Hmm so laptops are a no no.
Well if I had every expansion, a good chunk of store content, and a medium size cc and with sims 4 with all dlc, and a good amount of cc what computer would be the best?
Laptops are fine if you must have a laptop. The games requirements are for desktop not laptop. Laptop hardware is weaker than desktop. Laptop's processor and video card can not be upgraded. You are stuck with the specs you buy . If you buy a good desktop with hardware that can be upgraded and a good case with good cooling it is a much better choice than laptop. Desktop is always better but if you need a laptop make sure it meets all requirements to run the game since the laptop can not be upgraded.
On laptop you would need a stronger laptop i5 or i7 processor quad core which will end in HQ or MQ
You want a video card that is DDR 5 vram. You need a GTX 960m or GTX 1050 ti or better on laptop.
The first number is the series for Nvidia 900, 1000 etc. The 1000 series is better and newer than the 900
The second number , the higher the second number the better the card 50, 60, 70, 80. On laptop in the 900 series I would not go under 60 but over is fine. With the 1000 series on laptop you can go 1050 ti and up
8gb of computer ram is fine
hard drive at least 500 gb but 1tb would be better if your using this laptop for other things besides the game
On Desktop you would need an intel i5 processor or AMD FX series (8000 is the better and newer AMD series)
Video card GTX 950 or GTX 1050 to or better or AMD equivalent like an RX 460 or better
8gb of computer ram is fine
hard drive at least 500 gb but 1tb would be better
I figured that would be your answer. As I mentioned before, it's unlikely that I'll get this one because of the screen size (unlike 99% of the people, I prefer smaller screens). I only asked him to get an idea about the price range (he managed to get me my current laptop $100 cheaper) and he gave me a specific model. Also, my chances of getting accepted is pretty low (can't imagine the number of applicants) and if I won't, I won't need a touch screen. But of course, I got more than a year to decide.
If your not buying until next year it's not worth looking at any laptop. They are always coming out with new hardware. Laptops that are available now may not be in a year from now. It's best to ask for help with a computer when you are ready to buy
I figured that would be your answer. As I mentioned before, it's unlikely that I'll get this one because of the screen size (unlike 99% of the people, I prefer smaller screens). I only asked him to get an idea about the price range (he managed to get me my current laptop $100 cheaper) and he gave me a specific model. Also, my chances of getting accepted is pretty low (can't imagine the number of applicants) and if I won't, I won't need a touch screen. But of course, I got more than a year to decide.
If your not buying until next year it's not worth looking at any laptop. They are always coming out with new hardware. Laptops that are available now may not be in a year from now. It's best to ask for help with a computer when you are ready to buy
I know but I'm planning to continue my studies abroad so I'd have to count with the tuition fee, the living costs in general and an eye surgery before I go and as I said, I just wanted an idea of the prices since I assumed that those won't change that much. The only reason I asked was because he said this is the one that he'd recommend.
@dorcsyful - If you are in the US, you should probably plan on $1,050 or so as a ballpark figure. If you can get away with less than that from sales or your discount source, then I am sure you will put the "surplus" to good use. And again, this is assuming you are planning to sim on that laptop and it's not intended for schoolwork and web surfing only. Even if you were going into graphic design, I doubt that you would need as powerful a card as Sims demands (although it certainly wouldn't hurt).
@phoebebebe13 - Look, I was off by one digit on the 1000 series and missed the "ti." This isn't fair. I demand partial credit for my answer. (yeah, this aggressive tactic never worked very well in college either, but I still managed to graduate somehow...)
@igazor I doubt I'd want to go abroad if I was American. I live in Hungary and this one costs about $1315 (390 000 HUF). (I honestly don't know how you have time to actually play with the game considering the amount of time you spend answering our questions here so thanks )
@igazor I doubt I'd want to go abroad if I was American. I live in Hungary and this one costs about $1315 (390 000 HUF). (I honestly don't know how you have time to actually play with the game considering the amount of time you spend answering our questions here so thanks )
If the Dell you got a quote on was $1315, I would say add $200 or so just for planning purposes to account for a better processor and stronger graphics card. When it's closer to the time to make an actual purchase decision, I'm sure we can provide a couple of choices here to compare against what your source then has come up with.
Wish I could have studied abroad. The closest I got was Univ Toronto being near the top on my list for grad schools, I was accepted, but the scholarship I would have needed didn't come through until very late. But US vs. Canada is hardly the same thing as the experience I am sure you are talking about.
I figured that would be your answer. As I mentioned before, it's unlikely that I'll get this one because of the screen size (unlike 99% of the people, I prefer smaller screens). I only asked him to get an idea about the price range (he managed to get me my current laptop $100 cheaper) and he gave me a specific model. Also, my chances of getting accepted is pretty low (can't imagine the number of applicants) and if I won't, I won't need a touch screen. But of course, I got more than a year to decide.
If your not buying until next year it's not worth looking at any laptop. They are always coming out with new hardware. Laptops that are available now may not be in a year from now. It's best to ask for help with a computer when you are ready to buy
I know but I'm planning to continue my studies abroad so I'd have to count with the tuition fee, the living costs in general and an eye surgery before I go and as I said, I just wanted an idea of the prices since I assumed that those won't change that much. The only reason I asked was because he said this is the one that he'd recommend.
