New Computer--Sims 2 Capable?

[Princess Harmonia]

Well, I feel bad making another question thread sweatdrop , but I really like to have assurance in these cases. The upgrade I was set to have didn't happen. I did not upgrade my RAM. As it is, I was advised not to and to instead purchase a new PC altogether. I have no objection as my Dell Dimension 8200 is very difficult to upgrade (as most Dells are). I'm passing it on to my younger bro and uninstalling Sims 2 and the EPs completely from it as its simply to lagging for my tastes.

As for the new PC, I hope to purchase it soon, this week or next week. What I'm looking at is gaming PCs. The one in particular that I'd like to purchase is a Velocity Micro ProMagix. At first, I wanted the Gateway FX but this seems to have a more reasonable price. What I'm wondering is, will it run Sims 2 and my three expansions well? If not, I'm probably wasting my time with this purchase, however, the specs looked good to me. I'm no expert though. The fact that it runs on Vista worries me a little too since Vista takes up way too much RAM and could possibly slow down everything.

Here are the system's specs:
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Basic
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Desktop
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
System Memory: 2GB RAM (can be expanded to 4GB)
Type of RAM: PC5300 DDR2
Hard Drive: SATA (7200 rpm)
Hard Drive Size: 320 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
Video Memory: 256 MB

It's going to cost a good $1400 so I want to know if it'll run a game like Sims 2 and the EPs without trouble and lagging as well as Vista and Vista's features. Any good? Any "bad?"  

[Menaceman]

I have no idea about how suitable these specs are although they are better than my laptop which runs the game and all expansion packs pefectly well, but I have a suggestion about Vista. If your old machine runs on XP or 98 then you could install that operating system onto your new computer. That way Vista wont be eating its memory and you can always put Vista back on if you want.  

[Princess Harmonia]

Menaceman

I have no idea about how suitable these specs are although they are better than my laptop which runs the game and all expansion packs pefectly well, but I have a suggestion about Vista. If your old machine runs on XP or 98 then you could install that operating system onto your new computer. That way Vista wont be eating its memory and you can always put Vista back on if you want.

Well, what I originally planned was to have XP since I don't like Vista and I know Vista eats up so much more memory than XP. I'm wondering if I could still do that... I think I still have my XP disc, so I think I will. I still haven't purchased the new computer but I'm planning too unless something better come my way. Thanks!  

[Menaceman]

Its what I'm planning to do when I eventually get a new computer. Whenever that may be.  

[Strya]

From the basic system specs, you should have no problems. That computer is only a little less powerful than the one I just bought. However, I'm not going to make any statements about how well Sims 2 will run on Vista. Some things don't work on Vista very well.

However, here are two other options.

1) You could also buy a copy of Win XP, and when your Dell system arrives, reformat the hard drive and put Win XP on it.

2) You could purchase the parts separately and put the computer together yourself, or find a friend who will do it for you.

I had a friend build my computer for me -- I paid about $1000 (and got Win XP) for the parts and gave my friend $200 to do it, and it was much cheaper than the same computer at Dell, which was going to come with Vista and cost $2800.

If you're thinking about the build-your-own route, try going to www.newegg.com and putting together a shopping cart of the components you listed, and see what it comes out to. It might even be cheaper to buy the parts and take it to a computer shop in your town and have them build it for you.  

[Princess Harmonia]

Strya

From the basic system specs, you should have no problems. That computer is only a little less powerful than the one I just bought. However, I'm not going to make any statements about how well Sims 2 will run on Vista. Some things don't work on Vista very well.

However, here are two other options.

1) You could also buy a copy of Win XP, and when your Dell system arrives, reformat the hard drive and put Win XP on it.

2) You could purchase the parts separately and put the computer together yourself, or find a friend who will do it for you.

I had a friend build my computer for me -- I paid about $1000 (and got Win XP) for the parts and gave my friend $200 to do it, and it was much cheaper than the same computer at Dell, which was going to come with Vista and cost $2800.

If you're thinking about the build-your-own route, try going to www.newegg.com and putting together a shopping cart of the components you listed, and see what it comes out to. It might even be cheaper to buy the parts and take it to a computer shop in your town and have them build it for you.

I really, really hope there's no trouble running the game and my EPs. The trouble is, I think it might come already Vista loaded. I'll have to delve into that. If I can get it XP, I will. I don't want any computer of mine, except my laptop, running on Vista (because it came free and I don't use it for anything except browsing and processing) until all of its bugs and incapabilities are fixed.

I still have the XP installation CD from my current desktop so I think I'll use it if I can't get the new PC XP loaded.

As much as I'd love to build my own PC, I'm really not very good with anything technical. I find it to be a little too complicated for me sweatdrop . I'm afraid of making a flawed computer or incapable computer and investing into it too. I don't know how to put one together nor do I know of anyone who is specialized in that area willing to do it for a good price either... unfortunately, I am stranded with packaged bundles and pre-built PCs. I'm going to have to play it safe this way. But Best Buy might give me a deal if I purchase the new desktop bundled anyway and the monitors aren't too expensive anyway.

Thanks!  

[Strya]

I hear ya. I'm in the software field (was a programmer at one point, doing software QA now) and work with computers all the time, but I'd rather not open the case. Technically, I *could* put one together, but I also am afraid of doing it myself. smile

I'm not sure you can use the old copy of XP on a new machine. When you do an installation of Windows XP, you'll need to register it, and if the old machine is already registered with it, it won't work on the new machine. You can still buy XP, though -- at Newegg.com, I think it was like $80 or $90.

Be sure to buy a flat-screen monitor; if you can't afford one right now, use your old monitor and buy a flat-screen one down the road. It's not worth buying an old CRT monitor, and you'll love the flat-screen. Also, if you'll be using both computers (old and new) and are getting monitor/keyboard/mouse for both, you can instead get something called a KVM switch which allows you to have one monitor/keyboard/mouse for both -- you use the switch to switch between the computers.  

[Princess Harmonia]

I love my current PC's monitor a lot but since I'm not disposing of it, I'm getting a brand new monitor for the new gaming PC. I was thinking of using my old computer's monitor but I've decided not to do it since I could just leave it be. I think I'll still use the old one occassionally, and my mom and brother will definitely still be using it for simple applications like Word, Excel, Photoshop, Limewire etc.

I'm getting a new flat screen one from Gateway... it's also at Best Buy and I really like it. It's not too big or too small either (like 19 inches, I think), it's very attractive, and it's affordable. I don't think I'd ever consider getting something that isn't lean and flat screen lolz.

The PC I'm getting already comes with a mouse and keyboard, so thankfully, I won't have to go out and buy that too or switch out from one PC to another. The monitor is all I need to buy separately and possibly XP again.