Game Help:Upgrading Buying Hardware

This article is intended as a starter guide for people who are looking to build their own computer, or who are wondering what a good computer for playing TS2 and TS3 would look like. It is essential that you take the time to do this research so you don't have any regrets later. At the very least you should click and read all the links under

• Essential Links, Onsite, and
• FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

I understand this is a lot of reading...I help write it! I assure you it helps. So, let's get started.

Making the Best out of What You Already Have

In many cases, the computer you already have may be upgraded to run the Sims games. Whether or not upgrading is worth it depends on the

1. age of the computer,
2. the computer's ability to be expanded (slots available, case design, supplied power, etc),
3. exactly how much needs to be done/purchased to get the computer working well,
4. your immediate needs, and
5. how much money you have to budget.

There are too many variables to put together a guide of absolutes. However, assuming that the computer can be upgraded to run well, a general guideline is that the computer should be

1. no more than 2 years old and
2. require less than $200 worth of upgrades

to have it working WELL. If the computer is full of outdated tech and you're having to pretty much gut it, then it's probably not worth upgrading. I would also only upgrade a component if I can get 2 to 3 tiers above the current model, others may have different threshold.

More RAM and a new graphics cards are examples of upgrades you can do to really extend the life of your desktop. Again, assuming the computer has the expansion abilities, a strong graphics card will run you around $100. Many times a new power supply will need to be installed to run the new card, which will run another $40-$60. Expect new RAM to cost between $30-$50. If you already have a good graphics card, albeit a bit aged, the next thing you can upgrade that would make a noticeable difference is getting a Solid State Drive (SSD).

It's Time for a Brand New Computer!

• If you are building your desktop, you need to be prepared to budget AT LEAST $500 for the new machine. This does not include buying an operating system or other peripherals, such as monitors, mice, keyboards, speakers, etc. People who are used to building their own computers will probably already have these.
• If you are buying an already fully built desktop, you should be prepared to budget AT LEAST $800. In some cases, doing some of the upgrades on your own (like the power supply and graphics card) could save a good deal of money.
• If you are buying a laptop, you should be prepared to budget AT LEAST $1200.
• [anchorlink=]Specific Desktop and Laptop Recommendations (Various Price Points)[/anchorlink]

What's the right budget for my needs?

So, how do we determine what price bracket your machine is in? Well, ask yourself these questions:

Are you a Consumer? or Are you a Producer?

and

Are you a Basic user? or Are you a Power user?

Which brings us to the following quadrant. Note the prices ranged from the minimum without monitors, mice, keyboards, speakers, etc; to the maximum with any or all those included in the price.

Sample usage: You're a consumer of information. You download CC. You don't participate in any Social Media of any kind. You don't write any blog posts, create videos, mod or create CC for any game. You play Sims probably at most once a week or up to 4 hours on the weekends only. Matching expectation: Great if Sims 2 is only game you play heavily on Med-High settings, with the occasional Sims 3 thrown in on Low-Med settings. You game on a 19"-21" or smaller monitor at the native resolution for that monitor. You're not interested in SimCity (2013) or any new games beyond Sims 2 and/or Sims 3, and their Expansion and Stuff packs. Proposed budget: USD400-500 Then, you're most likely a...	Sample usage: You're a consumer of information to the max power - on your PC, on your mobile, on your tablet. You download CC. You are aware of Social Media. You do write blog posts, maybe tweet once a week or so. Although you don't create videos, mod or create CC for all games, you do know how to create XML Tuning mods. You play Sims probably an hour a day or up to 7-10 hours a week. Matching expectation: You have ALL the packs for ALL the Sims games in the Sims franchise. Including SimCity, Spore, SimAnt; you've in fact tried and tested all Simulation games there is. You may also venture out to the non-Sims games world. Only Med-High settings would work for you! On a 23" monitor or bigger at 1080p resolution. Proposed budget: USD500-850 Which, makes you a...
Basic Consumer	Power Consumer
Sample usage: You're a producer of information - on your PC, on your mobile, on your tablet. You download CC. You are aware of Social Media. You do write blog posts, tweet several times a day. You do create videos using your mobile phone, mod or create CC for games. Even non-Sim games. You play games probably several hours a day or up to 10-30 hours a week, in between producing and capturing all that gameplay for your Legacy Story blog. Matching expectation: While you use mods to take higher quality pictures on all HIGH settings for that blog, the machine is not coping so well to let you play with all HIGH settings. On a 23" monitor or bigger at 1080p resolution. Proposed budget: USD900-1200 So we have here, a...	Sample usage: You're a producer of information to the max power, on your PC, on your mobile, on your tablet. You download CC. You are a Social Media junkie. You tweet all the time, in fact you cannot live without the Internet. You have a DSLR, or at least a better camera than capturing videos with a mobile phone. You create, edit and produce videos on Video sites, mod or create CC for Sims and/or other games. You play all sorts of games probably several hours a day or more than 30 hours in a week. Matching expectation: You're HIGH, baby! HIGH! Well, your settings that is. You play in mostly High settings, but capturing that video is still a touch-n-go on High, so you use a smaller resolution to fit Youtube's upload size requirement. On a 23" monitor or bigger, at 1080p or higher resolution. Proposed budget: USD1000-1500 Come on down,
Basic Producer	Power Producer