Unfortunately the prices can change. There is no telling. Sometimes people can get really good deals when they are getting rid of old stock here in the USA when they come out with new hardware. Where you live I'm not sure. I have seen good deals and once they get rid of old stock and have nothing but new stock the prices go up. This is why we tell people to ask about a computer when they are ready to buy.
@phoebebebe13 - Look, I was off by one digit on the 1000 series and missed the "ti." This isn't fair. I demand partial credit for my answer. (yeah, this aggressive tactic never worked very well in college either, but I still managed to graduate somehow...)
LOL. On laptop you would need the ti. On desktop there is a 1050 but the ti is still better.
I printed out this discussion and gave it to my s/o and his IT friends so they'd have a clearer idea of what I wanted, nope! Needed. (Haha) They said y'all really knew what you were talking about and were thankful for the help because I am clueless about tech-y stuff. They ordered all the parts a week ago and it should get here by Monday! So, I'm hopeful that within two weeks I'll have the computer up and running with the Sims.
All in all, it cost me $1284 with shipping. I plan on getting a list of all the parts with the cost of each item and including it on this discussion thread for anyone who might be interested. Also, I'll find out where they ordered the parts from. When it's built and I'm playing the Sims 3 from my monster of a computer, I'll update this thread again to share pictures of the graphics and how it runs the game in general.
Again, thank you so much for your help and advice. I couldn't have done it without y'all!
Well, when You do fill up, and you will, your modfolder with packages... ...You MUST recompile/merge as many as possible with repackager. -Heed my words, lest You'll be Doomed...
@Mazakeen I'm no good with computers so unfortunately the specs mean nothing to me! Haha XD
'tis okay. Just avoid buying something used. Really. Truely. I play, work and fix computers since '84... ...But telling what they ought to but, I do not. If I know their use for a computer, I can help, but I never go for top shelf. I find somefing useful, that is solid, and works for the purposes laid out. If a customer tells me, I only check my email... ...Oh, easy... ...but they 'always' come later and complains it can't render 10 raw-files in photoshop at the same time... ...-Then I tell the customer Plum out of here, you plum plum. -And my boss gets angry. -I don't want that.
@MMitchell93 Awesome How nice to have someone build it for you. I don't remember if it's been mentioned already but once you get everything up and running, v-sync is very important with this game. You will want to lock frames to your monitor's refresh rate to prevent stutter, screen tearing, and high temps. Here are the instructions under the spoiler tag below:
right-click desktop Nvidia Control Panel
You can track your FPS in-game with the cheat fps on. Small text will appear in the corner and it should be capping at whatever your monitor's refresh rate is. For most people this is 60. In order for vsync to work via Nvidia Control Panel, you need to be in fullscreen mode.
Some people find that Nvidia Control Panel doesn't work for them. In that case you will need Nvidia Inspector. Instructions for Nvidia Inspector under the spoiler tag below:
Look for the small tool icon or green symbol next to Driver Version. Click to launch Nvidia Profile Inspector.
Select Profiles at the top and scroll through the long list to find Sims 3.
Under Sync and Refresh, select Vertical Sync > Force On Apply Changes top right corner.
You can track your FPS in-game with the cheat fps on. Small text will appear in the corner and it should be capping at whatever your monitor's refresh rate is. For most people this is 60. With Nvidia Inspector you do not need to be in fullscreen mode.
Upon first loading the game, you will be greeted with a message reporting your card not recognized by the game. This can be ignored because in most cases it has no effect on the game. It is possible to force the card into being recognized... I only suggest going through the trouble of getting the card recognized if you're currently having graphic issues OR if graphic settings are not saving. No harm in doing it just for fun but most don't consider it very fun... more like a pain and confusing. I can help through PM if needed.
This...was my idea for a dream-rig for my photography/video editing:
One of the critical pieces of equipment if you are planning to make money from photography is to invest in a reliable computer. I'm a PC guy so I'm not going to go into PC vs Mac and I'm not going to debate the merits of one versus the other. Lets face it; I'm three years and 363 days away from 50, so to learn a whole new system is not going to happen. I’m a PC guy to stay.
Now I have had the benefit of having three computer systems crap out on me from which I lost thousands of photos which has set me back quite considerably. None of which were the fancy customized computers but were straight out of the box systems which I highly recommend that you not do. These systems may be fine if you are a hobbyist photographer who maybe shoots just for the fun of it but when you're working through 200-300 plus shots per shoot and editing in batch or are editing a 50 minute video heading for YouTube; you just will not have the time for a pokey machine that takes 3 hrs to blend a 25 shot image stack for a high resolution final image in Photoshop or 18 hrs to render a 50 min video in Premiere Elements or Sony Vegas Pro. As the saying goes in professional photography; time is money. Your best bet if you're at the stage where you're starting to amass a suitable portfolio of images and are planning on making money from photography: invest in a custom computer suitable to your photography needs. Personally, I will be going to NCIX for my system when I build it.
In this post I'm going to go into the breakdown of what kind of system that you should seriously consider getting to give you the biggest bang. Let's just say that you are going to easily be looking at near four grand (that’s nearly $4,000.00) for a suitable computer. Don't skimp. You'll need that horsepower. I'm breaking down my dream high performance system to give you guys an idea of what sort of performance is necessary for photo/video editing. And again the high horsepower your system has the faster your turn-around is. And you need that in a high turnover of product business like photography. I live with two gamers (my wife and my other son – they both are into computer games. But I’m focusing on photo/video editing) so these systems will also do well for gaming if you are into that sort of thing. The benefit of a good customizable computer is the upgrade factor. If you pick out your components well, all you will have to do to upgrade down the road is to purchase three things; a CPU, a motherboard and compatible RAM and you will be able to transfer all your other components into the next system.
