Can my PC run SimCity 5?

[Ando. 3]

Hi,

I wanna find out if I need to do little upgrades on my pc or if I can run it with the specs I currently have.

My pc is

Microsoft Windows XP

Professional

Version 2002

Service Pack 3

Hewlett-Packard Pavilion

Intel®

Pentium® CPU 2.80GHz

1 GB Ram

[hf123 0]

Hi Ando!

Here's the requirements for Sim City 5!

Processor:AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better or Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better

Operating System: Windows XP/Vista/7

RAM:2GB

Graphics Card:ATI Radeon HD 2x00 or better*

nVidia 7800 or better*

Intel Series 4 integrated graphics or better*

Broadband Internet: Minimum 256 kbps download, 64 kbps upload

*Minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM and Shader 3.0 or better support.

hf123

[CarrotCake07 3]

Yeah. I would recommend 4 gigs of ram or higher. Quad core I7 processor if you can, dual core is good too. And buy a new graphics gard. I don't really know witch one, I don't know much about graphic cards. Maybe someone else could say what's good.

Good luck!

[Tobbe66 3]

I have:

Win 7 pro

Pentium dual core 2.50ghz

4GB ram

Geforce GT 220

It´s maybe not the optimal rig for SC 5 i suppose. Especially graphic card?

[Hail91 0]

Tobbe66, You Should be okay for lower end Settings, I'd definitely Upgrade your Video Card though, and Possibly Processor to avoid a bottleneck.

I'm running:

Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

AMD Phenom X6 1065T 2.9Ghz (Oc'ed to 3.4ghz)

8GB RAM

ATI 6850 Graphics Card

[EG0611 57]

Here is the solution of this problem. Enter this site and do whatever I say http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/CYRI/intro.aspx

1- Choose SimCity

2- Let program do its job

3-Check results and see your computer is OK or not for SimCity.

Mine has only CPU problem. It requires 2.0 GHz and I have 2.4 GHz. That means it is not big problem but may have difficultis

[Screwballl 196]

Ando, I think your system should be OK depending on video card.... but it is possible it may not even install since it shows you only have 1GB of RAM, and video card may limit you as well.

My system which has never had a problem with any modern game:

Win7 64bit

E6600 2.4GHz dual core

4GB DDR2

1792MB GTX260

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P

[ctp133 3]

i have a lap top and it has a AMD A8-4500m Quad Core with 1.90GHz with a AMD HD 7640g i have 6.00 Gb of ram on a windows 7 64bit op system and i play empire total war with the darth mod on it and it runs awsome plus i have lost of other game on my lap top that works fine.

[Han Solo 38]

@Ando.

The minimum requirements for the game, as posted by hf123, are just that... minimum. If you meet these requirements (which I doubt you will), the game will run but the experience won't be the best. If you decide an upgrade or new computer is called for, just let me know your budget and I'll spec you something good.

Yeah. I would recommend 4 gigs of ram or higher. Quad core I7 processor if you can, dual core is good too. And buy a new graphics gard. I don't really know witch one, I don't know much about graphic cards. Maybe someone else could say what's good.

Good luck!

You're right about the RAM. I'd say 4gb is fine for gaming, 8gb is better... although more for multitasking than gamimg. Anything more is unnecessary (for gaming). As for recommending an i7. It's complete overkill. Only get an i7 if you've got plenty of money or you need hyper-threading.

  Edited October 11, 2012 by Han Solo  

[nukeu123 307]

as for the first post... Simcity 2013 as far as we know, no it will not run smoothly

then again, it is still under development. but that may only increase the requirements....

time to boast.....

OS: windows 7 pro/ubuntu 12.4 LTS

CPU: AMD Phenom II 975 quad, overclocked from 3.6 to 3.9 ghz

RAM: 8 gbs ram

GPU: AMD Radeon 6850 1gb

HDD: Western digital 1tb/ Corsair Nova 60 gb ssd

  Edited October 10, 2012 by nukeu123  

[dudkis 108]

I think you need an Intel Core processor, sorry.