If you see yourself nodding your head and agreeing to all 3 points in a particular quadrant, then you fit that quadrant to a tee. But, most times, you can fit two comfortably and compromise on the third. Remember though, that the quadrants are just suggestions! You can just be a Basic Consumer but if you have the means to spend $1500 so you can meet that expectations, then go for it.

My objective of putting that up is to show how to match your expectations to your wallet. A lot of folks seem to think that they need only spend as a Basic Consumer but they have the expectations of a Power Producer, which is why we then get lots of crashing reports and my game not loading issues.

If you have the expectations of a Power Producer, but cannot meet the budget, my suggestion is to continue saving and keep doing the research. You may get a surprise and find a great deal one day that make all waiting worthwhile! However, if you have an immediate need for a machine, then consider lowering the expectation to be in line with the budget. You'll get less frustration when things start failing that way.

Questions to Ask

OK, now that we know how much to spend and how much our expectations need to be adjusted, (or not), when do we get to the brand spanking new machine?

Hold on! We still have tonnes of research to do! As nobody has infinite amount of resources, primarily money and time, we want for the majority of the time, to hit that mark that many of us label as the best bang for your buck. Which just means that we want to get a System that provides the maximum amount of performance for the longest time, that costs the least amount of money in the fastest time possible and with the least amount of effort.

Since, we don't live in Fairy-Tale World, it is not possible to hit all those 5 ideals (the bold parts) at the same time. This series of articles is to guide you on hitting as many of those as you can. Which already shoots the last point - least amount of effort - totally out of the ballpark. You cannot hope to purchase an electronic device (be it a Desktop or Laptop, or a mobile phone, or a laptop, or a TV, or a Refrigerator) without doing research. If you do, then you may find that big fridge with all the bells and whistles, cannot even fit the enclosure build for it.

To ensure all the other ideals are covered, I have here a series of questions you need to ask yourself.

1. Are you upgrading?
   • If upgrading, include your System Specs when you start a new thread; including the Power Supply Unit's brand and model number if you're upgrading graphics card
   • What do you need upgraded?
   • What is the issue that prompts the upgrade? i.e. is upgrading the only option?
2. Are you needing a new system?
   • Do you want a Desktop or Laptop?
   • What Operating system - OS X or Windows?
   • If Desktop,
     • Want to do a self-build or need a pre-built?
     • What monitor do you have or would be using this system on?
       • what monitor size you already have or if getting new, what size and if multiple-monitors setup is in the cards
       • this is to gauge if the graphics card meets the requirements of the display resolution
     • How essential is upgrade-ability to you?
       • Does your machine lasts 3-4 years, and hardly ever maintained?, or
       • Do you purchase new components and upgrade them every 6 months to a year?
   • If Laptop, what screen size? Is weight a concern?
     • You are aware that Laptops are limited to getting updates for drivers and upgrade-ability, while having the added (potential) complication of overheating?
3. Purpose
   • Just Sims games or other requirements too? Like 3D programs, photo-editing programs?
   • Where do you land on the quadrant above, in terms of usage alone?
4. Budget
   • What is the target and maximum amount?
   • Where do you land on the quadrant above, in terms of budget alone?
5. Country of purchase
   • Where are you located?
   • Buying locally or online?
   • If self-built,
     • are you doing the assembly yourself?
     • if not assembling yourself...
       • is there a local store where you can take the boxes and pay them to assemble for you for a fee? Or, order through them and they assemble it for you?
       • is there a friend, family member, other relative to do the assembly for you?
   • If pre-built,
     • are you happy with the configurations as is or would the retailer entertain customizing requests (if there's no customization options already offered)?
     • does customization cost anything extra?
6. What's NOT needed?
   • Monitor, DVD drive, keyboard, mouse, HDD, Operating System, etc...
7. Do you have any other specific requirements not covered above?
   • do you want to have multiple graphics cards in SLI (Nvidia brand) or Crossfire (AMD brand) mode?
   • do you want to overclock, etc ?

