Re: How can I upgrade my computer for better performance & graphics in Sims 4?

@simsical-musical  Now I remember the thread.  Sorry, I'm not great with names, including usernames, but details of a problem I haven't been able to fix always stick with me.

Anyway, if you're leaning towards a new computer, there isn't a lot of stock right now.  (You may or may not have heard about the  completely insane graphics card market right now.)  Building your own PC is pretty much off the table unless you can find a graphics card at or near MSRP somehow, or maybe buy a used one from a friend and wait out the storm.

 If you're patient though, you may find a quality prebuilt option from CyberpowerPC available from either the company itself or from Best Buy or Amazon.  The reason I like these systems is because the hardware tends to be higher quality.  Cyberpower is a custom build company and stocks the same components you might order when building yourself, but it needs to get rid of surplus somehow.

So while the parts Cyberpower hasn't been able to sell aren't likely to be the most high-end options, there's still a pretty high floor on what the company is even willing to stock.  The components are therefore going to be significantly higher quality than what you'd see from an OEM.  This matters not only for performance and longevity but for upgrade options: you're likely to have a stronger power supply and a motherboard that supports higher-end components than are currently installed.

I'm not saying that computers from Dell or HP or whoever are bad exactly, just that they're limited in what they can be expected to do.  You have the budget to do better, and I think paying an extra ~$150 to get the best version of whatever you'd like to have is a worthwhile investment.

@puzzlezaddictI hadn't heard of that company so thats good information, thank you! I found a couple of options on their website (one is out of stock right now but I want to bookmark it for when it comes back if it's a good option)...

For $945 there's one with these specs:

• Windows 10 Home
• Intel® Core™ Processor i5-11600KF
• GeForce® GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5
• 8GB DDR4-3000 Memory
• B560M-A AC M-ATX Motherboard
• 500GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD

And there's one thats sold out right now for $1129 with these specs:

• Windows 10 Home
• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Processor
• GeForce RTX™ 3060 12GB GDDR6
• 16GB 3000MHz RAM
• B550 M-ATX RGB Motherboard
• 500GB WD Blue SN500 PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
• 1TB HDD

Also, I had previously found this, but I know you said HP can be more limited:
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-pavilion-gaming-tg01-1185t

Let me know what you think, and also whether if I bought one of these now if I'd be paying significantly more than I would be at another time. I'm somewhat in a rush to find a good option now because I haven't been able to play the game in a while and I'm trying to get back to my Tumblr followers before I'm considered inactive and people start to unfollow 😆

@simsical-musical  Both Cyberpower options are good, not perfect but good starts with room for improvement if and when it becomes necessary.  For the first one, I'd add another 8 GB RAM right away if you're doing any streaming or heavy multitasking, e.g. editing photos while you play.  The 1650 is more than good enough for now, and the power supply and motherboard will support a upgrade if you want one in a couple of years.  The processor is overkill, but that's not a bad thing.

For the second one, the graphics card is far and away more power than Sims 4 will ever need, again not a bad thing.  The only component I don't like all that much is the processor, but it'll do for now, and if you want something stronger in the future, the board will support a Ryzen 5000-series CPU.  As an example, the 5600X is more than powerful enough for any game currently in existence, and I've seen it for as low as $200 on sale, that is when you can find one.  But you shouldn't need the upgrade now.

Normally, I'd buy the fastest CPU that came with a decent graphics card and go from there, but given the easy upgrade path, I'd call this a tossup.  For reference, if you wanted to buy a new GPU and the market was normal, you could get a 3060 ti for $400 or a bit more, and a 3060 for maybe $350, so between that and the RAM, the total cost over time would be quite similar if you did in fact upgrade.  But like I said, you don't strictly need to add anything to either build.

The HP is fine for what it is, and a similar, slightly cheaper model (configurable from a lower baseline) would be a good budget option.  But HP puts the weakest power supply it can get away with in its Pavilion desktops, and the PSU and motherboard at least used to use proprietary connectors, making upgrading much more complicated than it should be.  It's the kind of headache that's worth saving money for someone with a budget around $800, but probably not for you.

@puzzlezaddictSo which do you think would get me the best possible graphics without getting laggy/slow? Would both support reshade if I was to add that as well?

Also, how does the $900 version compare to my current specs and the computer with the MSI Z270 Gaming Plus motherboard, Intel Core i7 7700k processor and NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1050 Ti I mentioned earlier?

Sorry for asking a lot of detailed questions but I really don’t know much about all of this...

@simsical-musical  The 1650 is somewhere around 30% faster in gaming than the 1050 ti, although that depends a lot on the game involved.  The 7700K is a few percentage points faster than the 3600, and the 11600KF is significantly faster, but that's not nearly as relevant: for comparison's sake, a 7700K can drive a 2080 ti without issues.

Both graphics cards support Reshade, but if you're planning to overload your game with Reshade filters and custom content, you may want the faster graphics right away.  While the 1650 is more than fast enough to maintain 60 fps (and then some) on ultra settings under normal circumstances, its margin isn't so high that it can also absorb a heavy load on top of the game.

