Finding the right PC

[savannahtaylor44]

I need serious help! I've been trying to read up on PCs whether prebuilt or custom built and I am so lost!! I just need a PC that will run Sims 4 with all packs, highest settings, modded out and stuffed with custom content lol I have no idea where to start, what specs I'd need, or even how to build a PC. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

[puzzlezaddict]

@savannahtaylor44  You have a few options here, and the best one depends on your budget as well as your preferences.  So please let me know your budget and country; whether you'd rather get the best option for that budget, or save some money and get the cheapest good option; and whether you'd rather build the computer yourself even if you don't save any money.

Please also let me know whether the budget includes finding a suitable monitor.  If you do need a monitor, please list your preferred size or the size of the space it needs to fit in, as well as the resolution you'd like it to have.

Just a note:  Building a PC isn't difficult at all for people who already know how to do it, but it can be intimidating and feel overwhelmingly complicated for someone who's never done it.  So if you're thinking of going this route, you'd make your life a lot easier if you had a friend or family member who's built one helping you out with the actual build process.

[savannahtaylor44]

Thank you so much!! I'm from the US. My budget would be around 1500 for everything, including the monitor. All I want is something that would run everything I need it to run: Sims 4 with all the packs. I hoard custom content and there are several mods I want to try. If I can get a prebuilt PC that'd do that long term, that'd be preferable. I've gone through two laptops in the last five years trying to play Sims. I just need something I can invest my money in and know it will do what I need. But also I don't mind if I have to get a PC built if that's what I need to play the way I want to lol I do know a few people who I think would be able to. Oh! And the space for the monitor is 20 in tall.

[puzzlezaddict]

@savannahtaylor44  Sorry for the late reply; I wanted to play with some custom builds and ran out of time last night.

Anyway, there are three main options to consider.  The first is a standard prebuilt desktop, the cheapest option, or if you look at it differently, the way to get the fastest processor and graphics card for your money.  The most expensive option is a custom build from a third-party site; the advantage is you get to pick the components, which will be higher quailty and, if you choose accordingly, support potential upgrades in the future.  In your price range, you might save a bit of money by building yourself, but not necessarily very much if you don't want to skip on the quality of the components.

As examples, this is a good prebuilt option for Sims 4, at $850.  It has an Nvidia 1660 Super, a strong processor, and plenty of storage.  One potential issue is that its solid state drive is somewhat small, but it should still be more than enough for Sims 4 and all your content if you keep any other significant data on the much larger HDD.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i5-10600kf-8gb-memo...

These are examples of prebuilt models with faster CPUs and GPUs.  The first has the fastest graphics card, about 15% faster than the one in the others; the others have stronger processors, the third better than the second.  To be clear, all these components are overkill for Sims 4, but you certainly have the budget for some extra power.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-3700x-16gb-memory...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1569300-REG/hp_9ee64aa_aba_omen_25l_i7_10700f_16gb.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1597486-REG/cyberpowerpc_slc10000cpgv5_supreme_gamer_i7_10700...

I didn't do a thorough search, I just looked at the sites that tend to have the best prices for quality prebuilt systems.  So if you want an option like this, let me know what components you'd like, and I'll look around more.  Some configurations are cheaper or easier to find than others though, for example you don't see many 1 TB SSDs below a certain price point.

I priced a couple of custom builds on CyberpowerPC, choosing the cheapest good quality options.  These two are just the Intel and AMD versions of the same build, both with medium-strength CPUs and GPUs that could be upgraded later if you wanted.  I also chose 16 GB of RAM, a free upgrade today only! (i.e. twice a week), and a 1 TB SSD, so you don't need to even think about free storage.  Depending on your upgrade plans, you might prefer a stronger power supply as well.  At today's pricing, the Intel build is $1,123 and the AMD $1,103, both with free shipping.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1N8QRM

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1N8QRE

One note about upgrades: the AMD motherboard is compatible with the current-gen (5000 series) processors, meaning you could install one without doing any other upgrades; all you'd need is a BIOS update at most.  We think the same will be true for the next-gen Intel processors, but their specs haven't been released yet.  You could also just add the better processor now; I just wasn't sure whether you'd want to put the extra money in your budget towards that or perhaps a faster graphics card.  The GPU could definitely be upgraded in either build though, no compatibility issues there.

I priced mostly the same components as the AMD build, minus the case, on pcpartpicker.com, and the total came to $1,179.  That's not necessarily the cheapest configuration though—I choose a cheaper GPU and memory, but I left the other components the same, so the total might come in around $1,050 if you chose different components and/or waited for sales.  But then you'd also need to build the computer yourself, and that might not be worth the small savings to you.

As for the monitor, once you choose your graphics card, I'll have more thoughts on that.  I need to know the width though, not the height.

Once you know which route you want to take, we can go from there.

[savannahtaylor44]

@puzzlezaddict From what you've said, I think maybe it'd be best for me to get one built. I do want to be able to get more packs and have as much CC and mods as I want, high graphic settings and for it to run smoothly, so the faster graphics card sounds like something I should probably get. I just truly don't know what configurations I would need because I know close to nothing lol As for the monitor, I have a two foot long desk to work with, and like I said I have a 20 in height to work with. I'm not super picky with the size of the monitor. Sorry for the late reply, work has been crazy. Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it

[puzzlezaddict]

@savannahtaylor44  Don't worry about the delay; it's not an issue.  What do you think of the two configurations I linked?  They're more starting points than finished products, although both would run Sims 4 on ultra settings with plenty of room to spare.  The point is, the backbone of the computers are selected, and you could adjust as you liked, or you could tell me what else you wanted and I'd adjust.  You'll probably want to pick out the case yourself though, since you're the one who'll be looking at it every day.

Even if you don't like those configurations, it's helpful for me to know why, so I have an idea of where to go from here.