I've been looking at some answers on here to figure out which desktop to buy but I'm not very literate with this stuff so I'm getting pretty confused!
I like to play the Sims 3 (I don't plan on upgrading to 4) and I'd love some suggestions for a decent desktop. I'm in the UK and I can only afford to spend around £300. I could probably stretch that a bit but not very much.
Thanks in advance for the suggestions 🙂
@Player_ehet0eph I'm sorry, but even the cheapest desktops for Sims 3 are going to cost more than £300, at least new models. I checked half a dozen U.K. sites, and even the best £350 desktop has hardware that I know can't run Sims 3 without crashing. And that's basically the floor for PCs that would run the game at all.
On the other hand, if you're willing to buy a used computer, you'd likely have plenty of options. The usual stores aren't going to be much help here: they sell "refurbished" models that are only nominally cheaper than the new versions. But Ebay has plenty of stock at any given time, and if you're willing to take that risk, you could end up with a reasonably good system. Let me know if you're interested, or if there's another similar site you'd like me to check out for you.
Thank you for taking the time to reply to me @puzzlezaddict I've had a look at what I may be able to purchase using discounts and payment plans and I'm considering the following Dell desktop:
Do you think this will run TS3 successfully?
Thanks again for your help 🙂
@Player_ehet0eph First Intel 12 gen cpus are code name Alder Lake. These cpus were/(are?) having issues with some games. Supposedly this has been fixed . I hve been using AMD processors for some time now so I'm not sure of the status of this issue. The Sims 3 uses the graphics hard so I recommend a dedicated video card. This reduces the load off the cpu and usually provides better graphics. With the shortage of chips has affected the price of computer chips and just recently there seems to be an easing of prices and video cards prices are starting to fall.There has been talk of the next generation of computer chips will be announced soon. What that means older inventory might be cheaper after the new stuff hits the market. If you want a machine the runs TS3 good then for the Dell I recommend the Intel I5 cpu with the Nvidia 1660 video card, 16 Gb of memory with the 1Tb drive for storage. But that pushes the price over your budget. You may think to get a mid range gaming computer with current technology that way you'll get some use out of it with newer games. Many people like myself are building new gaming rigs so you may be able to pick up a used rig from someone who just wants to get some money back. The Dell computer in its basic configuration would probably run the Sims 3 but how well remains to be seen. hth
@Player_ehet0eph While the processor is more than good enough for Sims 3, its graphics chip is not. There are some integrated chips that will run the game, all packs included, but they're around 80% faster than this one. So while you might possibly be able to play on this computer, I wouldn't count on it.
For comparison, these computers have the faster graphics chips I mentioned:
https://www.box.co.uk/DT.VV3EK.003-Acer-Veriton-Essential-N-Intel-Core-i5-8_3628971.html
https://www.box.co.uk/11R8000DUK-Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M75s-Gen-2-11R8000D_3941998.html
I don't know whether you could or would want to get financing for either of these, or whether it's worth doing so just to play Sims 3. But if you're interested, these would be good alternatives.
Hello,
I’ve been looking for a thread that will help me figure out whether or not the computer I want to buy is good enough to run the sims 3 and all of its EP’s and SP’s and I think I’m in the right place. The computer I want to buy is called Ideapad gaming 3 AMD with the following specs:
AMD Ryzen™ 7 6800H Processor (3.20 GHz, up to 4.70 GHz Max Boost, 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 16 MB Cache)
Windows 11 Home 64
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 3050 Ti 4GB
8 GB DDR5 4800MHz
512 GB PCIe SSD Gen 4
Thank you all for the help
@sativsim Yes, that computer is more than good enough for Sims 3, in fact it's a bit of overkill. That's not a bad thing at all, in fact it'll help buffer the inevitable fps drops.
The one thing you'll definitely want to do is manually limit in-game framerates. There's no point in doing this until you have the game installed on the laptop, since you need to test in-game to make sure the settings worked. But when you're ready, feel free to ask for help with the process.
@puzzlezaddict wrote:@sativsim Yes, that computer is more than good enough for Sims 3, in fact it's a bit of overkill. That's not a bad thing at all, in fact it'll help buffer the inevitable fps drops.
The one thing you'll definitely want to do is manually limit in-game framerates. There's no point in doing this until you have the game installed on the laptop, since you need to test in-game to make sure the settings worked. But when you're ready, feel free to ask for help with the process.
Thank you so much! 🙂
@puzzlezaddict wrote:@sativsim Yes, that computer is more than good enough for Sims 3, in fact it's a bit of overkill. That's not a bad thing at all, in fact it'll help buffer the inevitable fps drops.
The one thing you'll definitely want to do is manually limit in-game framerates. There's no point in doing this until you have the game installed on the laptop, since you need to test in-game to make sure the settings worked. But when you're ready, feel free to ask for help with the process.
