@abigailevelynn__ I've split your post into its own thread because the other thread was a bit old.
What country are you in? Do you want this computer to be futureproofed, either with the current hardware or with support for upgrades, or perhaps to be able to run other games? Do you want to spend more for the highest quality components, or do you just want good quality that will work?
Let me know, and I'll poke around.
first off thank you i have been stressing all day over this! first off i’m in the US i would like it to be future proof, i honestly only play sims 4 i have all the packs and would like a lot of mods and cc to be honest. i’m willing to have to spend money i just don’t wanna go over like 1100$
@abigailevelynn__ Do you definitely want a custom build? For around $1,100 (or less), you may be able to get more for your money with a prebuilt system. The custom builds in that range tend to be more expensive because they use higher-end hardware than is strictly necessary for that price range. It's just something to consider.
Let me know either way, and I'll take a look around in a few hours. (I have a few RL things to do first, but I have time this afternoon.)
i’m very open to anything i just want something that runs super smooth with all the packs and mods i’ve just heard it’s cheaper to custom build so i was just trying to start from there and thank you again!
@abigailevelynn__ Sorry for the late reply. I got caught up in something last night and didn't have time to do a thorough search.
Anyway, I did search tonight, and the high-end custom builds are, as I expected, a bit out of your preferred price range. The reason is likely the shortage of graphics cards: the newest ones are almost impossible to find, the last generation models are going for twice their usual price, and everyone's desperate. That's also the reason that building yourself might not work out well—paying $600 for a normally $250 GPU is annoying even when price isn't an issue.
For context, an Nvidia 1650 should run Sims 4 smoothly on ultra settings, and a 1660 or faster (or an AMD 5500XT or faster) would be overkill. In practice, the game has its own slowdowns no matter how fast the hardware, and although more powerful components can buffer the effects to some degree, the issues with the game engine itself will still limit performance. So you may think it's worth the extra price to get a 1660, or even a 2060, but maybe not; it's about your preference.
There are two main options that would work here. One is to get a prebuilt system, and the other is to configure a computer from Dell or HP. For the prebuilt systems, there are lots of options with a 1660 of some kind, and very few with the somewhat faster (~20% in gaming, but it varies a lot by game) 2060. Both Dell and HP have models that can be upgraded to include a 2060; the price would be a bit over $1,100 with a 2060 and more like $850-950 with a 1660, depending on the other components you wanted. You could spend some of that money on a stronger processor, planning to get a faster graphics card to go with it in a few years, but that's not necessary for Sims 4 and never will be.
As for the prebuilt options, this is not an exclusive list, just a few good options for you to look at. I can write more about any of these, or the differences among them, if you'd like, but first please let me know what direction you're thinking of going.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/6424476.p?skuId=6424476
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1560344-REG/msi_codex_r_10si_003us_gaming.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1597600-REG/asus_ga15dh_bs562_bs562_ryzen_5_3600x.html
https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Revolt-9330-i5-10600K/dp/B08FPT92JD
https://www.amazon.com/Desktop-GeForce-i5-10400F-Lighting-GT12-0020/dp/B088HJSMYR
https://www.amazon.com/GL10DH-Desktop-GeForce-Windows-GL10DH-AH762/dp/B07X1TZT85
And if you don't see what you want, you could also wait a few weeks for more options to come back into stock. The desktop market has a lot of turnover in a short amount of time, especially now with the scarcity of graphics cards.
