The Sims 4’s PC Requirements Are… Non-Existent

The Sims 4’s PC Requirements Are… Non-Existent

It might be a PC exclusive to start, but The Sims 4 has an appeal far beyond the master race. Electronic Arts isn’t making its newest Sims game especially demanding hardware-wise as a result.

The company recently posted its recommended specs for The Sims 4 on the game’s FAQ page, and it looks like a lot of people will be able to enjoy the game once it launches next week:

REQUIRED: Internet connection required for product activation.

OS: Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, or Windows 8.1

PROCESSOR: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core 4000+ or equivalent (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 or equivalent) MEMORY: At least 2 GB RAM

HARD DRIVE: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games

DVD-ROM: DVD ROM drive required for installation only

VIDEO CARD: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better

SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c Compatible

DIRECTX: DirectX 9.0c compatible

INPUT: Keyboard and Mouse

Fear not, beleaguered SimCity fans. While EA says that an internet connection is required “for activation,” The Sims 4 is not an always-online game. Also, keep in mind that these are the required specs. The recommended specs are much more substantial:

REQUIRED: Internet connection required for product activation.

OS: 64 Bit Windows 7,8, or 8.1

PROCESSOR: Intel core i5 or faster

AMD Athlon X4

MEMORY: 4GB RAM

HARD DRIVE: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games

DVD-ROM: DVD ROM drive required for installation only

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better

SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c Compatible

DIRECTX: DirectX 9.0c compatible

INPUT: Keyboard and Mouse

We’ll have to wait until the game launches next week to see how The Sims 4‘s performance shakes out, of course. But it makes sense that EA would want to keep the game more casual-friendly than, say, Battlefield 4 or Titanfall — two of its rockstar shooters that are often used as poster children for powerhouse gaming rigs. The Sims has long been a best-selling PC gaming franchise, thanks in large part to its ability to reach people who might not even know what Battlefield or Titanfall are. It’s also been five years since The Sims 3 launched, so many loyal fans will be revisiting the franchise on fairly old machines.

These are just EA’s recommended hardware specs, mind you. The game could technically run on less powerful hardware. But gamers who want to get the most out of The Sims 4 will probably want to bring a bit more firepower to the table too. But even then, the game isn’t a hog by any measure. In his article for Forbes, Evangelho recommended a Sims 4-specific gaming rig that would cost players a tad more than $US400. That’s about $US1,200 less than what I just dropped to build myself a new PC gaming rig, for a point of comparison. And that’s not including a monitor, mouse, keyboard, or any sort of audio system.

So don’t fret, Sims fans: come next Tuesday, you won’t have to worry about having the most up-to-date tech. Instead you can devote all of your time and energy to what’s truly important: feeling lots of feelings in The Sims 4 and obsessing over all the glorious, teeny tiny details of its character creation menu. That’s assuming there won’t be any SimCity or Battlefield 4-level disaster at launch time, though. But EA won’t let that happen again…right?

Fingers crossed.

via Forbes


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