In order to run The Sims 2, you will need to check your computer to see if it is good enough to handle the game. Luckily, Maxis provided the PC system requirements for the game. The information below is from the official website.
The system requirements for The Sims 2 are as follows:
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800 MHz processor
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256 MB RAM
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Windows(R) XP, Windows ME, Windows 98 or Windows 2000 Operating System.
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At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space
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A T&L-capable video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM.
Supported video cards:
ATI Radeon(TM) series (7000 or better)
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VE series (see note below)
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7000, 7200, 7500
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8500, All-In-Wonder 8500
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9000, 9200, 9500, 9600, 9700, 9800
- X300, X600, X800
NVIDIA(R) Quadro(TM) series
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Quadro, Quadro2, Quadro4
NVIDIA GeForce series (GeForce2 and better)
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GeForce 2
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GeForce 3, 3 Ti
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GeForce 4, 4 Ti, MX 420, 440
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GeForce FX 5200, 5600, 5700, 5800, 5900, 5950
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GeForce 6600, 6800
Intel(R) Extreme Graphics (see note below)
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82845, 82865, 82915
From the nVidia website’s glossary:
Transform & Lighting (T&L) definition: Two separate engines on the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that provide for a powerful, balanced PC platform and enable extremely high polygon count scenes. Transform performance determines how complex objects can be and how many can appear in a scene without sacrificing frame rate. Lighting techniques add to a scene’s realism by changing the appearance of objects based on light sources.
Some other notes about video cards:
T&L video cards started shipping around 3 years ago, so if you got your computer in the last couple of years you should check and see if you have a T&L card.
It’s always a good idea to make sure you have the most current drivers for your video cards. The manufacturers usually have the video drivers on their sites for you to download. Visit the nVidia site or the ATI for the latest drivers for those video cards.
How to get your PC System Requirements:
If you are unsure on how to check this, then go to the Start Menu – Run – and type in “dxdiag” without the quotes. It will bring you up everything you want to know about your computer! If you do need to upgrade, be sure to check out our PC hardware upgrade guide!