Re: New Sims desktop help please

by feelingsmcgee
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New Sims desktop help please

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I’m looking to buy a new desktop computer that will run the Sims 4 and all add on packs with graphics settings and stuff at the higher levels without problems. I really only play the Sims 4 and occasionally the Sims 3. I’ve searched what specs would be good but I’m tech stupid and I can’t figure out if computers I’m looking at meet the recommendations. I’m in Canada. I’d prefer to keep my cost to under $1,000 but I am willing to go over if i have to.

 

I’m looking at this Acer from Best Buy.

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-nitro-50-gaming-pc-intel-ci5-10400f-1tb-hdd-8gb-ram-window...

Would it do well? Is it overkill? I honestly have no idea and any help would be much appreciated.

Message 1 of 8 (580 Views)

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Re: New Sims desktop help please

[ Edited ]

@feelingsmcgee  I think $1,300 for a desktop with an Nvidia 1650 is far too high.  For that price, you could get the first Acer, a high-end SSD separately, pay someone to install it for you, and still save a lot of money.  At that price, you should at least be getting an Nvidia 1660 (preferably the Super or ti variant), which would be overkill for both Sims games.  Paying $500 for the SSD and a bit more RAM seems kind of over the top, to be honest.

 

If you want to buy now, the CyberpowerPC option would work fine, and should you ever want more SSD space, you could install another drive without having to reinstall Windows.  Or you could get this Dell ($900 base price) and pay the extra $100 to upgrade to a 512 GB SSD:

 

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/gaming-and-games/new-dell-g5-gaming-desktop/spd/g-series-5000-deskto...

 

Or, if you wanted to spend more money, you could do the same with this $1,100 Dell, which comes with a 1660 Super and 16 GB RAM:

 

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/desktops/new-dell-g5-gaming-desktop/spd/g-series-5000-desktop/dg5000...

 

Or you could get this one, for $1,032, with 16 GB RAM and a much stronger processor, at least for gaming:

 

https://www.cdw.com/product/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gxi1280-tower-core-i5-9600kf-3.7-ghz-16-gb/563...

 

Or, if you can manage the smaller hard drive for now, you could get this one ($1,025) with a 1660 Super:

 

https://www.cdw.com/product/asus-rog-strix-ga15dh-bs562-tower-ryzen-5-3600x-3.8-ghz-8-gb-ssd-25/6021...

 

The point is, get your money's worth.  The most important component in determining how well a computer can run most games, including Sims 3 and 4, is the graphics card; the processor matters a lot too, but all the ones in the above systems are more than fine.  Hard drives can be swapped out, and RAM can be added cheaply and easily.  So why pay a much higher price just to get a component you could have upgraded after the fact when you could put that money towards other hardware that's harder to swap out?

 

Anyway, you have a lot of options in the under $1,300 range, and there should continue to be plenty of similar options if you're not ready to buy now.

 

And please don't apologize for the extra questions.  That's what this site is for.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.

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Re: New Sims desktop help please

[ Edited ]

@feelingsmcgee  That computer would do reasonably well, and it's not overkill so much as the minimum you'd want to be reasonably sure you could play both games on ultra graphics settings.  The determining factor here is the graphics card: an Nvidia 1650 can run both games on ultra settings now, and it will probably still be able to handle ultra by the time Sims 4 is out of development, although it's not clear how demanding future expansion packs will be.

 

Given the prices of desktops in Canada right now, it's relatively cheap, too.  The only downside is that its hard drive is a mechanical drive (much slower than a solid state drive), which means Windows would run more slowly, and most games would load more slowly too.  Sims 3 would be especially affected: everything from the initial loading screens to opening Build/Buy or CAS to travel transitions would be significantly slower.  Sims 4 would be less affected, although loading screens would be a bit slower.

 

I checked other sites and couldn't find anything similar with a large SSD for the same price.  The best I could do is this one, for $950.  Its graphics card is older but a bit faster than the 1650, although the difference isn't enough to call it a real upgrade.  The processor is weaker, but that wouldn't matter to either Sims game.

 

https://www.newegg.ca/skytech-st-arch-2600-500gssd-rx580-4g/p/1VK-005B-000E1?Item=1VK-005B-000E1

 

This one is a compromise, with a solid state drive that's large enough for both Sims games, but only if you're careful about managing space and moving whatever you're not using to the larger HDD.  As a bonus, it has 16 GB memory, which, while not necessary for either game, is great to have for other purposes or if you like to multitask while playing.  Its processor is slower than the Acer's but still more than good enough for both Sims games.

 

https://www.cdw.com/product/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gxi1270-mdt-core-i5-9400f-2.9-ghz-16-gb-s/5636...

 

Everything else I saw, at least among what is currently available, was $1,100 and up.  That may come down around Black Friday, but it sounds like you might not want to wait that long.

