Best GPU for Sims 4: our top picks
Sims 4 isn't too demanding so what do you need to run it
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The Sims 4 is still one of the most popular games played today, with around 32,000 thousand people playing EA’s community building life simulator each day. The
While the Sims 4 isn’t the most demanding game out there, players should still choose their GPU carefully if they want a smooth, jitter-free gaming experience. For that reason, we’ll be highlighting some of the market’s best graphics cards that not only offer great performance in Sims 4, but an array of titles too.
Products at a glance
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Best GPU for Sims 4
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3050 OC
- Core Clock Speed: 1852 MHz OC, 1822 MHz gaming
- CUDA Cores: 2560
- Memory Size: 8GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 200 x 123 x 38 mm (7.87 x 4.84 x 1.496 inch)
- PSU Required: 550W
-
Runner up
ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT OC
- Core Clock Speed: 2825 MHz Boost, 2705 MHz Game
- Stream Processors: 1024
- Memory Size: 4GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 250 x 147 x 54 mm (2.7 slot)
- PSU Required: 500W
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All-round pick
ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 OC
- Core clock speed: 1,830MHz base, 2,670MHz boost
- CUDA cores: 3,072
- Memory size: 8GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 311.4 x 133.5 x 61.9mm
- PSU required: 550W
- TBP: 115W
How we test and choose
We test almost every piece of hardware we recommend here at WePC, whether it be a GPU for Sims 4 or a monitor for creatives. When it comes to graphics cards, we run each through a number of different gaming scenarios, resolutions, and synthetic benchmarks, allowing us to confidently recommend the right card for the job.
As Sims 4 isn’t the most demanding gaming on offer, it was difficult choosing three GPUs that weren’t going to be massively overkill. That said, we concluded that our selections were the perfect balance between price and performance, offering versatility by being able to run a variety of games on top of the Sims 4.
Best GPU for Sims 4: our picks
- Core Clock Speed: 1852 MHz OC, 1822 MHz gaming
- CUDA Cores: 2560
- Memory Size: 8GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 200 x 123 x 38 mm (7.87 x 4.84 x 1.496 inch)
- PSU Required: 550W
- Thermal Design: 2-slot heatsing with two axial tech fans
- Memory Clock: 14 Gbps
- Memory Interface: 128-bit
- Card Bus: PCIe 4.0 x8
- Output: 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1
- Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin
- Looking for a cheap GPU that will run Sims 4
- Offers good 1080p performance in other games
- Looking for a simple aesthetic
- Want to play more demanding 1440p titles outside of Sims
Our top pick for gamers wanting to play Sims 4 is the NVIDIA RTX 3050 OC – in this case, the ASUS DUAL OC edition. This GPU is more than powerful enough to play Sims 4, meaning gamers will be able to branch out their library without having to make a future hardware upgrade
At the time of writing this, the RTX 3050 is currently well under the $200 price sector, making it an incredibly affordable option right now. It features 6GB GDFDR6 VRAM, a 96-bit memory bus, and an effective bandwidth of 168 GB/s – making it a great performer in more demanding titles in 1080p.
If you’re looking to broaden your horizons outside of Sims 4 and want to utilize a 1440p monitor, you may want to consider one of the other options in this guide – as the RTX 3050 is at the lower end when it comes to dual HD performance.
- Core Clock Speed: 2825 MHz Boost, 2705 MHz Game
- Stream Processors: 1024
- Memory Size: 4GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 250 x 147 x 54 mm (2.7 slot)
- PSU Required: 500W
- Compute Units: 16
- Memory Bus: 64-bit
- Card Bus: PCIe 4.0 x4
- Output: 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1
- Power Connectors: 1x 6-pin PCIe
- Cooling: Axial-tech fans, with dual ball bearings and vented backplate
- Looking for a GPU that plays more demanding games outside of Sims 4
- Looking for a GPU under $200
- Offers high clock speeds
- Looking to play more demanding games in 1440p
- Looking for an RGB aesthetic
Our Runner up pick is the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT OC edition – which offers a similar gaming experience to that of the 3050 OC featured above. If you’re looking for a GPU around the $200 price point, then the RX 6500 XT offers a great experience in a multitude of games.
