Forum Discussion

Re: Do I need a Gaming computer for Sims 4(with Mods and Packs)+other games?

@Madamelee  If you can find something with an Nvidia 1660 ti, and a 512 GB solid state drive, that would be ideal.  An Nvidia 1650 would also be fine, as would a combination 256 GB SSD/1 TB HDD.  16 GB RAM would be nice but is not strictly necessary, and if you get only 8 GB, you can upgrade it whenever you want.  Any processor in this kind of system would be more than adequate for Sims 4.

You're not likely to find a new system with an optical drive.  But you can get an external drive for probably $30 CAD, and that would work just as well as an internal one.

If you find a couple of systems you like, feel free to post links, and people here will let you know whether they'd work well.

12 Replies

  • Madamelee's avatar
    Madamelee
    Legend
    4 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict Should I ask here or someplace else if I need a gaming computer since some of the other games I play aren't EA games but other companies?

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @Madamelee  You can list the games here if you want, and I'll look them up.  Or you can ask on forums for those games, or a general tech help forum like Tom's Hardware.  Whichever approach you prefer is fine.

  • Madamelee's avatar
    Madamelee
    Legend
    4 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict  I reworded I think the original post to ask about what kind of computer I need and list the games I want to play and extras. 

  • Madamelee's avatar
    Madamelee
    Legend
    4 years ago

    know I'm replying to myself but here's the list I put together of what I have

    With the Sims 4 more packs require more RAM and that's not even counting the third party mods and CC I want to use.



    Sims 4-Deluxe -

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Outdoor Retreat

    Spoiler

    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Get to Work

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Luxury Party

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Perfect Patio

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Spa Day

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Cool Kitchen

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Spooky

    Spoiler

    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Get Together

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Movie Hangout

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Romantic Garden

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Dine Out

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Kids Room

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Backyard Stuff

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    City Living

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Vintage Glamour

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Vampires

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Bowling Night

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Parent Hood

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Toddler Stuff

    Spoiler

    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Cats&Dogs

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Jungle Adventures

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space



    Seasons

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Get Famous

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Island Living

    Spoiler

    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Fitness

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Laundry Day

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Realm of Magic

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    packs I want to buy:



    Discover University

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Eco Living

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space




    Snowy Escape

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    maybe Nifty Knitting

    Spoiler
    RECOMMENDED SPECS:

    OS: 64 Bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10

    PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4

    VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

    MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

    HARD DRIVE: 18 GB of Hard Drive space





    Other games

    (note: I wouldn't be playing them all at once though)

    Nancy Drew



    Stay Tune for Danger:

    Spoiler
    Operating System:

    Windows® 95/98/ME/2000/Vista/7/8/10

    Minimum System Requirements:

    166 MHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU
    16 MB of RAM
    130MB or more of hard drive space
    16-Bit color graphics video card
    16-Bit Windows-compatible sound card


    Message in a Haunted Mansion

    Spoiler
    Operating System:

    Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10



    Minimum System Requirements:

    166 MHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU
    16 MB of RAM
    135MB or more of hard drive space
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible graphics video card
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card
    mouse, and speakers


    Treasure in the Royal Tower

    Spoiler

    Operating System:

    Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10



    Minimum System Requirements:

    166 MHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU
    16 MB of RAM
    150MB or more of hard drive space
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible graphics video card
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card
    mouse, and speakers


    The Final Scene

    Spoiler
    Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10



    Minimum System Requirements:

    166 MHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU
    16 MB of RAM
    150MB or more of hard drive space
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible graphics video card
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card
    mouse, and speakers


    Ghost Dogs of Moon lake

    Spoiler
    Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10



    Minimum System Requirements:

    200 MHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU
    16 MB of RAM
    160MB or more of hard drive space
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible graphics video card
    16-Bit DirectX 7.0 compatible stereo sound card
    mouse, and speakers


    The Haunted Carousel

    Spoiler
    Operating System:

    Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10



    Minimum System Requirements:

    200Mhz Pentium
    16MB RAM
    160 MB hard drive space
    16-bit color graphics video card
    16-bit Window-compatible stereo sound card
    Mouse and Speakers.


    If I could find this someplace downstairs The Curse of Blackmoore Manor

    Spoiler
    Operating System:

    Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10



    Minimum System Requirements:

    400MHz Pentium
    64MB RAM
    300 MB hard drive space
    16-bit color graphics video card with at least 16MB of VRAM
    16-bit Windows-compatible stereo sound card
    Mouse and Speakers


    Shadow at the Water's Edge

    Spoiler
    Operating System:

    Windows® XP/Vista/7/8/10

    Windows Minimum System Requirements:

    1 GHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU
    256 MB of RAM
    1 GB or more of hard drive space
    32 MB DirectX 9.0 compatible video card
    16 bit DirectX compatible sound card
    mouse and speakers


    The Silent Spy

    Spoiler
    Operating System:

    Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10

    Windows Minimum System Requirements:

    1.5 GHz or greater Pentium 4 CPU or equivalent class
    512 MB of RAM
    3GB or more hard drive space
    128 MB DirectX 9.0 compatible video card
    16 bit DirectX cmpatible sound card
    Mouse and speakers


    Labyrinth of Lies

    Spoiler
    Operating System:

    Windows® XP/Vista/7/8/10



    Windows Minimum System Requirements:

