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DollyGizzy's avatar
DollyGizzy
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago

Computer suggestions?

I'm getting a new computer soon and want some suggestions. I want to be able to play TS3 with a lot of EP and SP and mods, use CAW, as well as play other games.

Trying to work with a low budget. 100-300 perhaps. Maybe a little more if necessary. Thanks everyone.

6 Replies

  • I'm sorry to say it, but that's not nearly enough money for a computer that will run all TS3 packs on the highest settings. With most games, you could cut corners and merely see a decrease in performance, but with TS3, lower-end hardware may struggle to run more than the base game and a couple of early packs. A $300 computer is even a level below that, where you might not even be able to run the game at all.

    Even if you have the best possible luck with sales, you'd still need to spend at least $700 before tax on a laptop, or maybe $600 for a desktop, not including the monitor. I don't know what other games you have in mind, but their requirements may be higher. (You're welcome to list them, if you want to know what kind of hardware they'd need.) Desktops can also be upgraded later, if you want, whereas most laptops won't take more than extra RAM and maybe a second hard drive.

    If you do think you can spend a bit more, let me know, and I'll try to find something. Please also list your country, since prices, and the best stores, will vary.
  • @puzzlezaddict
    I'm in the northeastern USA.
    The other games are Star Stable Online and Toontown Rewritten and Corporate Clash, maybe ROBLOX too.
    And I do want a desktop, not a laptop.
    Been checking out "gaming" computers but I wanted more input on what to look for before I waste money on one that TS3 won't run well on.
    My family was gonna check BestBuy but idk what to look for so that's why I'm asking.
  • Of the games you listed, none has requirements close to what Sims 3 needs, so you're good there. Interestingly, Best Buy had the single best deal I could find, cheaper than anything good enough on Amazon or the other sites I checked. This model is $600:

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-series-8gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-570-480gb-solid-state-drive-black/6343318.p?skuId=6343318

    Its graphics card is actually a bit better than is strictly necessary for TS3, although if you use a lot of cc, you'll be glad for the extra power. It has a solid state drive (SSD), which will make loading times much faster than if you had a mechanical drive (HDD), both in TS3 an in general. Plus, it's upgradable later, if you want—most Cyberpower computers are meant for swapping parts. It would be easy to add RAM or a second hard drive when you decided you needed it.

    You might be able to save money with a refurbished computer, but the problem is that you wouldn't know how the graphics card had been used. Given that you want to be able to play a reasonably demanding game, you do need to know that the card is in good shape, or you might end up needing to replace it soon. At the very least, be sure to get a model with some kind of store warranty or guarantee.

    If you're going to look yourself, here are the specs you need:

    • Processor: At least 2.4 GHz base clock speed, quad core or higher, and not U- or Y-series. If you're considering an older model, it's best to ask first, since there are too many to summarize neatly.
    • Memory: At least 8 GB RAM. 16 GB is great for multitasking but isn't necessary, and it's very easy and cheap to add more later.
    • Graphics card: Nvidia 1050 or higher (or 960 or higher in older models), or AMD RX 560 or higher.
    • Storage: At least 512 GB total for gaming. You can put movies, music, photos, etc. on an external hard drive, or buy and install a second internal drive (also very easy); you could get a 1 TB internal HDD for $40-50. Solid state drives are very nice but not strictly necessary—your games will run fine on an HDD, if more slowly.

    If you find something you're thinking of buying, feel free to link it here.
  • I'm also getting a new computer for sims. I'm looking for a computer that's under $1000 and can run the game in high graphics settings with no laptop mode, lots of packs and cc, and maybe even reshade. At minimum, I want at least medium settings. I found the following for not a lot budget wise, but I'm not sure the graphics will work: ASUS VivoBook F510UA 15.6” Full HD Nanoedge Laptop, Intel Core i5-8250U Processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, USB-C, Fingerprint, Windows 10 Home - F510UA-AH51 (found on Amazon). Can someone tell me whether they think the graphics will be able to run as I want? Thank you in advance!
  • @fitzsimmons1213 - The processor on that laptop is U-series (note the "U" at the end of the 8250) which as has just been said should be avoided. This means it is designed for Ultra Low Power (electricity) consumption and long battery charge usage, not for playing games that would require it to turbo up out of its 1.6 MHz base speed constantly while playing. It also has no dedicated graphics card. Price is not really the determining factor on such things, but you're in the $500 range there and you would need to aim a bit higher to get strong enough components to run TS3 properly. Asus makes some great mid to higher range stuff, but this one is on the lower end of their product ranges.

    That you mentioned laptop mode though suggests you are playing TS4, which is not the game we are really discussing here as this is the TS3 section of the forum. Are you playing both games? While TS4's base game only is less demanding in many ways than TS3, once we factor in the EPs including those yet to be released, the real world requirements for suitable play become closer to each other. This does makes a difference though when it comes to the hard drive as TS3 will benefit from being run from a Solid State Drive (SSD) whereas TS4 will not.

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