Re: Laptop for sims

by puzzlezaddict
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Original Post

Laptop for sims

★ Novice

Hello. 

I am wondering if this laptop could run sims 3 and/or 4. 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B08911GLX3/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&psc=1

 

I havent played sims 4 yet but I keep my sims 3 game pretty basic. I dont do custom content but I have been enjoying the supernatural expansion and would like to keep that. I do like to keep my family for generations though. If that matters. 

 

Thank you 

Message 1 of 6 (473 Views)

Re: Laptop for sims

@Chebelsebee  It looks like the laptop is out of stock, but it wouldn't be a good choice for Sims 3 or Sims 4.  In fact, it might barely run Sims 3 at all; Sims 4 would probably run fine on low settings, but not much more than that.

 

If you want other suggestions, let me know your preferred budget, plus any other details that matter to you, and I'd be happy to have a look around.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 6 (452 Views)

Re: Laptop for sims

[ Edited ]
★ Novice

@puzzlezaddict 

My budget is basically how low can you go. Tongue out nothing ridged (if it's not affordable right now, just means wait time). 

I actually never knew sims 3 was a hard game to run. I've always just kinda put it in computers and it worked. My 32bit 4gb ram desktop can run it. I just deeply miss the ability of being portable. 

That's basically it. I just want to make sure it will run before I spend money on something

Message 3 of 6 (444 Views)

Re: Laptop for sims

@Chebelsebee  It's not that Sims 3 can't run on low-end hardware, not exactly.  There are a few different elements that play a part.  One is that some expansion packs are much more demanding than others, so a computer that could run the base game and Ambitions or Late Night perfectly fine might constantly crash if it also had to run Pets or Seasons.  Supernatural is somewhere in the middle: not nearly as demanding as Pets, significantly more so than the oldest packs.  If you're fine with possibly or probably not being able to play with Pets, Seasons, Isla Paradiso, or Into the Future, the minimum hardware you'd need drops down a level.

 

Another factor is that Sims 3 doesn't run well on newer low-end hardware, for various reasons.  One obvious one is that it can only use two cores of a processor.  So if you have a new 4-core CPU with a lower clock rate, it's likely significantly more powerful than an older dual-core CPU with a higher clock rate, since other tasks will use all four cores at once.  Sims 3 won't though, so the question is only about how fast two cores can run for extended periods.  Additionally, some laptop processors, for example the Celeron line, have a higher "burst frequency" that they can hit when necessary, but they're not built to sustain that speed.  So they do fine on tasks that are intermittently demanding, but not so much with games that require a higher constant speed.

 

The other issue is that laptops are built differently enough that the same configurations don't always handle the game exactly the same.  For a given processor and integrated chip, some people play with most packs together on medium settings, only making a few compromises like disabling snow and avoiding long-haired pets; some have to uninstall half their packs to get decent gameplay; some get frequent crashes no matter what they do.  Given the variation not just from one model laptop to another but also often from one year to another, it's really difficult to predict in advance how a given machine that's in this range will perform.

 

As an example of one such laptop, this one is on sale (only through today) for $550.  It doesn't have a lot of drive space, but it should be more than enough for both games if you're not into massive piles of custom content.  Its processor and integrated graphics chip are the kind where, on average, the most demanding expansions don't do well but a few of the moderate ones (Supernatural included) are typically fine.

 

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hp-15-6-touchscreen-laptop-natural-silver-amd-ryzen-5-3450u-256...

 

This is the kind of entry-level gaming laptop that should run Sims 3 (and Sims 4) on ultra settings.  This one is sold out now, but it's an example of the price ($750, again on sale today) you might see if you're willing to buy open-box and keep checking the sites for sales or new inventory.

 

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-black-amd-ryzen-5-3550h-512gb-ssd-8...

 

If and when you're ready to buy and have a preferred price range in mind, I'd be happy to do a more thorough search.  There's not much point in doing one now though because things change so quickly.  A laptop that you like right now might be $100 more expensive in a month, or $100 cheaper, or it might not be available at all.

 

By the way, the easy part of this is you don't have to worry about Sims 4, at least not much.  If you get a laptop that can run Sims 3 with any success, it should also run Sims 4, albeit perhaps on lower settings.  Sims 4 scales down much better than Sims 3 and is also built to take better advantage of modern-ish hardware.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 6 (417 Views)

Re: Laptop for sims

★ Novice

@puzzlezaddict 

Thank you. Would you be able to give me an idea of what I need to look for ? 

If I know what it is that I need I can also harass the local pon shop ( they refurbish laptops at pretty good cost). They have a Toshiba satellite right now and it might have potential but I need to know what to ask.

Message 5 of 6 (413 Views)

Re: Laptop for sims

@Chebelsebee  Ideally, you'd get a laptop with a dedicated graphics card, one that could handle Sims 3 on ultra or maybe only high graphics settings but wouldn't struggle under the load.  This doesn't need to be a high-end gaming laptop; an entry-level gaming GPU would be fine.  In order of performance:

 

Nvidia 950M < 960M < AMD 560 < Nvidia 1050 < 1050 ti < 1650 < 1060

 

I wouldn't get a laptop with anything earlier than an Nvidia 9-series card if I had a choice—those laptops are old enough that they might stop working soon due to age alone.  Even the 900-series is a bit old; if you see a laptop with that card, you'd want one with an Intel 6th-gen processor (e.g. 6700HQ), as opposed to an older model.

 

The next level down, as in, it might run the demanding packs okay, or it might not, is the Nvidia MX series cards: 930MX, 940MX, MX150, etc.  I'd avoid an MX110, but the others are fine for what they are.

 

The next level below that, the one of the first laptop I linked, consists of laptops without a dedicated graphics card; the processor's integrated graphics chip handles the load.  If you're going for that kind of laptop, look for a Ryzen 5 or 7 processor; the Ryzen 3s are slower, as are the graphics chips in Intel CPUs.  That doesn't mean you wouldn't necessarily be able to play at all on, say, an Intel HD 620, just that the chances of it working out are significantly lower.

 

If you do see something you're interested int, feel free to post its specs.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 6 of 6 (411 Views)