The Sims 3 Minimum Requirements/Is this computer good enough to run The Sims 3?

[zJacob]

The PC I use isn't much different, except it's got .3 more ghz & a different graphics card. I don't know how much that'd affect things?

"Can You Run It" should tell you though

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

Hope it can!

[jakey252]

Could somebody tell how good the graphics card is in this laptop, as in MB, because I cant find it...

[Rohannnn]

It's difficult to find any information, but I believe it has the ATI HD3200 built-in. That's OK to run TS3, but only on lowest settings.

[jakey252]

Would this laptop run it?

eMachines E520 15.4-inch Laptop, Intel Celeron 575, Vista Home Basic, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by itsAmeliaxo

I'm looking for a new computer to play the Sims 3 on, as my current one is just playing up and it's no good.

Can anyone recommend a decent computer, which they have or no off which is good to play the game. Possibly has good graphics and is at fast speed as well.

Thanks

EDIT: Would this one be any good?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...ory_oid=-35410

Other recommendations would be helpful.

That one should run the game smoothly with most graphics settings turned up high. It's a good spec

It's possibly not the best deal though, if you can buy online check sites like ebuyer.com and pcspecialist.co.uk and you'll probably find a better deal (you may have to buy a monitor separately though).

If you're buying a desktop the main difference between different models that will actually affect the game will probably be the graphics card, for high you probably want at least: nvidia 8600 or higher numbered, nvidia 9500 or higher, nvidia GT 120 or higher; or ATI HD 3650 or higher, or ATI HD 4650 or higher.

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by jakey252

Would this laptop run it?

eMachines E520 15.4-inch Laptop, Intel Celeron 575, Vista Home Basic, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD

It doesn't really have enough RAM, but it would probably still run the game, just on lowest settings and very slowly.

If you want to get a laptop to run Sims 3, you probably need to spend around £400 to run it on low settings, or around £500-£600 for high settings. Unfortunately it's expensive because only higher end laptops have good enough graphics cards to run games.

[jakey252]

Well, I'm looking to buy one withing £200-£400, so could anybody recommend the best laptop in that price range for running the Sims 3?

[snarglenarf]

Instead of buying a new computer, why don't you just update your graphics card?

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by jakey252

Well, I'm looking to buy one withing £200-£400, so could anybody recommend the best laptop in that price range for running the Sims 3?

Laptops in that price range will all struggle on anything above lowest settings.
Try and find one with the Intel X4500HD (or GMA 4500HD) card, or maybe ATI HD3450, that will probably run it better, but those laptops will all be £350-£400. It will probably be playable but the graphics on "low" are quite poor, some people think worse than TS2.

You could try looking at second-hand laptops too, you could get a much better deal that way.

[jakey252]

I've just found this 2nd hand laptop for a good price, would it work?

DELL Latitude D810 Pentium M 2Ghz 2GB RAM 160GB DVDRW Wireless XP Pro 15.4"

Processor:
Intel Pentium M 2GHz

RAM:

2GB RAM

Harddisk:

160GB HDD

Screen:

15.4" TFT

Windows:Windows XP ProIncluded:Internal DVDRW drive. Setup guide. Battery, power adaptor, power & modem lead. WIRELESS. High Resolution screen. 128MB Graphics Card.Features:

2 x USB port. Internal DVDRW drive. 56k modem. 9 pin serial (RS232) port. 10/100 network port. IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port, WIRELESS included.

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by jakey252

I've just found this 2nd hand laptop for a good price, would it work?

DELL Latitude D810 Pentium M 2Ghz 2GB RAM 160GB DVDRW Wireless XP Pro 15.4"

Processor:
Intel Pentium M 2GHz

RAM:

2GB RAM

Harddisk:

160GB HDD

Screen:

15.4" TFT

Windows:Windows XP ProIncluded:Internal DVDRW drive. Setup guide. Battery, power adaptor, power & modem lead. WIRELESS. High Resolution screen. 128MB Graphics Card.Features:

2 x USB port. Internal DVDRW drive. 56k modem. 9 pin serial (RS232) port. 10/100 network port. IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port, WIRELESS included.

Do you know what graphics card it has? The rest of the spec looks fine, but whether the game will run, and how well, will depend on the card.

Ideally you want a good ATI or nVidia card.

