Re: Best pc for the sims 4 with the highest settings A LOT OF MODS & expansi
@puzzlezaddict would you be able to help me find a suitable pc aswell?
Forum Discussion
@Maisha7197 The 1050 might cause lag if you ran Sims 4 on ultra settings, not now with the packs you have, but maybe if you also installed, say, Island Living and the next expansion. You could turn down the graphics though and not see any lag.
The £500 build I mentioned has to be an oversight on the part of the company. On that same site, the other builds I played with that similar specs were all landing in the £700 range (with VAT). But the components that go into these computers are the same no matter which build you start with. The quality of the parts isn't in question, and the quality of the build process is generally the same or slightly better than what you'd get from an off-the-shelf computer. There's always some risk, no matter where you buy, but that's why you find a company with a good warranty policy and test out the computer right away. (Again, this is true no matter where you buy.)
I linked the two sites' home pages because I thought you might like to check them out in general. Since I was playing with custom configurations and just wanted to know whether you were interested, there wasn't much point in putting something together and linking it for you. And yeah, paging throught all the default options looking for something promising can be disorienting. But here's the £500 desktop, already tweaked from its initial (much more expensive) configuration:
http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/saved/1749113
I can configure whatever you like; this is more of a starting point, so you have an idea of what you might be able to get.
As far as space goes, you could always measure. The product dimensions for the MSI are listed along with the other specs, and the Cyberpower cases (there are plenty to choose from) have a specs page that shows if you click on the case itself.
You wouldn't necessarily need a new monitor. You might want one, if you're not satisfied with the image quality. You might need an adapter to use it, but that would depend on the connection it currently has. But you can figure that out after the fact, and buy the monitor separately. They're easy enough to pick up in store if you want, or you can check out the screens and order what you like online.
@puzzlezaddict I’m definitely wanting to get Island Living and am not willing to compromise on graphic quality so maybe I won’t consider purchasing a gaming PC with Nvidia 1050. Thanks for letting me know about the 1060 and sorry about the confusion on the links.
I checked out the custom-made one you linked and I’m interested in configuring one with your help (seeing as/assuming that you know which parts would pair suitably as I’ve seen articles about custom-built PCs where people put overpowering components with underworking ones bla bla bla).
About the monitor, I’ll leave it be for now as I thought I’d need to. And the MSI I haven’t completely written off yet, I’m still considering it as a resort to a custom-made one (if one can be configured) but otherwise I’ll just have to find a pre-built one.
I checked out the custom-made one you linked and I’m interested in configuring one with your help (seeing as/assuming that you know which parts would pair suitably as I’ve seen articles about custom-built PCs where people put overpowering components with underworking ones bla bla bla).
About the monitor, I’ll leave it be for now as I thought I’d need to. And the MSI I haven’t completely written off yet, I’m still considering it as a resort to a custom-made one (if one can be configured) but otherwise I’ll just have to find a pre-built one.
@Maisha7197 No worries about the links; I just didn't want to show you what I thought you should get, instead of finding out what you wanted.
You're right that people tend to make some critical mistakes when trying to save money on a custom build. One common bad shortcut to take is with the power supply—you want to make sure it will comfortably run all your hardware. I picked a 650W Corsair, which is a PSU with more than enough power and made by one of the best in that category.
Another important detail is the motherboard, and there are a few decent options on the list. If you want to talk specs, let me know, but the short answer is that the Asus selected and the cheapest MSI (the Z390-A Pro) both have minor drawbacks, but not necessarily anything you'd notice if you weren't planning to upgrade yourself. The next one up (MSI MPG Gaming Plus) doesn't have those drawbacks. Still, any Z390 board from a reputable company is going to be at least good enough for what you want to do with it.
Also, be sure not to get a case with a top-mounted power supply. It looks like most of them mount the PSU at the bottom, with the exception of the In-Win models. But sorting through cases gives me a headache, so list a couple that you like and that aren't too expensive, and I'll look them over. (Otherwise, the list is very long.)
I went with 16 GB RAM, so you can always multitask, and I upgraded to 3200 MHz because who doesn't love fast RAM? (It's certainly a great way to spend £7.) I also added a wifi adapter, since I have no idea what your setup is going to be. And I chose a good air cooler because your processor doesn't need liquid cooling. If you want it though, go with the Corsair H60 for £10 more.
With the other parts, they're all fine for your purposes, but the next upgrade up may or may not be worth it to you.
- The Intel i5-9400F processor is more than strong enough for Sims 4. The next two upgrades up cost £50 and £91 before VAT for a small and medium-sized improvement, respectively. I don't think they're necessarily worth it.
