Re: Help choosing specs for dedicated Sims 3 PC!!!
@dianaxfreire This is definitley overkill for Sims 3, which is not a problem, but I would say that it's a bit imbalanced. A 7900X can drive any graphics card out there, and a 3060 is not in its league, although more than capable of handling Sims 3 of course. That's not to say you need to adjust the specs, only that it's worth considering what you want here and where to put your money. Even without budget constraints, some configurations make more sense than others.
The 7800X3D is actually better for gaming than the 7900X, if that's a consideration; the 7900X3D is a bit better but not as much as its higher product number would suggest. On the other hand, the prices are similar, so the 7900X3D might be the best option.
An RTX 3060 will run Sims 3 on ultra graphics settings at a 2560x1440 resolution, at above 144 fps under ideal conditions, without maxing itself out. The game will have fps drops on any GPU, and while faster ones will have somewhat higher lows, there's only so much even the best hardware can do about the issue. So if Sims 3 is truly the most demanding game you'll play, going above a 3060 isn't worth the price. However, if you're ever going to play games like Hogwarts Legacy or Baldur's Gate 3, a faster GPU would be well worth the price.
More to the point, in the U.S. at least, the 4060 is basically the same price as the 3060. It's not a great product in terms of the 40-series overall, but it's a lot faster than a 3060, fast enough to make a significant difference in newer games.
For the memory, you didn't mention specs, AMD CPUs love fast RAM. However, above about 5500 MHz, tighter timings matter more than the absolute speed. So look for something around 5500-6000 MHz with a low first-word latency. A site like PCPartPicker will list that along with the other details so you don't have to do the math. Memory is extremely cheap right now, and quality RAM is easy to make, so don't overthink this or spend a lot of extra money to get something that appears special.
I would also suggest having more SSD storage and skipping the HDD altogether. SSD storage is also very cheap right now, and it's much more convenient to have all your data on a single drive. You could of course add more drives later if that becomes necessary. I would strongly suggest spending extra on a quality SSD though. There are a lot of low-end options out there, even from known brands, and a dead system drive would be a tragedy and a massive pain to address. Samsung is still the gold standard, recent issues notwithstanding, and Crucial is a good substitute if the price works for you.
Corsair is the gold standard in power supplies, and 850W is enough for a much faster GPU should you want to add one later.
You didn't mention motherboards, and we can talk about that too if you want.
Finally, if you want to talk about a monitor, feel free to ask whatever questions you have. It's the component you'll interact with the most, and a quality screen can make a huge difference in how much you enjoy games and using the computer overall.