# Upgrade Video Card for Sims 3 question



## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

OK ... where to start ... LOL :wave:

Oh yeah.... I want the Sims 3 game :grin:, but my Dell Dimension 8400 will be 5 years old in June, and I can't afford to buy a new computer. I don't do any gaming other than the Sims 2 :smile: so .... here are the minimum requirements to run Sims 3 

THE SIMS 3 MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS 



FOR WINDOWS XP 



Windows XP (Service Pack 2) 
2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent 
1 GB RAM 
At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content 
128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 

SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS 


ATI Radeon™ series 

9500, 9600, 9800 
X300, X600, X700, X800, X850 
X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950 
2400, 2600, 2900 
3450, 3650, 3850, 3870, 
4850, 4870 


Here are the results of my "dxdiag"

Time of this report: 1/30/2009, 11:25:04
Machine name: DESKTOP
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.080814-1236)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc. 
System Model: Dimension 8400 
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A00
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 891MB used, 1572MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

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DxDiag Notes
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DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Sound Tab 3: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

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DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

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Display Devices
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Card name: ATI Radeon X300/X550/X1050 Series 
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x5B60)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5B60&SUBSYS_03021002&REV_00
Display Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6833 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 7/3/2008 21:23:45, 309248 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 7/4/2008 00:33:33, 3230720 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1820-11CF-0369-0823A1C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x5B60
SubSys ID: 0x03021002
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000


Test results from "You Gamers" 

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz /
AMD Athlon XP 2000+
Comparing your CPU Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (running @2993MHz) with the requirement Intel Pentium 4 (running @2000MHz)
• Your processor is significantly more powerful in raw performance 
Display Card!: ATI Radeon 9500 128MB /
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 128MB 
Comparing your display card ATI Radeon X300/X550/X1050 with the requirement ATI Radeon 9500
• Your display card is slightly less powerful in raw performance 
Memory: 1024MB
You have 1024MB 
Free Disk Space: 7.5GB
You have 188.28GB 
Operating System: Windows XP (SP3) / Vista (SP1)
You have Microsoft Windows XP (SP3)


OK ... now for my questions! 

1. It's been recommended to me that the Radeon HD3650 would be a good upgrade for my graphics card, however, I really haven't found any good reviews for the 3D performance of this card :4-dontkno Any suggestions please?

2. I have a 350W PSU, is this sufficient to run an upgraded graphics card of this caliber?

3. What would you do if you were in my shoes? :grin:

Thank You so much for your time!

Cindy


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## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

Adding CPU-ID HTML file information

As stated above this is a 350Watt PSU

CPU-Z 1.49 report file

Processor(s) 

Number of processors 1 
Number of cores 1 per processor 
Number of threads 1 per processor 
Name Intel Pentium 4 530 
Code Name Prescott 
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz 
Package Socket 775 LGA 
Family/Model/Stepping F.3.4 
Extended Family/Model F.3 
Core Stepping D0 
Technology 90 nm 
Core Speed 2992.6 MHz 
Multiplier x Bus speed 15.0 x 199.5 MHz 
Rated Bus speed 798.0 MHz 
Stock frequency 3000 MHz 
Instruction sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 
L1 Data cache (per processor) 16 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size 
Trace cache (per processor) 12 Kuops, 8-way set associative 
L2 cache (per processor) 1024 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size 

Chipset & Memory 

Northbridge Intel i925X rev. B1 
Southbridge Intel 82801FB (ICH6) rev. 03 
Graphic Interface PCI-Express 
PCI-E Link Width x16 
PCI-E Max Link Width x16 
Memory Type DDR2 
Memory Size 1024 MBytes 
Memory Frequency 199.5 MHz (1:1) 
CAS# Latency (tCL) 3.0 clocks 
RAS# to CAS# (tRCD) 3 clocks 
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 3 clocks 
Cycle Time (tRAS) 9 clocks 

System 

System Manufacturer Dell Inc. 
System Name Dimension 8400 
System S/N 3V7Q851 
Mainboard Vendor Dell Inc. 
Mainboard Model 0J3492 
BIOS Vendor Dell Inc. 
BIOS Version A00 
BIOS Date 06/17/2004 

Memory SPD 

Module 1 DDR2, PC2-3200 (200 MHz), 512 MBytes, Micron Technology 
Module 2 DDR2, PC2-3200 (200 MHz), 512 MBytes, Micron Technology 

Software 

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (Build 2600) 
DirectX Version 9.0c


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The Sims 3 and 4 will play fine on a X300 video card on your PC.


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## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

ummmm never heard of Sims 4 ... LOL! 

So your telling me I don't have to upgrade at all? The Sims 2 plays beautifully on it, and I was hoping Sims 3 will as well! Can't wait for the game to be released!

Thank You for your help!


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Thinking Sim city 4, but you should be able to play the Sims 3 the x300 card is on the list. and actually the x300 is a better card then the 9500 Ati card.


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## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks so much! I saw that ATI X300 was on the list, but was concerned when I failed the test over at "YouGamers" ..... I did just "barely" fail it though! 

Thanks Again!


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## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

:wave: I'm thinking of increasing my RAM to 3 or 4 GB? Any thoughts on this? Will that help the performance in any way?

Thank You


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Put a pair of these in there you will see a difference.> http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=0662FDD2A5CA7304


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## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

Awesome! Thanks so much!:grin:


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## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

Hey wrench97,

I've decided to go with the additional 2GB of Ram as you suggested, giving me a total of 3GM (512,512 (already installed) and the additional 2) ....

I went to Dell and requested they recommend the appropriate card to upgrade from X300 SE and they are recommending this card:
"VisionTEK ATI Radeon HD 3650 512MB x16PCI-E Graphics Card".

Features : 

3D Graphics and Shading Effects with DirectX 10.1 Support.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)rendering upto 24X Custom Filter Anti-Aliasing

Low Power Consumption.

ATI CrossFireX Technology.

ATI PowerPlay Technology.

Resolution : 2560*1600

My PSU is 350 Watts (as previously stated) .... do you foresee any problems with this recommendation?

Thank You


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

It is a little much the stock Dell supplies have a higher rated 12v rail then a normal 350w but if you gaming heavy you will see problems down the road sort term or light use it will work.


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## CD43 (Aug 18, 2008)

I don't know what you consider short term or light use ... LOL :4-dontkno Sims3 will be the only game played, and I usually only play a few hours at a time, athough, I remember playing Sims1 for 11 hours straight ....  :laugh: .... and could you be a little more specific about future problems? I don't want my computer to do a meltdown, just because I want to play this game .... I don't understand about the v rail, and all of that, are you saying the card is a little too much, or not enough? ....


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Normally less then a couple of hours the Sims is not as graphic intense as other games so I think you'll be OK.


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