What are your PC specs?

[Regina]

Hi all!  I'm still gathering info for my upcoming computer build (hopefully latter part of next month!) and am wondering about processor speed.  Obviously I want a good, fast processor that's going to be able to adequately handle TS2 and all the expansions if I should decide to buy them, as well as handle plenty of custom content.

It might help if I start with what I already know (like we've been building computers for somewhere around 6 years now on and off).

#1.  AMD processors are WAY faster than Intel and Celeron chips.
#2.  Processor speed alone doesn't dictate how fast the computer will run--good video speed and RAM coupled with good PC RAM make all the difference in the world, and of course there are a few other important things to look for when buying a processor and mobo.
#3.  Cooling is also extremely important; without proper cooling all kinds of things can go wonky.
#4.  That no matter how much I know I'm always learning more. 

Basically my PC (I currently have an Athlon 2200+ which = about 1800mhz, 512 mg RAM which is the max Win98SE can support, a GeForce4 video card with 128 megs of DDR RAM) handled TS2 by itself fairly well, with the exception of slowing down on large lots with 6 or more sims on them.  I didn't notice much difference after installing Nightlife.  However, since installing University I've noticed a drastic difference.  Now the medium lots are barely chugging along with more than three or four sims on them.

So, I need to know what makes a good combination to be able to keep the game running without much in the line of noticeable slow-downs.  I realize, of course, there will probably always be a little slow-down when night turns to day, when new NPCs are generated and stuff like that.

Thanks so much for input!

[Ancient Sim]

I have exactly the same specs as you - Athlon 2200 and 512MB RAM, although my processor is overclocked to 2000.  My video card is unsupported, so I have to cheat a lot.  As I've said on another thread, I am totally mystified by all this technical stuff because I don't have any real problems with slowing-down.  I did in the original game (couldn't even load community lots and wasn't able to play more than one lot without restarting), but not since installing Uni.  I regularly have 30-40 Sims on lots when there are parties going on and only really notice any lag when I get to around 32-35 or so and can play as many lots as I want now and go downtown over and over. 

It's all very confusing.

[Regina]

AncientSim, that is very confusing!  In the neighborhood I play I have one main family, a couple of sorta families in small residential lots, a dozen or so Townies I made myself, then the normal Downtownies and University people.  I don't even have a full gamut of NPCs, something like a couple of newspaper carriers, a couple of grocery delivery people, and one mailman.  I have the default playable sims at LaFiesta Tech, then four college students in one medium-sized house.  As I said, my game now grunts and groans at every turn.

I've been going through and deleting custom content and only installed a handful of custom houses to try to keep things down to a dull roar.  I do routine maintenance about every couple of weeks, shut off my background programs and the whole nine yards.   It's pathetic!

[Ness]

I thought win98SE could support 1G of RAM?

I suspect I need to double check that, as we are planning to take my computer up to the 1G mark...

I've got a 2.7G processor, and a radeon 9600 graphics card (128M video RAM), with the base game and uni everything was fine and on the highest settings - with nightlife, I've been dropped back to medium and have a few lag issues.

Current plan is to upgrade to a 3.1G processor (fastest supported by my motherboard) and add an extra half a G of RAM...

[katemonster]

I have an AMD 3400+ (clock speed 2.2ghz), 1gb RAM, and a Radeon 9600 card with 64mb of memory. It's a laptop, so none of those specs are going to change until I get a new computer a long, long way down the road (the only thing I could upgrade is the RAM and I doubt I'm going to.) I have no trouble running NL with all graphics settings on the highest, and I've never noticed any major play issues on big or crowded lots, other than increased loading times and longer hiccups when a lot of people come over for a party. However, I have to cheat to turn smooth edges on, because Maxis thinks you need to have 128mb of video memory to adjust this, which is bullcrap.

My old laptop had a Pentium 4 processor (3ghz I think), 512mb of RAM and a Radeon 9200 card with 128mb of memory. It couldn't run with smooth edges or reflections on (slowed down to the point of being unplayable). It also had major issues with overheating which were not fun and are part of the reason it got returned to Best Buy under warranty and exchanged for my nice new (well, new a year ago) machine.

