Playing games on my iMac..

[drakeshipway]

I've really been looking forward to The Sims 3, and now that they're told us that Mac + PC will be shipping at the same time (June 2nd 2009). I'm considering installing it on my iMac. I just have a few questions.

First of all, it's a brand new iMac,

2.66GHz
4GB memory
NVIDIA GeForce 9400

My questions are:

1. Will the game run good? (I'm used to playing The Sims 2 [with a about 8 expansion packs] on an old PC so I'm expecting anything will be better)
Edit - EA has stated that this game was designed to run good on old machines, so I'm expecting it to be fine. And I'm only a casual games, play a few times a month.

2. Will having the game on my computer slow it down? (When the game is not in use)

& These are the specs provided by EA

"FOR MAC OS X
* Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard or higher
* Intel Core Duo Processor
* 2 GB RAM
* ATI X1600 or Nvidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100.
* At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space, with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
* This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems, or the GMA 950 class of integrated video cards."

 

[trose]

I've really been looking forward to The Sims 3, and now that they're told us that Mac + PC will be shipping at the same time (June 2nd 2009). I'm considering installing it on my iMac. I just have a few questions.

First of all, it's a brand new iMac,

2.66GHz
4GB memory
NVIDIA GeForce 9400

My questions are:

1. Will the game run good? (I'm used to playing The Sims 2 [with a about 8 expansion packs] on an old PC so I'm expecting anything will be better)

2. Will having the game on my computer slow it down? (When the game is not in use)

& These are the specs provided by EA

"FOR MAC OS X
* Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard or higher
* Intel Core Duo Processor
* 2 GB RAM
* ATI X1600 or Nvidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100.
* At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space, with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
* This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems, or the GMA 950 class of integrated video cards."

I haven't played any of the recent Sims games on a Mac, but if they're claiming it will run on a GMAX3100, your 9400M should handle it fine.

Also, no, it will not slow your computer when not running. The only way a program could possible slow your computer when not running would be if it had mucked around deep in your system files (which is not likely with most apps) or it consumed the last of your hard drive space AND your computer was accessing the hard drive for virtual memory (due to lack of available RAM).
You should never be running OSX on a machine with less than 5GB free though, anyhow... preferably 10GB+.

 

[drakeshipway]

I haven't played any of the recent Sims games on a Mac, but if they're claiming it will run on a GMAX3100, your 9400M should handle it fine.

Also, no, it will not slow your computer when not running. The only way a program could possible slow your computer when not running would be if it had mucked around deep in your system files (which is not likely with most apps) or it consumed the last of your hard drive space AND your computer was accessing the hard drive for virtual memory (due to lack of available RAM).
You should never be running OSX on a machine with less than 5GB free though, anyhow... preferably 10GB+.

Okay thanks a lot!
And I'm good for hard drive space, I've got 548GB free.

 

[Hellhammer]

It should run it but don't expect high graphics and high FPS rates. 9400M isn't a gaming monster

 

[drakeshipway]

It'll just be casual gaming

But.. My biggest question is: When I'm not playing the game, will my computer be slowed down at all?

 

[Hellhammer]

It'll just be casual gaming

But.. My biggest question is: When I'm not playing the game, will my computer be slowed down at all?

It should not. Some games leaves "hidden processes" which can slow it down but it very unusual and games like Sims doesn't so that

 

[drakeshipway]

It should not. Some games leaves "hidden processes" which can slow it down but it very unusual and games like Sims doesn't so that

Okay thanks!

 

[mastershakess]

It'll just be casual gaming

But.. My biggest question is: When I'm not playing the game, will my computer be slowed down at all?

you won't notice any difference with the game installed

Don't expect the graphics to be perfect but you should be able to play the game fine.