Forum Discussion
It was so kind of you to look at this person's specs and let them know if they'd be okay running some expansion packs. I was hoping for the same kindness! Can you help me?
@Jadinasims Sure, it's not a problem. If you have the computer already, the easiest way to provide info is to run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
If you're still shopping, feel free to link the options you're considering. Or if you don't have any in mind yet and would like a few suggestions, just let me know your budget and country, as well as any other features that matter to you, for example whether you'd prefer a laptop or desktop and any other software you'd want to run.
- Jadinasims5 years agoNot applicable
Here you go! Thank you!
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@Jadinasims There's some variation in players' experiences, but I would say your laptop could probably run the earliest expansions well, and probably not the most demanding ones. In this category of laptop, it can take some experimenting to figure out which packs, and how many, run well, and which will not.
My guess is that the base game plus all stuff packs would most likely be fine, plus World Adventures, Ambitions, and Generations, if you want those. I would avoid Pets and Seasons, and maybe Island Paradise and Into the Future, at least at first. The intermediate packs, not Pets or Seasons and not the early ones, may or may not work well; this is where players' experiences can vary.
In your position, I'd install the base game only, perhaps with some stuff packs if I owned any. (SPs don't add much to overhead.) If the game ran fine, I'd add expansions one at a time, starting with the less demanding ones (WA, Ambitions, and LN), and decide whether performance was still good enough. When it started to drop off a bit, I'd stop adding more content.
If you really want Seasons in your game, it's possible that it might run okay with some adjustments. For example, you could disable rain and snow, or you could use lower graphics settings in the winter. This does work for some people, but for others it's not enough. You may also find that you can play with, say, Seasons or Island Paradise, but not both at the same time. I would guess the Pets EP, or more specifically long-haired pets and any horses, would be a real problem for your graphics chip with any settings.
The point is, yes, you should be able to play, but how well, you'll need to find out by experimenting a bit yourself. I certainly wouldn't go out and buy a bunch of packs all at once. On the other hand, I don't want to tell you that you won't be able to play with most of the packs, because it's possible you can. So the short answer is, take it slowly, see how things go, and hopefully you'll find a way to enjoy the game with whatever content works well on your laptop.
- Jadinasims5 years agoNot applicable@puzzlezaddict is the best! Thank you!
- MollyMoon2165 years agoNot applicableHi there, I’m new to playing Sims 3 and am also feeling out how many expansion packs to run. I just purchased an entry level gaming laptop back on Black Friday. Would you be able to give me a recommendation as well if I run a dxdiag?
- MollyMoon2165 years agoNot applicable
If you can help, here is a dxdiag attached!
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@MollyMoon216 You should be able to run all the packs together without any issues, and on mostly ultra graphics settings. There are two settings—water and high-detail lots—that need to be turned down a bit because of the high demands they place on the game engine regardless of how powerful someone's hardware is.
You'll also need to manually limit your in-game framerates, since your graphics card is powerful enough to generate excessively high fps if not capped. Let me know if you need help with this process.
- MollyMoon2165 years agoNot applicable@puzzlezaddict Thank you for analyzing my laptop’s Sims 3 performance!
And wow - I’m surprised! I currently have Late Night, Generations, World Adventures, and Ambitions. Even with so few EPs, I’ve had 3 or 4 crashing incidents already and a few very long loading screens. Therefore I figured the laptop might not be able to handle all EPs at once, especially the heavier ones.
I have my graphics mostly at medium, some at high. Good to know I can increase most of them, but I’ll be sure to keep water and high detail lots at medium.
I’m not familiar with framerates. Would you be able to explain more? Do you mean the game speed (1,2,3, or 4)?
(Sorry I’m such a newbie!!)