- AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition 3.2GHz
- Corsair Dominator CMP16GX3M4A1333C9 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1333 SDRAM
- EVGA 04G-P4-3687-KR GeForce GTX 680 FTW+ 4GB Video Card
- Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 r1.1 ATX Motherboard
- 3TB (320GB+750GB+2TB) Seagate 7200RPM SATA II HDDs
- 120GB Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3 SATA III SSD HDD
- Thermaltake TR-700P TR2 BRONZE 700W PSU
- Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Tower Case
- Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
These specs are what my current main PC consists of.
This is to have a permalink to answer the countless times I am asked the question “What are your PC specs?”
AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz
Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler
Palit GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB
Asus M4N98TD EVO NF w/ nForce 980a SLI Chipset
OCZ Platinum DDR3 1333MHz 4GB
250GB Maxtor HDD (OS) 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 (Storage)
OCZ Fatal1ty 750w Modular PSU
Cooler Master HAF 922 Mid-Tower Case
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
I think I beat you on the GPU front.
Hehe, yes. However, for about half the price and only a small loss in performance (we’re talking about maybe 12 fps in most cases, where it’s already over 60 anyways) I didn’t feel the huge urge to go for the 570 or even 580. I’d still love the extra memory and bandwidth, but for the time being the new overclocked 560Ti is incredible for the low cost. I’d be curious to compare benchmarks sometime though! Something like 3DMark 11 or the Crysis flythrough perhaps.
Oh and I just checked out your case. That thing looks evil!
Indeed it does.
Whe should try benchmarks sometime. I have a friend who has an identical setup to me, except he uses a Radeon 6970. Long story short, he pwned me…
My computer has like 10 GB or something and it will run the sims 3 but im worried it wont be able to run any more expansion packs will it?
Shame your farfromphenom x4 bottlenecks the 580 at “just” 3.4Ghz.
Since you got a decent machine, why didn’t you buy Test Drive Unlimited 2 on pc? That would solve any of the online problems with not having a gold account. In my case I use the pc so much that I’ve made it pretty comfortable with the chair, good audio and I’m using a 42′ LCD tv mostly when I play games on it. Since it’s possible to have a pc environment which kills any argument about console games being more comfortable I’m just curious why you went with the 360 version in this case since the pc version would allow you to use the 360 controller or any racing wheel you got and probably give you better graphics.
This was a big debate with myself. I went with the 360 version for a few personal reasons. One, I’m a sucker for achievements. Sad, but true. Two, I really enjoy my chair and TV for racing games. It’s just far more comfortable. Sure, I could hook my PC up to it and get the same effect, but at this point in time it’s not feasible. And three, I couldn’t find the PC version locally, just console versions. I could order it online but I got impatient.
Plus, the online features don’t really appeal to me that much. I’d like to have them in case since it’s almost a requirement to play the game (it feels like it wants to be an MMO but isn’t quite there) but otherwise, I just don’t care that much. My internet connection is also very unstable, so it’s even less of a draw. I’ll still get the game for the PC, once it comes down in price some more. But for a first playthrough, 360 it is.
AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz
Corsair H50 CPU Cooler
Asus Crosshair Formula AMD 890FX Chipset
nVidia Geforce GTX 285
Corsair Dominator 1600Mhz (2x2GB) 4GB in total
500GB Western Black
Corsair TX 650W
Cooler Master HAF 922
I’m feeling a little performance problems running the Sims 3 and I think it’s my GPU which is slowing me down. I’m thinking about upgrading it soonish
What u think?
Well, that system is about 10 times faster than you need for TS3, so that should do it.
It’s running pretty smooth actually. Anyhow, would you mind going a Sims 3 test with the FPS “cheat” on? Simply just write fps on in the chat box and tell me what your fps is and whats your graphic settings are? Thanks
It’s running pretty smooth actually. Anyhow, would you mind going a Sims 3 test with the FPS “cheat” on? Simply just write fps on in the chat box and tell me what your fps is and whats your graphic settings are? Thanks
hey ya i love ur reviews i think thy r really good im getting a new desktop soon i was wondring which 1 2 get 2 ply the sims 3 on any advice m8 Xx
Look my specs what you think? Windows 7 RAM 2GB Hard Disc: 320GB Intel Atom 1.66GHz – 1.67GHz im running Sims 3, Sims WorldAdventures, Sims Late Night. My question is can i change Detail Settings Sim Detail “High” Visual Effects “High”at Option Panel? Which pc you recomend me to buy to run all this stuff?. I hope you can Help me. P.S I see your review about sims generations it rock
I doubt it’ll run very well with the CPU and, presumably, Intel graphics chipset. I’d just stick to whatever settings run the best for you. As for what I recommend, well, I don’t know. You can see what I have above, so I guess I’d recommend something comparable if you want a nice PC for games
I was just wondering will this system run most new/old games on max graphics?
AMD Athlon™II X4 645 Quad-Core CPU @ 3.1GHz
4GB (2x2GB) PC10666 DDR3 RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB GDDR3?
