SimCity (5) System Requirements

[ASnow02 0]

I have been debating a new desktop and probably will get one now. Do you recon a £400 budget is realistic for an off-the-shelf system to play SC5??? My laptop runs SC4 fine but lags on my larger cities. I've waited my entire teenage years for this game!

[Jazzmaster 716]

I have been debating a new desktop and probably will get one now. Do you recon a £400 budget is realistic for an off-the-shelf system to play SC5??? My laptop runs SC4 fine but lags on my larger cities. I've waited my entire teenage years for this game!

Probably, especially in a year's time.

[NCGAIO 562]

But, didn't they say that saves would be on the server? That means transmission of the entire region between the server and the station at some point. It probably isn't practical to do this every time some mayor wants an in-game save. Also city effects on the region have to be propagated. This is going to be a nightmare.

Nightmare should be little .. Game saved on the server; real 3d rendering, simulation activities on screen, online multyplayer dependencies ...

Just waiting for E3 to find out how it will run on a modest machine??

It may be that the EA also has plans to finance gammers-wokstation at prices more affordable for the less fortunate, who knows!

[Supertask 29]

Core i7 920

4GB DDR3 RAM

Radeon HD4870X2 2GB GDDR5

I think I'll be fine, might get another 2GB of RAM and finally make use of triple channel though...

Smart phones don't have the screen size to play SimCity, but tablets might.

I don't doubt they might soon have the specs to play Simcity, but for me it doesn't matter how fancy they make their touchscreens, I'd want to play SimCity with a mouse and (physical) keyboard.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I just realized that although my graphics card is newer than a 7800, it is inferior to it. That is yet another reason for me to upgrade.

[greenT95 0]

I have a 4 GB ram, 2.5ghz processor and an AMD readon HD 6450A.

will simcity 2013 run on my pc??

I searched google and AMD website but that stuff is very confusing to me and now that I have seen it I am even more confused...please help don't understand all this graphic card stuff very much.. please.. any help would be apreciated please help me know this...

[croxis 150]

You might want to check a graphics card comparison site like a TomsHardware.com

[mattyriddy 12]

I don't know that much about hardware but the link below may help.

Click here

There is a Simcity option on there.

[hyped_up_boy 15]

Keep in mind that, when looking at your computer's specifications, higher numbers don't necessarily mean better. 1GB of video RAM on a Radeon 5470 is not the same as 1GB of video RAM on a Radeon 6850. The reality is that if you're using a low-end Acer from Best Buy, a non-gaming laptop, or a computer that's older than 4 or 5 years old, this game isn't going to run very well.

For what it's worth, I'm using an AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE @ 3.6GHz, Radeon HD5770, and 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and I'm pretty sure my graphics card will need to be upgraded for this game.

[Mark Waybill 242]

My laptop isn't designed for games but has i7 and ATi mobility radeon whatever that is. As to changing a graphics card, 1. Wouldn't know how to or have the tools, and 2. Couldn't afford to. Besides with Telstra it costs me 50 dollars for 3 gigs of data, so the initial outlay is hardly my greatest concern.

[flyer2359 92]

I have a very weak i7 in my laptop (1.6ghz) and a gt230m 1gbddr3 graphics card along with 4gb of ram. I'm not overly concerned with the requirements though, I'm sure they'll make them fairly reasonable. The graphics don't look that decked out in the trailers and gameplay video, so I think the majority of us will be okay.

[squidgeny 2]

What do you all have planned in the way of a new computer system to handle this and other new games?

It's already gone through. Spent a good amount of money on an Alienware M17x last summer, and I don't foresee getting a new PC anytime soon....although I have kicked about the idea of building a desktop, I wouldn't guarantee that happening. My current machine is well equipped to run this new SimCity well.

I'm gonna need a new computer to run SC5 (my current one is frankly laughable), and I've been eying the Alienware M17x. What's your specs on it?

[Jazzmaster 716]

What do you all have planned in the way of a new computer system to handle this and other new games?

It's already gone through. Spent a good amount of money on an Alienware M17x last summer, and I don't foresee getting a new PC anytime soon....although I have kicked about the idea of building a desktop, I wouldn't guarantee that happening. My current machine is well equipped to run this new SimCity well.

I'm gonna need a new computer to run SC5 (my current one is frankly laughable), and I've been eying the Alienware M17x. What's your specs on it?

