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zoraaa14's avatar
zoraaa14
Rising Newcomer
2 months ago

Suggestion for PC and monitor

I know that so many people have asked for recommendations before, but I want to make sure I’m not buying something too fancy I won’t need or something not good enough. 

I want to invest in a pc for playing sims 4 with basic mods, possibly some custom content and pretty much all packs and additions. No other games other than maybe internet browsing and YouTube. I’ve got a pretty good chunk of disposable income. I’ve previously played on dell laptops and MacBooks, but these are notoriously bad for graphics, glitching and gameplay lag. 

 My budget is $2-5k for both monitor and pc combined.

Can someone recommend a good monitor and pc? Prebuilt preferably.

3 Replies

  • zoraaa14​  You don't need to spend nearly that much for a great computer for Sims 4.  Even $2,000 including the monitor is more than the game can reasonably use.  But if you want something more powerful than what's necessary for high-end settings, let me know.

    As a baseline, this is overkill for Sims 4 in terms of its processor and graphics card, and it also comes with more storage than you'd ever need.  The game couldn't use anywhere near all this power, at least in its current state.

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/thermaltake-lcgs-vista-460s-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-5600x-16gb-rgb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-1tb-nvme-m-2-white/6603467.p?skuId=6603467

    This one has a faster processor and graphics card:

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-element-se-gaming-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-14400f-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5060-8gb-16gb-ddr5-rgb1tb-nvme-black/6617835.p?skuId=6617835

    This is not to say that these are the absolute best choices for you, only to give you an idea of what's out there for a lot less than you're willing 

    For the monitor, do you know what size you want?  The sweet spot in general is 27", but some people want larger screens, or an ultrawide screen, and some don't have the space for even a 27" model.

  • zoraaa14's avatar
    zoraaa14
    Rising Newcomer
    2 months ago

    The basic 27 inch is good for me! Thank you so much for the recommendations. Do you know what the marginal difference between the two is? Do you think it will make my game process/go that much faster? Thanks :)

  • zoraaa14​  The RTX 5060 averages about 20% faster than the 4060, with the gap being larger at higher resolutions (above 1080p) than at lower ones.  But Sims 4 can't even use all the power of the 4060, so the effective difference may be zero.  I haven't benchmarked either GPU, but I do know that the game engine is the limiting factor for cards that are significantly slower.

    These two systems were more to get you oriented than anything else.  They're the cheapest good-quality options I found on Best Buy, but they're not the only ones.  So if you're looking for something more specific, whether it's extra power or a company that provides high-end support or even the color of the case or the RGB lighting, let me know.  Your budget can accommodate pretty much whatever you want.

    For the monitor, the product pages will offer you lots of completely irrelevant information.  The important details are resolution, refresh rate, panel type, and brightness.  For the first three, I'm only linking monitors with a 2560x1440 resolution, since these GPUs can easily handle it and the images will be much more sharp and clear; monitors with a refresh rate of at least 144 Hz, so movement is smooth; and IPS panels, which is the highest quality in terms of color and viewing angle.  For the refresh rate, while there is certainly a difference between 144 Hz and 180-200, it's not something you'd notice much, if at all, and you don't need the higher rate for Sims 4 since you don't need to react quickly to anything.  So while you probably want to know what you're buying, you don't need to spend a lot of time on these details because I won't link anything that doesn't meet these standards.

    You can also ignore G-sync and related features because you can accomplish almost the same thing in software, really the same for Sims 4's purposes.

    That only leaves brightness, aside from price and aesthetics.  I wouldn't go below 300 nits (candelas per square meter, cd/m^2), and even that can look a bit washed out in a fully-lit room.  If you like to play in a dimmer room, it'll be more than fine.  If you want something brighter, 350-400 does make a difference, but not a proportional one—400 doesn't feel a third brighter than 300 because our eyes adjust somewhat.  Still, it is a difference that might matter to you.

    Anyway, here are the good-quality and reasonably-priced monitors I found with the above specs:

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1869448-REG/hp_ak2b3aa_aba_27_omen_27qz_qhd.html
    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1823625-REG/gigabyte_gs27q_a_sa_gs27q_advanced_27_ips.html
    https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824011465
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-mag-275qf-27-qhd-rapid-ips-180hz-0-5ms-adaptive-sync-gaming-monitor-with-hdrdisplayporthdmi-metallic-black/6585692.p?skuId=6585692
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/alienware-aw2725dm-27-ips-led-qhd-180hz-1ms-freesync-and-g-sync-gaming-monitor-with-hdr-hdmi-displayport-black/6620191.p?skuId=6620191
    https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824475370

    Another option to consider is a 4k resolution, or 3840x2160.  It's more pixels than most people need, but coming from a Mac, you might appreciate the pixel density.  4k monitors with high refresh rates start around $350, and there's a lot less selection, but let me know if you're interested and I'll list some.  If you do want a 4k monitor, the RTX 4060 will still be good enough, but you might want to bump that up to a 5060 or 4070 to buffer the occasional slowdown a bit.  I will look for those specifically if you tell me that's what you want.

    Before I forget, when you do get your new setup, please look over this post for some graphics edits to make your game look and perform as well as it can:

    Camera movements very choppy since BH patch | EA Forums - 12185589

    This user's RTX 3080 is faster than an RTX 5060, but they're in the same category of "so much faster than Sims 4 can handle to the point that you might want to make some adjustments."