Thanks.
Seems like it would be fine for the majority of games!
I like your reviews and thought I’d share that I have:
AMD Sempron 2.8 Ghz 1.0 MB Cache
Biostar A770E3
2GB RAM(1x2GB) I will get more ram after I get a new power supply.
ATI radeon HD 2600 Pro
20 GB IDE/PATA HDD(OS) & 1TB SATA HDD(Data)
AMD Phenom II 970BE @ 3.9Ghz
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
2 Gigabyte AMD 6850 in crossfire
2x4gb Corsair XM3 @ 1333mhz
Thermalake 700w psu
Western Digital 1tb Caviar Black
Cooler Master HAF-X AMD edition
and some Cooler Master heatsink that very large.
I noticed that everyone that has posted their specs; all seem to AMD cpus.
Your reviews are in depth and helpful! Here are my specs:
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.34Ghz
NVIDIA nForce 720i MCP
EVGA 01G-P3-1450-TR GeForce GTS 450 FPB 1GB Video Card
8GB DDR2 SDRAM RAM 1333 MHz
Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply
640 GB 7200RPM SATA HDD + 1TB Western Digital SATA HDD
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Looks like I’m the first Intel! What’s with all the AMD processors? I bought this computer at Best Buy a few years ago. All I added was a new graphics card that replaced the stock NVIDIA GeForce GT 120.
I can only speak for myself, but AMD is freaking awesome because they provide exceptional price/performance ratio. More than enough bang for my buck. The motherboards are also a LOT less expensive than Intel boards when building a system, and I’m almost always low on cash.
This is in my opinion true – but only up to the Phenom II/Athlon II generation. Those new Bulldozer are actually in many cases slower (esp. for gaming) than the II generation, because Bulldozer is made for heavy multi-threading (server applications). And most of them aren’t even better than midrange Core i5s, especially for gaming.
An Intel Core i5-3350P (P=no CPU-graphics) costs less than a FX-8150 and uses only a maximum of ~70W instead of ~125W. The prices of motherboards are about equal – at least here in Germany.
Looks difficult to make :\
AMD Athlon II X2 245 2.90GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 (On board and busted, now use the 3D one below)
ATi Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series
Some random ECS EliteGroup motherboard
Approx. 460GB SATA HDD
Some unbranded case I do not know of
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (sad, but true)
2GB RAM
Hi, would u recommend me a Great PC to buy not MAC please to have Sims 3 run great and not laggy?? I need ur reply! BTW, i subscribed u on Youtube & follow u on twitter!! Hope u will reply!
Well, I don’t buy PCs, I build my own. I really don’t have anything I’d recommend, because I wouldn’t use a pre-built PC myself. Just make sure it meets the recommended system requirements and you should be fine.
Ohhh wow i see… Ok still thanks!! ;]
First off I admire the work you put into all your reviews and I watch them before buying a Sims 3 game. I am curious to know do you build computers to sell to other as well. I have always wanted to have an amazing com just for all my PC games and your computer performance is just wow. One last thing are there any laptops you would recommend or specs for them to splay the numerous amounts of expansion packs of Sims 3?
Thank you kindly! I’ve helped friends build PCs before, but never really done so as a service or anything. I don’t mind giving some basic tips on parts though, if I can. As for a laptop, I can’t say I’d really recommend them for gaming at all. I’m sure there are some out there nowadays that do just fine, but they’re in general much more expensive than a similar desktop configuration, and without the ability to upgrade anything but the RAM/HDD capacity. Supposedly Asus, Razer, and Battalion make some decent gaming laptops, but I don’t have any experience with them. The Battalion 101 X7200 may be a good place to start.
Laptop Specs:
2.1 GHz Pentium B950 dual core
4GB DDRIII 1333 RAM 2X2
500GB 5400R SATA
Nvidia Geforce Gt 520M with PhysX and DirectX11
Window 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Subscribe to you on your youtube channel because it’s great
Hi
I am experiencing problems when attempting to run The Sims Medival, it crashes every time i try to load it. I can run The Sims 3 on high settings but cannot run The Sims Medieval at all. Do you know what the problem is??
Specs:
512MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT AGP
2.00 GB DDR RAM
2.80 Intel Xeon Dual Core
391GB Seagate ST3400832A
Windows XP Professional 32-bit
Thanks!…
hehe, i have no problem with what ever game i want to play x)
i7 2600
8GB DDR3 1333MHZ RAM
Radeon HD 7850 2GB
1TB western digital caviar black
Coolermaster HAF 922
ASUS p8z68-v LE
OCZ ZS series 750W
haha, yeah this build is pretty much new new neeeew
And oh.. i love the brutal raw looks of the HAF 922 o_o
Latest game i played was crysis warhead.. on enthusiast.. looks epic runs fine hehe
See, this has me confused.. My machine equals yours in some aspects and in others doubles it (not bragging or anything like some others here), but the issue is I STILL lag.. Granted I have about 800mb of mods, but even on a fresh install with no mods I still lag a tiny bit. Running it on XP though, do you think it might do alittle better on Win 7? Because im about to install it on another partition just for Sniper Elite V2 and was wondering if I should go through the trouble of the Sims install too.