- For the graphics card, an AMD Radeon RX 590 is only £18 more than a 580, which is a good investment. The next card up would be the Nvidia 1660, for £15 more, but the performance benchmarks for the two are equal overall. (Which is the better card depends on the game; both are more than fine for Sims 4.) I don't think you need this "upgrade" unless you really want an Nvidia card.
- I didn't change the default hard drives, which are a very fast 500 GB solid state drive and a very large (and somewhat slow) 2 TB mechanical drive. That's more storage than you'd probably ever need; you could switch the second to a 1 TB HDD and not miss the space. If you want an even faster SSD, an upgrade to a better 500 GB model would be £12. You would probably never notice the difference, but some people like to have the fastest option out there.
- Also, if you'd rather just go with SSDs, that's a viable option, if more expensive. The first thing to figure out though is how much storage you want.
That covers all the internal components. Windows 10 is also included. As for accessories, don't bother unless you already know that you want something and it's cheaper on this site than the other places you were looking. It's probably not though; one way sites like this make their money is by marking up the add-ons.
And of course, feel free to keep asking questions.
- @puzzlezaddict I was looking around on there and made this https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/CYBERPOWER-i5-Z390-Gaming-PC-CONFIGURATOR
I have no idea what I’ve done, the cost has gone up to £900 somehow.
There are A LOT of cases there and I think I’d just want one of the simple ones (no rgb) @puzzlezaddictAbout the upgrades, I’d say there’s no point in going over Intel i5-9400 because that sounds pretty powerful as it is, I’d definitely be willing to pay extra for the Nvidia 1660, for the ssd I’d keep the 500 and maybe change to 1TB unless the extra TB doesn’t cost too much more and about the storage; my current computer (that I’ve owned for over 5 years) has no ssd storage and only 1TB of HDD which is still only 20% full (to this day). So I’d be able to run on just hdd but I’ve heard ssd is good for gaming so I might aswell.
And about the coolers, would you say there’s any point in getting liquid if I’m not going to configure my pc with the ability to overclock?
And about my setup, what do you mean? Are there any certain things a pc needs to include to suit an individual’s (the buyer of course) setup?
@Maisha7197 The reason that the other computer is so much more expensive is that the pricing on Cyberpower's site doesn't really make sense. It's kind of like each computer starts out at a different baseline price that you can't see, before it even contains any hardware. Then as components are added, the price rises accordingly, so there's no way to actually see that baseline price.
The trick is scanning for a computer where the overall price is lower than what you'd expect given its components, and then swapping out the hardware for what you'd actually want. The one in the link I sent was originally £1039 including VAT, but it had a stronger processor and graphics card than other similarly priced models (I sorted by price when reading the list), so I thought it might end up cheaper for you as well. And that's true—as you've seen, adding some of the same components raised the price of the one you found to £400 higher than the link I sent. This is another way companies like this make money, but you can beat them at their own game if you pay close attention.
For the hard drives, you're absolutely right that SSDs are better. Many programs run much faster on them, although not Sims 4, and Windows is faster too. People still use large HDDs for storage because they're so cheap, and the point is to preserve data, not run demanding apps off them. So it sounds like there are only a few options you might want (relative prices all before VAT):
- You could upgrade to an even faster 500 GB SSD for an extra £12, but, like I said, you might not notice the difference.
- Getting a 1 TB HDD instead of the 2 TB version would save £14.
- Not having an HDD would save £42, and swapping the current SSD for its 1 TB version would cost £37, so you'd save money and only have one drive to manage. (You could always buy an HDD later and install it yourself, which is very simple.)
- A 1 TB SSD of the fastest kind would cost £67 over your current setup, so it would cost £25 more net if you also got rid of the HDD.
You're right, there's not much point in getting a liquid cooler for the processor you want. The Intel air cooler isn't great though, which is why I selected the next one up.
About your setup, I meant that I didn't know if you'd have convenient ethernet where you were living, as in, whether it would be easier to just use wifi. But if it's not a problem, you can skip the wifi adapter. If you do want it, I'd recommend the next one up (I belatedly checked specs on those too), for an extra £6.
Most of the cases have some RGB, which I agree is annoying. So do some of the internal components; there's really no avoiding it these days. But you can unplug the case RGB if you want. I can just pick one for you if you don't care what they look like, or you can list a few that you don't mind looking at and I'll pick the best among them.
Finally, a 1660 is a good card, more than enough for Sims 4. A 1660 ti is significantly better, but also an extra £44. I'd say only get this if you're considering playing other games in the next year or two. Otherwise, get the 1660, and if in a couple of years, you want to play a more demanding game, you can buy a new graphics card and install it without changing anything else about your computer. This computer as currently configured would support an Nvidia 2080, so you'd have plenty of leeway for an upgrade.