[LynnMar]

I have an Amd, athlon xp edition processor.   2.4 ghz

I have a Gig of memory

and I got a new video card today.  woohoo.   so I have a nvidia 5200 with 259mb of ram.

[SJActress]

I don't know square one about what info you actually need, but my Sim game runs VERY smoothly, and this is what I can tell you about my computer:

HP Windows XP Media Center Edition OS
Intel Pentium 4 processor
2 CPU's with 2.4 gHz each
512 MB RAM

And I use Nvidia, but I don't even know what that means...

Apparently, the HP Presario (I think) is even better for gaming than what I have.  I'm assuming mine runs smoothly because of having 2 CPU's, but like I said, I have no idea.  I just thank God for small miracles! 

Hope that helped!

[Bangelnuts]

 
Welcome!

Welcome to Electronic Arts System Information Utility, Easy Info. This tool can be used by yourself and our technical support representatives to help find a solution to any technical issues you may be experiencing with your game. Please make sure that your system meets the minimum requirements and that you have the most updated drivers for both your video and sound devices.


 
 System Overview
 Your System Operating System )  Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)  Windows XP/2000/98/ME
 
System Memory 1016.5 Processor Speed 2400.2  DirectX Version)  9.0c
 
Display DeviceIntel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller   
 
Display Memory 64.0 
 
Display Driver 6.14.10.3943   
 
Sound Device   Realtek AC97 Audio   
 
Sound Driver 5.10.5730   
 
 
 

[MaxisManiac]

Intel Pentium 4 with HT Technology
1 GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce 7800 with 256 MB RAM
2 CPU's, each with 3.4 GHz

[Pegasys]

Intel Pentium 4 with HT Technology
1 GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce 7800 with 256 MB RAM
2 CPU's, each with 3.4 GHz

Ooh drool, you must have great framerates.... 

[dewshine]

 
I have an alienware...
Amd Athlon 64 fx-51 that runs at 2.2 GHz
1 Gig of DDR ram
NEC multiSync nVidia GeForce FX 5950 Ultra with 256 ram.
I'm running Windows XP home.

[Meek_Monkey]

I have an Athlon 2200 XP system, with a GEFORCE nvida2 motherboard which cause problems with loading the sims 2 I use a work around to play. processer is 1.8 gig  I can up grade the processer without changing motherboards so I still have room to play with, not overclocked havent want to overclock it, 512ram, Radeon 9600 pro with 256mb of ram a Sound blaster live fantastic sound I can hook up suround sound if I want to. and I use XP home with service pack 2  I have had it for a year and am think of upgrading it

[astraled]

I have a Pentuim 4 3.2 ghz, 1 gig of RAM, 250gb hard drive, Windows XP Pro, and a NVidia Geforce 6600GT 128mb PCI-E. I expect it to be outdated any minute .

[Regina]

I have a Pentuim 4 3.2 ghz, 1 gig of RAM, 250gb hard drive, Windows XP Pro, and a NVidia Geforce 6600GT 128mb PCI-E. I expect it to be outdated any minute .

You no doubt ARE already outdated!    LOL!!

My system will be outdated before it's ever built.  We do that because it saves a ton of money on components, yet at the same time you can build a decent computer.

Ness, sometime ago one of my friends who is big into building gaming machines told me about the 512-mg limit on Win98SE.  I'm not saying he couldn't be wrong, just that's what he told me.  If I remember right, when I upgraded to 512, a salesman at Office Depot said that was correct.  It would bear looking into, though, just to make sure.

Okay--I'm taking notes on all this stuff.  I'm planning on using WinXP Pro SP2 so at least that much I do know. 

From what's posted here it looks like I'll be wanting a gig of RAM and at least a 3-ghz processor and that two would be even better. 

Thanks to all of you again!

[Ness]

this ram limit thing got to me...  as we were tossing up whether to stick in more ram, or upgrade the processor first...  a bit of research and I found this:

http://forums.wugnet.com/Windows-98SE-limits-ftopict444036.html

it appears that 1G ram under 98SE is doable, though...  although, I honestly believe I'll get more from the faster processor at this stage - and running under the theory that processors this motherboard can support will go out of fashion before ram, we've opted for the processor.

