@jenjane Are you only looking to play Sims 4 and 5 (if it exists), or are you thinking about other games as well? Are you willing to wait a few months for the market to calm down? Graphics cards are still quite overpriced right now, although that's changing quickly in the U.S., and more slowly elsewhere. Are you thinking of building yourself, or are you looking at paying a system integrator to build for you, and if the latter, are you comfortable upgrading a component or two yourself down the line?
The reason for so many questions is that there are so many options, especially when you're working with an expansive budget. The best option for Sims 4 may not be the most expensive one; the best option for you may be a cheaper build with room to upgrade in a few years, especially with how quickly graphics cards are improving from one generation to the next.
@puzzlezaddict Thanks for taking the time to consider my request and for answering in such detail! 🙂 I appreciate it. Here are my answers to your questions:
-Are you only looking to play Sims 4 and 5 (if it exists), or are you thinking about other games as well? I am only looking to play The Sims (would love to be able to have TS4 all games installed, potential future TS5 all games, plus mods). The only other thing I would be using the computer for would be playing around with Excel spreadsheets, and using Word for documents, storing all my photos.
-Are you willing to wait a few months for the market to calm down? I would like to do this sooner rather than later, but if it’s best, I might be willing to wait up until TS5 release. I can wait for the market to calm down (I’m in Canada). I would rather wait and invest in worthwhile parts and benefit from it down the line, rather than go cheaper now and regret it later.
-Are you thinking of building yourself, or are you looking at paying a system integrator to build for you, and if the latter, are you comfortable upgrading a component or two yourself down the line? I’ve been trying to do some research on how to build myself, but I don’t know much about which products are compatible together, and may have to end up having someone build for me in the end. However, if it’s a matter of replacing one part down the line, maybe I can do that myself! I would love to learn and be self sufficient, but I may be setting my expectations for myself too high.
I hope my answers help! Thank you again for caring 🙂
@jenjane Given the current graphics card shortage and the fact that you'd probably have someone else build your system for you anyway, it sounds like going with a system integrator is the best option. One of the advantages of this approach is that many of the SIs do have graphics cards in stock, or at least a shorter waiting time to get one, so you wouldn't have to wait or battle the scalpers and bots during an Amazon or Best Buy drop.
The flip side of course is that it costs more money to go with an SI, or at least it would in normal times when you could simply buy the components you wanted. But the price may be worth having someone build and guarantee the computer for you.
I looked at a few Canadian SI sites and saw wildly different prices, some very high for what they were selling, so it would help if you had a preferred budget. Please also let me know if there's a local store you'd like to check out—I can look at their prices and available parts online. There are a couple of U.S. companies that ship to Canada as well, and you might get a better price from them; let me know if you'd be willing to consider this option as well.
As for the parts themselves, I could make you a list, but part of the problem is that some of the SIs don't have a wide selection, or else the price is a lot lower for one set of components than for another without any justification. So it's easier for me to have just a few companies in mind and compare their prices, especially if there's a local shop you may want to use.
Thank you for your quick reply!
For the sake of setting a budget, I will say $5,000 is probably the maximum I would be willing to spend. That’s probably not needed, but I don’t want budget to get in the way of having the perfect computer.
As for preferred stores, I feel confident in Newegg and Canada Computers. I’m not opposed to purchasing directly from brands on Amazon either. I’d prefer to purchase from Canada for easy returns if needed, but am willing to consider US distributors as well.
I am so grateful for your help, I really appreciate the time you’re taking to help me put this into action!
