will this PC run sims 2 well?

[Anniemaniac]

I want to be able to play the sims 2 without lag, and possibly the sims 3 on occasion (but mainly sims 2) and I've seen a computer that looks decent to me, but I have a bad track record when it comes to choosing decent computers.

Here's it's specs:

ocessor 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2600 (3.4 GHz, 5GT/s DMI, 8 MB L3 cache)
Operating System Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
RAM 8 GB
Graphics card NVIDIA GeForce 3GB GT 545
Hard drive 2TB Hard Drive, SATA G3, 5400 rpm
Optical disk drive Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
BDROM: 4x / CD: 48x / DVD: 8x
CDR: 52x / CDRW: 12x / DVD+/-R: 8x / DVD+/-RW: 4x
Memory card reader 15-in-1 memory card reader
USB 2 x USB 3.0
8 x USB 2.0
Modem/Ethernet Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
WiFi Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n
Video interface 1 x DVI
1 x VGA
1 x HDMI
3 x PCI-Express x1
1 x PCI-Express x16
Audio interface High Definition Audio 7.1
1 x audio line out
4 x analog audio out
1 x digital audio out
TV output VGA
Expansion card slot 3 PCI-Express x1, 1 PCI-Express x16
Sound Beats audio console, High Definition Audio 7.1
Keyboard & Mouse Wireless keyboard and mouse
Accessories included Wireless keyboard; Wireless optical mouse; HP Win7 Media Center; Remote Control
Software included This PC is optimized for Microsoft® Office 2010. Purchase a
Product Key Card or Disc to activate full-featured Office software
preloaded on this PC.
HP Power Assistant; Windows Live Essentials; HP Link Up;
Cyberlink Power2Go; HP Music Station; HP Games Console;
Norton Online Backup (30-day trial); EasyBits Magic Desktop;
Microsoft Internet Explorer; Adobe Reader; Adobe Flash Player;
Skype
Windows Media Center

Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Size 412 x 175 x 415mm ( L x W x D )
Weight 11kg

I don't know if all of that is relevant; I just copy/pasted the lot.

Will this run the Sims 2, all it's expansions plus CC (and a lot of CC) well, on high specs and without lag?

How well would it run Sims 3?

This PC is also refurbished. Is that a bad thing?

Thanks

[Petchy]

To me that looks like it'd be excellent. However, try looking at These Requirements (http://my.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=330402) for the game. Lets just say this PC is better than mine and I've been running Sims 2 with CC pretty well, all things considered.

[Anniemaniac]

Thanks for the reply. I have looked at the requirements and most things seem like they exceed the requirements, but I'm not sure about the graphics card as it's not listed. Is it supported and will it be good enough?

The computer is also priced at £699 - a bit higher than I'd like but if it's a decent one, I'll happily spend that much. Is it worth the price?

EDIT: I've also found this computer on Amazon that seems pretty good and it's much cheaper (£360), but I've never bought a computer from anywhere other than a well known retailer before so I'm a little weary of using Amazon for such a purchase. I've only had good results from Amazon on other purchases however, so I'd be willing to use them if it's worth it.

Here's the specs:

AMD Bulldozer FX-4100 Quad Core 3.60GHz Processor FD4100WMGUSBX Socket AM3+
Asus M5A78L-USB3 AMD 760G DDR3 ATX Motherboard Socket AM3+
Asus ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
1TB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive

Is this better than, good as, or worse than the first one? If better or good as, would you recommend buying a computer from Amazon? It also doesn't say anything about what programs or what OS it comes with so would it come with any? Windows 7 is quite expensive and I'm a uni student so I'd need to use programs like Microsoft Word, which again, can be quite expensive so in the long run, if it doesn't come with an OS and a program to write assignments on, it might work out around about the same price or more.

I'm sorry for all the stupid questions but I'm really incredibly clueless when it comes to computers. I can get on the internet but I need everything else explaining to me like I'm 5, pretty much.

