Best pcs for sims 4?

@juliettedenham  Price-wise, you'll do much better with a Windows PC than with a Mac.  You could get a Windows desktop or a laptop that would run all Sims 4 content on ultra settings for somewhere in the $700 range, or maybe up to $900 if you wanted to add extra power to futureproof the system a bit.

Apple offers much less flexibility in terms of choosing hardware.  But the equivalent MacBook Pro to a $900 Windows laptop would cost $2,500 and still have a slower graphics card.  An iMac that could run the game on ultra costs more like $1,800, but again, the graphics card would be slower; only the most expensive iMac, and the even more expensive iMac Pro line, offer GPU upgrades over the stock options.

Still, there are reasons to get a Mac, and if you really like the features, you may be willing to pay a premium and/or sacrifice performance to get those benefits.

Once you know more or less what you want—Windows or macOS, desktop or laptop—I'd be happy to help you pick something out.  Just let me know your budget and country, as well as any other features that matter to you, like extra storage, futureproofing, or a certain screen size in a laptop.  Or, if you're not sure what option would work best for you, you can describe the general features you'd want, and we can talk about the best way to get them.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@juliettedenham  Price-wise, you'll do much better with a Windows PC than with a Mac.  You could get a Windows desktop or a laptop that would run all Sims 4 content on ultra settings for somewhere in the $700 range, or maybe up to $900 if you wanted to add extra power to futureproof the system a bit.

Apple offers much less flexibility in terms of choosing hardware.  But the equivalent MacBook Pro to a $900 Windows laptop would cost $2,500 and still have a slower graphics card.  An iMac that could run the game costs more like $1,800, but again, the graphics card would be slower; only the most expensive iMac, and the even more expensive iMac Pro line, offer GPU upgrades over the stock options.

Still, there are reasons to get a Mac, and if you really like the features, you may be willing to pay a premium and/or sacrifice performance to get those benefits.

Once you know more or less what you want—Windows or macOS, desktop or laptop—I'd be happy to help you pick something out.  Just let me know your budget and country, as well as any other features that matter to you, like extra storage, futureproofing, or a certain screen size in a laptop.  Or, if you're not sure what option would work best for you, you can describe the general features you'd want, and we can talk about the best way to get them.

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Hiya,thanks for your reply. After thinking about it I think a PC is more of a wise option with prices and stuff as well as being able to run it better. However I am still not too sure whether to go laptop or desktop. I do have a laptop but it runs quite slow and Sims doesn’t work on it. I am basically looking for something that I’d be able to run the sims without glitches, v smoothly. And be able to use Microsoft word for uni work, and have adequate storage for uni work. Using internet and streaming services like YouTube / Netflix well, and storing some pictures. However this is not too essential as I say I still have this other laptop. I am struggling where to start looking but my price range is £500-£1000 ish but can be flexible however would rather low as possible of course Also I am UK based, Scotland. 

Also, forgot to say, if it’s a laptop I’d be looking at 13” probably but for desktop I’d be looking at quite a big screen, the one I have just now is 24” I believe and is an all in one computer, again I don’t know if all in one is better than a seperate computer to monitor etc, if you could help

@juliettedenham  You could get a laptop that would run Sims 4 on ultra graphics settings for somewhere in the £700-800 range, depending on exactly what features you wanted.  But it would have a 15" or 17" screen.  Gaming laptops, even entry-level ones, don't come in 13" chassis, at least not until you get into a much higher price range.  (That also goes for MacBook Pros: the 16" version is the only one with a dedicated graphics card.)

Asus has recently released a 14" gaming laptop, if you'd like to see.  It's £1,100 in the Asus store, but the site offers student discounts.  This model is also lighter than most gaming laptops and has what should be excellent battery life.  Whether that's worth the markup depends on your personal preferences.

https://uk.store.asus.com/laptops/gaming-series/asus-rog-zephyrus-g14-eclipse-gray-ga401ii-bm027t-14-full-hd-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-4600h-processor-8gb-ram-512gb-pcie-ssd-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-4gb-graphics.html

For desktops, there are a lot more options, from prebuilt models in stores to somewhat customizable options from name-brand companies to custom-built systems from third-party vendors.  Prebuilds are usually cheaper but may have lower-end components; choosing a custom build means higher quality parts, plus you get exactly what you want.  Again, whether it's worth the premium depends on the person.  How much more expensive also changes depending on inventory and too many other factors to track.

