Recommendation For Cheap Laptop That Will Play Sims 2

Hippeechiq

Apologies if this is in the wrong place.

My daughter wants to buy a laptop to play the Sims 2 on, but she has limited funds of £200.

I don't know enough about computers to know if this is possible or not. Are there any laptops around for that kind of money, that will have good enough specs to play the game? As I don't want her to waste her money.

She accepts that she may have to buy a refurb, and appreciates that even so £200 isn't a lot of money, but that's all she can afford.

Can it be done? And if so, what would you recommend/suggest?

KillerWatt

Hippeechiq wrote: »

I don't know enough about computers to know if this is possible or not. Are there any laptops around for that kind of money, that will have good enough specs to play the game?

I doubt you'll get a refurb laptop for £200 full stop (unless it's a dinosaur), let alone a laptop with a good enough spec to run that game for that money.

Hippeechiq

Ah, ok, thanks. I had feared that might be the case

Donnie

Luckily for you, he is not altogether correct, as the minimum requirements are not that high.

2.0 GHz processor or better
256 MB RAM if Windows Vista, XP, Windows ME, Windows 98, or Windows 2000
At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

Though, to be honest, I have no idea how it would look running at the minimum requirement.

Hang around for a bit, something may turn up. Though £250 is a more realistic figure.

Hippeechiq

Thanks - she's knows she's expecting a lot, but £200 is her max.

I'm surprised the RAM requirement is so low. Does it really have to have a 2.0 GHz Processor?

I ask, because I know that will push the price up, as I've been trying to find something for the past few hours.

Could you not have a slightly smaller processor but like a 512 RAM? Or would that then not work on any level?

Donnie

If it says 2 GHz, I'm sure that is what it means.

Even if you could still find the of the e-machines at Morrisons for between £150 - £199, it still wouldn't meet the processor spec. But at least she would have a new laptop.
If they have the E510, it has a Celeron processor clocked a 2.1GHz. £150. If you find one, you can easily downgrade it to XP, in oder to prevent having to buy more RAM.

GunJack

OR, you WILL get something at spec, with a 3-4 month warranty, at or under budget, from these guys:-

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-best-laptop-deals-on-the-net

I've bought several lappys from them, good to do business with. Bear in mind, the 2GHz processor refers to a P3 or P4 if I remember correctly, so pretty much any dual-core would suffice Also, nearly all their machines come with XP Pro. So, 1 GB RAM, XP Pro and a dual-core processor, and she should be ok.

edit - one example I saw on a quick look was a dell D620, dual core, 1GB RAM for £175 inc postage, with a 4-month warranty on buy-it-now. Could poss get similar spec for slightly less on the right auction (they do BIN and auctions)

davester

Minimum System Requirements for The Sims 2


If you have a T&L capable video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM then you need at least:

• 800 MHz processor or better
• 256 MB RAM if Windows Vista, XP, Windows ME, Windows 98 or Windows 2000
• At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

If you have a non-T&L capable video card (an Intel Extreme Graphics or a Radeon 7000/VE Series) then you need at least:

• 2.0 GHz processor or better
• 256 MB RAM if Windows Vista, XP, Windows ME, Windows 98, or Windows 2000
• At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

Get the most current driver for your video card. The manufacturers usually have the video drivers on their sites for you to download. Visit the nVidia site, the ATI site or the support site for your computer's manufacturer for the latest drivers for those video cards.
Supported video cards (and the more video memory the better):

• ATI Radeon[SIZE=-1]TM[/SIZE] series (7000 or better)
  • Radeon 7000/VE series (non-T&L; requires 2.0 GHz processor)
  • 7200, 7500
  • 8500, All-In-Wonder 8500
  • 9000, 9200, 9500, 9600, 9700, 9800
  • X300, X600, X800

• Nvidia? Quadro[SIZE=-1]TM[/SIZE] series
  • Quadro, Quadro2, Quadro4

• Nvidia? Geforce series (GeForce2 and better)
  • GeForce2
  • GeForce3, 3 Ti
  • GeForce4, 4Ti, MX 420, 440
  • GeForce FX 5200, 5600, 5700, 5800, 5900, 5950
  • GeForce 6600, 6800

• Intel? Extreme Graphics (non-T&L; requires 2.0 GHz processor)
  • 82845, 82865, 82915

Thats a single core processor at 2GHz. so should be loads of out of date computers that will run it


Source: http://thesims2.ea.com/help/detail.php?help_id=21

Hippeechiq

Thanks for replying boys I do appreciate it, as I really know zilch about computers.

Donnie I've never even heard of downgrading to a previous OS, let alone know how to go about doing it, I'm afraid but thanks for the suggestion

Gunjack Thanks for the link - I'll get on that tomorrow

davester Thanks for taking the time to look up and post the above info. I looked it up earlier today, but I have no idea what it says :huh:

I have tried to help myself but I really don't understand all the specs - which is why I'm posting here.

Are you all agreed that we have to have a 2 GHz Processor then? Is there no way I/we could get away with this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHEAP-1-8GHz-TOSHIBA-LAPTOP-1GB-DVD-RW-DELL-MOUSE-WIFI-/230455645966?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH#ht_11854wt_911

GunJack

Not convinced about the processor still...see my earlier comments about it being based on the speed of a Pentium-4 processor probably, hence a dual-core should whup it performance-wise..

Unless anyone else can shed any light ?? (not interested in the sims personally, hence not familiar with their spec lists)


edit - that Tosh you linked to should be more than capable....if you buy online you have the distance selling regs to fall back on if you try it and it don't work, ebay traders have to comply with distance selling regs....

davester

Thats more than enough that is a duel core so much faster than a single 2 GHz processor. Actually the specs are good enough to run sims 3 with an extra GB of RAM added

POWERFUL WIDESCREEN TOSHIBA M9 LAPTOP Very Fast CORE 2 DUO1.8GHz T7100 Processor
1024MB (1GB) DDR2 RAM + 40GB HARD DISK
512MB NVIDIA QUADRO NVS 130M GRAPHICS CARD
128m + 384 shared !

Only thing I would add is 1or 2GB of RAM , and a larger Hard drive. It comes with XP which is 1.5ish GB install so have more than enoughm unless he starts adding music. and videos to it.

What version of Sims 2 cause the full version with all addons is very large. But will fit on the Drive with not much else on it.

As long as your ok with the cosmetic damage on the case its actually a good machine. I'm not into Ebay so someone else can advise you with that.