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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 7th Nov 2012 at 9:31 PM
What is a good PC for sims 3 (all expansion packs)?
What are the bests ones out there that run sims 3? I have a gaming laptop... but with my uni work, sims is too distracting! So I am looking to buy a gaming PC.


Any suggestions?
I'm not mentioning my budget, on purpose.

Thankies xx
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Field Researcher
#2 Old 7th Nov 2012 at 9:35 PM
You'd be better off with building your own if you know how. Better value for money that way.

I assume you're looking for a desktop.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 7th Nov 2012 at 9:41 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Alliteration
You'd be better off with building your own if you know how. Better value for money that way.

I assume you're looking for a desktop.


Yeah desktop PC. Thing is, I'm looking on this site: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk but I'm not a "computer person" and I don't know what all that jargon means, and all the different names of things. "thermal paste", "ssd cache drive", and the various motherboards.
I need a simple "click here if you want to run all sims 3 really well" lol XD
Scholar
#4 Old 7th Nov 2012 at 10:25 PM
I am certainly no expert, but...

There really haven't been any great advances in processors for the past few years, so I would imagine that any newer desktop will have no problems there. Also, newer machines come with at least 4GB of RAM, so that isn't an issue either. The thing you need to pay attention to, IMO, is the graphics card. You don't need to have the biggest, best, most expensive one out there, but you do want one in the upper-mid range. Not only will your game run better, but you won't need to replace it in a year or two when a new game comes out.

I would look at the computers that are in your price range, then google the graphics card they come with and see which ones are good for gaming.

You can identify the graphics card by looking through the specs for for names like NVidia GeForce, or AMD Radeon.
Field Researcher
#5 Old 7th Nov 2012 at 10:25 PM
That seems like a good website to start.

You've only got to really worry about the inside bits (cases and monitors are mostly negligible in difference) and even if you're not designing/building your own you should at least try to read up on what the main interior parts are so that you can pick wisely when looking at specs on shop websites. This page is really helpful when trying to find a graphics card that will work well with the game, as well as the minimum system stuff.

If you'd like any explanations on what specific bits do then don't hesitate to ask.
Field Researcher
#6 Old 7th Nov 2012 at 10:49 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Dayganna
Yeah desktop PC. Thing is, I'm looking on this site: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk but I'm not a "computer person" and I don't know what all that jargon means, and all the different names of things. "thermal paste", "ssd cache drive", and the various motherboards.
I need a simple "click here if you want to run all sims 3 really well" lol XD


Well, I know you can "customize" PCs from Dell, HP, etc. I'm borderline techie, but that's what I've done for years. My recent one I got customized from HP, and then upgraded a few parts myself. I love it very much. :lovestruc

Alliteration's link for graphics cards is exactly how I picked mine two years ago; the card is still green all across. That card, and the power supply to power it well, were the upgrades I made myself.
Field Researcher
#7 Old 7th Nov 2012 at 11:31 PM
I just bought an alienware gameing pc and it's runs sims and all the expansions perfectly.
Lab Assistant
#8 Old 8th Nov 2012 at 12:27 AM Last edited by Alistair : 8th Nov 2012 at 12:41 AM.
I've actually found ComputerPlanet.co.uk to be a bit cheaper than PCSPECIALIST, but don't just limit yourself to those two. There are probably more PC builders in the UK than just those.

For the processor, aim for at least an Ivy Bridge quad-core Core i5. A Sandy Bridge processor would do just fine, but an Ivy Bridge does offer some performance improvements and is usually around the same price. Avoid AMD FX processors and their APUs. I wouldn't say this if they didn't output as much heat as they do and if they offered good performance, but unfortunately, the Core i5 is a better deal at that price level. For the motherboard, since I suggested an Ivy Bridge processor, go with an ASUS Z77 ATX motherboard. ASUS makes some of the best motherboards in the industry, and the quality is really unparalleled. For the video card, aim for at least a 1GB nVidia GTX 650, of either XFX or ASUS brand. AMD cards are cheaper by a wider margin, but their performance isn't up to par with nVidias. Many of AMD's Catalyst Control Center updates can cause instability in many games that will go unfixed for a long time, and sometimes performance can decrease with a driver update. Not to mention you can't force ambient occlusion with AMD cards, and antialiasing seems to tax AMD cards more. For the power supply, try aiming at least for a 700 watt. You have to power quite a bit, and while you could probably skirt away with a 600 watt, a 700 watt is guaranteed to power everything. I would suggest going for a Thermaltake or Coolermaster power supply. For the hard drive, if you are going to use it mainly for The Sims, go for a 500GB Western Digital Caviar Black with 32MB of cache. Caviar Black's offer some of the best performance for non-enthusiast hard drives. But if you find them out of your price range, try aiming for a Samsung Spinpoint. As for the size of the hard drive, if you are going to play more games than The Sims, try a 1TB drive. As for the memory, try for 8GB of Corsair DDR3 memory at at least 1333MHz. I've found you can get by with 4GB, but not all the time. The game can be memory-hungry, and if you switch out of the game and try to look at something online, you run the chance of running out of RAM. For the case, aim for something with good airflow. NZXT, Coolermaster, and Thermaltake are some good brands that have inexpensive cases. Make sure they have a decent amount of fans, as well. For the CPU cooler, try to find a decent third-party one and see if the builder can use a carbon-based thermal compound. And if you don't mind Windows 8, go with that. Windows 8 runs better than Windows 7. The only drawback is that there is no disabling Metro. And optical drives, memory card readers, and WiFi cards are completely up to you.