I'm a bit stuck on this so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[ellacharmed]

The i7 would be smoking for Sims 2 on high, but not Sims 3 - maybe some low, some mid.

Who refurbished it? I mean where are you buying it from - a big electronic store? What sort of warranty does the store offer? 6mths or less? And I take it, this is a HP desktop. Do you have the link to it? I want to check if it is a slimline model or what sort of stock Power Supply it comes with. For future upgradeability - when you want a better GPU for Sims 3, for example.

The HD 5440 has more yellows on the SysReq wiki than the GTX 545 - for Sims 3. Either would be fine for Sims 2.
The Bulldozer processor is also lagging behind the i7, even though the i7 has a lower clock speed, from http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html. Which explains the price difference. :) If you can justify that difference and afford the more expensive of the pair, I say go for the i7.

Bulldozer FX-4100
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/1/5/1/5/0/0/2/MTS_ellacharm3d-1287076-ss133.png
Intel i7-2600
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/1/5/1/5/0/0/2/MTS_ellacharm3d-1287075-ss134.png

What monitor size do you use, by the way? And what resolution do you normally play on? Going to be using this monitor for sometime to come? Not changing to a newer or bigger one, I mean. Which could make use of the full potential of a more powerful GPU.

The i7 comes with the OS preinstalled - Windows 7 Home Premium. The AMD Bulldozer specs doesn't say. If you supply links, I can go and check.
I haven't used Microsoft Word for a couple years now, since I switched to OpenOffice then (now called LibreOffice). It's not as fully featured, but fits my word-processing needs. Biggest advantage is the price - $0. ;) It has the same suite of spreadsheet, database and presentation programs and can do a "Save As" as MS file extensions, so you can share files or submit assignments.

[Anniemaniac]

The i7 is from Currys - a major electronics retailer in the UK. Here's the link to the comp: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/pavilion-hpe-h8-1070uk-refurbished-desktop-pc-11290891-pdt.html
and here's the link for the Bulldozer : http://www.amazon.co.uk/GPC322-AMD-Bulldozer-FX-4100-3-60GHz/dp/B00684DD6K/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1334408931&sr=8-16

As for what monitor would I use - well I have an old one which is about 17 inches which would probably be used for a short while after buying a comp. However, I'm looking into buying a new monitor very soon as my current one is old and hasn't been used in around 6 months (I use a laptop now). A new monitor would be 17inches or above in size.

And this sounds stupid but I've never paid any attention to what resolution I play the game on so I don't know.

[ellacharmed]

£699 for refurbished i7, and £950 when new (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/pavilion-hpe-h8-1170uk-desktop-pc-11264377-pdt.html?srcid=3&cmpid=comp~Pricerunner~~11264377)? Uh, not enough of a good bargain for me.
The Bulldozer from Amazon is a definite no. Not much info raises a red flag with me.

I just went to http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk to compare to a custom build, they have a £790 for a new i7 system and £700 for a new i5 system. I think for just playing Sims (2 or 3) and doing assignments, an i5 is fine for you. You just need to get a discrete graphics that is in the Green in the Sims 3 wiki. If it works OK for Sims 3, it would be fine for Sims 2.

You can cut down cost further by excluding the Blu-Ray player, especially if you already have one in the family room, and don't watch movies on the PC.
I did a quick configuration and with minimum changes got an i5 system @£550 excl vat and delivery.

Monitor resolution is the screen selection in Options, like 800x600 or 1280x960 or whatever is set for that monitor.
Most of the mid-range graphics have a maximum of 2560x1600 for digital connection (ie not analog via VGA cable). So as long as you're not planning to hook up the PC to a 50" TV for instance, the mid-range graphics (GTX 560 / GTX 560 Ti / HD 67xx / HD 66xx) should be fine on any monitor in the 20"-24" range. Any higher, you may not get the best performance on a mid-range GPU when playing Fullscreen and med-high settings.