Forum Discussion

Anonymous's avatar
Anonymous
7 years ago
Solved

will the Sims 4 run on my MacBook Air?

I know this is asked A LOT but I've done a lot of Googling and gotten so much contradictory information that I thought I would ask my own question. SO: will the Sims 4 run on my Macbook Air?

The specs are:

MacBook Air 13inch 2017 

1.8 GHz intel core i5 (dual core) 

8 GB 1600 MHz memory

Intel HD graphics 6000 

I've read that the Sims requires at least a 2GHz processor, while others say at least 1.8 or even 1.6. my macbook air notes that its maximum processing speed is 2.9. 

My main questions are these: will the Sims run on my laptop? is 1.8 GHz enough? and importantly, do I run the risk of damaging/permanently slowing down my laptop? (I've also looked into TurboBoost but I'm not comfortable installing a kernel - way out of my skill set). 

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me! <3 

  • It should run ok and you have plenty of RAM. But and there is a "but" please note the following.

    1) You should not run on Ultra High graphic settings as this can damage your Mac in the long run.

    2) Remember that the more content you add, the slower your game will run. 

    3) Adding a lot of CC will also slow down your game. 

    4) Play with your Mac elevated and to be on the safe side on a cooling mat. Never play any games or work on your Mac on a pillow or comforter.

    I think that's most everything. @Bluebellflora, did I forget anything?

2 Replies

  • It should run ok and you have plenty of RAM. But and there is a "but" please note the following.

    1) You should not run on Ultra High graphic settings as this can damage your Mac in the long run.

    2) Remember that the more content you add, the slower your game will run. 

    3) Adding a lot of CC will also slow down your game. 

    4) Play with your Mac elevated and to be on the safe side on a cooling mat. Never play any games or work on your Mac on a pillow or comforter.

    I think that's most everything. @Bluebellflora, did I forget anything?

  • @itsAila

    I would just emphasise that MBAs are great machines but absolutely not for gaming. Sure, you should be able to play relatively smoothly but they have low powered processors and graphics chips. If you have your graphics settings too high, as @Tremayne4260 has pointed out, you may reduce the life of your Mac. And the game WILL slow down with the more packs and CC/Mods you add as the operating system will be throttling power to stop it overheating.

    Also you have an i5 CPU, not an Intel Core 2 Duo. The i5 is newer, better and faster technology so you cannot compare the speed like for like.

    Your Mac will automatically turbo boost, whatever you've been reading which is telling you to install a kernel is wrong or not applicable to your machine. The operating system does it all for you 🙂