have a 500GB external hard-drive/flash drive
      can I put my sims 2 on that and have it on the same comp?
    • Options
      hoosier1592hoosier1592 Posts: 1 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Would it run well with a Galaxy GeForce 8400 GS Video Card - 256MB because I was thinking of upgrading since I havent since I got this computer 3 years ago so is this good to run The Sims3 on?
    • Options
      peacenlovepeacenlove Posts: 7 New Member
      edited June 2009
      yeah we're getting the same graphics card. it was one of the more reasonably priced ones, but the 9600 gt plays other computer games well and there were good reviews so i picked it.

      The memory should help too. Thx for the reply.

      XX
    • Options
      CuileannCuileann Posts: 27 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Pronounced Quillunn: It's Irish
      My husband bought an extra 256MB card for NVIDIA but our processor is only 1.99. That seems to hold us back sooooo much. It took my SIM 15 minutes to pee.
      *sigh* I couldn't even make my own SIM. The screen went all TRON mega nightmare on me but wanting a SIM 3 fix I used a SIM already on the game and wow...
      I need a better computer. Mine is four years old. My husband is going to buy a new one tomorrow. Yeah I love The SIMS that much. So to play SIMS 3 will cost me about $1000 + $50 for the game. *HUGE sigh*
    • Options
      CuileannCuileann Posts: 27 New Member
      edited June 2009
      Hey! Can I get a discount for being a SIMS alumni? Or maybe a diehard SIMS player? No? *BIG HUGE sigh*
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      tams2578tams2578 Posts: 705 Member
      edited June 2009
      I'm getting this computer tomorrow and I was wondering how TS3 will look and play on it.

      http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229100

      I'm really hoping it will work.
      Zwdtm8.png
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      sharvolsharvol Posts: 1 New Member
      edited June 2009
      I used the program CAN YOU RUN IT and I failed because CPU speed minumum requirement is 2.0 GHZ mine was only 1.1GHZ. I was going to cancel my order but thought I would buy it anyway and get a new computer when I could. For fun I installed the game and to my surprise and delight it worked and I have been playing it. I also just passed the other minimum requirements as well.
    • Options
      CuileannCuileann Posts: 27 New Member
      edited June 2009
      yay shar! Better than I have had with my dinosaur comp. Hope you enjoy the game sunshine!!
    • Options
      LadyLuckDoubtLadyLuckDoubt Posts: 7 New Member
      edited June 2009
      I definitely pass the requirements on my desktop, but all I need to do is put the disk into the CD drive, and everything crashes.

      Can You RUN it? made a suggestion about drivers, though, and I'm updating them for my video card and sound card.

      Fingers crossed that I can get this ****** running tonight (or at least not crashing my computer) before I'm due in at work.
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