 

Another option is to get the Acer and add an SSD yourself.  You could find a quality 500 GB model for about $75, and install ityourself; you'd also want to reinstall Windows on that drive, which is a lot simpler than it sounds (I promise), especially if you do it before you've collected any files that need to be transferred.  If you're really not comfortable doing that and don't have a friend or family member who could help, you could ask Best Buy for a quote on the upgrade.  That might be more expensive than it's worth though.

 

If you do want to go this route, buy the computer and check its motherboard or the manual for an M.2 slot.  Drives that use that slot can be much faster than a SATA SSD (a 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive the plugs in like a mechanical drive), but some more basic motherboards don't have a slot for an M.2 drive.  Even a SATA SSD would be a lot faster than a mechanical drive.

 

If you have more questions about any of this, please feel free to ask.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 8 (549 Views)

Re: New Sims desktop help please

★★★ Novice

Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate it.

 

I’m actually not dead set on buying anything right away, I just want to get a better understanding of what computer would work for me. I’m also willing to spend more than I initially said if it helps me have a better experience. 

So, I’m looking for something with an SSD hard drive. Good to know. 

So this acer says it has one. It’s quite a bit more expensive but still technically do-able, especially if I can wait for a sale.

 

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-nitro-50-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-10400f-512gb-ssd-12gb-ram...

 

What are your thoughts on that one? Sorry for all the questions. I’ve just bought computers in the past thinking they were what I needed and they turned out not to be.

Message 3 of 8 (526 Views)

Re: New Sims desktop help please

[ Edited ]

@feelingsmcgee  I think $1,300 for a desktop with an Nvidia 1650 is far too high.  For that price, you could get the first Acer, a high-end SSD separately, pay someone to install it for you, and still save a lot of money.  At that price, you should at least be getting an Nvidia 1660 (preferably the Super or ti variant), which would be overkill for both Sims games.  Paying $500 for the SSD and a bit more RAM seems kind of over the top, to be honest.

 

If you want to buy now, the CyberpowerPC option would work fine, and should you ever want more SSD space, you could install another drive without having to reinstall Windows.  Or you could get this Dell ($900 base price) and pay the extra $100 to upgrade to a 512 GB SSD:

 

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/gaming-and-games/new-dell-g5-gaming-desktop/spd/g-series-5000-deskto...

 

Or, if you wanted to spend more money, you could do the same with this $1,100 Dell, which comes with a 1660 Super and 16 GB RAM:

 

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/desktops/new-dell-g5-gaming-desktop/spd/g-series-5000-desktop/dg5000...

 

Or you could get this one, for $1,032, with 16 GB RAM and a much stronger processor, at least for gaming:

 

https://www.cdw.com/product/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gxi1280-tower-core-i5-9600kf-3.7-ghz-16-gb/563...

 

Or, if you can manage the smaller hard drive for now, you could get this one ($1,025) with a 1660 Super:

 

https://www.cdw.com/product/asus-rog-strix-ga15dh-bs562-tower-ryzen-5-3600x-3.8-ghz-8-gb-ssd-25/6021...

 

The point is, get your money's worth.  The most important component in determining how well a computer can run most games, including Sims 3 and 4, is the graphics card; the processor matters a lot too, but all the ones in the above systems are more than fine.  Hard drives can be swapped out, and RAM can be added cheaply and easily.  So why pay a much higher price just to get a component you could have upgraded after the fact when you could put that money towards other hardware that's harder to swap out?

 

Anyway, you have a lot of options in the under $1,300 range, and there should continue to be plenty of similar options if you're not ready to buy now.

 

And please don't apologize for the extra questions.  That's what this site is for.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 8 (513 Views)

Re: New Sims desktop help please

★★★ Novice

Thank you! This definitely gives me a lot to think about. I’m going to mull it over for a while. I really appreciate all your help! 

Message 5 of 8 (504 Views)

Re: New Sims desktop help please

★★★ Novice

I think I’d like to go with the Dell option that’s $900 and add the ssd option.

 

One more question, though. Is there any point going with the 1tb for the ssd? I’d prefer not to, but thought I should check just in case.

Message 6 of 8 (492 Views)

Re: New Sims desktop help please

@feelingsmcgee  I don't think you need anywhere near 1 TB SSD storage; 512 GB will fit both Sims games and all their content with plenty of room to spare.  If you were thinking of also installing several other large games, the extra storage might be worth it, but it doesn't sound like that's in your plans.  And as mentioned, you can always add storage later, or pay someone to add it for you, so you're not locked into whatever you choose now.

 

I will say the extra $150 to add more memory is a ripoff; you could buy the RAM yourself for about $50, and all you'd have to do would be to click the module into a slot.  But that's something you can do later as well, if you don't want to deal with the decision now.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 7 of 8 (484 Views)

Re: New Sims desktop help please

★★★ Novice

Okay, perfect, thank you! You’ve been so much help. I really can’t thank you enough!

Message 8 of 8 (477 Views)