Computer for all The Sims 3 content

What do you mean by standard looking?

For a laptop to run everything you've said, I think you'd almost need to go with a gaming one; however @phoebebebe13 would be a good person to consult with?

Gaming laptops like alienware are thicker and have much better cooling. Alienware is overpriced. They do make better laptops. They do have thinner laptops with gaming hardware but their cooling won't be great. Cooling is just as important as the hardware inside the computer. If your laptop (or any computer) gets heat damage would ruin the computer.

No one actually needs an Alienware though there will be those who really want one. Nothing wrong with that if they can withstand the added expense for the brand name.

I don't usually go around quoting myself, but if you want to look at the specs a laptop should have to carry the entire game well, or at least have a fighting chance, and compare across models, then the following from a different thread might be helpful. Desktops can withstand components not quite as strong and will run cheaper.

"igazor;c-15690419" wrote:
For a laptop running Windows, the following would be recommended for TS3 and all EPs. The game can run on less, but then we are talking about cutting corners. On graphics cards, the game with all EPs may not work well or at all on weaker ones.

Processor: Quad core i5, i7, or the AMD equivalent. On processor speed, at least 2.4 GHz but for the most part all of these processors would already be running faster than that in their modern iterations.

Graphics Card: Nvidia 960M, 1050Ti, or higher, or the AMD equivalents (RX 460, etc.). Older model cards are fine too if they are strong enough and TS3 can't really use all of the video memory that the newest cards provide, but new laptops won't have older cards in them. Any of these cards would need their frame rates (fps) limited for TS3 once you install the game, but that's usually a one-time pain.

RAM: 6 GB minimum, but at least 8 GB would be better.

Hard Drive: At least 256 GB to work with, though that would be really tight and 512 GB would be better. A 512 GB or larger SSD (Solid State Drive as opposed to Hard Disk Drive/HDD), large enough to handle the entire game install and its user game folder in Documents, would be ideal if you can withstand the added expense but that's not a requirement.

Price Tag: Varies by country and what's on sale, but for a laptop expect $950 and up in the US. Desktops run cheaper for stronger components.

@igazor just to note they don't put higher end AMD in laptops that I have seen anymore. All the better laptops are intel/Nvidia. I would not recommend AMD for a laptop. Desktop is fine

"igazor;c-15724307" wrote:

"phoebebebe13;c-15724143" wrote:
@igazor just to note they don't put higher end AMD in laptops that I have seen anymore. All the better laptops are intel/Nvidia. I would not recommend AMD for a laptop. Desktop is fine

Apple does. I know that the two high end 15" MacBook Pros together with the option of running Windows in Bootcamp and then TS3 for Windows on one of those is kind of way out there for general purchasers to be considering, and certainly not the most economical way to be going about this unless a Mac is wanted/needed for other purposes, but technically there is thus one vendor who does this. :)

On Mac they use AMD laptop cards. According to BlueBellFlora and a conversation I had with her, Mac seems to work better with AMD while laptop Nvidia/Intel is better and the laptops stay cooler. AMD heats up more and their laptop hardware overall is not as powerful as Nvidia/Intel.

Giiiirl I have a 2012 HP that runs every Sims game 1-4 on it just fine. There is occasional lagging/crashing, but all-in-all, I don't think you need to have a fancy gaming computer to run all of the games.
My parents work with computers, so I've had an Alienware laptop and desktop before. They're great for gaming but not necessary!

I only got an Alienware for the financing option :D but I'm sure there are much better options out there . A nvidia 660 can run it well . Mine was paired with an i7 though till my graphic card died and I had to get an 750 ti . Both run well but I'm not sure how a laptop would handle it

I have an Asus ROG (republic of gamers) laptop. It is Intel quad core i7, nvidia GeForce gtx 960m with 8gb dedicated graphics, 16gb ram, 1TB hard drive, 120gb ssd and 2.6ghz processor speed. I have all EPS and SPs for TS3, along with the entire store. I have the game on high/ultra settings for everything. The game sometimes lags a little when I first start it up, but otherwise it runs fine. I spent $1300 on it which is excessive, but it was totally worth it to me and I love it.

"KHS12;c-15725129" wrote:
Giiiirl I have a 2012 HP that runs every Sims game 1-4 on it just fine. There is occasional lagging/crashing, but all-in-all, I don't think you need to have a fancy gaming computer to run all of the games.
My parents work with computers, so I've had an Alienware laptop and desktop before. They're great for gaming but not necessary!

HP Laptop here as well,still lagless ,modless, still perfect graphics, everything Sims 3 installed whole store blah blah just spent last 5 hours finishing a bar venue build and playtesting it never once have to worry about saving.Clearly can see seasons is installed as are all the rest.





Almost everything IS ICE Including four special premade townie beauties captured for eternity in cryogenics :o








The Sim closest to the camera on the left is Betty Simovitch from Riverview :love:




This is Laticia Rosario from Sunlit Tides :love:




The one here on the left is Tina talisman from Oasis Landing




The sim by the Java Bar is Pearl Yang




Closer shot :love:



The little brown gnome of sculpting you see was left behind because he is cool.




Venue also has two bathrooms both of which have ice sinks and toilets


Those darn unreliable HP laptops. :smirk:

@KHS12 @CravenLestat The problem with those recommendations is of course not that we don't believe you. It's that HP is just a brand name. Whether it's the best one to be shopping for such purposes may be debatable for various reasons, but they have made and still make plenty of computers that are perfectly capable of carrying the entire game with all content and tons of CC if desired. They also make plenty of computers that wouldn't be capable of getting the base game alone started up without blowing gaskets all over the place (think of the around $199 (US Dollars) super light portable laptop types with weak processors and no graphics card, and the all-in-one desktops that have no cooling system). And they have plenty of models in between. It's the components and specs that are important, not the brand name. What we don't need is players thinking that they can select a computer capable of running the entire game based on brand name alone and waste their money on models that are just never going to work well or for very long.

No, TS3 does not need a 2017 standards official gaming computer to run. It's a 2009 program and wouldn't know what to do with all of that power. But it does have real needs and requirements. Players not accustomed to being able to tell the difference between processors and graphics card types, those who don't know the difference between hard drives and RAM, etc., will not be happy if they make a selection that is far below what can reasonably be expected to carry the game.

My desktop computer is from 2011. A serious gamer would laugh at its configuration, probably (which is why I never invite serious gamers over to look at it). But it is strong enough to have survived the entire TS3 game and I am certain it could run TS4 reasonably well if I put it to the task. As long as things hold up mechanically, age itself doesn't really matter. Heck, that last bit applies to many of us players as well. You know, we didn't all roll off the assembly line last week ourselves either, some of us have developed odd squeaks and groan noises and have needed some parts replacing, but many of us still continue to function well enough through some miracle or other. ;)