If you want to get an idea of what you're looking at, try playing without Reshade and with zero cc, then add both back, and compare framerates.  I can't give you an accurate picture because a lot of this depends on what kind of cc you have, and Reshade's impact can vary depending on which features you use.  But if the fps hit from adding Reshade and cc is around 10%, the 1650 should still be fine.  If it's around 30%... well, the 1650 would still be fine overall, but you'll probably notice some fps drops too.

I also want to be clear that Sims 4 will slow down from time to time on even the most powerful hardware.  This can't be helped: it seems to be something about the game engine and what it needs to process.  I've seen slowdowns where my CPU and GPU were nowhere near maxed out on any statistic, and I've heard the same from enough other people, and seen the benchmark tests in some cases, to know it's not about my machine.

Having said that, the faster the card, the more of a buffer you have for the fps drops, up to a point.  The speed of the processor can also help resolve some types of slowdowns, but it won't eliminate them completely either.  So there's an argument to be made for both builds.

In the end, this may all be moot, of course, if the second Cyberpower option doesn't come back into stock.  (On that note, you could contact the company and ask; maybe they'll let you know whether they plan to bring it back any time soon.)  If the first one is the only option, I think you'd be happy with its performance overall, even if it's not perfect 100% of the time.  It should certainly outperform the 7700K/1050 ti by an obvious margin, so if that's your standard, you should be fine.

@puzzlezaddictOkay, thank you so so much for your help, I think I’ll probably go with the $900 option! One last ask though... any recommendations for a monitor off Amazon? One of the complaints I have about my current laptop is that the screen quality is such a drop from Apple screens and it made anything look a bit fuzzy, not just the game. So I'm just looking for a decent sized monitor that probably has 144 fps and good brightness (that's a problem too on my current one) and easy for a beginner to set up and use...

@simsical-musical  How large a monitor do you want, and what resolution?  I personally would get a QHD (2560x1440) panel in the 25-32" range, rather than 1920x1080, but a lot of people are fine with the lower resolution.  Below 25", virtually all monitors are 1080p, and the resolution looks fine at that size.

Monitors are extremely easy to set up initially: you really just need to know how to use a screwdriver to mount a stand.  Calibration is another matter, but you can leave that until later if you want, or just play with it and see what happens.

@simsical-musical  I guess then the question becomes how much you want to spend, and which features are worth a premium price tag.  Since you don't want blurriness and are looking at around 27", I don't think you'd want a 1080p monitor, especially if your current laptop screen is already a bit fuzzy.  A 4K monitor would look the best, but the price of a 4K 144 Hz screen is still incredibly high.

Do you really need 144 Hz, or would 75 be okay?  The price difference is significant, for example these are the two cheapest good screens with a 2560x1440 resolution and an IPS panel (the highest color quality):

https://www.amazon.com/LG-27QN600-B-FreeSync-Virtually-Borderless/dp/B089NZCLHW

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-XV272U-Pbmiiprzx-Technology-DisplayHDR400/dp/B07MQBPMJ2

Their typical brightness is 350 nits, significantly higher than the 300-nit level to be considered decently bright.  In contrast, current Mac laptops have a brightness of 500 nits, but you're not likely to find that in a standalone monitor until you get into the professional-grade options.  The LG has a 75 Hz refresh rate; a lot of people can't tell the difference between that and 144 Hz.  But if you can, maybe the extra cost is worth it to you.

If you do want a higher refresh rate, a compromise would be to get a VA panel.  Their color range is good, but not as good as IPS models, and their brightness is typically in the 250 nits range.  A few examples:

https://www.amazon.com/ViewSonic-VX2768-2KPC-MHD-Monitor-FreeSync-Premium/dp/B08D5N4R1D

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Non-Glare-Resolution-Optix-MAG27CQ/dp/B079NGSWRL

https://www.amazon.com/GNV27DB-2560x1440p-Curvature-G-Sync-Ready-Zero-Tolerance/dp/B084CYSSBG

(third party seller)

These are certainly not all the available models, just the cheapest good ones I could find on Amazon.  If you want to see more from one of these categories, let me know.  And if you're open to shopping elsewhere as well, you might have more options or slightly better prices.

@simsical-musical  I checked a few other sites and didn't find much that was clearly better, or cheaper, than the ones on Amazon.  (There were a lot of the same options, of course.)  But there are a few options worth mentioning.

This one is a bit smaller, still IPS with the same resolution, in case you decide 27" is a bit too large:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1562001-REG/acer_um_qv7aa_002_v247yu_bmiipx_24_anti_glare.html

This one is a gaming monitor with a high refresh rate and brightness that's also from a reputable company.  It's a bit more expensive than the 144 Hz Acer, and I don't think it's necessarily better, but no harm in taking a look.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gigabyte-27-ips-led-qhd-freesync-monitor-with-kvm-hdmi-displayport-usb-black/6438287.p?skuId=6438287

This one is a professional-level display, not necessarily any better for gaming but worth considering anyway.  Its refresh rate is 75 Hz.

https://www.newegg.com/asus-pa278qv-27-wqhd/p/N82E16824281062?Item=N82E16824281062

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1562006-REG/asus_pa278qv_27_wqhd_ips.html

I'm actually a bit surprised by the low variety, at least in terms of good options, but I guess a lot of people now working from home realized they needed to invest in something higher quality.

