Re: Help choosing specs for dedicated Sims 3 PC!!!

@dianaxfreire  This is definitely simpler, and I can access the Swiss site just fine.  Here's what I'd suggest:

For the CPU, I don't think the upgrade from the 7800X3D to the 7900X3D is worth the price.  It's not a bad choice, but the "slower" processor will drive any graphics card currently out there without a problem, and it would probably take 5-8 years before it had trouble with a new mid-tier graphics card (e.g. the RTX 4070 right now).  Your money would better be spent elsewhere if that's any consideration at all.

For the motherboard, since you're not building the computer yourself, the mATX form factor is fine, and you don't need all the extra expansion of a larger board.  And these processors are difficult to overclock, not that you'd need the extra performance.  So the first Gigabyte option, the B650M D3SH, will be great, and the more expensive boards aren't going to give you any practical benefit.  I still don't trust Asus with this generation's motherboards, but that's me being cautious.  If you're comfortable with the company, the Prime B650-Plus is clearly better than the cheapest option, but further upgrades won't make a practical difference.

For the RAM, the site's markup is a little higher than necessary, and it doesn't list timings or enough for me to figure out the details.  One option, if you're interested, is to buy the cheapest 8 GB RAM and upgrade it yourself.  RAM is extremely easy to install, and, as mentioned, very cheap right now.  If you're interested, let me know what stores you'd buy from, and I'll list the best options so you can decide whether getting exactly what you want is worth the extra effort.  If not, the 5,600 MHz option is fine, but upgrading to 6,000 MHz is relatively cheap.

For the graphics card, the upgrade from a 3060 to a 4060 is CHF 12, which is well worth the price.  Even if Sims 3 will never use the extra power, other games would.  And if you decide to flip the card for something faster in a few years, a 4060 will have a significantly better resale value.  I don't think it's worth paying extra for the Asus card, not at this level.  It would be different if you were buying a more expensive GPU or you planned to overclock it, but running it stock, you likely wouldn't see any difference at all even in benchmark tests.

For the SSD, either Samsung Pro (980 or 990) is going to be effectively the same, with the Evo being a bit slower in benchmarks but not enough to make a difference in everyday use, and certainly not in games.  You could save a bit of money by going with Corsair, also very reliable and running at Evo speeds.

I wouldn't bother getting an HDD at all.  If it turns out you need bulk storage down the road, you could get an external drive or a secondary internal one; installing it is as simple as opening the case and connecting two cables.  And with a 2 TB internal drive, the slower speed of an external HDD won't make a practical difference: everything you want to work with in the moment will fit on the SSD, and you can set large files to transfer back and forth while you do something else.

For the power supply, definitely go with one of the "enthusiast" models, both because they have at least a Gold rating and because they're modular.  750 W is more than enough for this system and should easily be enough for a newer xx60-series GPU if and when you decide to upgrade.

For the CPU cooler, the first DeepCool option should be fine as long as the room doesn't get too hot.  The cooler can dissipate 175 watts of heat, and the 7900X3D's TDP is 120W, with it typically using much less than that during gaming.  So you'd have plenty of headroom.  I don't know enough about FrostFlow as a brand to tell you whether it makes quality products, but DeepCool does, and the upgrade is cheap.  Standard thermal paste should be fine too, but spend the extra CHF 10 if you absolutely do not want to ever have to reapply it down the road.

For the rest, it's mostly about what accessories you might want.  I would suggest finding out how many fans come with the case you choose, and ordering more if the number is less than 4.  I'd probably go with at least 5 total myself, just to be on the safe side, especially with an air cooler.  Because the heat from the CPU and GPU is going to be dissipated inside the case, you really need good airflow here.  But neither component kicks off that much heat, so it's not critical to have the most overpowered cooling setup.  The standard fans should be fine; no need to spend extra here unless you want RGB.

Neither motherboad I mentioned includes wifi, but you may never need it, so skip the add-in card unless you think you might actually use it some day.  I would suggest not getting even the trial version of Norton antivirus at all because it's basically bloatware and annoying to remove.  If you need a third-party antivirus, use a different one, but Windows Defender is also very good these days.

Finally, for the monitor, do you want to buy from PCSpecialist, or are you open to other stores?  And do you know what size you'd like?  I don't necessarily have specific recommendations because there are a lot of good options out there, but prices can vary a lot.  A great option at $200 is not even a good one at $350, and the absolute perfect 24" monitor is a bad choice for someone who wants a bigger screen.