[jacksunny 741]

AMD processors will work fine.

[Ando. 3]

So basically the PC I am using is fine but I'll need to upgrade more Ram and a graphics card basically? So am I able to buy addon ram and a new graphics card for my PC online?

[CarrotCake07 3]

@Ando.

You're right about the RAM. I'd say 4gb is fine for gaming, 8gb is better... although more for multitasking than gamimg. Anything more is unnecessary (for gaming). As for recommending an i7. It's complete overkill. Only get an i7 if you've got plenty of money or you need hyper-threading.

I'm not that pro with specs of CPU's. I7 is overkill if I think of it, and a Quad core too . It will be OK with an I5 dual-core. I don't think that an I3 will be good. Sorry for that.

[aereus 106]

Ando, what is the exactly model number of HP Pavilion you have? Then we could look up its exact specs. It sounds like you may have a single core PC, which would not work here. At any rate, even if you bought a new video card, you would probably be CPU bottlenecked then, as that is a very old system.

What you could do, assuming you only have a small budget, is get something like below. It should fit in your current PC case, and depending on the wattage of your power supply, you may not even need to buy that for now. So the price would be around $240. $300 with the power supply if you need a new one. That CPU has Intel's new HD4000 onboard graphics, which should do an adequate job of playing Simcity. Then at a later date if you feel like upgrading, you could buy a new power supply and graphics card. (And probably case lol...)

[Han Solo 38]

@Ando.

You're right about the RAM. I'd say 4gb is fine for gaming, 8gb is better... although more for multitasking than gamimg. Anything more is unnecessary (for gaming). As for recommending an i7. It's complete overkill. Only get an i7 if you've got plenty of money or you need hyper-threading.

I'm not that pro with specs of CPU's. I7 is overkill if I think of it, and a Quad core too . It will be OK with an I5 dual-core. I don't think that an I3 will be good. Sorry for that.

You can put together pretty decent gaming machine with an i3 but I'm not sure whether it can be done without a discreet GPU. Also, regarding the dual core i5's. I wouldn't recommend them. You can get a much better, more powerful quad core processor for the same price.

Ando, what is the exactly model number of HP Pavilion you have? Then we could look up its exact specs. It sounds like you may have a single core PC, which would not work here. At any rate, even if you bought a new video card, you would probably be CPU bottlenecked then, as that is a very old system.

What you could do, assuming you only have a small budget, is get something like below. It should fit in your current PC case, and depending on the wattage of your power supply, you may not even need to buy that for now. So the price would be around $240. $300 with the power supply if you need a new one. That CPU has Intel's new HD4000 onboard graphics, which should do an adequate job of playing Simcity. Then at a later date if you feel like upgrading, you could buy a new power supply and graphics card. (And probably case lol...)

*snip

+1 for it being helpful for Ando. to post the model number of his PC. As for the spec you posted... not so helpful seen as though Ando.'s from Ireland, so newegg is out of the question. I'd also recommend a full ATX board unless the person is looking to build a small form factor rig.

[Ando. 3]

Ando, what is the exactly model number of HP Pavilion you have? Then we could look up its exact specs. It sounds like you may have a single core PC, which would not work here. At any rate, even if you bought a new video card, you would probably be CPU bottlenecked then, as that is a very old system.

What you could do, assuming you only have a small budget, is get something like below. It should fit in your current PC case, and depending on the wattage of your power supply, you may not even need to buy that for now. So the price would be around $240. $300 with the power supply if you need a new one. That CPU has Intel's new HD4000 onboard graphics, which should do an adequate job of playing Simcity. Then at a later date if you feel like upgrading, you could buy a new power supply and graphics card. (And probably case lol...)

Thanks aerius for the info. I think I might just buy a completely new computer capable of gaming and other tasks too. I don't feel paying that much just to upgrade this pc.

