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annalephant's avatar
annalephant
6 years ago
Solved

New desktop specs- is it ok for Sims 4?

My current laptop is old, but high specs. It is starting to struggle somewhat with overheating and lagging and takes forever to load up sims 4. Im aware that playing with all expansions plus some CC ...
pc
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    6 years ago

    @annalephant  This desktop isn't going to run Sims 4 very well as-is, but it's not actually a terrible setup.  The processor was pretty strong when it was released and is still good enough for the game now.  8 GB RAM is enough, and while a computer will load Windows and installed apps more slowly on an HDD, the game will still run fine on one.  (This is all assuming that the hardware is in reasonably good shape overall.)

    The real issue is the lack of a dedicated graphics card.  The integrated Intel 4600 should certainly run TS4, but not very well.  The new medium-level cards that would run the game on high or ultra settings aren't particularly expensive these days: in ten minutes of looking, I found a few good options in the £110-120 range.  There are low-end new cards that are even cheaper, although they wouldn't run the game on ultra graphics settings.

    You'd also need a stronger power supply to support the card, unless you went with a low-end card, but you could get one that was good enough for £35-40.  You would however need to be comfortable disconnecting the old cables and connecting the new ones.  It's not overly complicated, but it does involve opening up the case from a few different angles and maneuvering the correct cables to the correct places.

    Used cards can be much cheaper, even into the £50 range, you're willing to go to Ebay.  But that's a risk of course—even if the card works now, you don't know that it will hold up over time.  Still, I can poke around there to see what your options are, if you want.  You would probably still need a new power supply though.

    The other consideration is whether the card would fit in the case.  If you have access to the computer, you need to measure the length over the PCIe x16 expansion slot from the left edge of the case to wherever there's something else in the way.  The cards in the category you want aren't usually that large, but some cases can be quite compact inside.  If you're not sure how to do this, I can try to find a diagram or something.  But even if I could find a spec sheet on this Acer that listed internal dimensions, I'd still recommend measuring yourself, just to be absolutely sure.

    Let me know if you're interested in any of these options, and I can link you a few decent choices.  The bottom line is, you could probably make a good Sims 4 PC out of this system, if you're willing to do a couple of upgrades yourself.

    P.S.  You may be able to update to Windows 10 for free.  In most cases, there's no charge for upgrading from Windows 7.  So it's worth looking into, at least.

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
6 years ago

@annalephant  This desktop isn't going to run Sims 4 very well as-is, but it's not actually a terrible setup.  The processor was pretty strong when it was released and is still good enough for the game now.  8 GB RAM is enough, and while a computer will load Windows and installed apps more slowly on an HDD, the game will still run fine on one.  (This is all assuming that the hardware is in reasonably good shape overall.)

The real issue is the lack of a dedicated graphics card.  The integrated Intel 4600 should certainly run TS4, but not very well.  The new medium-level cards that would run the game on high or ultra settings aren't particularly expensive these days: in ten minutes of looking, I found a few good options in the £110-120 range.  There are low-end new cards that are even cheaper, although they wouldn't run the game on ultra graphics settings.

You'd also need a stronger power supply to support the card, unless you went with a low-end card, but you could get one that was good enough for £35-40.  You would however need to be comfortable disconnecting the old cables and connecting the new ones.  It's not overly complicated, but it does involve opening up the case from a few different angles and maneuvering the correct cables to the correct places.

Used cards can be much cheaper, even into the £50 range, you're willing to go to Ebay.  But that's a risk of course—even if the card works now, you don't know that it will hold up over time.  Still, I can poke around there to see what your options are, if you want.  You would probably still need a new power supply though.

The other consideration is whether the card would fit in the case.  If you have access to the computer, you need to measure the length over the PCIe x16 expansion slot from the left edge of the case to wherever there's something else in the way.  The cards in the category you want aren't usually that large, but some cases can be quite compact inside.  If you're not sure how to do this, I can try to find a diagram or something.  But even if I could find a spec sheet on this Acer that listed internal dimensions, I'd still recommend measuring yourself, just to be absolutely sure.

Let me know if you're interested in any of these options, and I can link you a few decent choices.  The bottom line is, you could probably make a good Sims 4 PC out of this system, if you're willing to do a couple of upgrades yourself.

P.S.  You may be able to update to Windows 10 for free.  In most cases, there's no charge for upgrading from Windows 7.  So it's worth looking into, at least.

annalephant's avatar
annalephant
6 years ago

puzzleaddict, thank you so much for your detailed reply! You've given me the exact information i needed really, which is that i can most likely make this pc work as a sims 4 set up with a bit of work. This is what i was hoping to hear really! I knew it was unlikely to be brilliant as-is with it being a relatively old computer, but neither is it a complete waste of time and space. 

I am going to take my friend up on their kind offer of the computer for £70 and then once i get hold of it (probably just after christmas when i am back home visiting) i can look at purchasing what i need to upgrade it. the nice thing being i can do that a bit at a time if needed. It can be a project 🙂 as im sure i can keep my laptop going for a while longer whilst i get the pc refurbed. I do have a computer maintenance man i trust in the area, who used to work on my dad's computers for him and has done some work on my laptops in the past. Im fairly sure if i were to take the computer and parts to him he would happily install them for me, which would make me a lot more comfortable than trying to do it myself.

It might be a few weeks yet, but when i get my hands on the computer itself i will let you know the internal dimensions and if you dont mind advising me, i would really appreciate your recommendation for a graphics card and power supply and possiby a SSD if there is room / capability for adding one alongside the HDD - i think i would probably be happier buying new. It will still cost me less than buying a whole brand new computer and i can be pretty good at finding a bargain when i am happy to wait things out a little, which i can do if necessary. 

Thank you so much for your honest thoughts and advice, it really does help me massively xx

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @annalephant  That sounds like a great plan.  And if you're not sure, your computer maintanence guy could tell you the maximum graphics card dimensions the case would support, then I could make some recommendations for suitable cards based on your budget.

    There should absolutely be room for a SATA SSD in there somewhere: it only needs a port to connect into the motherboard, plus a slot somewhere in the case to mount it.  And that's also a purchase you can make later if you want to space out the spending.

    Post Christmas is also a good time to find tech deals, especially if you have a few different possibilities on your list and are willing to shop around.  Whenever you're ready to buy, we'll be happy to help.  You know where to find us.

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