So welcome to my dream hi-power photo/video editing rig:
CPU: the CPU is the one of the two most important processing components of your whole system. The CPU is the beast that turns around and crunches your data that you put into it when you shove that memory card into the memory card reader. You want it to be fast the higher GHz the better; the more cores the better. In the high-end CPUs you got the Skylake processors then you got the even more powerful Xeon processors which will not only break speed limits but will break your pocketbook unless you're stinking rich (In that case can I get your support on a Kickstarter campaign I have planned called "buy me a 600/4 for wildlife? just kidding). My choice for a CPU is the Intel Core i7-6700K: this beast of a processor runs at 4.0 GHz (Turbo-boosted to 4.2 GHz); the CPU has 4 cores, an 8MB cache and benchmarks run on Photoshop and Premiere beat out almost every other CPU on the market with the exception of the i5-6600K. But that may get into the build characteristics of that particular processor and not so much that it may seem better. There are a lot of factors that can go into performance of a CPU and I'm suspecting that Creative Cloud has a lot to do with it. I am old school and prefer my programs kept on my computer and a CD for backup but that's another argument for another day.
CPU pick: INTEL CORE i7-6700K
Motherboard: the motherboard is the part that ties all the internal components of your computer together and you are able to add in storage as necessary. Also, the motherboard is where your slots are for your memory. You need to make sure that your motherboard can support at least four slots for memory to give you the most flexibility – in computer lay-terms – the more the better which also goes for the other components on this selection. You also need to have as many PCI slots as you possibly can – Peripheral Component Interconnect slots or otherwise known as PCI slots enable you to attach video cards, sound cards and other components of your computer system and frankly, you don’t know just how many different things are going to come down the turnpike as far as storage or processing information is concerned. Different means of storage may mean different types of connection to the motherboard and some could potentially utilize PCI connections. The motherboard is the base of your flexibility for attaching external components to your computer for storage as well, so you need to have as many USB 3.0 slots as you possibly can. Also there are HDMI connections and Lightning (an Apple creation, but also now available on PC as well). I’m picking the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 because of the fact that if it’s meant for gaming it’ll have more than enough power to tackle video editing which will be the most CPU/MB taxing thing that this system will do. I have no interest in playing Fallout 4 which is one of gaming system’s benchmarks.
Motherboard Pick: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5
Memory: You want memory. Memory is the second component that is going to make your system purr like a kitten and do the things you want it to do. (Yes, I know, there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere). You want at least 16GB of memory; I’d go for 32GB of DDR4-2400 288 pin memory. You want memory to spare because when you’re trying to compile a video of your latest and greatest successful tracking of the golden-eyed teal bunting (or whatever bloody I don’t know what the hell songbird) that you went to some out of the way bird sanctuary in Eastern Malaysia dodging Malaysian kraits and electric eels to find; you don’t want the computer to hang and freeze on you. And on top of that you don’t want it to take eighteen hours to compile either. So the more memory the better.
Memory Pick: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series DDR4-2400 288-pin DIMM 4x8GB for 32GB
CPU Cooling System: With all that horsepower running through your computer, like a car engine, that CPU and case will run temperatures worse than the tropics. And when that system gets hot, meltdowns will occur. If your system overheats, you run the risk of seriously damaging your computer’s CPU and then you’re going to end up having to replace it if lucky; if not, you may even need to replace your whole motherboard and CPU. So if you don’t want that, invest in a cooling system; you want your CPU running cool while processing video in Premiere or Vegas Pro and extremely large focus or image stacks in Photoshop. People either talk running massive amounts of air with a lot of fans through the case but that restricts your amount of storage – fans take massive amounts of space. So the next best way to go is liquid-cooled. All that runs into problems. If you’re talking liquid cooled, you’re also talking potential leaks because no liquid cooled system isn’t prone to punctures. Which ultimately means that you’re going to have to have as stable a platform as possible. In other-words no stampeding cattle herds through the room where your computer is located – that means children and pets. My pick is the top rated Deepcool CAPTAIN 360 273.4 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing Liquid CPU Cooler which pumps 2200 RPM through the case and practically deepfreezes the CPU to a tolerable operating temperature level in any weather. The main control unit has three fans that will pump air through the case to keep the rest of the case at a cool internal temperature.
My Pick: Deepcool CAPTAIN 360 273.4 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing Liquid CPU Cooler
Storage: If you are shooting every few days, I would say for a storage drive, your best bet would be at least 2-3 TB of storage with additional storage by means of an external hard drive. The more storage that you have, the better, but all that costs money. For economy and speed, choose 7200 rpm. That will be your main internal storage drive on which you will put your week’s shooting RAW files with which you process. From there after the week is done, you will transfer your RAW files to an external storage drive, which you will label as your storage drive. Your main 7200 drive and an SSD working file drive will be your two main drives on which you will do most of your work. Externals should be your storage drives. Trust me, if you shoot prolifically, you will probably end up having to have a server with multiple removable internal docks eventually and a climate controlled drive storage room (scare you yet?) For your working drive (the drive in which you do most of your editing on), you should invest the money in a solid state drive (SSD – which contains no moving parts). Solid State Drives are faster on boot-up and boast at least a 40% speed increase in processing. For this drive you need at minimum a 1TB drive which will cost you, but well worth the added expenditure in time saved while working on photos and video.
