Running The Sims - need more RAM?

[eemer]

Hi all, I have a 1GB iMac with a Windows partition. I recently loaded all 6 games of The Sims that I have on the Windows side, because I use it purely for gaming. It's running slow and choppy though. I have a 512MB memory module, but I can't add that can I because it's nothing to do with RAM..? Am I correct? What do I need to do to get more RAM, and speed up the games? I am looking for the cheapest possible option, being a student! Haha, thanks for any suggestions! I have a feeling I will be selling this 512 MB memory module.......

[Allotriophagy]

I have a 24" iMac with 7600GT and 2GB of RAM - The Sims with all the expansions runs really well, even with loads of stuff going on.

You would probably benefit from upgrading the memory, but you don't say which CPU or GPU you have so it's hard to say.

[eemer]

Um, does this help at all?

Hardware Overview:

Machine Name: iMac
Machine Model: iMac4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz

[Allotriophagy]

Are you on the base 17" iMac with the GMA950? That might explain why it is not supermegafast.

Maybe try without all the expansions installed? It does get a bit boggy with them all. Start-up on mine takes a fair few minutes of grinding away from my external FW drive!

[eemer]

Hmm, well the point is I want to be able to run them all.. going back to my original question, do I need to buy more RAM? Is there any more info I need to give you? I don't know what a GMA950 is.. I have 1GB of RAM, what do I need to buy to make it 2GB so the games run smoothly, as you said? Thank you!!

[Mackilroy]

The GMA950 is an Intel Integrated graphics chip. The very low-end iMac, as well as the Mini and MacBook (non Pro) ship with them. It's primarily geared towards video playback, and it does a decent job of running older games, but it's no x1900 – or even an x1300, for that matter. To find out if your iMac has one, go to the Apple in the top left, click on 'About this Mac,' then click on 'More Info,' then select 'Graphics and Displays' and look at the chipset model at the very top.

Do you need to buy more RAM? If you have the 950 in your computer, probably. If you have the x1600, then something's weird and I'm not sure what. A quick check at Apple's store says the 1.83 GHz model does not normally ship with 1 Gb of RAM, so, my question is, did you upgrade it to 1 Gb when you bought it?

To get 2 gigs of RAM, you'd need to buy two separate 1 Gb chips, either from Apple, your local computer store, or an online store such as Tiger Direct. It needs to be 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM to run properly. For example, this RAM (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2340137&CatId=150) from Tiger Direct would do the trick, if my memory serves me correctly. It appears very similar to the RAM chips I installed in my MacBook.

[zero2dash]

Do you need to buy more RAM? If you have the 950 in your computer, probably.

Being the GMA...I don't think adding another gig of ram will solve the issue.
IMO It's clearly a bottleneck by the gpu, not the memory.

[eemer]

Its says I have a chipset model X1600.

Also, we bought iMac online from Apple, and customised to it to have 1GB. So I guess RAM isn't the issue then? Because someone told me that the game being choppy was most likely down to the fact I didn't have enough RAM... Oh man, I am confused!

[Mackilroy]

Well, it may be because you have all of the Sims expansion packs installed together. Try removing one or two and see what happens.

zero2dash: when I went to 2 gigs of RAM I had a huge speed increase. Then again, I went from 512 megs to 2 gigs…