Advice on buying a new computer?

[kelseygrn]

I'm looking to finally upgrade my computer. As of right now, I've been playing the base game only with a minimum of custom content on low settings. I'd ideally like to play on high settings (at least for Sims and Texture detail) and be able to finally try out the other expansions and stuff packs. Would this computer (http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/desktops/h8xt_series/rts/4/computer_store/QP768AA%2523ABA) be able to do that? And if not, what would I need to change/upgrade?

Thanks for any advice in advance; I'm not as technically literate as I'd like.



Operating system
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Processor
AMD Phenom II 1090T Six-Core Processor (3.2Ghz)

Memory
10GB

Memory speed
PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM memory (2x4GB and 1x2G)

Total memory slots
4 DIMM (240-pin, DDR3) (one available)

Maximum memory expansion
Expandable to 16GB

Graphics card
Radeon HD 6670 graphics card with 1GB GDDR5 dedicated memory, DVI, (VGA via dongle), HDMI and DisplayPort capabilities and graphics memory, DVI, (VGA via dongle), HDMI and DisplayPort capabilities and support for Blu-ray and Microsoft DirectX 11 and up to three monitors with AMD Eyefinity Technology

TV & entertainment experience
Built in TV Tuner: watch, pause, rewind, and record live TV; HP Media Center remote control with IR (infrared) receiver

PCI expansion
1 PCI Express x16 (occupied); 3 PCI Express x1 (one available); 1 MiniCard (occupied)

Hard drive
2TB (Terabyte) 5400RPM Serial ATA hard drive

[ellacharmed]

You have a $1000 budget? Is Sims 3 the only game you play or are there more demanding tasks you use the PC for?
That config does not come with a Power Supply? :blink: What do they mean? Power supply N/A

And 10GB with a mediocre GPU? 6670 is labelled as a "budget" and "entry-level" GPU by Tech Reviewers, and these labels are never good when it comes to Sims. I'd rather spend money on a better GPU than have a humongous amount of RAM that Sims 3 won't be able to utilize, anyway.
Do you watch Blu-Ray movies on your PC?
This PC is not balanced IMO. A 5400RPM HDD (vs a 7200RPM for the next level up) and no SSD, without a monitor (and assuming no keyboard+mouse, too) and no PSU, and all for $1000?

You're not recycling stuff over from the older machine? Or handing it off to a child/relative/etc, selling it?
And the monitor size and resolution you play on is...?

[kelseygrn]

My budget is around $1000. The Sims 3 is the most demanding thing I do on the computer. My current computer was low-end when I purchased it around 5 years ago, and it'll be retired for family use. I'm not sure what resolution I've been playing on, but my monitor is a 20" Widescreen.

I was also looking at customizing this computer (http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=desktops&series_name=h8xt_series) which has:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 quad-core processor with Turbo-Boost [up to 3.8GHz, 8MB cache]
8GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs]
1.5TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive

What's really tripping me up is the graphics card. The above model offers a choice of a 1GB DDR3 Radeon HD 6450, 1GB DDR3 Radeon HD 6570, 2GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 530, 1GB DDR3 Radeon HD 6670, 1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 440, 3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 440, 1GB DDR5 Radeon HD 6850, or a 1GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti. I'm not sure which of those (if any) are compatible and will work well.

[ellacharmed]

Chassis uATXThis is the problem with OEM-prebuilts like HP, Dell, etc.
Micro-ATX means it is smaller than the regular ATX, which means when you want to upgrade in the future, you're either going to have to replace with smaller, low powered stuff (aka "low-profile" graphics and non-standard Power Supply Units size-wise), which in turn means it is too weak for Sims.
On top of that, this small casing also means, all the things are crammed inside with not enough ventilation and develop overheating issues in the long run, but sooner than for a well-ventilated casing. And you don't have the luxury of having any space to add more fans to help with dissipating the heat away from the components.

If you have the budget, I'd go with the Radeon HD 68xx or even higher. If you look at the stickies and the SysReq links in my signature (for both Sims 2 and Sims 3 to see the pattern), all the good cards with all Green "Yes" across the board are above the middle mark in a particular model series.

AMD did something sneaky in that their 67xx series are considered "mainstream" now instead of "gaming" caliber unlike for the older 46xx series. So, AMD models you want are the 58xx and 68xx and above.
Nvidia series that are Sims-3 capable starts from the 46x and 56x series.