# Sims 3 specs and new Laptops.



## Nekochanpurr (Jun 22, 2007)

I'm looking at laptops and hoping to find something that will play sims 3. Well, we are getting it mostly for that, Diablo 2, and Starcrft 3. But since we don't have the specs for those.. I'm pretty sure if it runs sims 3, it'll run the other two, right? Anyway, here are the sims 3 specs..

THE SIMS 3 MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
1 GB RAM
At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 (256 MB dedicated video card - mid-range or higher - is recommended))

Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
1.5 GB RAM (at least 2GB of RAM is recommended)
At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 (256 MB dedicated video card - mid-range or higher - is recommended))

For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires at least:

Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA X3000 or above.
2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
0.5 GB additional RAM

SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS: (Underlined cards are ones which will most likely play the game well)

NVIDIA GeForce series:

FX 5900, FX 5950
6200, 6500, 6600, 6800,
7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
9600, 9800
GTX 260, GTX 280

ATI Radeon series:

9500, 9600, 9800
X300, X600, X700, X800, X850
X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
2400, 2600, 2900
3450, 3650, 3850, 3870,
4850, 4870

Intel® Extreme Graphics:

GMA X3x00 series

Laptop versions of these chipsets may work, but may run comparatively slower. Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly. Intel integrated chipsets featuring underclocked parts will not perform adequately.

Integrated chipsets such as the ATI Xpress and the NVIDIA TurboCache variants will have low settings selected, but should run satisfactorily.

Please note that attempting to play the game using video hardware that isn't listed above may result in reduced performance, graphical issues or cause the game to not run at all.

The NVIDIA GeForce FX series is unsupported under Vista.

And here are the laptops we are looking at.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220461
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115540
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220395

I've read the reviews and tried to look it all over myself, but i'm scared to buy such big things when my knowledge about this stuff sucks. lol. Help please!


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

Hi!

All of the laptops shown on your links use the mobile version of the Nvidia geforce 9 series. I guess that you will get decent performance when running Sims 3 with one of the laptops listed. Sims 2 and its expansions were designed around low end hardware due to the popularity of the game. EA wanted the game to sell on audiences that had low end computes like laptops or family sytems. I believe that they will use the same marketing model for Sims 3 as well. 

I suspect that you mean Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2, right? Well, we can't be sure about the hardware requirements of those games until they are finished. We can only speculate, the geforce 9 series (even the laptop versions) are quite new cards so I guess that they will be able to run games that will come out during 2009 or maybe 2010. However keep in mind that a computer capable of running Sims 3 won't neccessarily run Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2. As I already stated, Sims 3 will target a wide audience, thus many computer configurations. More hardcore games won't do that. 

I believe that you should wait, at least a few months before buying a new computer. By then we will know more about upcoming games and Microsoft's new OS, Windows 7 which may bring new gaming features.


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## Nekochanpurr (Jun 22, 2007)

Thank you so much for the quick reply! And yes.. Thats what i meant! Sorry, my mind was a little muddled. ^^*
Yeah, i think its best to wait, too. We kind of have to anyway.. Lack of money. XD I'll have to check and see what they have to offer in a few months.. Sims 3 sure is going to tease me in Feb, though!! Haha.


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

By the way, I just checked the computer specs on your profile. Your current computer seems capable of running Sims 3. Maybe on minimum settings but it will still be playable. So I guess you can enjoy the game on this one before getting a brand new laptop!


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## Nekochanpurr (Jun 22, 2007)

Haha, yes.. I know it should.. However, my computer HATES sims 2. XD I'll probably try it, but.. lol. Lets just say right now its running in a way that tells it not to shut down if theres any problems.. And it does this even after we replaced almost everything.  It hates me <3.


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