Gaming Tower for Sims 4

@SophieBxnks  The specs are great, actually a bit of overkill for Sims 4.  But for £2,000, you can definitely do better.  Or you could get the same hardware for much cheaper.

Does your son want to play other games as well?  If you list them, I can check their recommended specs and see what he might want.  I'd be happy to look around for better options, either cheaper for the same specs, or better specs for the same price.  Let me know if you're interested, and whether you'd prefer a premade system or one that's custom-built.  The advantage of going custom is that you can pick exactly what you want, including higher quality hardware that would support upgrades in the future.  But it's usually a bit more expensive as well.

@puzzlezaddict He just plays Sims 4, he loves it and uses all extension packs and “mods” too? The Acer Predator that I mentioned in my earlier post has an offer so I would pay £1500.

He currently uses Alienware but it has started crashing when loading his sims and so I’m looking for something more powerful and the best for Sims 4, something I know he will be able to play it without having any issues.

thank you 

@SophieBxnks  Just as an example, I went to one custom site, picked the first base configuration that caught my eye, and stuck a bunch of high-end parts in it.  I don't know what the processor is in the Acer Predator (feel free to link it for me to compare), but I added the same graphics card from a quality manufacturer, a larger and faster solid state drive, an extremely powerful processor, liquid cooling for the processor, a motherboard that supports the newest technology, and an upgraded quality power supply.  The total, including VAT, is £1,082.

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/saved/1857526

I'd be happy to play with other configurations; this was to give you an idea of what's out there.  Or I could find a prebuilt system instead.  £1,500 is a much more reasonable price than £2,000, for sure, but I think you could still do better for your money, either by saving a lot or by getting better parts.

@puzzlezaddict  Just checked out the desktop you built, would that be better quality than the Acer? With spending a lot of money I want to make sure I’m getting the correct item with a good brand. Something he wouldn’t have to keep upgrading with new parts etc. Also something that won’t crash while loading the game after 2/3 years if possible.

I appreciate your help 

@SophieBxnks  The reason I like to suggest custom builds, if people can afford them, is that you can get better quality parts than you would in a prebuilt model.  Acer is a reputable company and wouldn't sell you a computer with bad hardware.  But it's going to include the minimum reasonable components to support the processor and graphics card already included.  It wouldn't make sense for any company to pay more to include parts that the current build doesn't need, even if those parts would be nice to have for future upgrades.

In practical terms, that means you'd be getting a lower-end motherboard, power supply, and maybe CPU cooler.  Those parts would be fine for now, but they might not support an upgrade in a few years.  The advantage of the build I linked (and others like it) is that all the included components will support an upgrade in the future.  What it really means is that your son could decide, for example, he wants a new graphics card in a couple of years and merely swap out the old one without worrying about whether the rest of the computer can handle it.  The mainboard in particular also supports PCIe 4.0, an upgrade that current hardware can't take advantage of, but that will probably become standard in a few years, at least for the high-end components.

Having said that, as long as it's properly maintained, the Acer should be able to run Sims 4 on ultra settings for the entire run of the game, no matter how many mods are thrown at it.  With an Nvidia 2060 and an Intel i7 that's almost certainly of comparable quality, your son would never have an issue.  The nice thing about being willing to spend £1,500 is that as long as you do a little bit of homework, you're going to get what you need and then some.

Edit:  This is a slightly better configuration, at £1,068 including VAT:

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/saved/1857828

It's worth mentioning that a (very unnecessary for Sims 4) upgrade to an even stronger processor, the AMD 3700X, is £100 without VAT.  Also in the category of unnecessary, there are a number of cases in various loud colors that your son might like, at various prices.  You could in theory get a stronger graphics card as well, but there isn't much of a point in spending that money now—it would be more efficient to buy a much faster card in 2 or 3 years if your son eventually decides he has a use for it.

@puzzlezaddict so in a couple of years time it was needed new parts, how would he go about doing that? He wouldn’t know how to do it himself you see. Could you build me a desktop for around £1,500 that is best for Sims 4. With the better processor AMD 3700X. Or even more of what would be more powerful to run the game and extension packs on with no issue of it crashing. You’ve been a great help

@SophieBxnks  The point of getting the higher-end components (motherboard, power supply, CPU and CPU cooler) is that the computer would only need one upgrade at a time.  For example, this build would support any graphics card currently on the market, even the £1,200 Nvidia 2080 ti, not that your son would have any use for it.  But in two or three years, he could swap out his current card for whatever is new and shiny without worrying about anything else.

Installing a GPU is pretty simple, even if it seems intimidating for someone who's never done it.  Here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG0GZpr9w_A&feature=youtu.be

The other option would be to take the computer to a shop and ask for help.  If you bought the card there and asked nicely, they'd probably install it for free or for some low service charge.

As for the card itself, an Nvidia 2060 is already overkill for Sims 4.  (The cards that are £100 cheaper are already more than enough for the game.)  There's nothing wrong with that, but spending an extra £200 or so on a more powerful card isn't going to make any difference to the game, now or ever.  So there's really no point in getting a better card until your son has some use for it and decides how powerful that new card would need to be.