Storage Drive Picks: Samsung MZ-7KE1T0BW 850 Pro Series 1TB SSD (main operating drive internal)
Western Digital Red Pro 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (main storage drive internal)
Video Card: When you are photo/video-editing, you need to have at least two monitors, one for the compiling and editing video/photos; the other for a display of the video or editing in full-size. Hence the reason why I am considering a video card with at least three display ports; because I will be doing editing on one display and viewing the end result of that edit on the other so that I know that there are no defects when viewed at full-size. The view sized monitor will be a 32” TV; I’d like to get myself a full-size 32” 4K monitor, but I don’t have that kind of $$$ lying around. So for my video card, I’ve selected the MSI GTX 980 4GD5 OCV1 GeForce GTX 980 4GB – this will allow me to attach three monitors as well as having a processing cache of 4GB exclusively on the card itself to prevent hang-ups while compiling video.
Uninterruptible Power Supply: (UPS) When your power cuts out, what are you going to do if you’re currently working on an important file. At least a UPS allows your computer enough power to keep it running while it gives you enough time to save your work and power the computer down. So in my books, it’s important for someone to have one of these. Get one…it will save your hard work.
UPS Pick: CyberPower CP1350AVRLCD UPS
Internal Power Supply: Like Home Improvement’s Tim “The Toolman” Taylor’s “More Power!!!!” grunt; I like power. The more the better. And the less likely it is for you to end up with a over-drawn power supply than if you stuck in an anemic 750W power supply. I’m going for 1500W – this is what’s known as server power supply territory. And you want plenty of power with a photo/video editing rig. ~grunt~ More power!
Internal Power Supply Pick: Corsair AX1500i 1500W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case: For your case, you don’t want to try to jam all this into a piddly mid-tower case. You want the genuine article. A monster that will sit on your floor and take up plenty of real estate. Lots of space means lots of air circulating through the innards allowing all your components to stay cool (provided you have enough fans in the case or you've liquid-cooled the CPU). And the Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case has that in spades in a layout that won't make your system anemic in data storage. Your CPU and motherboard do not need to get overheated. So with plenty of air-circulation, that a full-tower has, your system won’t over-heat even if you overclock your CPU to holy-hell light speed.
Case Pick: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case
Other essentials that you can’t do without: Go Blu-Ray writer – spend the extra money and get a Blu-Ray writer because those Blu-Ray discs will 🐸🐸🐸🐸 near write your whole OS drive onto one disc. Get one that can actually write BD-R XH. Also a memory card reader is essential: With Nikon introducing a new memory card format: XQD, in nearly all of its new professional grade cameras; it’s essential to have the three main memory card formats in a card reader on your computer. CF (CompactFlash), SD (Secure Digital) and XQD (don’t ask me what XQD stands for; I’m clueless).
Now with all this technical information, you’ll probably be surprised that I consider myself a techno-troglodyte. When I get told to boot the computer; my response is usually, “with which leg?” Put it simply, I hate change, especially in the tech world. My wife usually says that any sort of tech-change usually results in a lot of grumbling, screaming, tantrum-throwing and finally giving in and buying the 🐸🐸🐸🐸 thing that I was so adamant against in the first place.
But one caveat: They’ll never get me used to downloading software!!! Adobe…YOU HEAR ME?!!!
I'm still debating on the merits of going i7 Skylake vs. Xeon Processor (I'd be paying OUT my nose for it.
Except my single HDD drive just went to dual because I'm going to have one for gaming, one for photography. You've seen just how many Sims 3 Screencaps I come out of one playing session with. Somewhere around 120 screenshots per gaming session.
Now a lot of this may sound like it's overkill just to play Sims 3 and perhaps a few other games, but keep in mind, I also shoot photography video as well as photography, so when it comes to CPU usage, I'm going to put it through PLUM (read that as H...E...double hockey sticks... (I'm Canadian, eh...) and I'll be running PS Elements/PS Premiere Elements 14 as well as Adobe Lightroom on top of that; I also use Nik Effects Software Package.
They told me at NCIX that it would cost me a little over $4000+ to put this system together.
Basically...I'm playing:
as well as working...
off this computer that I intend to purchase (don't know when, but I'm going to be saving up for it)
My current specs on my son's laptop is:
with which I'm running 8GB RAM on a 64bit-based processor. And yes, Sims 3 noticeably stutters on occasion, but it's been behaving itself.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@Simasaurus09 posted on my wall said you needed help with playing on a TV. Reading your specs, The sims games will not run in SLI. You will have to disable one card. One 1060 card should run 1080p. What is the resolution of your TV?
ADDING something did not make sense to me with the price and where you wrote dual card. I looked up your video card Its dual fan on a single card. Ignore what I mentioned about sli. You should be running on a TV with 1080p resolution
@phoebebebe13 Hey, sorry it's taken this long to respond. Yes, it's running at 1080 and I've got it set up now where I have a side table right next to my bed which faces the television that I'm using as a monitor. I have a wireless keyboard and mouse on the side table so I can play from there without hurting my eyes and it looks a lot clearer (yay! Issue resolved!)