[Regina]

this ram limit thing got to me...  as we were tossing up whether to stick in more ram, or upgrade the processor first...  a bit of research and I found this:

http://forums.wugnet.com/Windows-98SE-limits-ftopict444036.html

it appears that 1G ram under 98SE is doable, though...  although, I honestly believe I'll get more from the faster processor at this stage - and running under the theory that processors this motherboard can support will go out of fashion before ram, we've opted for the processor.

That is very cool that at least it can be done!  The sensible side of me says I should just upgrade the PC I have.  The other sensible side, though, realizes this may be the last time in a long time I have an opportunity to build a new one, so I should go for it! LOL

[mistymage]

I have a little Shuttle:

Operating System 
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 
 Memory (RAM) 
Capacity: 511.48 MB

  Processor 
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz 
Version: x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 9 
Speed: 3006 MHz 

Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz 
Version: x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 9 
Speed: 3006 MHz 
 
 Local Disk 
Total Capacity: 146.90 GB 

 Sims2 runs fine if a little slow on community lots... we also have a ton of other games on here.. I share with my 3 boys 
 
 I love my Shuttle cos it's small and quiet!

[Hegelian]

Home-built:

PC Power & Cooling Silencer power supply, 420W
Intel D845PESV motherboard, 533 MHz FSB
P4 2.8 GHz Northwood (the fastest CPU this mobo will take)
1024 MB RAM (Crucial, standard grade)
3 36-GB U160 SCSI hard drives w/Adaptec 29160N SCSI controller
2 Plextor SCSI optical drives, one CD reader and one CD-RW
SoundBlaster Audigy 2 (connected to an old receiver and a decent pair of speakers by an Audioquest iPod-to-stereo cable--sounds good!)
MSI Radeon 9800 Pro w/128 MB DDR RAM (256-bit memory interface) - AGP
Logitech MX510 mouse
Tandberg Travan NS20 Pro SCSI tape drive (not really relevant I suppose--but it does draw power)

This was adequate for TS2 original and okay for NL, but it's showing significant lag with Uni installed--video settings include Smooth Edges at about the half-way point, Reflections on, Texture Detail at Medium (all changed from what the game recommended), lot view (or whatever it's called) at Small. I could turn down some of these settings and get better frame rates, but the game looks really good with the greater detail at my LCD monitor's native resolution (1280x1024)--although it would probably look better on a good CRT. Just yesterday I received a Radeon X800GT that I hoped would be an upgrade, bur right out of the box it produced significant display corruption, when I tried to load a lot in TS2 the whole screen when to hell, so I need to send it back.

In short, I find this configuration barely adequate for TS2 with the expansions, knowing what the game can look like.

Let's talk principles instead of specific components. And let's start with that glamourous item, the power supply. To be blunt, the power supplies that come with most pre-built systems are crap. And if you're going to load up a new or rebuilt machine with a hot new motherboard and CPU, a high-power video controller (even the Radeon 9800 Pro requires its own power connection), a couple fast HDDs, a CD-RW and a DVD burner, that POS 300W power supply isn't going to cut it. Get yourself a quality power supply rated for at least 450W from a reputable manufacturer (PCP&C are the best, but the top Antec models are okay). Pay particular attention to the regulation, and don't settle for anything worse than ±5% on any of the + voltage lines ("rails")--±1% is preferred, and ±3% is acceptable. Inadequate power can lead to graphics corruption, spontaneous reboots, and worse. Power output declines as temperature increases, and the cheap power supplies can't supply their nominal rated power at normal operating temperatures.

Plus, with a quality power supply, you'll get a quality power-supply fan, one that is less likely to fail and cause your PC to catch fire, probably in the middle of night, thus burning down your house. This is no joke, and something for those of you who run your PC 24/7 to consider. I used to know a Web site with photos of burned PCs, but you just can't find anything useful with a Google search anymore. With a new power supply, you can get dedicated SATA power connectors for your new SATA hard drives. 