[nhayes170]

Originally Posted by Rohannnn

That one should run the game smoothly with most graphics settings turned up high. It's a good spec

It's possibly not the best deal though, if you can buy online check sites like ebuyer.com and pcspecialist.co.uk and you'll probably find a better deal (you may have to buy a monitor separately though).

If you're buying a desktop the main difference between different models that will actually affect the game will probably be the graphics card, for high you probably want at least: nvidia 8600 or higher numbered, nvidia 9500 or higher, nvidia GT 120 or higher; or ATI HD 3650 or higher, or ATI HD 4650 or higher.

I have an ipower pc with slightly better spec than this and it runs smoothly on full settings. My previous pc was from pcspecialist and while it was cheaper than competitiors at time (Dedll, Mesh, Alienware) it wasn't as robust and always had a few glitches. It rcently melted after playing sims 3 on it and while it was 4 years old I did spec it to be top of the range and with gaming cooling so it should have still held its own

[EAUK_Aurora]

[Threads merged]

[jakey252]

Well, this is all i can find about the graphics card
:

15.4" TFT active matrix 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours). Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, up to 358MB Shared Graphics Memory.

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by nhayes170

I have an ipower pc with slightly better spec than this and it runs smoothly on full settings. My previous pc was from pcspecialist and while it was cheaper than competitiors at time (Dedll, Mesh, Alienware) it wasn't as robust and always had a few glitches. It rcently melted after playing sims 3 on it and while it was 4 years old I did spec it to be top of the range and with gaming cooling so it should have still held its own

Do you know which part melted?

Originally Posted by jakey252

Well, this is all i can find about the graphics card
:

15.4" TFT active matrix 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours). Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, up to 358MB Shared Graphics Memory.

X3100 will only run the game on lowest settings, I'd avoid it if you can.
You really need an nVidia or ATI card if you can find one.

[jakey252]

How about this? Operating system is vista:

Processor TypeIntel Pentium Dual Core processor T4200 Memory Size3GB MB Processor speed(2Ghz, 667Mhz, 1 MB cache)The higher the number of Megahertz (MHZ) the faster the processor should beMemory TypeDDR2 Hard Drive Capacity160 GBThe bigger the capacity the more you can storeOptical DrivesDVD RW Screen Size/Type15.6" Graphics Card TypeIntel GM45To enable images to be displayed on your monitorGraphics MemoryShared MBThe higher the memory the better quality images you are displayTV-outNOAllowing you to plug your laptop into a TV to watch DVDsSound Type3D sonic stereo speakersTo enable you to have sound from your computer which is great for games, movies and musicModem Type56kEnabling communication with others via the telephone line. A modem is used for the Internet, e-mail and faxingWireless EnabledYESAllows you to connect to an existing wireless network such as in a office or a wireless hot spotNo. of Firewire Connections0High speed data transfer link for digital video and other media. Ideal for quickly downloading video images from a camcorder to PCInfrared Port IncludedNOAllowing you to connect to other devices with infrared such as an infrared enabled mobile phoneOther InterfacesWIFI Battery Typelithium ion Battery life (up to)3 hours Software Titles IncludedWorks ColourBlack Floppy Disk DriveNOFloppy disks are 3.5" square and store a small amount of data. CDs,DVDs and memory sticks are now usually used instead

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by jakey252

How about this? Operating system is vista:

Processor TypeIntel Pentium Dual Core processor T4200 Memory Size3GB MB Processor speed(2Ghz, 667Mhz, 1 MB cache)The higher the number of Megahertz (MHZ) the faster the processor should beMemory TypeDDR2 Hard Drive Capacity160 GBThe bigger the capacity the more you can storeOptical DrivesDVD RW Screen Size/Type15.6" Graphics Card TypeIntel GM45To enable images to be displayed on your monitorGraphics MemoryShared MBThe higher the memory the better quality images you are displayTV-outNOAllowing you to plug your laptop into a TV to watch DVDsSound Type3D sonic stereo speakersTo enable you to have sound from your computer which is great for games, movies and musicModem Type56kEnabling communication with others via the telephone line. A modem is used for the Internet, e-mail and faxingWireless EnabledYESAllows you to connect to an existing wireless network such as in a office or a wireless hot spotNo. of Firewire Connections0High speed data transfer link for digital video and other media. Ideal for quickly downloading video images from a camcorder to PCInfrared Port IncludedNOAllowing you to connect to other devices with infrared such as an infrared enabled mobile phoneOther InterfacesWIFI Battery Typelithium ion Battery life (up to)3 hours Software Titles IncludedWorks ColourBlack Floppy Disk DriveNOFloppy disks are 3.5" square and store a small amount of data. CDs,DVDs and memory sticks are now usually used instead

That also has an Intel graphics card and while it will work, it will only run the game smoothly on low settings.