This card is a few generations old now and, despite not offering the latest features and innovations, still offers a fantastic gaming experience for people looking to play Sims 4. It uses the NAVI 24 GPU architecture and offers decent clock speeds right out of the box. That said, you do have a max boost clock speed of 2815 MHz.
Best of all, the 6500 XT offers versatility outside of Sims 4 – with users being able to play more demanding triple A games in 1080p at various settings (depending on the game). It also features 4 GB of VRAM, which is the lowest in our guide, putting it firmly in the 1080p budget spectrum.
- Core clock speed: 1,830MHz base, 2,670MHz boost
- CUDA cores: 3,072
- Memory size: 8GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 311.4 x 133.5 x 61.9mm
- PSU required: 550W
- TBP: 115W
- Memory Clock: 18Gbps
- Memory Bus: 128-bit
- Card Bus: PCIe 4.0 x8
- Output: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DP 1.4a
- Power Connectors: 1x 8-pin
- Looking for something more powerful for 1080p + 1440p gaming
- Looking for an RGB aesthetic
- Looking for a newer-gen GPU
- Looking for a GPU under $250
- Only play Sims 4
The RTX 4060 is the biggest card in this list and is pretty much overkill for people looking to play Sims 4, solely. That being said, if you’re looking for a 40-series GPU from NVIDIA that plays Sims 4 and a plethora of other games in 1440p, then this is a great card that isn’t going to cost the world.
ASUS has equipped the RTX 4060 OC edition with an extremely loud aesthetic that is covered in ASUS branding and RGB. It features a triple-slot design alongside a triple-fan configuration for ensuring cool temps at the most demanding times. Users can utilize a dual or triple monitor setup with this GPU too, as it offers 4 unique inputs (3 x DP, 1 x HDMI).
Looking at performance, the RTX 4060 is easily the most powerful card in this guide, offering a 30% increase in gaming performance when compared to the RTX 3050 & RX 6500 XT. It boasts 8GB GDDR5 VRAM, a 128-bit Memory bus, and 272 GB/s of effective bandwidth. With this amount of performance, you’re going to want to play more than just Sims 4 to make this card worth your while.
If you’re the sort of person that wants to undertake more demanding creative type tasks and play some other games in 1080p and 1440p, this is a great all-round GPU that ticks a lot of boxes.
Sims 4: Recommended specs
The Sims 4 isn’t the most demanding game out there – in fact, it’s one of the least demanding games we’ve tested. According to the official Steam page, users should use a GTX 650 or RADEON HD 7750 as a minimum. Simply put, this game will run on almost any machine – whether you play on a gaming PC or opt for a lesser-powerful laptop.
| Hardware | Recommended |
|---|---|
| OS | 64 Bit Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel core i5 (4 cores), AMD Ryzen 5 or better |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | 1 GB of Video RAM, NVIDIA GTX 650, AMD Radeon HD 7750, or better |
| DirectX | Version 11 |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection |
| Storage | 51 GB available space |
The Sims 4 is, fortunately, one of the games that can be played on the GeForce 6600, which is the 299th most powerful Nvidia GPU and can only run roughly 30% of current games.
Do you need to worry about high framerates in Sims 4?
Most people looking for a GPU are doing so to help drive framerates up. Why? They do this as higher framerates, technically speaking, result in a smoother overall gaming experience.
However, this isn’t always the case – especially if you’re playing something basic like Sims 4. Ultimately, if you’re playing a fast-paced shooter or racing game, that features fast-moving objects, you want a high refresh rate to increase smoothness. When you’re playing something less visually demanding, such as Sims 4, you can easily get away with playing it at 60 frames per second.
FAQs
What GPU do I need for Sims 4?
The minimum requirements for the game are only an Intel GMA X4500, Radeon X1300, or GeForce 6600. So you can pretty much run it on anything with a varying amount of quality.
Do I need a discrete GPU for Sims 4?
As a low-graphic game, with a broad audience, the game is aimed at any graphics card option. With such low graphics requirements, you most likely can run it on integrated graphics, as long as it is supported. And you may need to turn down the graphics.
