TS3 Compatible Laptop or Desktop on a Budget
Hi everyone! After quite a few years of The Sims, GTA and countless replays of the Life is Strange series, my good old gaming laptop is reaching the end of her lifespan (many issues, including a messe...
Forum Discussion
I checked a few different sites, and the cheapest good option I saw was this one, for $600. Its processor is fine, not great but more than powerful enough for Sims 3; its graphics card can handle ultra settings with some room to spare; it has a 240 GB solid state drive, which, while small, is enough space for Sims 3 and all associated content, as long as you manage it carefully, plus a 1 TB HDD for spillover and other data.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-3-2300x-8gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-570-1tb-hdd-240gb-ssd-black/6362425.p?skuId=6362425
There are a lot of better desktops in the $700 range, but this one, on sale for $730 (at least until midnight Pacific), has a faster graphics card than any of the others for the same price. It's much more power than Sims 3 needs, not that it's a bad thing. Its processor is stronger than the one above as well, and it has a 512 GB SSD, which is more than enough space for most people who only plan to play one or two games.
https://www.newegg.com/acer-n50-600-ur1i-nitro-50/p/N82E16883101790?Item=N82E16883101790
These two desktops do only have 8 GB RAM, which is enough for Sims 3 but maybe not for Sims 3 plus a bunch of browser windows plus a music streaming app plus whatever else you have open while you play. Memory is cheap and easy to upgrade though, so that alone isn't a reason not to buy either. I'm just mentioning it so you can think about whether to add another 8 GB RAM either now or at some point in the future.
I know you don't want to spend the full $1,000, but so you know what's out there, these two have processors and graphics cards that are overpowered for Sims 3, although they might be useful if you decide to play other games later on. They both have 16 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSD. The second one is $50 more expensive, and for that, you get a much stronger processor, an additional 1 TB HDD, and a somewhat faster graphics card, none of which is necessary.
https://www.amazon.com/CyberpowerPC-Master-Gaming-GeForce-GMA1400A/dp/B07X31NT47
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-9700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-1tb-hdd-480gb-ssd-black/6400462.p?skuId=6400462
Like I said though, there are plenty of other options to consider; this is more a sampling of the "best available" at various price points. So if there are details about these that you don't like, let me know what you're looking for, and I'll do another search. It's easy for me to search for options by price or by any given specification, so just tell me what you'd like.
Monitors are sold separately, and good ones start around $100. Let me know the screen width you want, and I'll have a look around. If you want to play at a 144 Hz refresh rate, or close to it, the price goes up a little, and it would also be better to get a system with at least an Nvidia 1660 graphics card, which all of the above have except for the first.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-3-2300x-8gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-570-1tb-hdd-240gb-ssd-black/6362425.p?skuId=6362425
There are a lot of better desktops in the $700 range, but this one, on sale for $730 (at least until midnight Pacific), has a faster graphics card than any of the others for the same price. It's much more power than Sims 3 needs, not that it's a bad thing. Its processor is stronger than the one above as well, and it has a 512 GB SSD, which is more than enough space for most people who only plan to play one or two games.
https://www.newegg.com/acer-n50-600-ur1i-nitro-50/p/N82E16883101790?Item=N82E16883101790
These two desktops do only have 8 GB RAM, which is enough for Sims 3 but maybe not for Sims 3 plus a bunch of browser windows plus a music streaming app plus whatever else you have open while you play. Memory is cheap and easy to upgrade though, so that alone isn't a reason not to buy either. I'm just mentioning it so you can think about whether to add another 8 GB RAM either now or at some point in the future.
I know you don't want to spend the full $1,000, but so you know what's out there, these two have processors and graphics cards that are overpowered for Sims 3, although they might be useful if you decide to play other games later on. They both have 16 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSD. The second one is $50 more expensive, and for that, you get a much stronger processor, an additional 1 TB HDD, and a somewhat faster graphics card, none of which is necessary.
https://www.amazon.com/CyberpowerPC-Master-Gaming-GeForce-GMA1400A/dp/B07X31NT47
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-9700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-1tb-hdd-480gb-ssd-black/6400462.p?skuId=6400462
Like I said though, there are plenty of other options to consider; this is more a sampling of the "best available" at various price points. So if there are details about these that you don't like, let me know what you're looking for, and I'll do another search. It's easy for me to search for options by price or by any given specification, so just tell me what you'd like.
Monitors are sold separately, and good ones start around $100. Let me know the screen width you want, and I'll have a look around. If you want to play at a 144 Hz refresh rate, or close to it, the price goes up a little, and it would also be better to get a system with at least an Nvidia 1660 graphics card, which all of the above have except for the first.