CPU choice comes down to a price/performance calculation, and whether you want to buy a new motherboard (recommended if you current one is more than a couple years old, since you'll need Socket 939 for AMD or Socket 775 for Intel). AMD vs. Intel?  Take your pick. In benchmark testing, AMD wins some and Intel wins some. AMD is currently the big winner for gaming, while Intel still wins for some high-intensity image and video processing. It once was the case that Athlons were hot and P4s cost more, but these days the Intel chips are hotter and the upper-end Athon 64s cost more than equivalent Intel CPUs. Intel has an advantage by supplying its own chipsets for its CPUs, while AMD relies on third-party suppliers with an uneven track record of stable products. Athon CPUs gain a performance advantage by having the memory controller on the chip, but this restricts you to DDR for now while the Intel CPUs have large on-board L2 caches and can use the most current RAM technology, DDR2 (if the motherboard supports it). This could provide a cost advantage to AMD.

The most value for money in a CPU is usually found a couple steps down from the current top of the line. In this particular instance, you're probably better off not going for that next-higher model for just a few $$$ more--use the money instead for the next-higher model graphics board, which should probably give you a bigger performance boost in TS2. You shouldn't need an after-market heatsink/fan (or water cooling) if you don't plan on overclocking the CPU. For TS2 and most (all??) other games, a dual-core processor is uneccessary as the game won't take advantage of the second core in any significant way, if at all. But if you use some other apps like Photoshop a lot, a dual-core CPU might be worth the premium price--you would need to see which apps you use can take advantage of the dual cores.

Graphics board/video controller:  Get the best you can afford (although a $500 model is probably overkill). Make sure you have room for the cooling aparatus, since the heatsink/fan assembly on most current upper-end models will block the adjacent PCI slot. If you're buying a new motherboard, make sure it has PCI Express instead of AGP, and get a PCI-Express video board (fortunately, the PCI-E boards are slightly less expensive than their AGP counterparts). DON'T buy a reduced-performance OEM or "SE" model to save money--these are usually low-performance versions of the retail boards, made for the big manufacturers like Dell and HP. You are going to want at least 256 MB of DDR3 memory with a 256-bit memory interface. Be sure you will have a spare power connector for the card.

RAM:  1024MB, or more if you can afford it (but only after getting the power supply and video card). Don't get the cheap no-name stuff--there is a difference, so stick with quality brands like Crucial, Corsair, OCX, and Kingston. In the US you can buy Crucial direct at decent prices. You probably don't need the varieties with platinum heat spreaders and LEDS unless you're planning on overclocking your memory.

Hard drives:  If your motherboard has serial ATA connectors (SATA), then by all means get SATA drives, preferably ones that have a native SATA interface and implement command queuing. Many SATA drives on the market, especially older models, are really just parallel ATA drives with a SATA connector added. Two drives are better than one! Given a choice, take two smaller drives over one large drive. Any version of Windows will work better if you can put the paging file at the beginning of a separate physical drive from the one on which Windows is installed. With SATA drives, I believe each motherboard connector will accept only one drive, so multiple drives on a channel isn't an issue (and shouldn't be anyway with a serial device), so you would have each HDD on its own cable, and your optical drives on a separate IDE channel (another advantage of SATA, as many motherboards with plain old IDE connectors provide only two channels). Even if you have parallel drives, try to have each drive on its own cable, and don't an optical drive on the same cable as a hard drive (double up the HDDs on one cable if you have to). Avoid 5400-RPM drives--7200 or 10K (Western Digital's Raptor drives) are the way to go. Be sure to get an on-board cache of at least 8 MB.

Motherboards:  PCI Express instead of AGP, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial ATA, three fan headers (instead of one), and enough PCI slots for everything you might stick in your PC while leaving room for Slot 1 to be blocked by the graphic card's heatsink. RAID is an unnecessary luxury, but having plenty of SATA connectors as well as the standard two IDE connectors is not.

Sound Card:  A SoundBlaster Audigy 2 will still sound better than any onboard audio, and because it has its own DSP, it takes the audio load off the CPU.