I do have one additional issue though, that maybe you can help me with: the screen will fade in and out every ten or so minutes. Not the actual size of the screen, but the color, if that makes any sense. Initially, the colors will be bright and how it's supposed to look, but then it will kinda darken for a few minutes before going back to being bright and then back to dark, and so on.
The best way I can describe it is: I changed the color on the exterior sliding of my house to pale green. When the picture is how it's supposed to be (bright), it is pale green. But then when the screen darkens, it's a darker green (definitely not pale). Of course, it'll go back to being bright, but the incessant flip flopping between bright and dim is both distracting and it means I have to use CAS and build and decorate houses within that 'bright' ten minutes.
Also, to clarify, it's not just the exterior color of the house that it's affecting. It cause everything in the game to periodically darken.
I've been searching for a computer or preferably a laptop for sims. I load a lot of CC and usually just use Pets and one or two other expansions. I've been searching for decades it seems for help.
I've been searching for a computer or preferably a laptop for sims. I load a lot of CC and usually just use Pets and one or two other expansions. I've been searching for decades it seems for help.
Hi there. If you provide a country and budget, our resident shopping expert should be able to help you find something. Be prepared for laptops to cost more than desktops to deliver similar computing and graphics power. @phoebebebe13
@Mazakeen - Not sure at whom you are directing that. But if we are talking about a New Member who does not hang around the Tech Discussions boards and who isn't very tech savvy, it is often too much to expect them to know what information is necessary in order to be helpful until we ask for it specifically.
@Mazakeen - Not sure at whom you are directing that. But if we are talking about a New Member who does not hang around the Tech Discussions boards and who isn't very tech savvy, it is often too much to expect them to know what information is necessary in order to be helpful until we ask for it specifically.
True. Sorry. But it was an somewhat old thread. I might been over-reacting. In that sense, @GravitySucks13 , I am sorry, and stand corrected.
Comments
Laptops are fine if you must have a laptop. The games requirements are for desktop not laptop. Laptop hardware is weaker than desktop. Laptop's processor and video card can not be upgraded. You are stuck with the specs you buy . If you buy a good desktop with hardware that can be upgraded and a good case with good cooling it is a much better choice than laptop. Desktop is always better but if you need a laptop make sure it meets all requirements to run the game since the laptop can not be upgraded.
On laptop you would need a stronger laptop i5 or i7 processor quad core which will end in HQ or MQ
You want a video card that is DDR 5 vram. You need a GTX 960m or GTX 1050 ti or better on laptop.
The first number is the series for Nvidia 900, 1000 etc. The 1000 series is better and newer than the 900
The second number , the higher the second number the better the card 50, 60, 70, 80. On laptop in the 900 series I would not go under 60 but over is fine. With the 1000 series on laptop you can go 1050 ti and up
8gb of computer ram is fine
hard drive at least 500 gb but 1tb would be better if your using this laptop for other things besides the game
On Desktop you would need an intel i5 processor or AMD FX series (8000 is the better and newer AMD series)
Video card GTX 950 or GTX 1050 to or better or AMD equivalent like an RX 460 or better
8gb of computer ram is fine
hard drive at least 500 gb but 1tb would be better
If your not buying until next year it's not worth looking at any laptop. They are always coming out with new hardware. Laptops that are available now may not be in a year from now. It's best to ask for help with a computer when you are ready to buy
I know but I'm planning to continue my studies abroad so I'd have to count with the tuition fee, the living costs in general and an eye surgery before I go and as I said, I just wanted an idea of the prices since I assumed that those won't change that much. The only reason I asked was because he said this is the one that he'd recommend.
@phoebebebe13 - Look, I was off by one digit on the 1000 series and missed the "ti." This isn't fair. I demand partial credit for my answer.
(yeah, this aggressive tactic never worked very well in college either, but I still managed to graduate somehow...)
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Wish I could have studied abroad. The closest I got was Univ Toronto being near the top on my list for grad schools, I was accepted, but the scholarship I would have needed didn't come through until very late. But US vs. Canada is hardly the same thing as the experience I am sure you are talking about.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Unfortunately the prices can change. There is no telling. Sometimes people can get really good deals when they are getting rid of old stock here in the USA when they come out with new hardware. Where you live I'm not sure. I have seen good deals and once they get rid of old stock and have nothing but new stock the prices go up. This is why we tell people to ask about a computer when they are ready to buy.
LOL. On laptop you would need the ti. On desktop there is a 1050 but the ti is still better.
I printed out this discussion and gave it to my s/o and his IT friends so they'd have a clearer idea of what I wanted, nope! Needed. (Haha) They said y'all really knew what you were talking about and were thankful for the help because I am clueless about tech-y stuff. They ordered all the parts a week ago and it should get here by Monday! So, I'm hopeful that within two weeks I'll have the computer up and running with the Sims.
All in all, it cost me $1284 with shipping. I plan on getting a list of all the parts with the cost of each item and including it on this discussion thread for anyone who might be interested. Also, I'll find out where they ordered the parts from. When it's built and I'm playing the Sims 3 from my monster of a computer, I'll update this thread again to share pictures of the graphics and how it runs the game in general.
Again, thank you so much for your help and advice. I couldn't have done it without y'all!
Rawwrr...
9 year old Dell Inspiron 1720
Intel Core2Duo 2,8GHz.
6GB RAM (unknown speed).
2x 500GB 7200rpm HDD.
nVidia Geforce GO 8600m 256MB RAM (unknown speed).
