I am looking to replace my laptop with something that can play Sims. I know very little about computers, though I have successfully upgraded parts in the past. I've read through the stickies, but feel a bit overwhelmed by all the info.

Am I completely off the wall? (Prices are US and Newegg.)

Case: Cooler Master Ceterion 5 ATX Mid Tower - $50
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1 GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-core -$125
MO: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 ATX Intel - $179
RAM: G. SKILL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 -- $44
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX -- $60
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1 GB -- $108


(Still have to pick out the drives)

On another thread someone commented that dual-core is old, but in the sticky callistra doesn’t recommend triple or quad-cores if the Sims is the most intensive thing you run.

Thanks

It is true that the Sims games were not optimized for multi-threading processes when I was reading about this stuff in 2009. So triple and quad-cores were really were unnecessary if the only thing you game on is the Sims franchise.
But I'm not sure how the latest patches for Sims 3 may have changed this landscape somewhat since the quad-cores are now becoming more mainstream. But I think there's still not much multi-threading processing going on - I'd have to monitor CPU usage the next time I play.

If you're comfortable with dual-cores, I'd still advise to go for the i5 instead of i3, though. There were some pros to this, I just can't remember off the top of my head ATM.
FYI, there's a combo offer for this i3 CPU with a Biostar mobo for $199. But no reviews yet, so you might want to research reviews on the motherboard separately.

For $10-$20 more, you could go for the current generation of 67xx cards or $50-$75 more for the 6850. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews...670,2935-3.html

I'd up the PSU wattage a tad if you're going with i5, especially if you tend to plug in USB devices like phone, iPod, etc. Plus making sure it meets the GPU minimum requirement, of course.
I think i3 cores are low-powered, but confirm it again with the GPU you end up with. There are calculators to check this online by the PSU manufacturers on their website.

You didn't state your overall budget.
And switching over from a laptop, don't forget you need OS, monitor, keyboard+mouse, too.

Thanks - I'll look into the i5 and the card. I want something that will play Sims 3 well, but my fear is that I'll get something that will no longer play Sims 2. I read that some people with quad-cores were having problems with Sims 2 - but I don't know if that was a real issue or if that's still an issue. Do you know anything about this?

My overall budget is around $600, but I have all the peripherals and an unused copy of Win7. I may re-use a hard drive from another computer (WD Caviar Blue. The computer is an old Celeron, but the hard drive is only from last year and has plenty of room.)



I am absolutely terrified of choosing a motherboard. I'm thinking of getting this local even though the prices are higher. Even the best rated mo's have had a number of returns. Though, I think the newegg extended warranty covers shipping if the mo is bad.

Again, thanks.

I responded to some threads on how to choose graphics card - they are all still on the first page anyways - be sure to read them too.