[jakey252]

hmmm.... how about this one:

ProcessorsDifferent choice of processors, up to Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo

Operating SystemGenuine Windows Vista® Home Basic SP1 32-Bit
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 32-Bit


MemoryUp to 4GB Dual Channel 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
ChipsetIntel® Cantiga GM45 Chipset

GraphicsIntel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

LCD DisplayGlossy 15.6" Widescreen XGA (1366x76
Audio and SpeakersIntel High Definition Audio 2.0
Hard DrivesUp to 320GB configured with a 5400 RPM SATA hard drive.

[Rohannnn]

That also has intel graphics. Any laptop or desktop PC with an intel card is only going to run the game on low.

If you don't mind that, the game will still run, but if you want higher settings you need a good ATI or nVidia card. Unfortunately the prices for those will be higher.

[jakey252]

I think I found it it's second hand, and somewhere it said the processor was equivalent to P4 2.6 GHz

Intel Pentium M(Centrino) 1.73GhzMemory2048Mb DDR2Hard drive160GbDisplay15.4" WXGA Widescreen 1280x800GraphicsATI Radeon Mobility X600 128MbOptical DriveDVD/CDRW (Combo)NetworkingEthernet, Wireless (54Mbps), 56k modemOperating SystemWindows XP Pro

[nhayes170]

Originally Posted by Rohannnn

Do you know which part melted?


X3100 will only run the game on lowest settings, I'd avoid it if you can.
You really need an nVidia or ATI card if you can find one.

My motherboard overheated, I had already replaced the chip fan and thought it would be fine but it finally gave up the ghost and blew

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by jakey252

I think I found it it's second hand, and somewhere it said the processor was equivalent to P4 2.6 GHz

Intel Pentium M(Centrino) 1.73GhzMemory2048Mb DDR2Hard drive160GbDisplay15.4" WXGA Widescreen 1280x800GraphicsATI Radeon Mobility X600 128MbOptical DriveDVD/CDRW (Combo)NetworkingEthernet, Wireless (54Mbps), 56k modemOperating SystemWindows XP Pro

That's not a bad spec, it should run the game a lot better than the others, somewhere between low and medium settings I think.

Originally Posted by nhayes170

My motherboard overheated, I had already replaced the chip fan and thought it would be fine but it finally gave up the ghost and blew

That's unfortunate, but if it's the motherboard itself (i.e. northbridge or southbridge, rather than the CPU) that failed, I don't think it's something PC Specialist could have predicted or prevented.

[pinkymoo]

Originally Posted by Big_Beast

Hi,

I tried the 'can you run it test' and had just one issue. I passed the CPU test, but failed the CPU speed test.

I have an Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5250 @1.50 GHz 1.50 GHz

As its a duo- does this mean its actually 3 GHz of speed? (Sorry, if that is a stupid statement - i really don't have a clue!)

If it is only 1.50Ghz will it still work and just run slowly, or not work at all.

Thanks in advance, i really appreciate the help!

I have this processor and also the Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family Graphics card that you described Big Beast.

I'd really like to know if you or others have had any trouble with this as I meet all the minimum specs but this but I don't want to have to fork out almost £40 to find out it doesn't work or work out that well.

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by pinkymoo

I have this processor and also the Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family Graphics card that you described Big Beast.

I'd really like to know if you or others have had any trouble with this as I meet all the minimum specs but this but I don't want to have to fork out almost £40 to find out it doesn't work or work out that well.

Intel 965 is actually another name for Intel X3100, which is on the supported cards list. I've read a few posts from people on this forum with the same card and very similar processor and the game runs fine on low settings. Wheresmytrousers posted a thread here, for example.

However some people reported that the graphics are quite poor with Intel cards on low, perhaps worse than TS2 even. As long as you don't mind this, the game should be playable.

It's £30 (£29.99) from most places online or from PC World (or Currys or any dixons group store that has it in stock, you can check stock online).

[pinkymoo]

I had sims 1 but not sims 2 so as long as the graphics were on a par with the first sims then I wouldn't notice the difference!

Thanks for that.

I may just chance it now.