Can My MacBook Play The Sims 3?

"aidansays;c-17353328" wrote:

"igazor;c-17353182" wrote:
There are a number of challenges in getting TS3 for Mac to install and run properly these days. But let's start with the threshold one. Which operating system is it running? If it's macOS 10.15 (Catalina), then no. There is no way to run a 32-bit program on that system and TS3 remains 32-bit only. A patch to address this has been announced by EA and will be forthcoming sometime in 2020. If it is running 10.14 (Mojave) or prior, then yes.

But either way MacBook Airs in particular are not designed for gaming and all EPs or playing on even medium graphics settings may be too much for it as it would have to run in turbo mode most of the time to keep the processor going fast enough to keep up with the game. Base game plus maybe a small number of the earlier EPs, may be a better bet. A laptop cooling pad would be almost essential as well. And if you have the model that has a 128 GB drive, then depending on what else you are using the Air for, you may not have enough space to manage the install and the game.

So it wouldn't be safe for my MacBook to run it? Would you expect for the new Air to work with TS3 with the upcoming 64-bit upgrade or would that possibly make it worse? And yes, I'm running macOS Mojave.

I have a Pro, and my previous laptop was also a pro. I've never had an Air. But, laptops in general are not really made for gaming. They do get hot, which is not good for them. I played Sims 3 on high, usually for an hour or so before it would get hot and I'd have to quit for a bit. With Sims 4, I can play for two usually before the fan starts getting loud. My settings are on high. Gaming on a laptop does shorten their lifespan. (I don't know how much cooling pads or fans help because I never bothered.)

Now, that said, I haven't found that it matters at all- for me. I had my previous laptop for over 5 years, and it was just starting to have heat related issues. The track pad no longer worked and I was getting some weird screen artifacts. But, I was ready for an upgrade anyway and I bought a new one. I don't think I've ever had a computer longer than 6 years, because tech is always improving.
If however, you plan to have it for a decade, you probably don't want to game on it.