Windows 7 Ultimate, (x64).
Laptop screen resolution: 1400x900
I believe those are the crucial datas.
Rawwrr...
'tis okay. Just avoid buying something used. Really. Truely. I play, work and fix computers since '84... ...But telling what they ought to but, I do not. If I know their use for a computer, I can help, but I never go for top shelf. I find somefing useful, that is solid, and works for the purposes laid out. If a customer tells me, I only check my email... ...Oh, easy... ...but they 'always' come later and complains it can't render 10 raw-files in photoshop at the same time... ...-Then I tell the customer Plum out of here, you plum plum. -And my boss gets angry. -I don't want that.
Rawwrr...
CPU: Intel-Core i7-6700k 4.0 GHz Quad-Core Processor - $309.99
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master-Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler - $24.88
Motherboard: Asus-Z170-PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard - $141.98
Memory: G.Skill-Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory - $103.99
Storage: Samsung-850 EVO- Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive - $169.00
Video Card: Asus-Ge Force GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Dual Video Card - $239.98
Power Supply: EVGA-SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply - $84.89
Optical Drive: Asus-DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer - $18.69
Operating System: Microsoft- Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit - $87.89
Other: DIYPC Skyline - 06 - WG Black/Green Dual USB 3.0 ATX Full Tower Gaming Computer Case with 5x120mm Green Fans, Hot Swap Docking - $89.96
For a grand total of $1271.25! Again thank you to everyone for your help! Please let me know why you think of it.
Dat is awesome. Gratz on a nice box.
/Petting my little 9 years old Inspiron 1720 with 2.8GHz intel core2duo, with 6GB ram and nvidia go 8600m, 256mb. *sigh*
Rawwrr...
You can track your FPS in-game with the cheat fps on. Small text will appear in the corner and it should be capping at whatever your monitor's refresh rate is. For most people this is 60. In order for vsync to work via Nvidia Control Panel, you need to be in fullscreen mode.
Some people find that Nvidia Control Panel doesn't work for them. In that case you will need Nvidia Inspector. Instructions for Nvidia Inspector under the spoiler tag below:
Look for the small tool icon or green symbol next to Driver Version. Click to launch Nvidia Profile Inspector.
Select Profiles at the top and scroll through the long list to find Sims 3.
Under Sync and Refresh, select Vertical Sync > Force On
Apply Changes top right corner.
You can track your FPS in-game with the cheat fps on. Small text will appear in the corner and it should be capping at whatever your monitor's refresh rate is. For most people this is 60. With Nvidia Inspector you do not need to be in fullscreen mode.
Upon first loading the game, you will be greeted with a message reporting your card not recognized by the game. This can be ignored because in most cases it has no effect on the game. It is possible to force the card into being recognized... I only suggest going through the trouble of getting the card recognized if you're currently having graphic issues OR if graphic settings are not saving. No harm in doing it just for fun but most don't consider it very fun... more like a pain and confusing.
S3 simblr: http://simplysimming.tumblr.com/
S4 simblr: http://simlogic.tumblr.com/
Now I have had the benefit of having three computer systems crap out on me from which I lost thousands of photos which has set me back quite considerably. None of which were the fancy customized computers but were straight out of the box systems which I highly recommend that you not do. These systems may be fine if you are a hobbyist photographer who maybe shoots just for the fun of it but when you're working through 200-300 plus shots per shoot and editing in batch or are editing a 50 minute video heading for YouTube; you just will not have the time for a pokey machine that takes 3 hrs to blend a 25 shot image stack for a high resolution final image in Photoshop or 18 hrs to render a 50 min video in Premiere Elements or Sony Vegas Pro. As the saying goes in professional photography; time is money. Your best bet if you're at the stage where you're starting to amass a suitable portfolio of images and are planning on making money from photography: invest in a custom computer suitable to your photography needs. Personally, I will be going to NCIX for my system when I build it.
In this post I'm going to go into the breakdown of what kind of system that you should seriously consider getting to give you the biggest bang. Let's just say that you are going to easily be looking at near four grand (that’s nearly $4,000.00) for a suitable computer. Don't skimp. You'll need that horsepower. I'm breaking down my dream high performance system to give you guys an idea of what sort of performance is necessary for photo/video editing. And again the high horsepower your system has the faster your turn-around is. And you need that in a high turnover of product business like photography. I live with two gamers (my wife and my other son – they both are into computer games. But I’m focusing on photo/video editing) so these systems will also do well for gaming if you are into that sort of thing. The benefit of a good customizable computer is the upgrade factor. If you pick out your components well, all you will have to do to upgrade down the road is to purchase three things; a CPU, a motherboard and compatible RAM and you will be able to transfer all your other components into the next system.
So welcome to my dream hi-power photo/video editing rig:
CPU: the CPU is the one of the two most important processing components of your whole system. The CPU is the beast that turns around and crunches your data that you put into it when you shove that memory card into the memory card reader. You want it to be fast the higher GHz the better; the more cores the better. In the high-end CPUs you got the Skylake processors then you got the even more powerful Xeon processors which will not only break speed limits but will break your pocketbook unless you're stinking rich (In that case can I get your support on a Kickstarter campaign I have planned called "buy me a 600/4 for wildlife? just kidding). My choice for a CPU is the Intel Core i7-6700K: this beast of a processor runs at 4.0 GHz (Turbo-boosted to 4.2 GHz); the CPU has 4 cores, an 8MB cache and benchmarks run on Photoshop and Premiere beat out almost every other CPU on the market with the exception of the i5-6600K. But that may get into the build characteristics of that particular processor and not so much that it may seem better. There are a lot of factors that can go into performance of a CPU and I'm suspecting that Creative Cloud has a lot to do with it. I am old school and prefer my programs kept on my computer and a CD for backup but that's another argument for another day.
