Re: HELP! Running Sims on Certain CPU and GPU
@strwbrri Yes, installing a new drive would be simple. Another SATA SSD, as the computer currently has, requires two connectors: one from the power supply (and the cable is likely already present, since these cables typically have three connectors each), and one to the motherboard (probably came with the motherboard, but if not, these are cheap). An NVMe SSD can be almost as cheap and a lot faster, and it doesn't require any cables at all. You simply insert the drive into the designated motherboard socket and screw it down, or sometimes there's a clip to rotate.
The motherboard has one presumably empty M.2 socket that would take an NVMe drive, and four SATA ports, only one of which is being used. Make sure you get the board's manual from your friend in case you want to install something later. There are also lots of YouTube tutorials for this kind of thing, and it really is easy once you've seen what you're supposed to do.
However, you don't need a new drive now and may not for the life of this system. The SATA SSD is fast enough for Sims 4: the game wouldn't load any faster on an NVMe drive. And while Windows would load faster, the difference is much smaller than the gap between a SATA SSD and an HDD. You'd notice if you had two systems side by side, but it won't have any significant impact on day-to-day use. So you can hold off on this upgrade until you decide you need more storage, if that ever happens.
The overall parts list looks fine, nothing to worry about there as long as the system is running well overall.
As for the Sims 4 content, mods won't be an issue as long as they're in working order, and neither will custom content up to a point. The GTX 1660 Super gives you plenty of room to make the game more demanding without having much of an impact on performance, even on ultra settings. Sims 4 will lag no matter what—that's what it does, on any system—but it won't be the fault of this hardware.
GShade is somewhat broken and somewhat incompatible with Sims 4 right now. I'd suggest trying Nvidia Freestyle first, as it's built into GeForce Experience and therefore doesn't require extra downloads or nearly as many updates. It also has a smaller impact on performance than third-party tools. If you want more customization than Freestyle offers, try Reshade.