    1.5 GHz or greater Pentium 4 CPU or equivalent class
    512 MB of RAM
    3GB or more hard drive space
    128 MB DirectX 9.0 compatible video card
    16 bit DirectX compatible sound card
    Mouse and speakers
    (for everything but Shadow's at the Water's Edge I would need an external optical drive)





    Bluestacks (an "app") for me to play mobile game on PC

    Spoiler
    Operating System
    Microsoft Windows 7 and above.
    Processor
    Intel or AMD Processor.
    RAM
    At least 4GB of RAM
    HDD
    5GB Free Disk Space.
    Games for Bluestacks (no information given do to the game being mobile/Android only hence this app to play those on PC)



    Hogwarts Mystery

    Sims Free play

    Papa's Mocharia To Go /other gamerias from this series

    Criminal Cases Series 



    Extra:

    Photoscape for editing SimLit photos

    (No additional requirements) beside the Window 7.8/10)

  • Madamelee's avatar
    Madamelee
    Legend
    4 years ago

    here's the start of a some options for a potential computers for me (there'll be more coming once I ask Dad where he got the current computer from)

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-predator-orion-3000-gaming-pc-intel-ci7-10700-1tb-hdd-512gb-ssd-16gb-ram-nvidia-rtx-2060/14760370?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lenovo-legion-tower-5i-gaming-pc-intel-core-i7-10700-1tb-hdd-256gb-ssd-16-ram-gtx-1660-super-en/15309488?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-nitro-50-gaming-pc-intel-ci5-10400f-1tb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-10-nvidia-gtx-1650/14760364?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/asus-rog-strix-gt15-gaming-pc-star-black-intel-core-i7-10700kf-1tb-ssd-16gb-ram-rtx-2060-super/14681494?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-nitro-50-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-10400f-512gb-ssd-12gb-ram-windows-10-nvidia-gtx-1650/14760366?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/dell-optiplex-3010-sff-desktop-computer-intel-core-i5-3470-8gb-ram-new-240gb-ssd-hdmi-excellent-condition-refurbished/13233232?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-predator-orion-3000-gaming-pc-intel-ci7-10700-2tb-hdd-512gb-ssd-16gb-ram-nvidia-rtx-2070-super/14760372?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lenovo-legion-tower-5i-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-10400-1tb-hdd-256gb-ssd-8gb-ram-gtx-1660-super-en/15309485 

    I believe you Piuzzleaddict didn't recomond this last one which I'm going to post

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/cyberpowerpc-gaming-pc-white-intel-core-i3-10100f-500gb-ssd-8gb-ram-amd-radeon-rx-550-eng/15325890?icmp=Recos_3across_tp_sllng_prdcts&referrer=PLP_Reco 

  • 3Rosez's avatar
    3Rosez
    New Adventurer
    4 years ago

    @Madamelee I'm not sure about an extension for mobile games to play on PC.  

    Here's a food for thought, I am an on-the-go gal who looked into my gaming laptop last year before the pandemic started in my neck of the woods.  I bought mine on Amazon where I could do payments.  I use an ASUS and play a lot of high performance games that need high graphics and a punch to not receive slower frames during the gameplay.  Before buying my gaming laptop I played Subnautica at its lowest graphic setting and it was awful. *nightmares*  

    When shopping, its like shopping for something that is uniquely yours.  My car I bought fits my needs just fine and I don't need all the fancy add ons. My phone cares for my Smart devices in my home and assists with everyday tasks.  Shopping for a computer is just that.  I tracked and made notes of each game I play that can run promptly in addition to read through Steams Spec logs that assist with each game.  This includes, The Long Dark, Subnautica, Subnautica: Below Zero, Planet Zoo, Farcry: Primal, Life Is Strange, and ALL The Sims 3, Sims Medieval, and Sims 4 games.  What I did was because my internal hard drive would probably sob adding all of those games, so I bought a 2 TB external hard drive  to pop in the USB port.  All the games: Origin and Steam alike have been moved into an external hard drive where I can play them freely without worry.  I have far too many CC and mods that are in my internal hard drive but its not a huge worry.  

    I'm sure my needs are different than yours and by glance your looking into a tower.  Reviewing a few of the Spoilers I have not heard of showed 15 GB of space.  So one TB equals to 1,000 GB.  It is ideal to look into a 64  bit computer but I believe newer computer have upgraded to its fancy for that bit as games are on the rise and continue to do so.  My graphics card is GeForce and it was a recommendation made throughout all the games I play with how the game and computer can run in unison without lag.  If it does lag  by chance I learned I ignored an update somewhere. Lol.  My retired Lenovo I had was not the best graphics card (realizing this when opening Subnautica after its first BETA release)  but somehow still ran Sims 4 and Sims 3 on high graphics just fine.  

    Food for thought. Good Luck and I hope you find a computer that works for you well.

  • Madamelee's avatar
    Madamelee
    Legend
    4 years ago

    The only thing I require of the computer being a deslktop.  We have no idea which is the BEST computer  and we want it to be a gaming computer due to more cooling system.  Compared to my current computer being from 2014 and freezing up when it's feels like 37c out.  I can't do anything with it.  I do wish people would stop telling me to buy a laptop.

  • @Madamelee anything with 8gb RAM is worthless, it will make your gaming experience very laggy specially when alt-tabing to do other tasks on the computer. so you can erase the 8gb ram options from your list.
  • Madamelee's avatar
    Madamelee
    Legend
    4 years ago

    I don't recall any of the computer suggestions being 8Ram