CPU pick: INTEL CORE i7-6700K
Motherboard: the motherboard is the part that ties all the internal components of your computer together and you are able to add in storage as necessary. Also, the motherboard is where your slots are for your memory. You need to make sure that your motherboard can support at least four slots for memory to give you the most flexibility – in computer lay-terms – the more the better which also goes for the other components on this selection. You also need to have as many PCI slots as you possibly can – Peripheral Component Interconnect slots or otherwise known as PCI slots enable you to attach video cards, sound cards and other components of your computer system and frankly, you don’t know just how many different things are going to come down the turnpike as far as storage or processing information is concerned. Different means of storage may mean different types of connection to the motherboard and some could potentially utilize PCI connections. The motherboard is the base of your flexibility for attaching external components to your computer for storage as well, so you need to have as many USB 3.0 slots as you possibly can. Also there are HDMI connections and Lightning (an Apple creation, but also now available on PC as well). I’m picking the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 because of the fact that if it’s meant for gaming it’ll have more than enough power to tackle video editing which will be the most CPU/MB taxing thing that this system will do. I have no interest in playing Fallout 4 which is one of gaming system’s benchmarks.
Motherboard Pick: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5
Memory: You want memory. Memory is the second component that is going to make your system purr like a kitten and do the things you want it to do. (Yes, I know, there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere). You want at least 16GB of memory; I’d go for 32GB of DDR4-2400 288 pin memory. You want memory to spare because when you’re trying to compile a video of your latest and greatest successful tracking of the golden-eyed teal bunting (or whatever bloody I don’t know what the hell songbird) that you went to some out of the way bird sanctuary in Eastern Malaysia dodging Malaysian kraits and electric eels to find; you don’t want the computer to hang and freeze on you. And on top of that you don’t want it to take eighteen hours to compile either. So the more memory the better.
Memory Pick: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series DDR4-2400 288-pin DIMM 4x8GB for 32GB
CPU Cooling System: With all that horsepower running through your computer, like a car engine, that CPU and case will run temperatures worse than the tropics. And when that system gets hot, meltdowns will occur. If your system overheats, you run the risk of seriously damaging your computer’s CPU and then you’re going to end up having to replace it if lucky; if not, you may even need to replace your whole motherboard and CPU. So if you don’t want that, invest in a cooling system; you want your CPU running cool while processing video in Premiere or Vegas Pro and extremely large focus or image stacks in Photoshop. People either talk running massive amounts of air with a lot of fans through the case but that restricts your amount of storage – fans take massive amounts of space. So the next best way to go is liquid-cooled. All that runs into problems. If you’re talking liquid cooled, you’re also talking potential leaks because no liquid cooled system isn’t prone to punctures. Which ultimately means that you’re going to have to have as stable a platform as possible. In other-words no stampeding cattle herds through the room where your computer is located – that means children and pets. My pick is the top rated Deepcool CAPTAIN 360 273.4 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing Liquid CPU Cooler which pumps 2200 RPM through the case and practically deepfreezes the CPU to a tolerable operating temperature level in any weather. The main control unit has three fans that will pump air through the case to keep the rest of the case at a cool internal temperature.
My Pick: Deepcool CAPTAIN 360 273.4 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing Liquid CPU Cooler
Storage: If you are shooting every few days, I would say for a storage drive, your best bet would be at least 2-3 TB of storage with additional storage by means of an external hard drive. The more storage that you have, the better, but all that costs money. For economy and speed, choose 7200 rpm. That will be your main internal storage drive on which you will put your week’s shooting RAW files with which you process. From there after the week is done, you will transfer your RAW files to an external storage drive, which you will label as your storage drive. Your main 7200 drive and an SSD working file drive will be your two main drives on which you will do most of your work. Externals should be your storage drives. Trust me, if you shoot prolifically, you will probably end up having to have a server with multiple removable internal docks eventually and a climate controlled drive storage room (scare you yet?) For your working drive (the drive in which you do most of your editing on), you should invest the money in a solid state drive (SSD – which contains no moving parts). Solid State Drives are faster on boot-up and boast at least a 40% speed increase in processing. For this drive you need at minimum a 1TB drive which will cost you, but well worth the added expenditure in time saved while working on photos and video.
Storage Drive Picks: Samsung MZ-7KE1T0BW 850 Pro Series 1TB SSD (main operating drive internal)
Western Digital Red Pro 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (main storage drive internal)
Video Card: When you are photo/video-editing, you need to have at least two monitors, one for the compiling and editing video/photos; the other for a display of the video or editing in full-size. Hence the reason why I am considering a video card with at least three display ports; because I will be doing editing on one display and viewing the end result of that edit on the other so that I know that there are no defects when viewed at full-size. The view sized monitor will be a 32” TV; I’d like to get myself a full-size 32” 4K monitor, but I don’t have that kind of $$$ lying around. So for my video card, I’ve selected the MSI GTX 980 4GD5 OCV1 GeForce GTX 980 4GB – this will allow me to attach three monitors as well as having a processing cache of 4GB exclusively on the card itself to prevent hang-ups while compiling video.