If you're going to buy a new case, it's better to have one that's bigger than you need than one that is too small. And a large case should ventilate better. Look for a case that's well-finished inside (no sharp edges), has sufficent drive bays for everything you want to install (including the breakout box for your new high-end SoundBlaster), and offers good air movement. An extra fan in the front and two in the back can be valuable. A 120 mm fan will move the same amount of air as an 80 mm fan but at a lower speed, hence less noise.

[Motoki]

Hegelian: Now how did I know this subject was going to get a very long post by you? I think you've stolen away the most loquacious poster award from syberspunk. 

Dewshine: Do you know if Alienware got bought out by Dell? I went to their site recently and it looks suspiciously like Dell's.

[Regina]

Hegelian, thank you so much for your thorough reply!  I very much appreciate your insight!

[veilchen]

Well, that's what I pulled off my DxDiagwhatever:

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Compaq
       System Model: 6027US
               BIOS: 686O2 v1.08
          Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.00GHz
             Memory: 768MB RAM
          Page File: 962MB used, 564MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
    DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

     Card name: RADEON 9700 PRO
     Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
        Chip type: RADEON 9700 PRO AGP (0x4E44)
         DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4E44&SUBSYS_00021002&REV_00
   Display Memory: 128.0 MB
     Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
          Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
  Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
      Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
   Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6571 (English)
      DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 8/30/2005 21:42:53, 238592 bytes
      WHQL Logo'd: Yes

Sound like this to me:

lajdifuaoe9r0jfkcspirer90=-4ajfauh9ru
0wr80a9jfaguht7q=]kkfjg-a0875gifja[
jt9ty9wwopijfpuethpy]t
.....ad infinitum

So, all you clever computer people, is what I have good or bad? Do I have too much garbage or something? My game runs okay as long as its not a larger lot with more than 3 sims on it. Shouldn't it run better than that? Please... keep in mind that I speak english only in english. If I run into problems understanding I habitually translate into my own language, the results of which are sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious, but never informative.

[ZiggyDoodle]

Dell Dimension 8400
Pentium 4 540w/HT technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)
1GB dual channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
128MB PCI Express x 16 Radeon X300SE video card
Microsoft optical mouse
16x DVD-ROM + 16x DVD+/RW w/dbl DV16DVR layer write capability
80GB serial ATA HD

TS2, Uni and NL all run fine on this machine, although it will be one year old 12/15 and is already outdated.

But...no cable t.v. or broadband where I live; just dialup.  The view is nice, though.

[dewshine]

gee, motoki, I don't know... I sure hope not!
I love my alienware but would never buy a Dell... I've had too many folks buy them and have little software issues crop up (like screenshots disabled when DVD's are played).  I'm sure Dells are nice computers for the market they are sold to, I just don't want someone telling me I can't do something by removing or locking up functionality.
My motherboard and chipset can be easily upgraded and I have a great local computer shop that will order parts, sell with little mark up, and even install them cheaply. Heck, when I upgraded to DSL and bought a router to hook my older computer up he gave me an extra DSL worthy cable for free. My Hubby's comp needed a new DVD drive and he sold it at cost because he had to order a black one to match and made us wait for the part.   I love my littile town... 

Here's the info from Hoovers about Alienware and Dell

Alienware Corporation
12400 SW 134th Ct., Bay 8
Miami, FL 33186 (Map)
Phone: 305-251-9797
Fax: 305-259-9874
Toll Free: 800-254-3692
http://www.alienware.com

Overview

Aliens have landed in Miami and they're spreading! Relax, they come in peace. Alienware caters to video game enthusiasts, digital video editors, and professionals in the market for high-end PCs made with top-of-the-line components. Sporting names like Area-51 and Roswell, Alienware's colorful systems utilize the highest-performance processors, video cards, and storage components available for PCs. Alienware systems are further differentiated by such features as customized cases, upgraded power supplies, and multiple cooling fans. The company sells directly and through Best Buy. CEO Nelson Gonzalez and president Alex Aguila, Alienware co-founders and childhood friends, started the company in 1996.