[Han Solo 38]

Thanks aerius for the info. I think I might just buy a completely new computer capable of gaming and other tasks too. I don't feel paying that much just to upgrade this pc.

One thing I'd tell anyone who is even remotely considering building their first PC is, with a little knowledge and patience, it's easy. It also has the added bonus of the fact you'll get a better computer for your money and you can get exactly what you want rather than having to pay for a bunch of bloat that you neither want or need.

[aereus 106]

Thanks aerius for the info. I think I might just buy a completely new computer capable of gaming and other tasks too. I don't feel paying that much just to upgrade this pc.

Well, let us know what your budget is for a new PC and we can come up with something for you. I've been assembling a thread with recommended builds at various budgets on the official Simcity forums, as well.

As for full vs micro ATX board -- it really depends on what you need. The board I have in that picture has everything you could need -- just not in huge amounts.

2 RAM slots, which is fine if you get 2x4GB sticks for 8GB ram. It even supports higher than DDR3-1600 speeds. 2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0 (and your case usually adds a few more in front). 1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot, etc. The only downside is few onboard fan power and limited OC support I assume, but you're easily saving $100USD over the Z77 boards.

But yes, that would be for a lower end system. For mid to higher end systems I would recommend the Gigabyte UD3H or UD5H boards. Lots of features, heavy duty heatsinks on all the chipsets, etc.

I price stuff out using Newegg, since thats the site I'm familiar with. But http://www.ebuyer.com/ or several other sites work just fine for people in the UK/EU. Unfortunately, it seems certain hardware is more expensive than the USD pricing. I guess because of VAT? (The Core i3 CPU for example comes to like $175 on Ebuyer, CCL, and novatech)

  Edited October 13, 2012 by aereus  

[Han Solo 38]

I second the ebuyer.com recommendation. I've used them a few times and have been very happy. I'd also add to the list scan.co.uk, who always rank highly in customer satisfaction and overclockers.co.uk. One thing I would say is that overclockers.co.uk has a bad reputation on certain forums (I'm looking at you hotukdeals). Well, let me tell you, It's all a load of childish, fanboy rubbish. They used to be lacking in customer service but that was years ago and now, they're brilliant. I've been using them for two or three years and I would not hesitate to recommend them.

[Zulnex 1]

Well, my old pc has failed miserably the "Can you run it?" test.

Definitely time to start saving for a new pc. Thanks to knowledgeable members, I will refer to this thread quite often before making my new pc purchase.

Many thanks everyone for your suggestions and advices.

[Han Solo 38]

Well, my old pc has failed miserably the "Can you run it?" test.

Definitely time to start saving for a new pc. Thanks to knowledgeable members, I will refer to this thread quite often before making my new pc purchase.

Many thanks everyone for your suggestions and advices.

When it comes time to buy, I'd be happy to help you finalise a specification if you decide to self build (which is a lot of fun, very rewarding and cheaper by the way).

  Edited October 18, 2012 by Han Solo  

[Zulnex 1]

When it comes time to buy, I'd be happy to help you finalise a specification if you decide to self build (which is a lot of fun, very rewarding and cheaper by the way).

Thank you very much. I will definitely go for the self build option. Indeed - it is much more fun, rewarding and significantly cheaper as well.

  Edited October 18, 2012 by Zulnex  

[steamboat2302 5]

Well this sucks...I have more then enough on everything outside of processor speed. And of course the one thing that is almost impossible to upgrade in a laptop is the processor/motherboard. That sucks. Nevermind.

[henriquesimcity4 0]

hi, I have a DELL xps 15 4x 2.2 gz, 8GB Ram, Nvidia GTX 540M card with 2GB dedicated will the simcity worked on high? Anyone know when the game arrived in south america?

[Earlwolf 11]

I plan on building a new PC for this game(it's time for a new build anyways), I want to make sure I will be able to run this game on Max settings and be able to handle all the mods I will run.

