A bit of a NEWB! Need advice please! Re: Sims 3

Hi all,

I apologise in advance if this is more/less information than needed to answer this question..But I'm running an older laptop and I'd like to play the Sims 3 with expansion packs (Yes. I know "Laptops aren't meant to game on"). That isn't really the point. I know that comparably, Sims 3 is a very undemanding game to run. Here are the specs of my current computer:

Memory Type DDR3
Memory Size 4GB
Memory Slots (Total) 2
Memory Slots (Filled) 2
Memory Slots (Available) 0
Maximum Memory Supported 8GB - 64-Bit
Processor Specifications
Processor Class Athlon II
Processor Brand AMD
Processor Type Dual-Core
Processor Speed 2.1GHz
Processor Number P320
Notebook Specifications
Lifestyle Home & Student
Condition New
Operating Systems Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Platform Laptop
Hard Disk Drive Specifications
Capacity 320GB
HDD/SSD Drives Included 1x 320GB
Drive Types Hard Drive
Hard Drive Speed 5400 RPM
Graphics Specifications
Graphics Description Integrated Graphics
GPU/VPU ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 Graphics
Video Memory 256MB-1405MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory



Thank you all in advance!

 

Sims 3 does not need a high end gaming PC, but it is really hard on the CPU. The laptop in your post would run it, but it's going to lag badly when you go to community lots or have a lot of activity on lots in general.

 

Newegg.ca - Refurbished: ASUS U47A-BGR4 Notebook, Grade A Intel Core i7 2640M(2.80GHz) 14" 8GB Memory 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW Intel HD Graphics 3000 How would this be? The price is definitely a plus factor, but I'm by no means set on that particular one. I just want something relatively cheap, that can play the Sims 3 and expansions without trouble, and potentially play some more demanding games as well.

 

If you're okay with a 15" notebook, this offers a lot more performance for $100 more than that one.

Newegg.ca - Refurbished: ASUS R500VD-BS71 Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory 500GB HDD DL DVD-RW NVIDIA GeForce GT 610M

The video card and the quad core processor in this unit would give you pretty good performance for casual gaming especially for the price.

 

^totally agree.

the original only has intergrated graphics HD3000 while TailGunners choice has a dedicated 610M graphics card and better i7 processor.

 

Who said laptops aren't meant to game on? Nearly everyone I played WoW with and ME3 etc play on laptops

Wouldn't any laptop with a HD4000 or entry level GPU would play Sim 3?

 

i would of thought so. not sure how much difference there is between HD3000 and HD4000 but its always handy to have a dedicated card just in case the op decides to play more demanding games.

5 years ago all i could play was solitaire and now look at me

 

Yeah, I agree... a dedicated card is really nice addition in a laptop.