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SophieBxnks's avatar
SophieBxnks
6 years ago
Solved

Gaming Tower for Sims 4

Is Acer Predator a good gaming desktop to play The Sims 4 and all extension packs on? It has.. PO5-610 Intel Core I7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB HDD + 256 GB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2060 Graphics. Looking for the best ...
gameplay issue
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    6 years ago

    @SophieBxnks  The monitor looks great.  You don't need the cables though, and I don't think you'll have any use for them.  Mini DisplayPort is a different standard, one that neither the monitor nor the computer has any use for.  (It's mostly for connecting laptops to a monitor, with the laptop having the Mini DP.)  The monitor itself will come with the proper DisplayPort cable in the box.

    @DanishLighthouse  It's nice that you tried to help, but the original poster bought the computer discussed here last week.  And, incidentally, it has higher quality hardware in every category you've listed, plus a premium CPU cooler and PSU as well.

SophieBxnks's avatar
SophieBxnks
6 years ago

@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's avatar
SophieBxnks
6 years ago

@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 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @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.

    • SophieBxnks's avatar
      SophieBxnks
      6 years ago

      @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

      • puzzlezaddict's avatar
        puzzlezaddict
        Hero+
        6 years ago

        @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.

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