I am thinking: CPU Intel I5 3570k, 16G of ram, GTX 680 for my VC, 120g SSD. Those are the main parts but I plan on spending about $2000.

[Screwballl 196]

I plan on building a new PC for this game(it's time for a new build anyways), I want to make sure I will be able to run this game on Max settings and be able to handle all the mods I will run.

I am thinking: CPU Intel I5 3570k, 16G of ram, GTX 680 for my VC, 120g SSD. Those are the main parts but I plan on spending about $2000.

lol this game should run on max settings with my current system which is almost 5 years old now:

Intel dual core E6600 2.4GHz

4GB DDR2

1792MB GTX260

I am planning a build for under $1000 in the next month or three (subject to change if prices change by the time I build):

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20656485

I decided to go with the AMD FX-4170 at 4.2GHz since so many programs still only use the first core, so I should see a nice boost with single core programs (not to mention the speed benefit of the SSD), but still have the power of 4 cores at 4.2GHz when a program can use multiple cores. iw as looking at the Intel is series but most of them in this same price range are not a whole lot better than what i have now, dual cores around 2.4GHz.

[YUUU 65]

I hear people here saying that extra RAM should be ok... but you can have 30GB RAM, If your operating system isn't strong enough to use all that RAM, it's pretty much useless.

A 32bit system can only use max 4GB RAM and that's it. Doesn't matter if your computer has 8GB RAM on a 32bit system because then 4GB will stay unused...

A 64bit system can use max 16GB RAM. There is no way it will ever use more although some like to believe it can adress 128GB of RAM wich is unrealistic...

I have a laptop and I hope the game will run on some lower specs:

64bit system

Intelcore i7-263QM

6GB DDR3

NIVIDIA GeForce 540M, 2GB VRAM

I noticed though that my 64bit system isn't using 1 out of 6 GB DDR available but instead replaces that with the 2GB VRAM of my videocard. I have no idea why.

Edit: i have no idea if my graphic card is ok? can someone tell me?

[Screwballl 196]

I hear people here saying that extra RAM should be ok... but you can have 30GB RAM, If your operating system isn't strong enough to use all that RAM, it's pretty much useless.

A 32bit system can only use max 4GB RAM and that's it. Doesn't matter if your computer has 8GB RAM on a 32bit system because then 4GB will stay unused...

A 64bit system can use max 16GB RAM. There is no way it will ever use more although some like to believe it can adress 128GB of RAM wich is unrealistic...

I have a laptop and I hope the game will run on some lower specs:

64bit system

Intelcore i7-263QM

6GB DDR3

NIVIDIA GeForce 540M, 2GB VRAM

I noticed though that my 64bit system isn't using 1 out of 6 GB DDR available but instead replaces that with the 2GB VRAM of my videocard. I have no idea why.

Edit: i have no idea if my graphic card is ok? can someone tell me?

Most modern video cards (thanks to Windows 7 WDDM) "borrow" some of the memory for video cards, and on laptops it actually dedicates it from the hardware side. So your system may show 2GB VRAM but in reality it is 1GB on the GPU + 1GB from system memory.

And your laptop should be able to play the new SC on its highest settings, if not then at least high....

[LordoftheWise 0]

Ok, need some advise please; I am not a big gamer, actually the only game I have played on my PC is SC4. I have a 4 year old DELL XPS M1530 laptop with Intel Core duo T8100 @ 2.10 and 2.10 Ghz and 4GB RAM and a GForce 8600GT graficscard with 256mb videomemory. I know this is not much, actually it wasnt enough to play CitiesXL but it runs SC4 quite well. Since it is a laptop I cant change the graphicscard and I do not want to purchase a new PC for a few more years. From the specs requirements shown needed for SC5 I am assuming I can run it, since it seems to be lower then requirements for Cities XL. Am I right or? (I dont have a lot of knowledge on systemrequirments so thanks for any advise here!) :-D

Greets

Alexander