What's a good desktop computer to run Sims 4 and future expansions?

Hi guys,

First of all alert! :newfag:

I'm looking to treat myself to a new desktop PC that can run games like Sims 3 (my current pc failed the "can you run it" test even at Seasons), Sims 4 and it's future expansions, The Elder Scrolls series (including ESO) Integrated graphics cards are now the bane of my life lol. Whatever I buy probably wont be till next year as I'm saving up for something fairly top of the range as a treat.

Any help you guys can give me would be fantastic. I'm not the techy type and not really bothered about building my own PC (though customising might be an option?), I just don't want fobbed off by salespeople.

I had a brief online search today and found these three systems and wondered what peoples thoughts were?

Lenovo Erazer X510 £1,299
CyberPower Zeus Mini £749
Chillblast Fusion Mammoth £1099

Thanks in advance. I'm off to reinstall all my Sims 3 games and custom content...again. But that's a story for another post

Hi there,

What is your budget? £1,299 is a lot of money for a PC, but it can be a good investment too.
The Lenovo Erazer looks a lot like Alienware computers, which are way overprices. The GPU seems to be an NVIDIA GTX 760, which could've easily been a 780 or higher, considering that price.

They all look good. The CyberPower Zeus Mini is, as the name suggests, smaller than normal cases. This means that all the components are packed tightly, which might cause (over)heating issues in the future, if not cleaned regularly. It'll also become a problem when you decide to upgrade parts, because you have limited space to expand.

You can configure your own Chillblast here: http://www.chillblast.com/bundles/
It looks an awful lot like a Mac... But other than that, it looks like a decent (gaming) PC. Better GPU than the Lenovo one, but slightly less RAM. (8GB is still a lot/more than enough RAM)

Thanks for getting back so soon. My budget is pretty flexible as I'm looking for an investment machine that will last me a good few years of fun  I also had a look at that Chillblast configuration stuff and it's safe to say...I won't be doing that  as I've got zero technical experience. I'll be looking for something I can use straight out the box that has future upgrade capabilities. I've got a compact machine at the moment so I agree with your analysis of the CyberPower Zeus Mini.

What's my next step?

Hi there,

Next step? Assuming you're from the UK, do you happen to know a few configurators you could link us too?
Since the offer is different everywhere around the world, it's hard to recommend something. (And give accurate prices)
I can tell you all about local offers and availability, but that's no use to you.

Hello again,

Yes, I'm in the UK. I was really looking for a review of the type of machine setup that would suit my requirements. It's a purchase I won't be making till next year so I'd imagine any price offers just now won't even be valid then

When you say "configurators" do you mean computer stores that repair PC's and sell computer parts or general retailers that sell generic packages?

(thanks for the help by the way, you're a legend)

I have an alienware, which I agree is overpriced, but I received it as one of my birthday presents when I turned 16. All the games I run, run well. I only have the 11x, so there are much better models than mine. Best of luck

curlysworld wrote:Hello again,

Yes, I'm in the UK. I was really looking for a review of the type of machine setup that would suit my requirements. It's a purchase I won't be making till next year so I'd imagine any price offers just now won't even be valid then

When you say "configurators" do you mean computer stores that repair PC's and sell computer parts or general retailers that sell generic packages?

(thanks for the help by the way, you're a legend)

Hello again,

Sorry for the late reply.
I meant those online configurators that let you choose which components you want. Then the store will build the PC for you and either deliver it to you, or have you pick it up at their store. The pros are that you can choose which components you want (but they might not have all the components you had in mind) and they'll check hardware compatibility for you!
So it'll be like a pre-built system, but then with your desired specifications.

radsoul wrote:I have an alienware, which I agree is overpriced, but I received it as one of my birthday presents when I turned 16. All the games I run, run well. I only have the 11x, so there are much better models than mine. Best of luck

Lucky you!
I've always been against Alienware. You mainly pay for the logo, in my opinion.

I  no expert but I have built quite a few desktops. Alienware got much worse when dell bought them out, I heard they started a new custom PC company called Origin. Assembling a PC is actually a lot easier than most people think; most of the hardware is built so it can only fit it one way. I didn't look at the specs of those prebuilt computers but I know you can save a bunch of money by building it yourself. A friend ordered an origin PC because he wanted a "mfg warranty" even though each individual part has a warranty. I can send some link on how to build a PC your way if you want to try it. As far as parts goes, I see your in Europe ad everythig is more money over there for hardware from what I hear. there is a website called pcpartpicker that will automatixlLy find the cheapest price online for you and it automatically filters out incompatible hardware for your build. As far as the hardware itself goes do you want to overclock? My computer is older, I'm running an unlocked i5 2500k Sandy bridge with a GeForce GTX 560 ti 1GB RAM. CPU is overclocked to 4.0, nothing crazy and it runs skyrim, bioshock, heroes and generals all ultra high. If you don't want to overclock I would say an i5 4670, 8GB of DDR3 1600 CAS 8, GeForce GTX 770, H97 mobo if not over locking, get a solid state drive to boot from and use a HDD for non essential storage like movies. feel free to message me for a part list or help. typing on a phone so excuse the typos.

//EDIT: Also I have heard different things about which is better as far as RAM goes: running 2 sticks vs 4 sticks. I have heard people say more sticks the faster it reads data but I also heard more sticks is bad because it puts more load on your RAM controller. No idea what is true, I'm sure one of the experts would know.

//MOD EDIT: Please do not double post.
Thank you for your understanding.
Shamrock

Thanks for the info guys. I'll reply with more detail when I get a free minute