As for the build overall, I can keep adding better and better parts if you want: a solid state drive from a more respected brand (but the same speed), a second SSD instead of a mechanical drive for extra storage, or a 1 TB primary SSD instead of 512 GB; a motherboard with more slots that your son will probably ever use, but the same overall technology as the one I initially picked; lots of completely unnecessary RGB lighting.

But without knowing what your goal is, aside from budget, it's hard for me to know where and how to apply the upgrades.  If you really don't know, I can just pick the best parts up to £1,500 or close, but I'd rather choose upgrades that will be worth the money to you.

And just to reiterate, hardware in this class is not in any danger of faltering while running Sims 4.  As long as the hardware itself isn't somehow defective—always a risk with any kind of computer, but that's what warranties are for—your son should never have any issues playing the game.  It might still crash here and there, because all games crash occasionally (mine crashed just yesterday, and I laughed), but it won't be the computer's fault.

@puzzlezaddict 

Once I have bought the computer desktop, how long would it last without needing an upgrade? And when you say upgrade does that mean new parts for the computer itself or an upgrade that I would install on the desktop. Also would these desktops connect to a standard 55” TV?

I’m struggling to understand what it all means. I’m not sure what a Nvidia 2060 is even though I have just googled the name haha. I just want the best I can get for £1,500/£2000.

I know that he would play the Sims 5 when that is released (he says maybe early 2020) so I’m looking for more than enough memory on the computer. A very good graphics card, if that is Nvidia 2060 then I’d like that please. Also anything extra that will make the machine run more powerful.

What does the solid state drive do? If we could get a really good one of those from a very good respected brand like you mentioned that would be great, especially at a fast speed.

My goal is to have an extremely good gaming desktop for my son, that will run fast and smooth, extremely powerful and has a brilliant amount of storage. Something that won’t need updating with new parts regularly (as neither of us know what we’re doing within that area) and also won’t over heat.

If you could build the ideal machine for me within the price range of anything under £2000 that would be brilliant.

@SophieBxnks  When I talk about an upgrade, I mean adding or replacing any physical component(s).  But in practice, the point of this build is to make sure that most upgrades are unnecessary.  The exception is the graphics card, because cards are improving so much so quickly these days.  Even a really good card will be somewhat outdated in four or five years; it can’t be helped.

On the subject of Sims 5, it’s in all likelihood several years away.  The developers have said that Sims 4 has at least a couple more years to go, with new packs coming out at the current pace.  And then there will probably be a yearlong gap before the next version is released.  (That is, if it ever comes out at all.)

We can’t know what that game will look like, but I would expect that even at its most ambitious, the base game will run beautifully on a 2060.  After all, EA knows that much of its audience is comprised of casual players who can’t or don’t want to spend a fortune on a proper gaming PC.  If it runs okay on a basic laptop, it should run on ultra settings on a 2060.  And by the time the more demanding expansions start rolling out, your son would be ready for a new graphics card anyway.  Again, this time frame would probably be around four years, give or take, unless he decided he wanted to play some demanding game in the interim and needed a new card.  That’s why I’m saying there’s no point in getting a better card than a 2060—you can’t possibly know what he’d need in a few years, and the cards available then will be a lot faster than anything you’d want to buy now.

I don’t know what connection your 55” TV has (probably HDMI), but the 2060 has DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI connectors.  These are standard with any modern graphics card.  If necessary, you could get an adaptor, but you’re probably already covered.

A solid state drive is much faster than a traditional mechanical drive.  SSDs come in a few different flavors, from reasonably fast to faster than you’d ever need for gaming or other normal use.  The default configuration, which I picked initially, is usually a smaller SSD and a larger HDD for storage, but with this build, you can choose whatever you want.  I could replace the HDD with a second SSD for storage, although it wouldn’t matter all that much.  As long as Windows and applications are on an SSD, they’ll load extremely quickly.  Stored files like music, movies, and photos will play back the same on a mechanical drive as they would on an SSD, which is why people usually go for the much cheaper HDDs for storage.  But, like I said, at this price point, you can get whatever you want, including a well-respected (and more expensive) brand for each drive.

So let me know anything else you want me to take into consideration, and I’ll put together another build.  The one thing I can’t pick for you is the case—style is highly personal.  (Besides, I’m not a fan of flashiness in general.)  If your son knows this computer is coming, you could ask him to pick one from the available options.  Otherwise, maybe you can guess from what you already know about his preferred style.  And don’t worry about compatibility; if you happen to pick a case that doesn’t fit the existing parts, the site will give you a warning and ask you to pick something else instead.

@puzzlezaddict 

My son isn’t aware that I’m getting him this computer desktop and I don’t want to ask him as it is a surprise.

As I am unsure still as to what all the parts mean from reading what you have said I would like a solid state drive that is faster than I require (as I want the best). I would also like a larger HDD for storage. I want the best graphics card I can get, of course you mentioned the Nvidia 2060, if that is the best one I can get then that would be great. I also would like something to stop the desktop from overheating if that is possible. The best ones you can find with a well respected brand for each drive within the price range of £2000 please.

You said “As long as Windows and applications are on an SSD, they’ll load extremely quickly” How would I make sure the windows and applications are on an SSD?

I’ve tried to look on the website but unsure if I’m looking in the right place. Could you link me the options of case-style of the desktops please.