CPU speed, how to sort it out?

Question

First what is it? I want to buy Sims 2 for my laptop, It says ive not enough GHz, ive got windows vista which im thinking of wiping off. Is there anyway that i will ever be able to play sims2?

Answer 1

The CPU is Central Processing Unit, also known as the bit in your computer that does all the work. It is in effect the brain of your PC. As others have mentioned its performance is measured in Ghz, which is how many millions of process actions it can accomplish in 1 second. This is not always an accurate way of measuring relative speed however, as AMD processors are usually rated at a half to two thirds of the clock speed of an equivalent Intel processor.

As to Sims 2, well both Vista and Sims 2 have a minimum CPU spec of 800Mhz, which is very, very low by todays standards. This is minimum spec however, so I would expect it to be very slow on such a machine.

However, I notice in the spec that if you are running Sims 2 on a machine with intergrated graphics (which most laptops are) you need a minimum of 2.0Ghz. Therefore it is quite possible that you can run Vista but not Sims 2 if your laptop is say 1.5Ghz.

Answer 2

The single most important part of your computer is the CPU. As computers keep advancing, newer chips are made. The most obvious improvements are with speed. In a nutshell, the higher the GHz the more things a computer can do in a second (although this is a generalization, as there are a many variables that impact computer performance). Since Sims requires a lot of computations in order to simulate the "world" the Sims characters "live" in, Electronic Arts, the maker of Sims2 has made a requirement that you own a decent computer in order to run the program. They say you need at least an 800Mhz computer and a newer video card -or- at least a 2.0GHz microprocessor if you have a less powerful video card. That is because some of the newer video cards are good enough to offset slower machines. Since you have a laptop, you probably can't upgrade your video card or microprocessor without an exorbitant expense, so your best bet is to get a new laptop if you like games like Sims2. Check out the support page for Sims2 on EA's website to see what the minimum requirements are. If you're unsure about what the specifications are for your computer then look for the manual online. Search for the manufacturer and model using a search engine like Yahoo, or go to the manufacturer's website and look for a support link. If you still can't find it, add the details to your question and I'll see if I can find it for you.

If you had Sims2 working in XP and it doesn't work in Vista then there is a slight chance you don't have the right drivers installed for your video card. Check the list on the provided link to see if yours is listed.

Sims2 Minimum Requirements: http://thesims2.ea.com/help/detail.php?help_id=21

Answer 3

CPU speed is the speed of the processor in your computer/laptop. It determines how fast the computer can process information. Many of todays games are so advanced and complex, they require a higher processing speed to play than older games.
Unfortunantely, laptops are much harder to upgrade to a faster processor than desktop pc's. It usually is cheaper to purchase a newer laptop that has a faster processor in it, than to have the original replaced.
You can see the processor speed currently installed in your computer several different ways.
1: Most laptops advertize the processor speed right on a label stuck to the keyboard area, it will usually be listed along with other key selling features such as memory, and graphics power (also a big factor when playing games, btw)
A typical sticker will read:
Intel Centrino Mobile 2.8Ghz processor, 800Mhz fsb, 512Mb DDR2 Sdram, Intel 945 Integrated Graphics with 128Mb Shared memory, etc....

2: You can also find the installed processor speed in the system BIOS. When first starting your PC, usually you can press the F2 key to acess the system BIOS setup screen. There you will find detailed information regarding the processor, hard drives, memory, and other settings. Do not change anything unless you know what you are doing, as it can render the PC unbootable.

3: From Windows, you can acess the System Information screen by choosing "Control Panel", and then selecting "System Information". There you will see who the computer is registered to, the amount of installed memory, processor speed, and other information.

Be sure to read the boxes of any games prior to purchasing them to ensure that your computer meets or exceeds the minimum requirements to play it. You can also use Google by using this format to find the requirements of most games;
Google Search this; Sims 2 \ System requirements
And you should see a list of several places that list the system requirements of a game.

Processor speed is only part of the equation, the graphics power of a computer plays a much bigger part, but at least graphics can be upgraded in most cases.

As for Vista, the number of games that are "Vista Capable" is rising, and will continue to do so. Also, keep in mind that eventually Windows Xp will be as obsolete and unsupported as Windows 98 has become. before you downgrade, you might want to consider that many applications may no longer work on anything other than Vista in the future.

Answer 4

CPU speed or CPU clock speed is the amount of "work" cycles that your cpu can accomplish in 1 second.

It isn't Vista that isn't allowing you to play Sims, it's a lack of system resources. You either do not have enough RAM or Processor, or both.

Answer 5

GHz is a measure of speed for the CPU (many other things affect speed, GHz is just one) you can up the speed by overclocking (this will only work on custom computers, or by getting a new CPU and installing it.)

Answer 6

My opinion is to look at your graphic card power to determine to play the SIMS 2, it solely depend on the graphic cards quality

Answer 7

cannot play sim2 bcoz not enuf GHz??? How old is your computer? I think if u able to instal windows vista, u should be able to play this games....


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