Sims compatability

[Rowan]

I am shopping at Dell. I read the minimum specs for sims 3, but not sure about the specs with the 256mb ATI Radeon x4500hd video card. Im looking at a Inspiron 15 w/ Intel pentium dual core t4300(2.1 GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache.  will this processor be fast enough with the video card.  The next processor up is the Intel core duo T6600 which really jumps the price up. Also I wanted to save money and get the 3gb memory instead of the 4gb.  What do you think? Thanks I am really desperate to get this going for a xmas gift.  I haven't bought yet, and am trying to purchase the minimum system that is required for the game to run smoothly.  I appreciate you taking the time to answer me.  Maybe you could even suggest a laptop, trying to keep the price down. Thanks Rowan

[Joey]

Welcome to the site Rowan :-)

I checked Amazon, HP, Toshiba and Dell sites to find the lowest price laptop that would play The Sims 3 smoothly. I found it at Dell and configured it for you. Here is the link: http://bit.ly/Inspiron-15-120809 The total price is $579.

Note: The “Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD” video card would make the Dell laptop incompatible since it will require a faster CPU. That is why I choose the more expensive, “256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330”.
If you have an extra $75 I highly recommend that you upgrade to the faster “Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T6600” CPU. It is a newer generation and even if it were only 1.8 GHz it would still run The Sims 3 faster than the T4300 2.1 GHz CPU. That is how good and fast it is.

[Rowan]

Joey there is a new sale just posted on Dell for Inspiron 15 notebook for $599.00 w/ 512 MB ATI and the processor is AMD Turion™X2 Dual-Core RM-74 (2.2GHz / 1MB).  Could you please tell me if you think this processor and system is a better deal than the one you configured. ( which is in my wish list ) Thanks a lot I really appreciate it!!! I have no idea the differences in the processors which is what I would like to know most. Thanks again Rowan
    
Inspiron 15 Notebook, Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English    
ATI Radeon™ HD 4330 512MB Graphics Card Included!
Catalog Number:     29 DNDOLY3
Inspiron 15 Notebook
Operating System   Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Processor    AMD Turion™X2 Dual-Core RM-74 (2.2GHz /  1MB)
Memory    3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
LCD Panel    Bright, glossy widescreen 15.6 WLED display (1366x768)
Video Card    512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330
Hard Drive    320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Network    Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Adobe Software    Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
Combo or DVD+RW Drive    8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Sound    High Definition Audio 2.0
Wireless Networking Cards    Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
Camera Module    Integrated 1.3 MP Webcam
Productivity    Microsoft Works
Software - Antivirus    McAfee SecurityCenter, 30-Day Trial
Battery Options    6-cell battery
Hardware Support Services    2 Year Basic Service Plan
Data Protection Services    1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection
Datasafe    Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Dial-Up Internet Access    No ISP requested
Entertainment and Editing Software    WildTangent Games

[Joey]

The AMD Turion™X2 Dual-Core RM-74 CPU would actually perform slower in games like The Sims 3. Also the extra video RAM included with the ATI Radeon™ HD 4330 wouldn't make The Sims 3 go faster either unless your laptop had a 19" screen, had another CPU that was superfast and you played the game at max resolution.

My recommendation is to go with the choice I picked above. The option that will speed The Sims 3 up is to get the faster CPU.