It's got a pretty decent (but not top of the line) 6870m, 8GB of memory, quad core i7 and a 750GB HDD...I added my own Intel 510 120GB SSD (there's two hard drive caddies, so you can have a super amount of storage or an SSD for booting and HDD for stoarge).

The only real thing is the screen...not FHD (1920x1080), it's 1600x900, but then again running games at this resolution makes it easier on the card. I'm able to max out any game's settings; even Crysis!

Of course, I could always pick up an external monitor at 1080 or even 1200p...it's actually cheaper than replacing the screen.

For the amount of money I paid (~$1850) you could get an even better computer than mine; this one is about a year old now.

[Xtjaga3 0]

Asus U46SM-DS51 14.1" LED Notebook - Intel Core i5 i5-2450M 2.50 GHz - 1366 x 768 WXGA Display - 8 GB RAM - 750 GB HDD - DVD-Writer - NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M Graphics Card - Bluetooth - Webcam - Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium - HDMI

Also, should I buy it in august during back to school sales? Or wait closer to launch?

[squidgeny 2]

It's got a pretty decent (but not top of the line) 6870m, 8GB of memory, quad core i7 and a 750GB HDD...I added my own Intel 510 120GB SSD (there's two hard drive caddies, so you can have a super amount of storage or an SSD for booting and HDD for stoarge).

For the amount of money I paid (~$1850) you could get an even better computer than mine; this one is about a year old now.

I dunno about that I'm in the UK, and the M17x with those specs is costing the equivalent of $2,200 according to Dell's online store :/

[Jazzmaster 716]

It's got a pretty decent (but not top of the line) 6870m, 8GB of memory, quad core i7 and a 750GB HDD...I added my own Intel 510 120GB SSD (there's two hard drive caddies, so you can have a super amount of storage or an SSD for booting and HDD for stoarge).

For the amount of money I paid (~$1850) you could get an even better computer than mine; this one is about a year old now.

I dunno about that I'm in the UK, and the M17x with those specs is costing the equivalent of $2,200 according to Dell's online store :/

If it means anything, I didn't actually buy it online, I bought it at a store called CompUSA (which for some reason--don't ask why--I doubt you have over there ). I also bought the SSD separately on Newegg.

  Edited June 20, 2012 by The Jazzmaster  

[Xtjaga3 0]

Will a core i5-2450m 2.50ghz 8 gb ram gt630m be good to run simcity 2013?

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Great I smell trouble. If my game crashes after playing SimCity Societies for 15 minutes, then I can guess what the new game would do, considering it's wayyyy more complex then SCS.

[WilliamWin8 0]

Windows 8 Tablets Compatibility (Specifics)

With a slate of new Windows 8 tablets coming out at the end of the month, any ideas on how SimCity 5 will perform with them? I think it's clear the ARM-based, RT devices won't be capable, but what about the stream of "Pro" devices coming?

Like the Acer Iconia W700:

http://gdgt.com/acer...nia/w700/specs/

http://techcrunch.co...tarting-at-799/

Or the Sony Vaio Duo 11:

http://www.expertrev...review-hands-on

And of course the Microsoft Surface Pro:

http://www.engadget....-rt-and-window/

[Ando. 3]

Anyone know if this game will work fine on my computer

Specs

MS Windows XP Professional SP3

Inten Pentium 4 CPU 2.80GHz, 1GB RAM, NVIDIA GEFORCE FX5200

[-JD- 41]

Windows 8 Tablets Compatibility (Specifics)

With a slate of new Windows 8 tablets coming out at the end of the month, any ideas on how SimCity 5 will perform with them? I think it's clear the ARM-based, RT devices won't be capable, but what about the stream of "Pro" devices coming?

Like the Acer Iconia W700:

http://gdgt.com/acer...nia/w700/specs/

http://techcrunch.co...tarting-at-799/

Or the Sony Vaio Duo 11:

http://www.expertrev...review-hands-on

And of course the Microsoft Surface Pro:

http://www.engadget....-rt-and-window/

While I wouldn't advocate playing SimCity on a tablet regardless, they have no choice but to make the game compatible with Windows 8. When it releases this month, it will be on millions or even tens of millions computers by February. Their hand has been forced in this regard

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I am sticking with Windows 7 but I need to slowly amass a small fortune for a new computer to be built by my friend. That small fortune being approximately $800 if I need to build it from scratch. It certainly would be interesting to see if tablets and netbooks/ultrabooks can run SimCity 2013.

