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

[onmyown1986]

Hello again Rohannn!
I am now fairly surely my old Dell is dead, so have been looking for a replacement, and have come up with a few possibilities, 2 Dells from ebay, or a Sony (different to the other one I mentioned), and would appreciate it if you could have a look at the specs and tell me what you think, and if any have any advantages/disadvantages over the others etc, other than the Make and OS.

The Sony (not planning to buy from Play but it has the most detailed specs) Play.com (UK) : Sony VAIO NW20 ZF/S / Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz / 4GB / 320GB / DVD-SM / 15.5" / Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit / Laptop / Notebook / Silver : Computing - Free Delivery

Dell Number 1 (ignore the listing being ended, he apparently has more) Dell Studio 15 1555, 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4GB Ram, 320HD on eBay (end time 30-Oct-09 14:55:25 GMT)

Dell Number 2 - Dell Studio 15 1555 2GHz,250GB,512mb ATI,4GB Ram on eBay (end time 22-Nov-09 14:16:59 GMT)

Thanks very much

[onmyown1986]

And I have just seen another Sony on ebay, looks very good, wondering what I am missing?! Sony Vaio (VGNFW41ZJ/H) PC Notebook on eBay (end time 01-Nov-09 14:58:38 GMT)

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by onmyown1986

Hello again Rohannn!
I am now fairly surely my old Dell is dead, so have been looking for a replacement, and have come up with a few possibilities, 2 Dells from ebay, or a Sony (different to the other one I mentioned), and would appreciate it if you could have a look at the specs and tell me what you think, and if any have any advantages/disadvantages over the others etc, other than the Make and OS.

The Sony (not planning to buy from Play but it has the most detailed specs) Play.com (UK) : Sony VAIO NW20 ZF/S / Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz / 4GB / 320GB / DVD-SM / 15.5" / Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit / Laptop / Notebook / Silver : Computing - Free Delivery

Dell Number 1 (ignore the listing being ended, he apparently has more) Dell Studio 15 1555, 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4GB Ram, 320HD on eBay (end time 30-Oct-09 14:55:25 GMT)

Dell Number 2 - Dell Studio 15 1555 2GHz,250GB,512mb ATI,4GB Ram on eBay (end time 22-Nov-09 14:16:59 GMT)

Thanks very much

Those all have very similar specs, the processor in the cheaper Dell is fairly low end compared to the other two but really I think even that's unlikely to make a noticeable difference to the game, as I said last time. So just choose based on other factors (brand, screen size, weight, battery life, warranty etc).

Originally Posted by onmyown1986

And I have just seen another Sony on ebay, looks very good, wondering what I am missing?! Sony Vaio (VGNFW41ZJ/H) PC Notebook on eBay (end time 01-Nov-09 14:58:38 GMT)

The seller has zero feedback so either they're genuinely new to ebay and offering a (insanely?) good deal to try and get some customers, or they're just a scammer trying to make money fast. I would be pretty suspicious that it's the latter to be honest because all the info in the listing is just copied and pasted and it's a £1000+ laptop.

[onmyown1986]

Yes, I am suspicious, but then I don't understand how they could actually get any money from a scam as Paypal and ebay offer protection? It is frustrating, because if it is genuine I really don't want to miss out, but I obviously have no way of knowing! The info doesn't make me suspicious, as I have seen many listings like that, with copied and pasted info, but obviously the price is incredibly low.

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by onmyown1986

Yes, I am suspicious, but then I don't understand how they could actually get any money from a scam as Paypal and ebay offer protection? It is frustrating, because if it is genuine I really don't want to miss out, but I obviously have no way of knowing! The info doesn't make me suspicious, as I have seen many listings like that, with copied and pasted info, but obviously the price is incredibly low.

Ebay and paypal offer protection but I wouldn't rely on it for something like this. All paypal ask for to check that an item has been received is proof of delivery (e.g. a copy of your signature from signing for the item). But what if the seller sends a laptop box with just something like a brick inside to make it the right weight? In that case it would just be your word against the seller and as far as paypal is concerned it could equally be the seller trying to scam you, or you trying to scam the seller by receiving a real laptop and claiming you got a brick to get your money back and get the laptop for free. Even if they did claim in your favour, the seller could have emptied their paypal and bank accounts so paypal can't recover the money.

Most of the listings I've seen for laptops have lots of copied and pasted info for the specs but also stuff about payment methods, how long delivery will be, return policies, etc.

