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Momof9

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 22, 2018
482
183
Do you play Sims 4 on your Mac? Which Mac?

I have it on my 2018 Mac mini, i5 - but more recently I noticed I have to restart the Mac a lot more often and I have 32 GB ram. I also was wanting to play it more places than on my desktop. So the other day, I got a great deal on M1 13" MBP. It does seem to run over 100 F with Sims 4. I am using an infrared thermometer. I am not sure how hot the MacBook should be running at normal usage. I did quit Safari, to see if there is any difference.... none

I have seen some good reviews about people using the MB Air M1 to play Sims.... I do not want to spend a ton of money on a Mac.... I have the M1 12.9" iPP....
 

casperes1996

macrumors 604
Jan 26, 2014
7,496
5,673
Horsens, Denmark
Do you play Sims 4 on your Mac? Which Mac?

I have it on my 2018 Mac mini, i5 - but more recently I noticed I have to restart the Mac a lot more often and I have 32 GB ram. I also was wanting to play it more places than on my desktop. So the other day, I got a great deal on M1 13" MBP. It does seem to run over 100 F with Sims 4. I am using an infrared thermometer. I am not sure how hot the MacBook should be running at normal usage. I did quit Safari, to see if there is any difference.... none

I have seen some good reviews about people using the MB Air M1 to play Sims.... I do not want to spend a ton of money on a Mac.... I have the M1 12.9" iPP....
100°F is not all that much. Though we typically use celsius for computer temperatures.
To get a reading from the actual CPU sensor you can install Stats (free and great system monitor in the menu bar)
It is easily installed via Homebrew - it is this project

Intel chips are rated to hit 100°C (212°F) before they start slowing themselves down to stay cooler. That's internal temperature of course, not chassis temperature, but you can use it as a reference guide for reading temperature measurements.

As for needing to restart thee Mac frequently - I'd like to see a screenshot of Activity Monitor's CPU and Memory tabs when you feel the need to restart it to help troubleshoot potential problems there.

For the laptop I don't think you have any concerns as long as the game runs as you want it to :)
 

Momof9

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 22, 2018
482
183
I did find vsync in Sims and now its running much cooler....

as per my Mac mini - I forgot to that when I have issues, it's more with the Apple trackpad acting wonky.... not necessarily the game or other things... but it pretty much makes my Mac mini hard to use, unless I restart.... Then it's all fixed for awhile..... w/out playing Sims 4, I can go weeks w/o restarting the mini....
 

casperes1996

macrumors 604
Jan 26, 2014
7,496
5,673
Horsens, Denmark
as per my Mac mini - I forgot to that when I have issues, it's more with the Apple trackpad acting wonky.... not necessarily the game or other things... but it pretty much makes my Mac mini hard to use, unless I restart.... Then it's all fixed for awhile..... w/out playing Sims 4, I can go weeks w/o restarting the mini....
That sounds odd. In what ways is the trackpad misbehaving? Have you tried only restarting the trackpad? (Assuming Magic Trackpad 2 I mean toggling the power switch behind it back and forth)
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,126
10,115
My wife runs Sims 4 on her M1 MBA 8core/7core GPU; and also her 2019 21.5 iMac.

M1 MBA runs pretty well. Some stutters here and there. I imagine the 8core GPU would preform a bit better. She also only has 8GB of RAM which could be a bottleneck as well.
 

Momof9

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 22, 2018
482
183
Next time my trackpad starts acting all wonky, I will have to try using it's power switch.... I forgot it was there. Of course I have the thing where the trackpad loses it's connection....
 

casperes1996

macrumors 604
Jan 26, 2014
7,496
5,673
Horsens, Denmark
Next time my trackpad starts acting all wonky, I will have to try using it's power switch.... I forgot it was there. Of course I have the thing where the trackpad loses it's connection....
Yeah
I generally don't have issues with mine but every, let's say 4-5 months, my keyboard and trackpad need to be restarted with the power switch. They still work they're just extremely slow to respond until I do so. I think restarting the computer/bluetooth would work too, I just always toggle the power switch. Probably a totally different situation but ey, worth a shot and may save you a few seconds every time this comes up
 

dizmonk

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2010
1,073
672
My daughter is trying to run Sims 4 on her new 24gb M2 MBA and is constantly getting the spinning beach ball of death... Any suggestions?
 

Momof9

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 22, 2018
482
183
Have you tried adjusting the graphic setting in the game? try lower settings.
 
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