Laptop help
Hi guys! So I haven't played for years and I want to start again but I don't have a laptop any more and I want to get a new one but I have no idea what I need! Can any body help? I think I want to ...
Forum Discussion
So I can tell you my personal specs if you are just interested, but they are higher than you need and will run you more otherwise. Considering the shortages and scalping on electronic stuff lately, you generally want to go for something with widely available parts to not fool with all that. Unless of course you have a reason otherwise.
Maxis posted these system requirements on their Steam pages for 3 and 4:
For 3
OS: Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
Processor: (XP) 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent; (Vista) 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
Memory: (XP) 1 GB; (Vista) 1.5 GB
Graphics: 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
DirectX®:
Hard Drive: At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
Sound:
Built-in Graphics:
Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA X3000 or above.
2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
0.5 GB additional RAM
Supported Video Cards:Nvidia GeForce series: FX5900 or greater, G100, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150, GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295; ATI Radeon™ series: ATI Radeon 9500 series of greater, X300, X600, X700, X800, X850, X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950, 2400, 2600, 2900, 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870, 4850, 4870 series or greater; Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA): GMA 3-Series, GMA 4-Series
*Please note that the GeForce 6100 and 7100 cards are not supported
And for 4 (Minimum first and then recommended)
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: 64 Bit Required. Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10
Processor: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core 4000+ or equivalent (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 or equivalent)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better
DirectX: Version 9.0
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 17 GB available space
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: 64 Bit Windows 7 (SP1), 8, 8.1, or 10
Processor: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better
DirectX: Version 9.0
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 18 GB available space
I also personally recommend everyone have at least 1TB of space. That is where I spent most of my money when I upgraded in January, on a 4 TB SSD. You can get away with less, but you will not want to if you do anything other than play the Sims (and the more packs, mods, and store content the less wiggle room).
How much you go above this depends on you. It is all pretty old, so most things should at least run the games, but it is really a question of how well. Mine runs them perfectly well, but I have seen some others struggle. It wouldn't hurt to browse a few of these similar threads. It also does not hurt to consider future proofing by getting a machine with better specs in the hopes of it running Sims 5 when it eventually drops. All up to you.
Maxis posted these system requirements on their Steam pages for 3 and 4:
For 3
OS: Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
Processor: (XP) 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent; (Vista) 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
Memory: (XP) 1 GB; (Vista) 1.5 GB
Graphics: 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
DirectX®:
Hard Drive: At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
Sound:
Built-in Graphics:
Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA X3000 or above.
2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
0.5 GB additional RAM
Supported Video Cards:Nvidia GeForce series: FX5900 or greater, G100, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150, GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295; ATI Radeon™ series: ATI Radeon 9500 series of greater, X300, X600, X700, X800, X850, X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950, 2400, 2600, 2900, 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870, 4850, 4870 series or greater; Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA): GMA 3-Series, GMA 4-Series
*Please note that the GeForce 6100 and 7100 cards are not supported
And for 4 (Minimum first and then recommended)
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: 64 Bit Required. Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10
Processor: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core 4000+ or equivalent (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 or equivalent)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better
DirectX: Version 9.0
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 17 GB available space
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: 64 Bit Windows 7 (SP1), 8, 8.1, or 10
Processor: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better
DirectX: Version 9.0
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 18 GB available space
I also personally recommend everyone have at least 1TB of space. That is where I spent most of my money when I upgraded in January, on a 4 TB SSD. You can get away with less, but you will not want to if you do anything other than play the Sims (and the more packs, mods, and store content the less wiggle room).
How much you go above this depends on you. It is all pretty old, so most things should at least run the games, but it is really a question of how well. Mine runs them perfectly well, but I have seen some others struggle. It wouldn't hurt to browse a few of these similar threads. It also does not hurt to consider future proofing by getting a machine with better specs in the hopes of it running Sims 5 when it eventually drops. All up to you.
