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Lightsims8's avatar
Lightsims8
Seasoned Hotshot
2 years ago
Solved

is this pc good enough for all dlc, with highest ultra settings, no lag?

https://www.staples.ca/products/3069163-en-asus-gaming-desktop-computer-intel-core-i5-12400f-512-gb-ssd-geforce-rtx-3050-8-gb-ram-windows-11-home-star-black

I'm not sure if processor speed is good enough, & don't know if this is a good enough video card, or if windows 11 can even play sims 4 okay, or if it was enough gb with 8, or does game run better with 16gb?

I'm asking because theres a sale on a gaming PC at staples, I don't want to spend too much on a gaming pc, but it has to be good enough to buy & play all sims 4 dlc, without lag from pc specs, & game on ultra highest settings.

If that pc isn't good enough, I'd wait a bit longer, for when a better one goes on sale. I want a PC I can play on recommended specs, not minimum.

Sale is till June 1st I think, so I need advice before then; I took 4 screenshots in case you don't use external links:

  • @Lightsims8  I already answered your PM, so I'll just copy and paste that text in case anyone else wants to know.

    This PC is good enough for Sims 4, although it's not over the top.  It's certainly a good deal for $900 CAD, and if you like it, there's no reason not to buy it at this price.  (I would absolutely not get it at its regular price.)  The graphics card is capable of running all current packs together on ultra graphics settings, though not by a large margin; the processor will outpace the GPU.

    While 8 GB RAM is enough for Sims 4 itself, I would suggest at least considering an upgrade to 16 GB.  However, it's not critical to buy a system with 16 GB already installed—memory is the simplest and cheapest component to upgrade, with a 16 GB kit costing maybe $50 CAD and a single 8 GB module more like $30.  Which you'd need would depend on the current configuration, i.e. whether this model comes with 1x8 GB or 2x4 GB.  Regardless, you could wait to upgrade until you were ready, and Sims 4 itself will run fine in the interim as long as you don't open other apps while playing.  And the actual upgrade only requires inserting the module(s) into the appropriate slot(s) and making sure they click into place; there are no cables involved.

    I could look for other options if you'd like.  But this is as good a system as I ever see in the sub-$1000 CAD price range, so I doubt I could offer you a meaningful upgrade.  Still, feel free to ask.

4 Replies

  • @Lightsims8  I already answered your PM, so I'll just copy and paste that text in case anyone else wants to know.

    This PC is good enough for Sims 4, although it's not over the top.  It's certainly a good deal for $900 CAD, and if you like it, there's no reason not to buy it at this price.  (I would absolutely not get it at its regular price.)  The graphics card is capable of running all current packs together on ultra graphics settings, though not by a large margin; the processor will outpace the GPU.

    While 8 GB RAM is enough for Sims 4 itself, I would suggest at least considering an upgrade to 16 GB.  However, it's not critical to buy a system with 16 GB already installed—memory is the simplest and cheapest component to upgrade, with a 16 GB kit costing maybe $50 CAD and a single 8 GB module more like $30.  Which you'd need would depend on the current configuration, i.e. whether this model comes with 1x8 GB or 2x4 GB.  Regardless, you could wait to upgrade until you were ready, and Sims 4 itself will run fine in the interim as long as you don't open other apps while playing.  And the actual upgrade only requires inserting the module(s) into the appropriate slot(s) and making sure they click into place; there are no cables involved.

    I could look for other options if you'd like.  But this is as good a system as I ever see in the sub-$1000 CAD price range, so I doubt I could offer you a meaningful upgrade.  Still, feel free to ask.

  • Lightsims8's avatar
    Lightsims8
    Seasoned Hotshot
    2 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict  thanks for advice, (I wasn't sure by the way if you'd got the notification for PM, some people on other sites don't get notified, so I'd deleted it & reposted for you on here in case).

    So just to make sure, are you saying if I upgrade to 16gb ram, sims 4 on ultra settings will have no game lag because of the system or graphics card with all dlc added, as long as I don't open other things in background? (Just letting you know, I don't use other programs in background, except to pause game & go save a print screen shot in paint program to edit later when I'm done playing. I don't run music or social media apps/sites or anything while playing sims.)

    I know people say even with gaming pc sims 4 has lag issues with all dlc on it, but I just want to make sure the pc I buy won't create additional lag to that, & if you think that system would create even a little lag, please let me know since I'm only buying a pc once, & it needs to run the game great, not only we'll enough. So I'd wait & pay a little more to make sure it handled sims really well, if you think that would be better. 

    EDIT: I'm adding here a link to the other gaming desktop on sale at staples until June, this one costs bit more, but if you think this one can run sims 4 with all dlc on ultra settings, with even less chance of any lag, let me know, cause I'd want the computer that will run this game best. If you think the cheaper one, with added 16 gb ram,  would run game good as this slightly more expensive one, letting me know can probably help me make the best decision.

