Getting a new computer - advice needed!
Avalikia:
@witch - The reason I'm asking here instead of a search engine is because I can presumably get advice on which computer parts to look up from people who are familiar with the Sims 3. If I knew what I was looking for, I wouldn't have bothered to ask!
@Marq, Hegelian, and nanacake - I do have someone who is able to put together a computer, but he might want to just buy one. So I guess that means that building is an option but buying is preferred. I know that compter sites allow you to sort things by price and specs, but that's useless to me until I know what specs I want. I know the specs to meet the minimum requrements for The Sims 3, but it's been my experience that just meeting the minimum requirements for a game in the Sims series means that it'll run, but not very well. What I need is the specs for something that will run it very well, but not so top of the line that the price gets unreasonable. Also, I have access to XP, but I don't know whether or not I hate Windows 7 yet or not because I haven't tried it. I've heard the hype that it's an improvement, but they said the same thing about Vista and that was all L&P.
witch:
Quote from: Avalikia on 2009 December 15, 04:42:24
@witch - The reason I'm asking here instead of a search engine is because I can presumably get advice on which computer parts to look up from people who are familiar with the Sims 3. If I knew what I was looking for, I wouldn't have bothered to ask!
*witch has a sarcasm
Had you thought to check out this very site with Search? This question gets asked on average once a week or so. There was one quite recently in fact.
Otherwise, just go and read and learn. That's what I did and what others are recommending. Yes, it's a bit of hard work but you gain a foundation of knowledge you can build on, instead of helplessly having to ask on a game site.
GnatGoSplat:
Anything built within the last 2-years should be more than adequate. I'm using budget CPUs, and they are plenty fast. One machine has an AMD Athlon II X2 3GHz and the other has a Pentium Dual Core E6300 overclocked to 3.5GHz. Both are more than adequate, and I only had a $300 budget per machine when I built them. Core i5, i7, Quad Core, AMD Phenom or anything more powerful than what I have is just extra icing on the cake. My bottleneck is mainly the hard drive, loading and saving take longer than I'd like. I would highly recommend focusing more on the video card and monitor than the CPU. Being able to run with all graphics settings maxed is what you need for the best experience. I would recommend at minimum an nVidia 9800GT or ATI 4850 and a 24" monitor and run the game at its native resolution of 1920x1200. Splurge on the monitor because size does matter and of all PC components, the monitor holds its value best. Then video card 2nd, because that seems to make a pretty huge difference in how well the game runs. You'll also want at least 4GB of RAM.
No, your anti-Microsoft stance is not justified. Windows Vista SP1 x64 was a very good OS, ran very fast and nicely on my machines until I upgraded to Windows 7 x64, which is basically an improved Vista whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Benchmarks show Windows 7 is only marginally faster than Vista SP1 in some aspects and only equal in most. Windows 7 is a great OS though, I run it in everything. I don't know why everyone loves XP so much, it's so ugly and old to me. I never had performance issues with Vista, but then I never tried running it on 10yr old hardware either.
I always build my machines using components purchased mostly from Newegg, but honestly, there is little reason not to buy an HP, Dell, or whatever. With the same CPU and RAM, they run just as fast. If you have a problem, someone else will fix it for you. The motherboards are either proprietary or BTX (somewhat rare), but the majority of people would rather buy a whole new shiny computer rather than upgrade the motherboard anyway. The one Hegelian quoted would be more than adequate except that video card is crap for gaming. I'd bump up the video card and monitor to higher spec even if it meant dropping down to a Core 2 Duo CPU.
sewinglady:
another vote for Newegg. My current computer came from there... and I just ordered hubby's Christmas present from there (a kit and some extra parts as he likes to build 'em himself).
Trustworthy site, very good prices and pretty much everything you'd ever want for a gaming computer. You probably don't want what my hubby calls 'bleeding edge' parts (as in brand new), but the stuff that's newish will do you just fine.
Re video cards...I've had no problems with my Radeons - do NOT get onboard video. I repeat...whatever you get, NO onboard video. You will not be happy if you do.
J. M. Pescado:
Quote from: Marq on 2009 December 14, 22:01:06
If you're buying and don't want Windows 7 you're SOL unless you have a different OS laying around.
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