Essential Links:

Onsite

• Game Help:System Specs
• Game Help:How to choose parts Overview
• Guide to Buying a New Graphics Card
• System Requirements for The Sims 2 & The Sims 3

Offsite

• http://cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
• http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php
• http://www.tomshardware.com/ (links would change each month, and these are Desktop models)
  • Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: mmm YYYY
  • Best Graphics Cards For The Money: mmm YYYY
• http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
• http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

• Where's the best place to buy computer parts?
• I want a no fuss, fully build computer. Where's the best place to look?
• I want to buy a laptop. Where are some good places to look?
• Is a dual-core processor still a viable purchase?
• Do I need more than 4GB RAM?
• Which is better, Intel or AMD?
• Which is better, ATI or Nvidia?
• Which is better, Mac or Windows?

Related threads of interest

• margonaute's Comparing a few video cards—or, um, a Vybe?—NOPE, self-build
• shaaaii's Buying a new desktop computer
• cancerously's Dilemma
• justeffingpeachy's Help with tentative build
• vickster's Buying a new computer
• littlesunshine123xx's Computer Upgrade

Information to include

Alright, you've made it this far. And if you have stayed with me throughout the whole series and click on all the links I provided, you have gathered all those little nuggets of information and gotten to the REWARD at the end of the articles.

So, now you're ready to spend your money. If you have all the information you need and know what you want, have no questions, it is fine if you don't even need to start a new thread in the Computer & Software Technical Support. That is after all my goal in creating this series. We like to hear success stories as much as the problems, so go ahead and post your build and your experience if you wish to brag a bit; it may benefit someone else. And, Congratulations on a job well done!

But if you still do have questions or just need an opinion (which is fine, too), then don't forget to include all the answers to the list of questions above. Here they are again in an easy to copy section. Just copy and paste all the questions inside the box and paste it into your thread and start answering them. Remember: no answers means there's a high chance you'll be redirected to this Articles again.

1. [b]Are you upgrading?[/b]
a. [infobutton=DxDiag report]Replace this text with your Specs[/infobutton]

b. What do you need upgraded?

c. What is the issue that prompts the upgrade? i.e. is upgrading the only option?


2. [b]Are you needing a new system?[/b]
a. Do you want a Desktop or Laptop?

b. What Operating system - OS X or Windows?

c. If Desktop,
i. Want to do a self-build or need a pre-built?

ii. What monitor do you have or would be using this system on? what monitor size you already have or if getting new, what size and if multiple-monitors setup is in the cards
 
iii. How essential is upgrade-ability to you?

d.  If Laptop, what screen size? Is weight a concern? 
    

3. [b]Purpose[/b]
a. The primary purpose is for...(Simming, school, entertainment...)

b. Where do you land on the quadrant above, in terms of usage alone? 


4. [b]Budget[/b]
a. What is the target and maximum amount?

b. Where do you land on the quadrant above, in terms of budget alone? 


5. [b]Country of purchase[/b]
a. Where are you located?

b. Buying locally or online ?
i. If pre-built, is there a local store where you can take the boxes and pay them to assemble for you for a fee? Or, order through them and they assemble it for you? 
    

6. [b]What's NOT needed?[/b]
a. Monitor, DVD drive, keyboard, mouse, HDD, Operating System, etc... 


7. [b]Any other specific requirements[/b]
a. do you want to have multiple graphics cards in SLI (Nvidia brand) or Crossfire (AMD brand) mode?

b. do you want to overclock, etc ? 

We have successful first-time selfbuilders, so don't be daunted (see the related threads above), just take it slow and go at your own pace. And, thank you for reading!

Credits

Originally created by callistra in Help Upgrading or Building/Buying a New Computer and updated.  

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