Desktop specs for Sims 3/4 + HDD vs SSD or both?
Hello 🙂
So I've been thinking about buying a desktop to play sims 3 and 4 with all expansions on high settings, as my old laptop can no longer run sims 3 and my newer laptop isn't suitable. I've been scouring google to understand which specs the computer would need and I've found three desktops that I think might fit the bill. I would love a second opinion on them though, as I'm not sure which is best or if they are even suitable. I mostly lean towards desktop 3.
All three desktops come with a 512GB SSD but with the option to upgrade to a 1TB SSD and the option to get a 2TB HDD. I was wondering if I should upgrade to a 1TB SSD and only have that, or if I should keep the 512GB SSD and then get a 2TB HDD along with it. I don't really understand how the whole SSD/HDD thing works. The other discussions I could find on this topic seemed to only be with smaller SSD's so I'm not sure what the case is for bigger ones (512GB-1TB). I would only be using the desktop for sims 3/4 as I use my laptop for school work and personal stuff, so I wouldn't need to store videos/music/documents unrelated to sims on the desktop. I do have some CC but not huge amounts.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me 🙂
Desktop number 1: 5493 DKK ($824)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-9400F 6-Core
Motherboard: Asus B360M-K Prime
Graphics Card: Asus GeForce® GTX 1650S 4GB GDDR6
RAM: 8GB DDR4-2666 Corsair Vengeance XMP RAM
SSD: Intel 660P 512GB SSD NVMe M.2 Solid State
Power Supply: Corsair VS550 550W
Windows 10
Desktop number 2: 6293 DKK ($944)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-9400F 6-Core
Motherboard: Asus B360M-K Prime
Graphics Card: Asus GeForce® GTX 1660S 6GB
RAM: 16GB DDR4-2666 Corsair Vengeance RAM
SSD: Intel 660P 512GB SSD NVMe M.2 Solid State
Power Supply: Corsair VS550 550W
Windows 10
Desktop number 3: 5993 DKK ($899)
Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600 6-Core
Motherboard: Asus TUF B450M Plus Gaming
Graphics Card: Asus Radeon™ RX 580 Dual 8GB
RAM: Corsair 16GB DDR4-3000 DualChannel RAM
SSD: Intel 660P 512GB SSD NVMe M.2 Solid State
Power Supply: Corsair VS550 550W
Windows 10
@MyCatsNameIsMax Any of these models would be great for both games. If you have the budget for it though, I'd definitely drop the first option in favor of the second or third. The graphics card in the first one is not as strong as the other two, although it would certainly run Sims 3 and all current Sims 4 packs on ultra settings. Whether it will run all future TS4 packs together on ultra is unclear; that card is right on the border of what we guess might be necessary. And while 8 GB RAM is more than enough for either game, having 16 GB will make multitasking much easier, especially if you like to browse the web, edit screenshots, etc. while you play.
The Ryzen 5 3600 is a significantly stronger processor than an i5-9400F, while the 1660 Super is significantly faster than the 580. (The gap in artificial benchmarks is around twice as large between the processors as between the graphics cards, but that doesn't mean a whole lot.) So the better option for you will depend in part on your personal preferences. In your position, I'd want the stronger processor, knowing it's a lot easier to install a new GPU in a few years with no other upgrades necessary. A new processor likely means a new motherboard and probably a new CPU cooler as well. But again, that's subjective.
As for storage, a 512 GB SSD will hold Sims 3 and 4 plus all of your saves, mods and custom content, screenshots, etc. without a problem. If you're thinking you might play other games at some point, a 1 TB SSD might be the better option. Any app will load much faster on an SSD than an HDD, although live play (between loading screens) will be the same on any kind of drive. The only good reason to get a large HDD is that it's so much cheaper than an equivalent SSD, and some people need the storage. But if you don't, you can skip it.
By the way, it's also easy to install an internal drive (SSD or HDD) later, if you want. The computer's motherboard might not have a slot for a second NVMe SSD (the fastest category), but I don't think there's currently a game out there that will load faster on an NVMe rather than a SATA SSD. And installing a SATA drive, SSD or HDD, takes a couple of minutes.
The bottom line is, you'll be fine with whatever you choose; just figure out what's most important to you.
P.S. When you do install Sims 3, you'll need to manually cap the in-game framerates, as the game's own fps limiter doesn't work. (This would be necessary with any halfway decent GPU.) How to do that will depend on which graphics card you get. If you'd like help with this, feel free to ask for advice in the TS3 section.
