Sims 3 on a MacBook Pro 13 inch

[Jelboo]

I am thinking of purchasing a MacBook Pro 13 inch, so that means not the 15 or 17 inch model. I was wondering if this laptop is able to play The Sims 3. I've read wildly different reports on this and I am not sure what kind of graphic card comes with the 13 inch model. Can anyone help me out?

[snotnose]

I am thinking of purchasing a MacBook Pro 13 inch, so that means not the 15 or 17 inch model. I was wondering if this laptop is able to play The Sims 3. I've read wildly different reports on this and I am not sure what kind of graphic card comes with the 13 inch model. Can anyone help me out?

The 13inch has only an integrated graphics card (as opposed to 15 and 17 which have this and a separate/distinct graphics card). If you are willing to:

accept low-ish end settings
don't install too many expansion or stuff packs
don't install too much CC

It should be OK. Exactly what constitutes too much will likely be subjective on what kind of lag you can stand as well as what else you install. Keep in mind that the more store stuff you install and the more CC you download (as well as EP/SP installed) the more likely it will be slow.

I just moved from a 3 year old 15inch MBP to a new 17inch MBP. The 3 year old 15inch MBP could do Sims 3 by itself fine on either the integrated or the external graphics card. It was only when I started adding expansion and stuff packs as well as CC that it began to slow down.

[livragni]

Hi.

I thought I'd say a few words about The Sims 3 + the 13 inch MBP, since a lot of the posts online regarding that usually involves the 15" or just the base game, and i Googled a lot when deciding on the MacBook pro 13". I bought the higher version of the MBP 13" (8gb ram etc.), with no customizing, and installed Windows 7 ultimate on it via BootCamp.

I have the base game, Adventures, Late Night, Ambitions, Generations, Diesel Stuff, Outdoor Living stuff, Pets and Supernatural and it runs it like a GOD. On my previous MacBook (white 13"), I could run all that exluding Supernatural because it wasn't out yet, on the OS x, but it lagged and got extremely slow quickly.

I recommend mpp+bootcamp+win to EVERYBODY who wants the full gaming experience and the wonderfullness (is that a word?) of Apple's MacBook. I dedicated 101gb storage to Windows, just to be sure, and after windows and the complete game, I've got about 60 left. I also got the Create-a-World (which was the main reason for installing windows in the first place, I didn't really believe in the gameplay being that much better). So, if anybody's reading this after googl'ing their brains out, GO FOR IT. It will amaze you.

(And you'll just have to bear over with the windows-loving-douches who'll comment on windows being the best EVERY TIME when you speak out in pleasure about the epic gaming experience).

[TMBrandon]

Gaming experience on a mac...bahaha

If you're going to use bootcamp just buy a PC. Honestly Sims will run smoother etc.. Must I explain and elaborate?

[omegastarr82]

Macs can play the sims, why you would want to is another question. Take a look at some forums and all the problems Mac users have with the game. Macs are not made for gaming. Get a real computer and go Windows, desktop if your serious about it, laptops are generally not for gaming either.

[Aeschere]

Don't flame the Mac, stick to flaming EA. :) The Sims 3 runs through Cider on the Mac, which is essentially a Windows wrapper. Subsequently, this causes problems.

Jelboo, if you're building a computer to handle the game, check these over:
http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:TS3_System_Requirements#Sims_3_Base_Game_MAC_Requirements
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/13-and-15-inch/
Remember that the bare minimums will run the game, but obviously with diminished graphics and speed.

I have been playing The Sims 3 for years on my 15 inch Macbook Pro, base-game and four expansions and I've had to make only small sacrifices in graphics for performance. I hope this helped.

[sheridanhoughton]

Macs can play the sims, why you would want to is another question. Take a look at some forums and all the problems Mac users have with the game. Macs are not made for gaming. Get a real computer and go Windows, desktop if your serious about it, laptops are generally not for gaming either.

Some of us just don't like using PCs and windows. I have been using a mac for both work and play since 1989.
It depends on which forums you look at, as to whether you get the impression that Mac users have more problems with the game. I look at TSR regularly, and on that forum it is mainly windows users that have the problems. I get very few problems. although on my previous macbook there was a problem with lagging when I played large worlds and lots. But as a previous poster mentioned, the fault lay with EA and cider.

Currently I use the new 15in retina display macbook pro with the solid state drive and 16gb ram. The game runs beautifully. And I can play in the study, the lounge room, the dining room, the kitchen, the back verandah, when I go away on vacation, etc, you name it. Much better than being stuck in one room with a desktop. And so much prettier than a windows machine.

[babele44]

Whenever a thread like this is made you can count on the fact that from the fourth post onwards people will say that one should buy a PC and that Macs are not made for gaming. It gets a bit old in all honesty. Macs can game just fine if the game has been coded natively for MacOS. Hardware-wise they are totally capable like any other PC with similar specs. They may even run them slightly better as the hardware components are well-adjusted to each other. I've seen a presentation of Bioshock gameplay on a PC laptop that constantly crashed. The user blamed the bad coding of the game. Well, I haven't crashed a single time when I played Bioshock on the Mac under Windows.
The problems arise when Cider is used for the port from Windows to MacOs. *This* will slow down your games, not the hardware. I have the Sims installed on my Macbook Pro both under MacOs and Windows and I can't play the Mac version anymore, but the Windows version works really fine with even more EPs and SPs installed.
The other problem with the 13" MBPs is, however, the lack of a dedicated graphics processor. But that's also an issue for PC laptops.

[VerDeTerre]

I'm very interested in learning if Sims 3 can play on any small laptop or tablet. I don't care if it's a Mac or Windows, although I prefer Windows. But it sounds like you can use Window mode on a Mac now?