Video Card Pick: MSI GTX 980 4GD5 OCV1 GeForce GTX 980 4GB cache.
Uninterruptible Power Supply: (UPS) When your power cuts out, what are you going to do if you’re currently working on an important file. At least a UPS allows your computer enough power to keep it running while it gives you enough time to save your work and power the computer down. So in my books, it’s important for someone to have one of these. Get one…it will save your hard work.
UPS Pick: CyberPower CP1350AVRLCD UPS
Internal Power Supply: Like Home Improvement’s Tim “The Toolman” Taylor’s “More Power!!!!” grunt; I like power. The more the better. And the less likely it is for you to end up with a over-drawn power supply than if you stuck in an anemic 750W power supply. I’m going for 1500W – this is what’s known as server power supply territory. And you want plenty of power with a photo/video editing rig. ~grunt~ More power!
Internal Power Supply Pick: Corsair AX1500i 1500W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case: For your case, you don’t want to try to jam all this into a piddly mid-tower case. You want the genuine article. A monster that will sit on your floor and take up plenty of real estate. Lots of space means lots of air circulating through the innards allowing all your components to stay cool (provided you have enough fans in the case or you've liquid-cooled the CPU). And the Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case has that in spades in a layout that won't make your system anemic in data storage. Your CPU and motherboard do not need to get overheated. So with plenty of air-circulation, that a full-tower has, your system won’t over-heat even if you overclock your CPU to holy-hell light speed.
Case Pick: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case
Other essentials that you can’t do without: Go Blu-Ray writer – spend the extra money and get a Blu-Ray writer because those Blu-Ray discs will 🐸🐸🐸🐸 near write your whole OS drive onto one disc. Get one that can actually write BD-R XH. Also a memory card reader is essential: With Nikon introducing a new memory card format: XQD, in nearly all of its new professional grade cameras; it’s essential to have the three main memory card formats in a card reader on your computer. CF (CompactFlash), SD (Secure Digital) and XQD (don’t ask me what XQD stands for; I’m clueless).
Now with all this technical information, you’ll probably be surprised that I consider myself a techno-troglodyte. When I get told to boot the computer; my response is usually, “with which leg?” Put it simply, I hate change, especially in the tech world. My wife usually says that any sort of tech-change usually results in a lot of grumbling, screaming, tantrum-throwing and finally giving in and buying the 🐸🐸🐸🐸 thing that I was so adamant against in the first place.
But one caveat: They’ll never get me used to downloading software!!! Adobe…YOU HEAR ME?!!!
http://maniacwcamera.blogspot.ca/2016/06/photovideo-editing-rig.html - my article from my photography blog.
I'm still debating on the merits of going i7 Skylake vs. Xeon Processor (I'd be paying OUT my nose for it.
Except my single HDD drive just went to dual because I'm going to have one for gaming, one for photography. You've seen just how many Sims 3 Screencaps I come out of one playing session with. Somewhere around 120 screenshots per gaming session.
Now a lot of this may sound like it's overkill just to play Sims 3 and perhaps a few other games, but keep in mind, I also shoot photography video as well as photography, so when it comes to CPU usage, I'm going to put it through PLUM (read that as H...E...double hockey sticks... (I'm Canadian, eh...) and I'll be running PS Elements/PS Premiere Elements 14 as well as Adobe Lightroom on top of that; I also use Nik Effects Software Package.
They told me at NCIX that it would cost me a little over $4000+ to put this system together.
Basically...I'm playing:
as well as working...
off this computer that I intend to purchase (don't know when, but I'm going to be saving up for it)
My current specs on my son's laptop is:
with which I'm running 8GB RAM on a 64bit-based processor. And yes, Sims 3 noticeably stutters on occasion, but it's been behaving itself.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@Simasaurus09 posted on my wall said you needed help with playing on a TV. Reading your specs, The sims games will not run in SLI. You will have to disable one card. One 1060 card should run 1080p. What is the resolution of your TV?
ADDING something did not make sense to me with the price and where you wrote dual card. I looked up your video card Its dual fan on a single card. Ignore what I mentioned about sli. You should be running on a TV with 1080p resolution
I do have one additional issue though, that maybe you can help me with: the screen will fade in and out every ten or so minutes. Not the actual size of the screen, but the color, if that makes any sense. Initially, the colors will be bright and how it's supposed to look, but then it will kinda darken for a few minutes before going back to being bright and then back to dark, and so on.
The best way I can describe it is: I changed the color on the exterior sliding of my house to pale green. When the picture is how it's supposed to be (bright), it is pale green. But then when the screen darkens, it's a darker green (definitely not pale). Of course, it'll go back to being bright, but the incessant flip flopping between bright and dim is both distracting and it means I have to use CAS and build and decorate houses within that 'bright' ten minutes.
Also, to clarify, it's not just the exterior color of the house that it's affecting. It cause everything in the game to periodically darken.
Any idea on how to fix this? Thanks in advance!
@phoebebebe13
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Aka, Think out stuff, THEN Write, detaily'ish. Please use Notepad. Sleep, think some more, redo the original question, maybe use Google, even. Etc.
Rawwrr...
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
True. Sorry. But it was an somewhat old thread. I might been over-reacting. In that sense, @GravitySucks13 , I am sorry, and stand corrected.
Rawwrr...