Hi all. I know there is lots of discussion going on about sims 4. One thing I haven't seen though is a tech conversation. Now I know at this point all convo is speculative, but thats fun right.

I've been thinking about when I want to get sims 4 and whether or not I want to get a new computer to play it on. My present computer which runs very well is a windows 7 desktop that i bought brand new in 2010. I've run the sims 2 on it very well and the sims 3 decently. I didn't start playing sims 2 until 2009 when sims 3 came out. I know as a result of having a computer that was ahead of the tech curve for the needs of sims 2 and coming late to the sims 2 party meant that I had a smoother playing experience than the people who were involved from the beginning. Not only were all the patches available and a ton of mods and tutorials, but I just never had certain problems because my comp was more than capable of handling sims 2.

So my concern. I don't think I'm going to want until the end of the sims 4 lifespan to play it. I can only imagine myself waiting a year at the most. You miss out on other stuff when you come late to the party with these games. Anyway what I am wondering is should I plan to buy a new comp? Should I try to upgrade the computer that I have now? Are many people planning to wait a bit before playing and buying because of the inevitable bugs and other failures?

This is one of the reasons why I'm not going to buy TS4, at least for a while. I could upgrade my machine, and I'd need to in order to play TS4 - it'd probably cost about 400€ to get what I want for it, i.e. new case, mobo and CPU. But the only thing that doesn't already run beautifully on this machine is TS3 - and I'm not spending 400€ for the sake of a sims game.

Well, there's no doubt about this being a purely speculative thread. We have absolutely no idea what the base game requirements will be, let alone what would be recommended for playing at "high" settings. Saving up for a new computer is always a good idea. If you save up enough, only to discover that your current machine will run the game acceptably, think of what you could then do with all that extra money?

My computer is pretty future proof. With an I7 processor and HD 7790 graphics card. Of course I play more than the Sims too. My current configuration should be good to go for whatever they throw at us. I still say TS4 will have some modest system requirements. They don't make money unless people buy the game and people won't buy it if they have to spend $40 on the game and another $100-$200 to upgrade their computer or have to buy another one. TS3 ran ok on my file server, which has a single core Sempron processor

Sadly, there will always be a segment of the population that WILL buy the game, only to discover that their computer doesn't have the system requirements to run it, because they neglected to check that out before they buy. They just assume that because they have a "new" computer it will work, or that just because you have a good processor that doesn't mean you have a good graphic card, or whatever. They are used to consoles, where the games are built to run on the hardware (an Xbox is an Xbox is an Xbox), as opposed to PCs where the hardware can vary wildly. It's like when someone asks me "Will the Sims run on a {name brand] computer?", when it isn't the brand that matters so much as the RAM, processor, etc.

I can't see myself buying a new computer just to play a single game. As Whiterider said, everything else I need my computer to do, it does just fine, and until the time comes when it doesn't, I don't need a new one.

If it's not a 64 bit game, why waste our time?

To really offer anything new, the Sims 4 has to be 64 bit. I mean, isn't that the whole justification for buying this? If the Sims 4 is not going to offer us anything different than the Sims 3, why bother? (From EA's perspective, it's pretty simple: they just want to fatten their wallets. They will pump out whatever crap they think they will make them money)

The people who don't want to upgrade their computers to run a 64 bit game are really hurting the rest of us. We have to play a stripped down game because some cheap ass tightwads do not want to spend money on up to date computers.

Eskie- I was thinking along the lines of save money for the new computer at least because I should have money saved for pretty much always. My computer is pretty essential to my life right now. Everything runs more smoothly now that I have it. I could live without it of course, but I have no desire to do so. So whether I buy a new one or not I should have money set aside for one. Since the computer I have currently could break down or be stolen at any time.

Kennyinbemore- How do you know if your computer is future proof? When I bought my computer I upgraded the graphic card to a Raeden 5450 or 5050, something along those lines and it has a 64 bit processor. Unfortunately I can't check because its being worked on right now, but I was considering the possibility of upgrading to the most powerful graphics card my comp could handle and simply increasing the memory.

Butchsims- I know that sooner or later my computer will have to be replaced, plus if I bought a new computer in say 2015 or 2016 and the old run still runs well I would have the old one as a back-up. The idea of a good back up computer that functions well is vey comforting to me. I do a lot online and I am trying to build a business online.

