The Sims™ 4: PC requirements and the PC you need

About The Sims™ 4

The Sims 4 is a life simulation game from Maxis. You create people called Sims, design their looks and personalities, build and furnish their homes, and then guide their daily lives, from careers and friendships to romance and raising a family. There is no set goal, so you can tell whatever stories you like. The base game is free to play, with expansion packs and other content available to buy. It is single player and rated PEGI 12. The makers recommend a GTX 650 or HD 7750 and 8 GB of memory, so any of our gaming PCs runs it easily.

What The Sims™ 4 needs

In plain words: to play at all it needs basic graphics: built-in graphics on a modern processor, or an old entry-level card, and to play it well the makers suggest basic graphics: built-in graphics on a modern processor, or an old entry-level card, with 8GB of memory.

A low-spec PC or a high-spec PC?

This is a light game: almost any of our gaming PCs will run it comfortably at high settings.

On a PC that only just meets the minimum, the game will start and play, but on low settings: simpler shadows and textures, shorter view distances and fewer frames each second, so fast moments can feel less smooth. A 1080p screen is the sensible match.

On a PC that meets or beats the recommended spec, you can turn the settings up: sharper textures, proper shadows and lighting, more detail in the distance, and a smoother picture. A stronger PC also lets you use a sharper 1440p or high-refresh screen.

Questions about The Sims™ 4 on PC

How we match: we compare the graphics card and the memory in each PC with the makers' spec, because those decide most of how a game runs. For very new or demanding games, ask us and we will check the processor too. More help: graphics cards explained, how much RAM, which screen.