    [Update: never mind that part, think it's a pre-built, I don't trust those to last.]

    (Also you didn't say if windows 11 is OK, the dlc requirements keep naming windows 10 to play, & I read somewhere of someone not playing their game since a year & they're not sure if windows 11 was the problem)?

    https://www.staples.ca/products/3068608-en-msi-codex-se-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i5-13400f-rtx-4060-1tb-ssd-16gb-ram-win-11-home

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @Lightsims8  There's nothing wrong with a pre-built PC, and that's what you get if you don't build the computer yourself or order a (more expensive) custom build.  Pre-built means exactly that: someone else has already built it for you.  The important factor here is whether the builder uses standard components, like the ones you could buy on your own, or OEM parts that are only compatible with other OEM parts.  And the difference here is not necessarily how long the system will last so much as how difficult it would be to upgrade or repair.

    Having said that, the MSI is massive overkill for Sims 4 and not necessary, and its price is a bit high if Sims 4 is all it would run.  That's not to say it's a bad option, exactly, only that you don't need to spend that much and won't get the full benefit of the better hardware.  Sims 4 won't max out an RTX 3050 because of how the game is designed, and although faster hardware will lessen the severity of some of the lag and fps drops the game will produce, those performance issues will be present on any computer.  So you'd be paying a lot more to see the same problems but with a lower impact.

    Having 8 GB RAM rather than 16 would only help with performance if you were running other apps alongside Sims 4, or possibly if you had a very complicated save, but there's not much room between saves that use that much memory while still working and saves that are basically unplayable.  I would go so far as to say that if you need 16 GB to run only your save and the EA App, your save is probably going to be impossible to run soon if not now.  But again, this should not be a reason you avoid a PC that would otherwise be perfect, since you can add more memory so easily.

    Windows 11 is not a problem for Sims 4 overall.  Some people have problems with the upgrade process, or they install 11 on unsupported hardware, or they let OneDrive entangle itself, and then the game doesn't work anymore.  But in general, if a computer will run Sims 4 in Windows 10, it'll run Sims 4 in 11 equally well.  And you can always wipe the system and go back to 10 if you feel strongly about it.

    If you do want something more powerful and are willing to spend the money, these two are good options:

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-pc-amd-ryzen-5-5500-1tb-ssd-16gb-ram-geforce-rtx-4060-windows-11-en/17744732

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/skytech-nebula-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-12400f-1tb-ssd-16gb-ram-geforce-rtx4060-windows-11-english/17459952

    CyberpowerPC and Skytech use standard components for their builds.  They're fairly well-known system integrators that offer custom builds and also sell prebuilt PCs with spare components, so you're getting the same kind of hardware you would if you ordered a custom PC.  The second option has a better processor than the first, and Cyberpower had some issues with build quality in the recent past, but that seems to have been addressed, and purchasing from Best Buy offers additional protections.

    Even cheaper are these two, although I don't know anything about the builders.  Here again though, buying from a company with physical stores offers you good options if you run into trouble with the build; the components themselves should be as reliable as those from any other system integrator.  The RTX 3060 ti in these builds is almost as fast as a 4060 and still massive overkill for Sims 4; you wouldn't see any practical difference in-game from one to the other.

    https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=1446_1448&item_id=211036

    https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_4527&item_id=254445

    If you are comfortable with the builder, or at least that buying from Canada Computers is a good option, this one has an RTX 4060 and is cheaper than the Best Buy options:

    https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=1446_1448&item_id=241405

    All of these have processors that can more than keep up with the graphics cards, plus 16 GB RAM and enough storage, so you don't need to worry about those details.  The question is how much overkill you want and how much you're willing to spend for it.

  • Lightsims8's avatar
    Lightsims8
    Seasoned Hotshot
    2 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict I think I was confusing custom built with pre-built, I'm not good with computers.. :D 

    Thanks for the links for recommended computers for sims. I'll take a closer look at those tomorrow.

    Edited after enquiring something with staples:

    I think I'll end up buying at best buy after all, instead of staples, just called & found out staples has no tech guy any more, so problems with their PCs have to get shipped out anyway to manufacturer, so its best buy for my desktop this time.

    (Also noticed best buy doesn't have big sales like staples does, so I'll have to wait for either a summer sale or black Friday if I want to save a few hundred$. I still have to buy a bit over $600 in sims dlc when they get a big sale again, after getting the new computer. plus a monitor, I use a 28 inch rca TV currently, so the more$ I can save, the better.) I have a much better idea now of specs & video card I'd need at least, & where I'm buying it 🙂

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