High Plains- Everyone has different needs. Some people have kids, mortgages, medical bills and some people are student and don't have the money, etc...A game can't and in truth shouldn't be a priority for people its irresponsible especially with the way or economy is right now. I feel your pain because I am willing to take the needs of the new game and its relationship to my computer into account, but EA has to make money. I suppose they could sell the game to fewer people who have money to spend that way, but I would imagine that would increase the price significantly like maybe $200 dollars or something for the base game and $150 for the expansion packs or something along those lines. The community would be signifcantly smaller, alot of modders and content creators couldn't play the new game so they couldn't make mods or CC for it which would make the game a lot less fun and shorten its lifespan. It would also eliminate people from contest and challenges which would make our community way less vibrant.

So sure I guess people could be excluded from the new game and community, but I wouldn't want to play in that community. I am considering the upgrade so I can be there from the beginning when all the new mods and tools are being developed by everyone and the community goes through the sims 4 learning process together.

The sims is a community based and driven game. EA seems to have realized that from Q&A conference call they had with some modders. A sense of inclusivity is what makes this game appealing. Making it exclusive would be its death knell. And IDK 64bit processors have been available for a while now. If its what the average person has then it will be a 64 bit game so lets just wait and see.

An up-to-date, good computer costs, what, upwards of at least 800 bucks? Yeah, that's so cheap, not wanting to pay 800 dollars to run a game. It's not like there are people who need that money for food and rent and insurance and clothes.

Well, your original post asked if you should upgrade now because of the Sims 4. I based my answer on that alone. Should you upgrade now for a game that comes out in over a year, and we don't even know what the requirements will be? No.

Should you upgrade now because you are starting an online business, and are concerned with having a backup just in case your old one gets stolen or breaks down? THAT is a totally different question, and only you can answer that.

Well... I just got a new computer back in January for my birthday so I know come 2014, I won't be getting a new one. I'll just have to hope that my new computer (which will be over a year old by the time this game launches) can play TS4. That's if I decide to jump ship right away and get it. Until more info on game play and specs come out, I won't worry about it and keep on playing TS3.

Nice graphics card. It should be able to run TS4. Although, how can you afford a game given the electric bills you must be running up with that card?

Yup but I am a simmer who just found out about sims 4. My mind was totally on sims when I thought about this. The other stuff would just make the purchase more palatable. and seem you know legit, responsible.

Just remember, if you're building an online business that actually generates revenue (kind of the point, isn't it?) then your hardware can be at least partially tax deductible (for example, if you run your business 75% of the time on your machine, and game the other 25% of the time, you could deduct the 75% portion, although only you know how your time is really split up, and don't forget to deduct the portion of your internet costs related to your business as well). There, don't you feel even better about getting another computer now?

It's not future proofed forever of course. I mean for the forseeable future. I'd love to see the game that can tame an I7 with a 7790 and 16GB of RAM. It definitely won't be TS4. By the way the 5450 is and always was a budget card



I haven't bought new clothes in about 3 years and I drive a 15 year old car. Priorities my friend

you're right Eskie thanks. I love the sims community.

You're absolutely correct kennybmore the 5450 is a budget card, but it ran both sims 2 and sims 3 like a dream. Seriously when I installed sims 3 it read the card and defaulted to the highest graphics setting. So I don't care if its a budget card or a fancy name brand as long as it can get the job done.

I get that, but my point is if you're attempting to future proof, you don't go with a budget card. For the record I personally believe that 5450 will run TS4. As I said in my earlier post, EA will probably dumb down the requirements which will probably be the only reason I don't buy it. I've gotten to used to games with really good graphics

Okay that makes a lot of sense, I mean about not getting a budget card if you want to future proof your computer. I've also been thinking that it might run it perfectly well because they won't make sims 4 for the best tech available they will make it a bit more modest so that it is accessible to a lot of people. Hmm if I can play it well without a new card that would make me very happy.

If it plays well I would just leave it and buy a new computer based around my business needs in about 2016 and just make sure it has all the specs I need. Hopefully by then the disaster that is windows 8 is also resolved.

Remember that the latest EA games all miraculously required low end hardware.

DS3: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/De...2004-47466.html

SC 2013: https://help.ea.com/article/simcity-system-requirements


If you look, those are 2 of EA`s biggest games in the 2012-2013 quarter year.
They both have very low system requirements. Dont worry, im sure The Sims 4 will as well.