One thing that you can count on though is that you'll do better with a separate tower than an all-in-one.  The latter is basically a laptop in desktop form, with the same disadvantages but without the bonus of portability.  Towers can be maintained much more easily, they're upgradable, they have better cooling, and they come in a lot more configurations, at least once you get into the gaming system range.

I think that I’ve decided I’ll go more down the route of a desktop. I’m not looking for a dedicated gaming PC or anything like that just one similar to the one I’ve got that’ll play the Sims well. I don’t really use my desktop for anything else but the sims so storage shouldn’t be a massive issue. Can you recommend any desktop PCs that are fairly normal price / not a gaming one, that will run the Sims smoothly?

Hi @juliettedenham. Without intending to interfere with the advice @puzzlezaddict has been giving you, which are up to the point, in my opinion, let me tell you that you can get a custom-built PC in the UK with very good quality at overclockers.co.uk. (The other shop I like in Europe is caseking.de in Germany)

I don't live in the UK but I buy things from them and they really are very good. I would prefer something like this rather than getting a branded desktop full of bloatware which is common with the big brands.

As for base configuration, you can go with https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk-tech-labs-intel-9th-gen-coffee-lake-midi-tower-gaming-pc-configurator-fs-01m-tl.html for an Intel system or https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk-tech-labs-amd-ryzen-midi-tower-gaming-pc-configurator-fs-1aj-og.html for an AMD.

I usually prefer the Intel but AMD is currently giving a better performance/pound ratio.

What do you think @puzzlezaddict?

@juliettedenham  Sorry for the delay.  I understand you're not looking for a real gaming system, but Sims 4 will run better on at least entry-level gaming hardware, and that hardware is well within your budget.  Even keeping the price around £700-800, you could get a computer that would run all Sims 4 packs together on ultra settings.

I looked at various custom build sites, and the cheapest good options are in the £700-750 range.  For that price, you'd get an Nvidia 1650, capable of running the entire game on ultra with some room to spare; a good processor and 16 GB memory; and quality components, e.g. motherboard and power supply, that are less likely to cause problems down the road.  You could of course upgrade any single component if you wanted, for example, an Nvidia 1660 would cost around £90 more, depending on which site you used.  And I'd be happy to go over the parts with you: what they mean, what's worth the price, that kind of thing.

If you'd rather stick with a prebuilt system, you have a number of options.  This Cyberpower is the cheapest good one I saw.  Its hardware is more than strong enough for Sims 4 and should be for a long time, plus it has 16 GB memory, which is nice to have if not strictly necessary.  The £603 version doesn't have a solid state drive, so everything from Windows to Sims 4 would load more slowly from the mechanical drive; the £659 version has a much faster solid state drive in addition to the HDD.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CyberpowerPC-Wyvern-580-Gaming-PC/dp/B079YZRZP9/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CyberpowerPC-Wyvern-580-Gaming-PC/dp/B074JCL7TQ/

You could get essentially the same computer except with an Nvidia 1660, a significantly faster graphics card, for £662.  This model does only have 8 GB memory, but you could add another 8 GB for probably around £40.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CyberpowerPC-Regiment-1050-Gaming-PC/dp/B01M6XZV89/

The Nvidia 1660 Super is a bit faster than a regular 1660; these two are £701 and £756, in otherwise the same configurations as the first two, i.e. without and with an SSD.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CyberpowerPC-Wyvern-580-Gaming-PC/dp/B079YYK419/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CyberpowerPC-Wyvern-580-Gaming-PC/dp/B07JZK5LHN/

There are also equivalents to the ones above except with Intel processors, but price-wise, the ones with AMD processors are the better choices, at least on Amazon.  If you do want an Intel CPU, this one is cheaper than the other options, at £700.  It has an Nvidia 1660 and a combination SSD/HDD.  It does only have 8 GB memory, but again, that's cheap and easy to add on your own.

https://www.box.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-690-0040na-7EC02EA-Gaming-_2580723.html

If you have more questions, or would rather see the custom build options, let me know.

@Kabouki1965  The ones you found are fine, but the prices could be better.  With the Intel version especially, I'd want a better CPU if I were buying, and that puts the price about £150 over the cheapest equivalent options I saw on other sites.  Also, bloatware can be uninstalled, or wiped if you want to go the slash and burn route, always a fun option.