[onmyown1986]

Yup, I reverted to my usual cynical self and went along the lines of if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is. All 10 sold though, and out of curiosity I am going to keep an eye on the feedback and see if I was right, or if it was legit and I have missed a really good deal!

Thinking I will probably go with the Sony - the pluses over the Dells are that it has Windows 7, and that it is a Sony. The Dell has the advantage of a 3 year warranty, but I really do want Windows 7, and I didn't think I would be able to find a Sony with decent specs for the same price as a Dell.

[jamez97]

Getting a computer for christmas and i've already bought the sims 3 (probably a bad idea), i think it will run the game but i'm not sure. These are the details. Please reply.(Sorry that most of the details are irrelevant, it was just easier to copy and paste)

Accessories Included Mouse, Keyboard
Brand Compaq
Bundle Contains PC & monitor
Card Reader Type 6 in 1
Dedicated Graphics Card Brand NVIDIA® GeForce
Dedicated Graphics Card Memory 128 MB
Dedicated Graphics Card Model Number NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6150 SE GPU
Features of Keyboard Full Size
Features of Monitor 19" , 5ms Response rate, Contrast of 1000:1, Integrated 2x2w speakers, resolution of 1440x900, viewing angle of 160 degrees
Features of Product Monitor Included, 3 GB Memory, 640 GB Hard Drive, 6in1 memory card reader, DVD writer SATA DVD RAM and Double Layer supporting LightScribe technology, 128 MB dedicated Graphics memory
Features of Speakers 4 Watts
Graphics Dedicated
Graphics Dedicated Yes
Hard Drive Size 640GB
Hard Drive Type SATA
Memory Size 3GB
Memory Type DDR2
Number of PCI Express Ports 2
Number of USB Ports 6x USB 2.0
Operating System Microsoft Windows® Vista™ Home Premium
Optical Drive Blu-ray Compatible No
Optical Drive Dual Layer Compatible Yes
Optical Drive HD Compatible No
Optical Drive Lightscribe Compatible Yes
Optical Drive Type DVD Dual Layer Re-Writer
Processor AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core
Processor Bus 1800 MHz
Processor Cache 1 MB
Processor Model Number AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 processor 7550
Processor Speed 2.5 GHz
Product Depth 51.5 cm
Product Height 60.5 cm
Product Weight 20.4
Product Weight Units kg
Product Width 45.2 cm
Range Usage: Entertainment
Software Load Microsoft® Works and Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 60-Day Trial Version, Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7.0; Windows Mail; HP Total Care Advisor ; Windows Photo Gallery ; dows Media Player ; Windows DVD Maker ; Cyberlink DVDSuite ; EasyBits Magic Desktop ; HP Games Console with hours of free game play. Windows Media Center
Wireless Built in No

[Quagsire]

hi, i searched for cheaper laptops, and found this:

MSI CX600X
Intel Core Duo T4200 2 GHz
4 GB RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 512 MB

is it good enough to run TS3?
thanks

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by jamez97

Getting a computer for christmas and i've already bought the sims 3 (probably a bad idea), i think it will run the game but i'm not sure. These are the details. Please reply.(Sorry that most of the details are irrelevant, it was just easier to copy and paste)

It should run the base Sims 3 game, might or might not run the world adventures expansion pack as that has slightly higher graphics requirements and it's not really clear what they are at the moment. You could almost certainly upgrade to a better graphics card though if you wanted, and that would definitely make the game run better.

Originally Posted by Quagsire

hi, i searched for cheaper laptops, and found this:

MSI CX600X
Intel Core Duo T4200 2 GHz
4 GB RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 512 MB

is it good enough to run TS3?
thanks

Yeah it should be, but the 4330 is only a basic card so will limit how well the game runs. If you want it to run smoothly at higher settings it would be a good idea to look for a faster card.

[beannnn]

Hi All,

My laptop has the following configurations:

- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
* Intel® GM45 Express Chipset
* Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
* with Intel® Clear Video Technology and DVMT 5.0
- 4GB DDR3 1066MHz
- 320GB SATA HDD

and it's running WinXP SP3

I cannot run Sims3 on my laptop but it seems that GMA 4500MHD is supported. The message "no supported video graphics card detected" will appear when I start the game.

Could anyone advise what that possible reason is?

Thank you very much!