Hello,
I’ve purchased the laptop and installed all of the expansions and stuff packs. How do I limit in game frame rates?
@sativsim In all cases, you can check your in-game framerates by bringing up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and entering "fps on" without quotes. A number will appear in the upper-right corner, and it should never go above the limit you've set or the refresh rate of your screen, whichever is lower. The cheat "fps off" removes the counter.
You have a few options here depending on whether you play in fullscreen or windowed modes (or both). If you're planning on installing the Smooth Patch made by Lazy Duchess, it has a built-in fps limiter, so you wouldn't need to install anything else. I've been using it for a year, although an older version without the limiter, and it's been quite stable. Instructions for use are on the download page.
Another approach you can try, although I don't know that it will stick (it often doesn't with dual-card laptops like yours), is to use the Nvidia Control Panel settings. Right-click on your desktop and select the Control Panel, then Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings, choose ts3.exe (for an Origin install) or ts3w.exe (disc or Steam install), scroll down to Vertical Sync, and set it to On or Adaptive. Enabling Triple Buffering can help as well. Scroll back up and set the Max Frame Rate to the refresh rate of your laptop, probably 60 Hz but you can check under Windows Settings > Display > Advanced Display Settings.
Both of these options work in both fullscreen and windowed modes: vertical sync only applies in fullscreen (and limits fps to the refresh rate of your monitor by definition), but it often helps with graphics performance in general and so is worth using if you ever play in fullscreen. If you only play in fullscreen and don't want to use the above options, or the second doesn't stick, you can use a third-party app called D3DOverrider to force v-sync, again only in fullscreen.
https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/84-d3doverrider/?changelog=32
For windowed mode, if you ever use it, you can download Rivatuner Statistics Server and set the fps limit to the refresh rate of your monitor.
Again, choose TS3.exe or TS3W.exe depending on the install type (highlighted in blue), set the framerate limit (red box), and choose whether to start RTSS with Windows (yellow box). RTSS does need to be running while you play, but it takes up hardly any resources and won't affect any application other as long as you only apply the settings to Sims 3.
If you have questions about a specific approach, please feel free to ask.
@puzzlezaddict wrote:@sativsim In all cases, you can check your in-game framerates by bringing up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and entering "fps on" without quotes. A number will appear in the upper-right corner, and it should never go above the limit you've set or the refresh rate of your screen, whichever is lower. The cheat "fps off" removes the counter.
You have a few options here depending on whether you play in fullscreen or windowed modes (or both). If you're planning on installing the Smooth Patch made by Lazy Duchess, it has a built-in fps limiter, so you wouldn't need to install anything else. I've been using it for a year, although an older version without the limiter, and it's been quite stable. Instructions for use are on the download page.
Another approach you can try, although I don't know that it will stick (it often doesn't with dual-card laptops like yours), is to use the Nvidia Control Panel settings. Right-click on your desktop and select the Control Panel, then Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings, choose ts3.exe (for an Origin install) or ts3w.exe (disc or Steam install), scroll down to Vertical Sync, and set it to On or Adaptive. Enabling Triple Buffering can help as well. Scroll back up and set the Max Frame Rate to the refresh rate of your laptop, probably 60 Hz but you can check under Windows Settings > Display > Advanced Display Settings.
Both of these options work in both fullscreen and windowed modes: vertical sync only applies in fullscreen (and limits fps to the refresh rate of your monitor by definition), but it often helps with graphics performance in general and so is worth using if you ever play in fullscreen. If you only play in fullscreen and don't want to use the above options, or the second doesn't stick, you can use a third-party app called D3DOverrider to force v-sync, again only in fullscreen.
https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/84-d3doverrider/?changelog=32
For windowed mode, if you ever use it, you can download Rivatuner Statistics Server and set the fps limit to the refresh rate of your monitor.
Again, choose TS3.exe or TS3W.exe depending on the install type (highlighted in blue), set the framerate limit (red box), and choose whether to start RTSS with Windows (yellow box). RTSS does need to be running while you play, but it takes up hardly any resources and won't affect any application other as long as you only apply the settings to Sims 3.
If you have questions about a specific approach, please feel free to ask.
I plan on playing full screen as I’ve always played full screen so I will try to change the frame rates via the nvidia control panel. I will let you know how it goes.
I also wanted to mention that a few days I go I was going to install store content from the sims 3 store so I opened the game launcher and got a message that said: graphic card not recognized. I installed the store content anyway but didn’t play the game. The next day I installed more store content and when I opened the launcher I didn’t get that message ( I haven’t played since installing it as I’ve been very busy but plan on playing sometime this week). Do you think I should do something to fix this or just leave it as is?
Thanks again for the help
