[Marcov]

Installed this game lately. It does work fine for me, though it lags constantly and the loading is sometimes long (5-10 minutes).

Does anyone here play this game?

Just a note, my RAM is 0.98 GB and others have recommended that I don't run The Sims 3 since my computer apparently runs an Integrated Graphics Card and doesn't meet the system requirements (1 GB RAM). Are the consequences of this really horrible (they say my computer will explode if I strain it too much)??

[The E]

No, your computer will not explode. But you do have noticed how it constantly lags and has long loading times, yes?

[Marcov]

Yes, but I can persevere through that. Even FSO sometimes lagged in my computer several times, but I don't care. It's still pretty fun to watch.

I'm more concerned if it will affect my PC in any serious way, like what they said.

[Patriot]

It will affect your pc performance in the long run, because it has to churn more power out, which then produces more heat, which changes the nature of the metals used in pc components. IE, the conductibility of the copper decreases and makes it slower.

I suggest investing in more PC RAM(upgrade it to 2GB) and an actual Video Card(1Gb memory is sufficient), you could also just upgrade to a video card, it should reduce the strain on your CPU, who might be doubling as a GPU due to the inferiority of Integrated Graphics Cards(I'd like a QFT if that is the case, i was told this once but never could confirm the statement).

[The E]

That's pretty much bull****. Not the recommendations re: new hardware, but the "Stresses the components more". Is a machine used to its full capacity going to have a shorter lifespan than one that idles all the time? Yes. But given that the component lifetime is already ridiculously long (proper maintenance and conditions assumed), it's really really not a factor one should be afraid of.

Also, your statement that "you could also just upgrade to a video card, it should reduce the strain on your CPU, who might be doubling as a GPU due to the inferiority of Integrated Graphics Cards" is wrong as well. No recent GPU, not even the crap Intel builds, offloads graphics processing back to the CPU. Integrated GPUs are commonly slower than dedicated ones because they usually do not have dedicated graphics memory, and thus have to share memory bandwidth with the CPU. Not to mention that most of them are designed with reduced power draw (and, as a result, reduced thermal output) in mind first and performance second.

[Flipside]

I used to play it a fair bit, even got the Pets addon not that long ago, but it's not a game that has long lasting appeal, you'll play the add-on for a few weeks and then get bored and move onto something else and completely forgetting about the Sim for several months until the next addon is released.

Edit: I suppose my main concern about the whole Sims series is that it has become so add-on centric that the original core game was deliberately limited to leave enough room for extra income via expansions later. That sits wrong with me, which probably explains why I'm better suited to coding than management

[Klaustrophobia]

that's pretty much become the normal in almost all genres of gaming now. DLC blows.  and back to the original topic, i never understood the appeal of the sims at all. 

[Marcov]

But given that the component lifetime is already ridiculously long (proper maintenance and conditions assumed), it's really really not a factor one should be afraid of.

Very well. I guess that just solves my insecurity about TS3 running on my computer, right?

Anyway, back on topic, I think this game is pretty good, but gets quickly boring. I agree on you on it having no lasting appeal. Too many expansion packs, too; each is really just about half the size of the base game, giving it an overall size of about 30 (!) GB with all the expansions included!!!

What is most interesting about this game, however, is that it gives the joy and comfort of a real role playing game. The only other thing that really interests me is designing houses - new concepts, getting to build a nice, big mansion with lots of fancy stuff inside, and having your character walk around admiring all the stuff. Other than that, the game's pretty boring. And time consuming, too.

Who likes to end up socializing with many different people all the time? Who likes to end up everyone's friend just by keeping on clicking "Interactions - Friendly - Gossip/Tell Story/Ask About Career/Any other crap"? I think that once I've uncovered all the secrets of this game, I'll start getting bored and moving on to the usual faster-paced FPS/FreeSpace games like before.

Anyone else want to share ideas?

[Marcov]

Sorry for the double post, but this is just for convenience. Anyway, I'll just be posting the comment that made me a bit nervous about how TS3 would "melt" my computer.

Your computer is like a spiffy mountain bike. Its got pretty racing stripes and all the bells and whistles and it does a great job doing what it was designed for, racing down the mountainsides of the internet. TS3 isn't a mountainside though, its an interstate freeway. The minimum speed allowed on the highway is 40, with the speed limit being somewhere up around 65, add in the EPs and SPs and it ups the speed limits to be more like a NASCAR race. Your bike can't possibly go fast enough to be safe on that road. Technically you can still use it, but it's illegal and not a good idea.

Tell me, what happens when you try to ride your spiffy mountain bike on the highway? Two things happen, either you get pulled over by a cop and get given a ticket (like a moderator finds you and tells you not to run TS3 on your comp) or your get run over by the rest of the cars, you and your bike get destroyed/injured (and the game blows out your computer components because its running too hot and can't handle the strain)

There are some things you can do to make TS3 easier on your little mountain bike that will bring TS3 back down to being more like riding city streets. Its technically possible for your bike/computer to not get run over on the slower roads, but you still have to be careful. You can't go installing the EPs and SPs. You can't run large lots or big worlds, stick to the smaller ones. Don't download and use high poly CC. If you really want to run TS3 on that computer (which EA said right on the box not to) then you need to step it down as much as possible. Running TS3 on that computer *will cause* permanent physical damage to your computer. The type of damage that requires throwing the computer in the trash and buying a new one to fix type of damage.