--Ocram

[Shishka 14]

Core i7 overclocked to 4.2 ghz (water cooled)

16 gigs Ram

120 SSD

10,000 RPM 1TB hard drive

2X Nvidia GTX 570's in SLI

[jacksunny 741]

^I'm not a computer expert, but I'm pretty sure you can run Simcity

[El Scotto 2]

I was hoping they would take the Spore approach and keep graphical effects at a minimum, but use HD textures and enough polys to make it look good. I suppose it's for the best that they don't, because we all know how stupid Spore looks, but it would have been nice to be able to play it on my 5 year-old laptop with an Intel 965 Express chipset. As a grad student, I have neither the money nor a constant home right now, so a desktop is not an option. I realize that isn't Maxis' problem, though, and Spore is the only mainstream game post-2004 I can play anyway.

[BlueSmiley 6]

Core i7 overclocked to 4.2 ghz (water cooled)

16 gigs Ram

120 SSD

10,000 RPM 1TB hard drive

2X Nvidia GTX 570's in SLI

I think you can run NASA on your own, so I believe your rig is A-OK for the upcoming SimCity!

These system requirements are quite low though.

[joshrn 0]

These specs might not seem like much if you're a "gamer" with a desktop computer. But they exclude almost every laptop in existence. (Intel 4100 chipset doesn't even exist yet, as far as I can tell.)

That's somewhat worrisome because SimCity has traditionally attracted a lot of 'casual' gamers who don't necessarily have the greatest video hardware. For example, Spore supported relatively ancient laptops with the GMA 950 chipset.

Do a web search for "Intel 4100." What do you get? A bunch of confused people trying to figure out whether or not they can play Star Wars: Old Republic and SimCity 5. Intel never made a graphics chip called 4100; and from their current product announcements, they don't plan to. It is not a past, current, or announced product; but EA has listed this as a minimum requirement for TWO games, one of which will be launched over a year after the first one. Intel calls their newer graphics chips "HD" graphics. So HD3000, HD4000, etc. A future revision to Intel's Sandy Bridge graphics would be called HD4100, not just 4100. About five years ago, they launched the 4500, X4500 and X4500HD with the G45 chipset. These parts have nothing to do with current HD4000 graphics; and even though they are numerically higher, they are much slower. The G41 chipset was a cheaper part of the same generation, and I'm guessing this is what EA is referring to when they say 4100 graphics. This chipset technically came with X4500 graphics, and I think EA's PR people are a bit confused here. It makes sense, as a Core 2 Duo processor is listed as a minimum requirement, and these graphics chips were sold with Core 2 Duos. The minimum requirements for this game are pretty ancient, and not in any way restrictive. Watching demo videos, I doubt that any of these parts will run this game well at all.

[alphaproject 0]

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo CPU E4500 @2.20GHz (2CPUs)

2046 MB RAM

NVIDIA GeForce 8300 GS

Is it good?

Nope.... The 8300 GS is weak. The CPU is ok. Double your Ram, and buy a used GTX 260/GTX 275 or something from ebay.

You might however then need a new power supply. A decent 650 watts with 40+ 12v rails.

[RyanMorgan95 144]

Those specs are just the bare minimum; here's the recommended specs:

Processor:

Intel Core i5 or faster

Operating System:

Windows 7

RAM:

4GB RAM

Graphics Card:

nVidia GTX 275 or better, or ATI 5850 or better (well, it looks like I can't rely on the integrated graphics anymore!)

Fortunately I got round to building my new Ivy Bridge system before the release of SimCity (I will be getting it most probably) and thankfully it exceeds all these recommendations. Can't wait to play this in all its graphical glory!

Will a core i5-2450m 2.50ghz 8 gb ram gt630m be good to run simcity 2013?

The GT630M is certainly letting the system down, so graphical settings will likely have to be reduced, but not to the very lowest settings I'd imagine. As for the CPU-intensive simulation aspect (provided that's how SimCity will use resources), you should be OK with medium settings, although it really depends on what constitutes as medium settings when the finished game arrives.

[CXLMachine 17]

So basically what the new system specs are:

Quad @2.4ghz

Win7 or newer

4Gbs ram (system total or program available? cuz with win7 I have 2.5 gb left over)

and an NV 2xx card or an ati 5xxx series card, 768 mb vram+

Seems normal to me at this point in time