@puzzlezaddictIf I'm looking at smaller options on Amazon, are these good ones or no?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JGYM5H6/?coliid=I3Q171BE6F4DSU&colid=TKK0JX3AXVEU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GG8RVXP/?coliid=I3JX9B4VJ3O7PK&colid=TKK0JX3AXVEU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088VMY23M/?coliid=I2BU7GYCDZ49LX&colid=TKK0JX3AXVEU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Update: I'm especially looking at the curved Sceptre one...

@simsical-musical  The first one has a TN panel (as opposed to IPS or VA), the lowest quality in terms of color and viewing angles.  The second has a VA panel, which is fine but still not as good as IPS.  Additionally, Sceptre is not a brand I would completely trust.  Apparently it gets panels that higher-end companies reject for whatever reason, so you could get good quality or not, depending on how lucky you are.

If your priority is a high refresh rate, there really aren't any good options, at least as far as I can see, for under $200.  The cheaper ones usually have TN panels, which would be a shock to the system coming from a Mac.

I did see these two at Best Buy, if you want more options:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-xf243y-pbmiiprx-23-8-full-hd-monitor-hdmi/6425559.p?skuId=6425559

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-predator-xb253q-gpbmiiprzx-24-5-fhd-1920-x-1080-ips-monitor-hdmi/6424317.p?skuId=6424317

Please keep in mind though that if you get the computer with the GTX 1650, you're not going to get anywhere near 144 fps unless you turn down the graphics settings.  Even a 1660 ti doesn't maintain 144 fps in 1080p, so with a 1650, you might not get any benefit above a 75 Hz monitor.  Of course, you might want that monitor for the future, but that's a different question.

Additionally, before you buy a 1080p monitor, please find one you can physically look at in the size you prefer.  (If you're comfortable going to a store, Best Buy usually has a variety of monitors hooked up and playing videos on a loop.)  Your laptop screen is likely 1080p, but that's a lot more pixels per inch when the screen is so small.  Even a 27" 2560x1440 monitor looks a tiny bit grainy to me, although I don't notice it unless I'm paying attention.  The point is, you don't want to spend $200 on a monitor that won't look good to you.

Okay, so should I be looking for options with 75hz... I'm not sure I understand the bit at the end, though. If I'm looking for a smaller monitor, will I be sacrificing quality?

@simsical-musical  The resolution is literally the number of pixels in the monitor.  The larger a screen those pixels are spread out over, the grainier the monitor will look.  That doesn't mean that a 24" 1920x1080 monitor will look terrible, but you might find it's too grainy for your taste.  The point is, before you spend all that money, see for yourself.

Monitors that run at 75 Hz are significantly cheaper, even when you want an IPS monitor.  If you want a smaller 1080p screen, I can probably find good options in the $120 range.  If you want a 2560x1440 resolution, the first option I mentioned when you originally asked is a good choice, and I can try to find more as well.  Let me know either way.

@simsical-musical 

The I9 uses a FCLGA1151 socket while the B560M-A AC M-ATX Motherboard has an LGA1200 socket so if that was the one you ended up getting then you will need to get another MB for the I9.

@simsical-musical 

That part @puzzlezaddict will be better at answering.

@simsical-musical  The most important thing here is to get your temperatures under control.  The more powerful processor options your motherboard supports produce more heat than the one I believe you currently have, so swapping out the CPU would only exacerbate the problem.

Unless.  How comfortable are you with taking off the CPU cooler and examining it?  It's possible that the cooler isn't mounted properly, or that the thermal paste wasn't applied properly, or even that the shape of the piece that contacts the processor's heat spreader isn't perfectly flat, which would make it less efficient.  All of these are entirely fixable and for a much lower cost than a better CPU.

First though, please let me know what kind of temperatures you're seeing.  Download hwinfo from here:

https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

You don't need to install anything if you don't want to; just choose the Portable version, unzip it, and launch it from Downloads or wherever you want.  (If you would like to install, be sure to click the button for hwinfo itself and not for lansweeper.)  Restart your computer, and don't open any other apps.  Launch hwinfo, choose "sensors only," and click the icon that's a sheet of paper with a + sign to start logging.  Save the file to your desktop for easy access later.

Wait five minutes, open Origin, launch Sims 4 and play for 20 minutes or until your computer crashes.  Click the same button to end logging, or if your computer shut down, the log should be intact to that point.  You can upload it to a third-party free filehosting site and link it here.  Please leave it in .csv format, or if you use OneDrive to share, please compress it in .zip format instead.

Next, please remove the side panel of your case, the one that gives you access to the hardware, and repeat the test.  This will show whether the issue is mostly airflow, which might be fixable with more fans; or more about the CPU cooler not doing its job.