Pre-built PC Question

[Parker]

Fellow PSNPers, I've got a favor to ask.

 

My wife's PC is dead so we're looking for a new one. She isn't much of a gamer but she absolutely loves The Sims, so as a surprise for her I am going to buy her another PC. Her old one was kind of shitty and she get really bad performance while playing The Sims, so I'd like to buy a pre-built PC that will be able to play The Sims 4 (which I assume is the most demanding) on high settings. If possible I'd like to keep it under $450-500, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Parker

[kibbypls]

honestly for that price range any basic computer should run the sims nowadays. They're not very demanding games. 

 

You have this option which is really decent for the price I'd say http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-desktop-amd-a10-series-12gb-memory-2tb-hard-drive-black/4362103.p?skuId=4362103

Or this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-300s-08ihh-desktop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/5578759.p?skuId=5578759

 

 

[DrakeHellsing]

Well for a PC for performance, good RAM is a must at least, but since it's The Sims, it wouldn't really need to be great.  I mean as an example, my laptop is not the best, but it can still run The Sims in general, though a tiny bit laggy here and there... but I suppose it also depends on which Sims game it'll be too, cause isn't the 4th one higher in graphics and performance wise?  Just wondering about that, as my laptop did run the second game, haven't tried the third or fourth one on my laptop, and my laptop has 8GB of RAM available (I don't use my laptop for gaming really).

 

But I'd say about 8-16GB of RAM should be something you should try to aim for, to be on the safer side, since again, not sure how much RAM the third of fourth games demand.

[kibbypls]

http://www.pcgamer.com/the-sims-4-recommended-system-requirements-revealed-hope-you-have-a-core-i5/

 

here are the PC specs. 16gb ram is definitely overkill. 8 would be ideal. The ram actually doesn't mean anything if the processor and graphic card can't handle it, though. You can have 64gb of memory with a cheap graphic card/weak processor and it won't mean anything in a more demanding game. Which, the sims really isn't. 

[Guest]

Sims 4 requirements...is a joke. Any current 400-500 would run this baby.

 

Recommended Specs

REQUIRED: Internet connection required for product activation.

OS: 64 Bit Windows 7,8, or 8.1

PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster

AMD Athlon X4

MEMORY: 4GB RAM 

HARD DRIVE: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games

DVD-ROM: DVD ROM drive required for installation only

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c Compatible

DIRECTX: DirectX 9.0c compatible

INPUT: Keyboard and Mouse

 

 

Edit: Oops didnt see there was a link with specs posted already.

Edited February 15, 2017 by ERGOPROXY-DECAY

[DesmaBR]

Sims 4 really isn't demanding, any decent pre-build generic computer should run it.

Maybe you can buy a better computer if she wants to play 3 (I mean, it is the better game); that one ends up being more demanding, since it's not well optimized (But I'd assume any computer would struggle with that one, especially with all the expansions)

 

But honestly? Try to build it yourself.

Buying pre-built is far more expensive than doing yourself, and building it yourself isn't even complicated (Worst thing is some cable management, and maybe some screws)

Edited February 15, 2017 by DesmaBR

[Parker]

3 hours ago, DesmaBR said:

Sims 4 really isn't demanding, any decent pre-build generic computer should run it.

Maybe you can buy a better computer if she wants to play 3 (I mean, it is the better game); that one ends up being more demanding, since it's not well optimized (But I'd assume any computer would struggle with that one, especially with all the expansions)

 

But honestly? Try to build it yourself.

Buying pre-built is far more expensive than doing yourself, and building it yourself isn't even complicated (Worst thing is some cable management, and maybe some screws)

1

 

Unfortunately, that just isn't going to happen right now. Between work and moving into our house (which includes painting, fixing leaks and various other issues, removing and replacing flooring and carpet and moving actual furniture) I just don't have the time to do it. When things calm down I do plan on building a PC though, although I've had that plan for at least a few years now. 

 

I have taken to Craigslist though and it seems like there are quite a few decent PCs for sale in the price range I'm looking at and they are much beefier than the pre-built Best Buy systems so I think I'll be going that route.

 

 

Parker

[Guest]

@ParkerEw buying a pc 2nd hand is risky. With your range I've seen some decent prebuilts before on ibuypower.com or cyberpowerpc.com. I'd take a look before other choices. Especially since presidents day is coming there be decent pc sales even from best buy. Dont go craiglist on PC unless your rdy for issues.