For some perspective, my build is an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6600 overclocked to 3.06GHz, with a 1GB XFX Radeon HD 6770 overclocked to 930MHz and a memory overclock to an effective 5000MHz, a Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB (the drive that both The Sims 3 and Windows 7 are installed on), 8GB dual-channel of Corsair DDR3 memory (model unknown, but it is a performance model) clocked at 1600MHz, an ASUS P5E3 Premium motherboard, a 600 watt Coolermaster power supply, a Thermaltake Frio CPU cooler (keeps my overclocked CPU at 39 degrees Celsius under load), a 14x LG Blu-Ray burner, a USB 3.0 expansion card, and an NZXT Switch 810 case. All of this running Windows 7 Ultimate. Some parts in my computer (The CPU and the motherboard) are older than The Sims 3 itself, but my computer runs the game really well. Not flawlessly, but that's mainly due to video card driver problems. I can also run Saint's Row The Third at 1080p with 4xMSAA and maxed out everything else at at minimum 40 frames per second. On top of that, I spent a total of about $400 US on it, but quite a few parts were used and I built it myself.
Eminence Grise
#9 Old 8th Nov 2012 at 3:50 AM
I bought my current machine from IBuyPower, in the US. You can specify pretty much every component, including the case, with them too. And it's good for those of us who don't want the stress of building our own, and do want a warranty
Field Researcher
#10 Old 10th Nov 2012 at 4:21 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Srikandi
I bought my current machine from IBuyPower, in the US. You can specify pretty much every component, including the case, with them too. And it's good for those of us who don't want the stress of building our own, and do want a warranty


You do get also a warranty when building a computer on your own, but then for each component. I built computers myself from the ground and the warranty is then to each component, like the motherboard, videocard, hdd, processor and so on. You get always warranty from the fabricant and the store where you buy it. However, with building systems yourself you have to have some knowlegde about it, as it is not suited for everyone. You have to know what you're doing, otherwise you screw it.
If you're not sure, then it's better to let it build.



As for the question; well, the sims 3 doesn't need any monsterpc or so. Heck, it already works with a pentium 4. So you do not need the new ivy bridge processor, unless you also play other games. You can just take one from a few generations back, like an AMD phenom II x4 965 BE or core 2 duo E6600, if you're low on budget.
One Minute Ninja'd
#11 Old 10th Nov 2012 at 7:20 PM
Quote: Originally posted by candesco



As for the question; well, the sims 3 doesn't need any monsterpc or so. Heck, it already works with a pentium 4. So you do not need the new ivy bridge processor, unless you also play other games. You can just take one from a few generations back, like an AMD phenom II x4 965 BE or core 2 duo E6600, if you're low on budget.


While the box specs call for a P4 as a minimum requirement, I believe that many here would agree that the game, especially with EPs, is a bit too demanding for an entry level processor. Investing in a "new" DuoCore at this point in time might be shortsighted. It also makes little sense to buy an old motherboard that will support an old chip to then slap a reasonable (not top end, but not integrated graphics, either) video card on it. You do not need to buy a monster pc, but if you're investing in a new machine, I would suggest getting contemporary, although not necessarily leading edge, parts. I'm certain you will use the new machine for more than just TS3, and you might as well invest in something that will last you awhile.
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#12 Old 10th Nov 2012 at 7:33 PM
Quote:
but with my uni work, sims is too distracting! So I am looking to buy a gaming PC.

Imagine if someone offered to pay you 700€ to teach yourself to concentrate when you're doing uni work. Then think about analogous situations.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 11th Nov 2012 at 1:08 PM
Quote: Originally posted by candesco
As for the question; well, the sims 3 doesn't need any monsterpc or so. Heck, it already works with a pentium 4. So you do not need the new ivy bridge processor, unless you also play other games. You can just take one from a few generations back, like an AMD phenom II x4 965 BE or core 2 duo E6600, if you're low on budget.


While I agree you can certainly go with older hardware (as you can see with my first post), I'd also have to agree with eskie227 that it's not always a good choice. Running the game and a few expansions and stuff packs does tax the system quite a bit, and really isnt something that should be done on a single-core system. Even dual-cores can chug. Not to mention most LGA775 motherboards only support DDR2, which creates another set of bottlenecks (some AI is slow to load, occasional short-term game freezes, and general jitteriness). The LGA775 motherboards that do support DDR3 either utilize a crappy chipset, resulting in even poorer performance, and are only micro-ATX, or they are still resonably expensive (my P5E3 Premium was still $110 US). As for AMD hardware, while many AM3 motherboards supported DDR3, performance of stock Phenom II processors can certainly still tank under The Sims 3. Basically, I would only suggest using older parts for a gaming computer if you are a computer enthusiast and know how to overclock. Otherwise, stock clocks will hold back perfrmance, as will other aspects of older hardware. You have to remember, while The Sims 3 may not be a graphically intensive game, it is very CPU-intensive.

Then there is also the issue of the future. Older parts most-of-the-time do not come with warranties. Occasionally, parts come with lifetime warranties that can be transferred over to the next owner, but it's pretty rare to get something like that, and I'm not quite sure how British law affects it. But if you're spending a good chunk of change on a computer, you should make sure your system has some kind of support for at least a year.
One Minute Ninja'd
#14 Old 11th Nov 2012 at 4:02 PM
Alistair, I can see how your current machine would run TS3 quite well. Clearly you like to upgrade and tinker yourself.

I do agree with you that while you can do a lot with older parts, if you're investing in a new system, and you're not on an austerity budget (and especially if you do not have the knowledge of how to get older parts to all play nice with each other and not melt when you push them), going with something contemporary really makes more sense.
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