[ellacharmed]

Any 13" laptops with an onboard graphics do not meet the requirements.
As long as the 3 hardware components exceed the minimum requirements, you can expect normal gameplay with the occasion crash and freezes and bugs like everybody else, both on Macs and Windows. More crashings during a patch and addon release cycles though, as sometimes the extra features require graphic driver updates.

And that is where both Macs and laptops would fail.
Graphic driver updates on Apple hardware (MacBookPros, MacPros, iMac) and laptops (both Macs and Windows) are generally controlled by the manufacturer, and if the only solution to the crashes is a driver update, then you're SOL. Because they might not release the updates until months later, if at all. Or for Macs, Apple release them in the OSX update itself, which generally takes even longer.

As for the Cider part of the equation, I don't think that is going to get updated in Sims 3. I'm imagining all three parties are blaming each of the other's coding, not theirs. ;)

And every few months, we'd get this kinda threads...I wish more folks would search. :heyhey:

Any Laptop Users (http://my.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=481773)
Will I have any problems running TS3 or TS2 with this? (http://my.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=485534)

[GnatGoSplat]

There's hardly any point to arguing whether you can play games better on a Mac or PC. Ever since Apple switched to Intel, they're pretty much the same thing in hardware. You run Bootcamp on a Mac, it becomes as much a real PC as anything else. It boots Windows natively, there is no emulation layer. A Mac running Windows under Bootcamp and PC with the same CPU and GPU would run the game equally the same, and the two machines would benchmark nearly the same as well. The only real difference between a PC and Mac (other than aesthetics and design) is the firmware. Technically, you can even get Mac OS X to boot on a PC if you tricked it into not looking for Mac firmware (a "Hackintosh" is what people call a PC where the user has successfully tricked Mac OS X into booting natively on it).

Either way, I don't recommend Sims 3 on a laptop unless you have a good warranty and aren't afraid to use it. Laptops just don't have the cooling capacity of desktops, and all that heat buildup can shorten the life of the laptop. It's not uncommon for heat stress to cause solder balls on the chips to crack. It's a common problem, especially on laptops with a good GPU as people DO use them for gaming and the thermal stress over time cracks the solder.

[TMBrandon]

I get what everyone's saying about the whole you can get the same gaming experience or at least close to on a Mac, but I think what us PC'ers are saying is that if you're going to just install bootcamp you might as well just get a PC. Especially if you're a gamer because imo PC's are more customization to your liking when it comes down to the hardware and all. But even if you're playing that game on a Mac and getting better gameplay it's still not to it's full maximum I guess one could say.

Basically it's more of a contradiction to buy a mac then install windows, it makes me facepalm sometimes. And in my personal opinion and many others perhaps macs aren't intended for gaming,(NOR are most pc's unless built to be that way) they're intended for professional business and media, such as writing, modeling, music etc...Don't get me wrong though PC's are/can (do) the same and macs can be used as your normal everyday computer but like that's where a PC comes into intention of being more of a "Personal Computer" (haha) and like everyone else it's hard to avoid the whole Mac PC thing, same thing happens with gaming systems.

[GnatGoSplat]

Well, there's a benefit to using a Mac with bootcamp and that's you can run Mac OS X for your normal daily stuff like web and email, but load up Windows for those Windows-only things like games. Some people just don't like Windows and would rather use OS X for the daily stuff.

Either way, it comes down to your CPU and GPU. You can get a Mac Pro desktop with dual 6-core processors and an ATI HD 5870 which is a pretty fast graphics card, and the iMacs can come with an HD 6970M and Core i5 which should be specs good enough for most PC games. I do agree a PC is much better for gaming when it comes to cost vs performance, and you have a lot more flexibility since you can put in any graphics card you want without worrying about compatibility, but just like PCs, some Macs do come right out of the box with decent gaming capabilities while a lot of the cheaper ones don't.

[Marky Boy]

Under Bootcamp, my 2009 13 inch can run on almost maxed settings (all set to high except medium lighting and visual effects and edge smoothing off) with acceptable FPS with Windows 7 installed. I can run it on maxed if I have to take pictures and all that because I can live with like 3-4 FPS when taking pictures. On my Mac, I cannot get above medium settings before my game becomes unbearable. The only thing for me is that under Windows, the game lags horribly for the first 5 minutes of loading the game, even when set on the lowest settings.

Because this experience is from a Core 2 Duo laptop from 3 years ago, I'm pretty sure that you'll have an even better time running the game, in fact, so well that you may just not even bother with Bootcamp and just run the game natively on your Mac.

I only use Bootcamp to play a couple of not-so-demanding games (Sims 3 included) and mod my Sims 3 game. I do everything else on my Mac.

[apen09]

by an ALIEN WARE LAPTOP Strong like PC desktop

[jesusismyairbag]

play sims on a 2 grand paperweight? ;)

[robingravel]

The Sims 3 runs fine on Vaio too.

[whiterider]

Uurrgh don't buy an Alienware, they're mediocre computers with a massive price markup because the Alienware brand is (supposedly) cool. Very much like Macs, actually, though at least Macs come with a unique OS.


robin, it's meaningless to say that anything runs fine on a Vaio, when there are 5 different Vaio series, for a total of 42 different model Vaio laptops, all with totally different components and hardware. :)

[Sunshine021]

Macs can play the sims, why you would want to is another question. Take a look at some forums and all the problems Mac users have with the game. Macs are not made for gaming. Get a real computer and go Windows, desktop if your serious about it, laptops are generally not for gaming either.

Many people on those same forums are also morons who don't understand how computers work.

(Personally I don't like Macs, but eh. If a person prefers a Mac over Windows then good for them, I guess.)