[Rohannnn]

Try updating the graphics drivers if you haven't already. Intel's update page is here. It may ask you to get the drivers from your laptop manufacturer's site instead.

If that doesn't help, can you the file My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DeviceConfig.log in notepad and copy and paste the contents here.

[Anna1994]

Heya is nVidia GT220 going to support it?

[Rohannnn]

GT220 should work, it's too new to be on any of the supported cards lists but it has all of the features required to be compatible with the game.

[beannnn]

Thank you very much, Rohannnn.

I have updated the driver of my display card already. I then checked the content of My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DeviceConfig.log, but the file is empty. Please advise.

Thanks a lot!

[Blubbergate]

So it's a bit late. But I've got my eyes on a new laptop and I really need to know if it'll play sims 3, it's specs are:
Os: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual core processor- 2.1 Ghz, 800Mhz.
Ram: 4GB
Graphics: 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330
Hard Drive: 320GB
Thanks a lot

[Anna1994]

Hey rohann ... Thanks for the answer
btw will sims 3 run perfectly on high/some high settings with this pc?

LINK. - PC World Packard Bell iXtreme X6719uk Desktop

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by beannnn

Thank you very much, Rohannnn.

I have updated the driver of my display card already. I then checked the content of My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DeviceConfig.log, but the file is empty. Please advise.

Thanks a lot!

Open dxdiag (start -> run -> dxdiag, or in vista/win7 start -> search -> dxdiag), click the display tab at the top. Then can you copy and paste or screenshot the "name", "manufacturer" and "chip type" from the left. The driver version and date from the right would be useful too. And make sure all the acceleration options at the bottom are enabled.

Originally Posted by Blubbergate

So it's a bit late. But I've got my eyes on a new laptop and I really need to know if it'll play sims 3, it's specs are:
Os: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual core processor- 2.1 Ghz, 800Mhz.
Ram: 4GB
Graphics: 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330
Hard Drive: 320GB
Thanks a lot

It will run the game no problem, however you may have to use low graphics settings to get it to run smoothly as the HD 4330 isn't a fast card.

Originally Posted by Anna1994

Hey rohann ... Thanks for the answer
btw will sims 3 run perfectly on high/some high settings with this pc?

LINK. - PC World Packard Bell iXtreme X6719uk Desktop

It should run the game smoothly somewhere around medium to high.

[KrazyCatLady05]

Walmart.com: HP 15.6" Pavilion G60-519WM Entertainment Laptop PC with Intel Celeron Processor 900 & Windows 7 Home Premium (Available for $298 in stores starting 11/7/2009. While supplies last): Computers

will this run the sims 3?

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by KrazyCatLady05

Walmart.com: HP 15.6" Pavilion G60-519WM Entertainment Laptop PC with Intel Celeron Processor 900 & Windows 7 Home Premium (Available for $298 in stores starting 11/7/2009. While supplies last): Computers

will this run the sims 3?

Yes it should, but it has very low-end specs so you'll probably have to use minimum settings and it may not run smoothly.

[beannnn]

hi Rohannnn,

I checked my DirectX settings and found that I previously have not enabled hardware acceleration. I can now load The Sims3 after enabling them.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Blubbergate]

Originally Posted by Rohannnn

It will run the game no problem, however you may have to use low graphics settings to get it to run smoothly as the HD 4330 isn't a fast card.

Thanks a lot. So are you saying that It will definitely run smoothly on low settings? Because I hate nothing more than a slow and Jerky Sims 3...

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by Blubbergate

Thanks a lot. So are you saying that It will definitely run smoothly on low settings? Because I hate nothing more than a slow and Jerky Sims 3...

I can't say definitely as I haven't tested it, and there's not much info online about that particular graphics card either. But it's definitely a faster card than the older HD3450, possibly a lot faster, and that card ran the game quite smoothly on low according to what I've heard.

[Blubbergate]

Thanks a lot!

[sims3chris]

Hi i currently have 1.5 gb ram, how much more would i need for lagging to stop?

[Rohannnn]

Originally Posted by sims3chris

Hi i currently have 1.5 gb ram, how much more would i need for lagging to stop?

What are the rest of your system specs? CPU and graphics card? If you don't know, go to Can You RUN It?, do the test for TS3, and copy and paste the whole contents of the results page here.

My game lags quite a bit because I have a fairly old PC with slow CPU and slow graphics, I happened to have some spare RAM and upgrading from 1GB to 3GB made no noticeable difference.