I know this because I run Sims on a laptop. I had a problem just last week where it looked like I had finally bricked my poor little lappy. It had been running hot for a while and the game was crashing more and more. Eventually it got to the point where my computer wouldn't even boot up. I'd turn it on and it would start beeping at me. I was really scared for it. I don't have the money to replace my computer right now, do you? I was lucky that all I needed was a new fan; I had burnt mine out. Please don't kill your computer.

Any insight on this?

[Jeff Vader]

Running games on a weak computer is a pain in the arse. It will not change. Lowering the detail settings will help a bit, but usually doesn't completely solve the issue. Nothing will blow up. If your processor starts getting too hot, the temperature sensors pick this up and the CPU is shut down before damage takes place. The same goes for graphics cards (though the weakass Intel solutions shouldn't even be powerful enough to get too hot).

Use a gaming computer for playing games.

[Colonol Dekker]

I have it, i have played it.

(2GB Ram and Q6640, 2 x Geforce 8600GS)


It still takes a wee while to load, but it's very fun

[Klaustrophobia]

Sorry for the double post, but this is just for convenience. Anyway, I'll just be posting the comment that made me a bit nervous about how TS3 would "melt" my computer.

Your computer is like a spiffy mountain bike. Its got pretty racing stripes and all the bells and whistles and it does a great job doing what it was designed for, racing down the mountainsides of the internet. TS3 isn't a mountainside though, its an interstate freeway. The minimum speed allowed on the highway is 40, with the speed limit being somewhere up around 65, add in the EPs and SPs and it ups the speed limits to be more like a NASCAR race. Your bike can't possibly go fast enough to be safe on that road. Technically you can still use it, but it's illegal and not a good idea.

Tell me, what happens when you try to ride your spiffy mountain bike on the highway? Two things happen, either you get pulled over by a cop and get given a ticket (like a moderator finds you and tells you not to run TS3 on your comp) or your get run over by the rest of the cars, you and your bike get destroyed/injured (and the game blows out your computer components because its running too hot and can't handle the strain)

There are some things you can do to make TS3 easier on your little mountain bike that will bring TS3 back down to being more like riding city streets. Its technically possible for your bike/computer to not get run over on the slower roads, but you still have to be careful. You can't go installing the EPs and SPs. You can't run large lots or big worlds, stick to the smaller ones. Don't download and use high poly CC. If you really want to run TS3 on that computer (which EA said right on the box not to) then you need to step it down as much as possible. Running TS3 on that computer *will cause* permanent physical damage to your computer. The type of damage that requires throwing the computer in the trash and buying a new one to fix type of damage.

I know this because I run Sims on a laptop. I had a problem just last week where it looked like I had finally bricked my poor little lappy. It had been running hot for a while and the game was crashing more and more. Eventually it got to the point where my computer wouldn't even boot up. I'd turn it on and it would start beeping at me. I was really scared for it. I don't have the money to replace my computer right now, do you? I was lucky that all I needed was a new fan; I had burnt mine out. Please don't kill your computer.

Any insight on this?

*insert that quote from billy madison about the wrong answer here*
whoever wrote that has not a ****ing clue what he's talking about.  but he clearly fancies himself clever with that terribad analogy with the mountain bike and whatnot.

[LordMelvin]

Maybe his 10-year old computer is a mountain bike, but most people these days are at least on mopeds, and if you stick a ram upgrade in yours, that'll give it the equivalent of a <what is this meta phor, I don't even>, so you should be alright on Sims 3 "the interstate" as long as you keep to lower detail settings out of the "passing lanes."

[Klaustrophobia]

i'm curious.  where did you find this assclown?

[Flipside]

It should be noted that, even on high-end computers, there are a few lurking errors in the Sims 3 code that appear to be thread collisions, which can leave the game ticking over, trees waving in the breeze, but your character frozen to the spot for up to 30 seconds, so the code itself doesn't do much to help

[Marcov]

i'm curious.  where did you find this assclown?

I didn't "find" him (and besides this member is apparently female), but to spare you the work of Googling it, it's here in this thread.

Two other members also say the same thing;

That's not really your full system specs (the type of graphics card matters a lot too) but that's enough to see that you're under the minimum requirements for TS3, so it's no wonder it lags. It's generally a pretty bad idea to play on an underspec'd computer - it may "work" (quotes because I don't consider painfully long loading and laggy gameplay really working) for a while, but putting that extra strain on a system that's not designed to run it can kill the computer entirely.

Well, 0.98GB is not an amount of RAM which it is possible to install using commercial components, so either you have broken RAM (unlikely as you'd be having serious system instability) or you have integrated graphics, in which case you'll need to be storing a fire extnguisher in your study if you wanna keep playing TS3. >.>

Nothing, just putting some of this stuff here, if you don't mind. I guess I shouldn't be scared anyhow of their posts.

[Klaustrophobia]

i believe the last guy was just making a funny.