ATI Radeon HD 6700 Series 1gb ddr5
AMD Phenom(tm) 9500 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
3072MB RAM
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
it lagg’s a lot but i have all expansions what should i upgrade? :s
I’ve got a few of questions about your Antec case
1.How much did it cost?
2.How’s the cable management?
3.What are some of your other opinions on that case?
I’m a first time PC builder and I really want to keep within a budget of $700.
1. It cost $80 at the time, but you can find it for $60 now.
2. Cable management tends to depend on the PSU. A modular cable system will help a lot, but there’s plenty of extra space in the Three Hundred, I’ve got no issue with it.
3. I love the look of the case and it’s quite roomy with nice airflow. Be sure to get another set of 120mm fans for the front and rear of the case to keep airflow smooth. My complaints are that the inside has some sharp edges, and the front USB/audio inputs are a pain because of how close they are to the top 5.25″ bay. Cables hanging down from this area tend to fall in front of the bays. Also, the front audio ports are very noisy, but this may vary by case.
Thanks. This helped very much on deciding on a case. Being a first time builder, some of the options can be very overwhelming to say the least
.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
8GB DDR2-5300
750GB Seagate SATA
ATI Radeon HD 3850 256MB PCI-E
Windows Vista Ultimate x64
27″ Viewsonic VA2702W
im stuck with sims 2 as my pc is an old boy
512mb ram
250gb sata harddrive
p4 2.94GHz processor
PNY gforce 5600 256 agp
and a crappy 19inch philips 170c
but she is my baby and i love her
hey how much did it cost you LGR for all the components of your PC?
Bought them separately over the course of a year or so, so I’m not sure. No more than $1,100 for everything, though it can no doubt be had for much less now.
OMG! Your PC is like more than 10 times better than my(if we look at RAM) And how I see in your reviews it’s running just like my, no problems
Intel i5 2500k quad core 4.2 ghz (Overclocked)
8gb memory 2133 mhz (Overclocked)
90gb Cosair ssd
1.5tb 7200 rpm Western digital Caviar black hard drive
Nvidia Geforce GTX 670 Evga 4gb graphics card
Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard
i have that same case
whats the price of of building a PC like yours
cpu: amd phenom II x4 965 BE 3.4ghz
gpu: amd radeon 7770 asus 2 gb
motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 r1.1 ATX
case: antec three hundred ATX
memory: 8 gb(2×4) corsair vengeance 1600 mhz
hdd: western digital blue 1 tb
os: win 7 ultimate
psu: coolermaster 700 watt lite
will this system run far cry 3 on atleast high? i like your reviews, and saw the far cry 3 one, so i planned on getting it, will it run it on high and maybe ultra?
My specs:
AMD Phenom II x6 1055T 2.8 Ghz @ 3 ghz
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660Ti 2 GB
Asus M4N68T
OCZ Platinum DDR3 1333MHz 4GB
90 GB OCZ SSD (OS) 1TB western digital (Storage)
Sound Blaster Xfi Xtremegamer
OCZ Fatal1ty 550w Modular PSU
Rosewill (Newegg) Xcruiser midtower
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
Lenovo Intel Dual CPU
782 MHz
1.86 GHz
.99 GB of RAM (I THINK IT FROZE)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 2002 SP2
My Specs:
Windows 7 Home Edition SP1
6.00GB RAM
6GB Storage Space
Intel HD Graphics Card
I run SimCity and i have terrain issues and it could be the game or graphics card HELP ME!!!
Well actually you don’t have a gfx card, intel hd is integrated, and very bad for gaming, though if you are on a desktop you could buy a good gfx card and put it in your pc.
My Specs:
Windows 7 ultimate 64bit
AMD fx-8150 (4.2Ghz)
corsair vengeance 32gb (1866mhz) RAM
5x 1tb western digital HDD
crucial 64gb SSD
2x AMD 7950 (msi 7950 twin frozr)
ASUS sabretooth r.2.0
I have an asus 7870 OC’d 2 GB and a dual core CPU. And it’s bottlenecking me hard. And in summer I’m getting a new CPU, RAM and a motherboard. And so im curious on what CPU to get! I’m thing of FX-8350 and i5 3570k so with what CPU I should go with that’ll be good for future gaming too. I head that i5 3570k is better than fx-8350 at single-threaded tasks, single core performance, and less power efficent… Or else you can recommend me an another good gaming CPU that I should buy. Thanks
MisteryT,
I went for the AMD fx-8150 because of cost (at least here in the Netherlands) but the i5 provides superior gameplay at a far reduced power usage (especially when overclocking), however the AMD provides better multi-tasking (at a lower per core performance). If it’s gaming you want an AMD Phenom series would also work ( at a lower cost I celieve). That said most CPU’s in this part of the markrt are (relatively) high-end and the difference isn’t that noticeable