Also if its not, well i guess that means its time to upgrade for you guys right?
Experts say your supposed to upgrade your hardware at least every 2 years because they go outdated quickly.

What's your problem with Windows 8 if you don't mind my asking?

Real experts tell you to upgrade according to your needs. If you're doing basic computer tasks you don't need to upgrade hardware every two years. Even gamers don't need to upgrade every two years beyond a graphics card, memory and possibly a processor

I'd rather they utilized better hardware - I don't want TS4 to look/behave like a casual game. I mean, I play casual games, but that's not what I want from TS4. It should be playable for people with lower end systems, but optimized for people with at least mid-range systems less than two years old. It'd be great it if could also utilize (even if not optimized for) really high-end systems, too. Mine's a couple (three?) years old. i7 2600 with Radeon 5700 with 8 gigs of RAM. It was good when I got it (though certainly not top-of-the-line graphics card - just the one that came standard). People get upset that they might have to upgrade to play a game - but if they don't have to upgrade to play this game, then they'll have to upgrade to play a different one in a year or two unless you expect game requirement specs to stay the same for 8 years. At some point, game specs requirements are going to go up - and I think any non-casual game should utilize the capabilities of a newer, better, systems. I really, strongly, don't feel it should be a requirement that a game run at all on a mid-range system greater than 5 years old.

One of the Guru's said they want the game to be able to be played by the most people so they would be keeping the specs in a range most players can play now. BUT that's what they said with 3. I knew I would have to upgrade my computer when 3 was coming out as it was 5yrs old already. I went to the Sims 3 site and got the game specs and then saved some money and upgraded. After the game came out I found out the specs had changed and now the computer I thought was Sims 3 ready wasn't. I could play it but had to have everything set to the lowest possible setting or turned off like reflections and such. My game also ran very slow and locked up a lot.

I learned my lesson and now wait for the games to come out before doing anything as it took me a year to save enough to buy a new computer after essentially wasting my money to upgrade the old computer when it turned out if I had waited and just kept saving I could have replaced the old computer with a nice new one and not have needed to worry about upgrades again-at least for the Sims 3 games. Like a few others have said-wait and see what the Sims 4 really will need and just keep saving like it sounds you are doing now anyways. That way you will be set as soon the final specs come out. Unless you are ordering a custom made computer you can go to almost anywhere now and purchase and walk out with a computer that can run almost anything and even custom ordering you can get your new super computer within 2 weeks or less. It will be interesting to see what specs the game will need.

Its something that they have already started with windows 7 and seems to have gone even further with windows 8. Basically that you can't customize the computer to do the things that you want. For example windows 7 will not let you run an unsigned driver. Mind you the unsigned driver I was getting was from my internet service provider as a work around for wireless since my wireless card had ceased working. Now you used to be able to modify your computer to accept unsigned drivers but recent patches for windows 7 have made that impossible. And from talking to others that have windows 8 it seems to be even Big Brother if you will. I'm not interested, my computer should do what I want it do. I bought it I paid for it.

Blutoad thats good advice. Anything could happen between now and release date.

With your specs, TS4 will likely run just fine. The 5700, while never a top rated gaming card, is more than adequate for TS3, and I'm sure will run TS4. Personally, I would think about upgrading the card in the next year or so. Right now you can get a very capable gaming card for <$200 these days that will put your old card to shame. That will be even truer a year from now. And it would probably extend the "useful life span" (meeting demands you're likely to throw at it) by another few years.

Something like a top end 7990 is great to have (as long as you don't mind a card that pulls watts like a hair dryer), but unless you play games other than Sims, it would be overkill. If you're a serious gamer, running games demanding far more than the Sims franchise, though, you can never have too much graphics processing power.

Thanks for the advice - I'm not much a gamer. Sims, the ancient Zoo Tycoon 2 once in a while, Anno 1404 (couldn't get into the new one), and Tropico 4 are about all I play. I was thinking about the new Sim City when I heard it announced, but not after I heard the details. I will probably wait and look at graphics cards in early 2014. Actually, I'll probably end up coming here and asking what the best one in in price range "x" is for me to get. Is NewEgg still a good place to go for graphics cards, or is there somewhere better now?