Hello. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out if my laptop will run the sims 3. I know very little about computer specs and hardware. I originally didn't think it would and gave up a month ago, but have been doing some research and think it might...

I have an inspiron 1520 with Vista service pack 2 (I am guessing that is ok since it says 1, and I am guessing 2 is better?)
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 at 2.0ghz (maybe too low?)
3 gigs of ram
I don't currently have the storage space, but would if I delete the sims 2
my video card is NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (not one that was underlined as working "well")
I have no idea about pixel shader or if my card is "dedicated" or if I have a "built-in graphics chipset"

I have trouble running sims 2. Sometimes it freezes and crashes which makes me dubious it will run TS3. I have all expansions and stuff packs except celebration stuff. I also have a lot of CC, which could be part of my problem. Thoughts? Thanks so much!


Here are the specs I got off the MTS sticky:

FOR WINDOWS VISTA/7
2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent (2.0ghz Core 2 Duo or higher is recommended)
1.5 GB RAM (at least 2.5GB of RAM is recommended)
128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 (256 MB dedicated video card - mid-range or higher - is recommended)
Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 or Microsoft Windows 7
At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games (9.6 GB if installing World Adventures with The Sims 3)

For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires at least:
Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA 3-Series or above
2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
0.5 GB additional RAM


SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS: (Underlined cards are ones which will most likely play the game well)

NVIDIA GeForce series:
FX 5900, FX 5950
6200, 6500, 6600, 6800,
7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
9300, 9400, 9500, 9600, 9800
G100, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150
GT 220, GTS 240, GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295

The 8400M may run the base game, but it won't run it well. I don't expect it to run the later expansions at all.

Most of the 8400 and 8400M cards were defective - they're exceedingly prone to overheating. Given that, and combined with the overall weakness of the card, I would really recommend against playing even the basegame on one.