Key Numbers
Company Type    Private
Fiscal Year-End    December
2003 Sales (mil.)    $50.0 (est.)
1-Year Sales Growth    0.0% (est.)
2003 Employees    200 (est.)
1-Year Employee Growth    33.3% (est.)


Key People

CEO    Nelson Gonzalez

President    Alex Aguila
VP, Government and Corporate Business    Arthur R. Lewis Jr.

Dell Inc.  (NASDAQ: DELL)
1 Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682-2222 (Map)
Phone: 512-338-4400
Fax: 512-283-6161
Toll Free: 800-289-3355
http://www.dell.com


Overview

Don't let the name change fool you. Despite the decision to drop "Computer" from its name, Dell remains the world's #1 direct-sale computer vendor and competes with Hewlett-Packard for the worldwide PC title. In addition to a full line of desktop and notebook PCs designed for consumers, Dell offers network servers, workstations, storage systems, and Ethernet switches for enterprise customers. The company also sells handheld computers, and it markets third-party software and peripherals. Dell's growing services unit provides systems integration, support, and training.

Key Numbers
Company Type    Public (NASDAQ: DELL)
Fiscal Year-End    January
2005 Sales (mil.)    $49,205.0
1-Year Sales Growth    18.7%
2005 Net Income (mil.)    $3,043.0
1-Year Net Income Growth    15.0%
2005 Employees    55,200
1-Year Employee Growth    20.0%

Key People
Chairman    Michael S. Dell
President, CEO, and Director    Kevin B. Rollins
SVP and CFO    James M. (Jim) Schneider

There's no news about a takeover...

[Hegelian]

Hegelian: Now how did I know this subject was going to get a very long post by you?

Sorry! It wasn't intended to be long when I started, but I like to write, and, well, you now how it is. . . .

Anyway, let me take this opportunity to add just this:

Ditch Win98 and get WinXP (preferably XP Pro)—it is a huge improvement over 98/98SE/ME. You (speaking generally) can get it for relatively cheap (compared to the full retail price) when you by some internal component from one of the reputable mail-order dealers—a motherboard, CPU, hard drive, or video card, for example.

[Hegelian]

Well, that's what I pulled off my DxDiagwhatever:

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.00GHz
Memory: 768MB RAM
Page File: 962MB used, 564MB available
RADEON 9700 PRO; Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Driver Date/Size: 8/30/2005 21:42:53, 238592 bytes

So, all you clever computer people, is what I have good or bad?

Neither good nor bad, really. Are you satisfied with the game performance? The limiting factors on your frame rates (how smoothly the game runs, especially when you move the "camera") and the number of sims you can have on a lot are probably:

1. The video card. The Radeon 9700 Pro isn't really old, but it's not new either, and a video card with current technology and with 256 MB of video memory would probably give you a significant performance boost and let you turn up the detail settings--for example, are you currently using Reflections On?

HOWEVER, looking at the system specs for you computer, it may be that the power supply will not support a modern video card, since it is rated for only 220 Watts:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?dlc=en&lc=en&product=94088&dest_page=product&cc=us&docname=c00009568

2. System memory. Increasing system RAM from 768 MB to 1024 MB might give you a noticeable increase in performance by allowing more game data to reside in RAM instead of needing to be fetched from the hard drive. In combination with this, changing your virtual memory from Windows controlled to something like Initial:  100, Maximum 800 could improve performance by reducing the amount of data Windows sends out to the paging file. (See my looong posts in the Graphics Card thread for screen shots of how to do this). 

3.  CPU:  Upgrading to a faster CPU would also give a noticeable performance boost, perhaps even more than increasing system RAM—this is something you will only know by trying. Maxis provides minimum requirements but not an optimum system configuration. Since your computer is a Compaq, it probably has a proprietary motherboard which was likely made by Intel. Again, looking at the system specs for PCs in this series:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/prodinfoCategory?dlc=en&lc=en&product=94088&dest_page=product&cc=us&

it appears it may not be possible to use a CPU faster than 2.2 GHz in your computer, or a CPU that runs on a 533 MHz front-side bus—and I think it would be difficult to find a 2.2 GHz Willamette P4 (1.75V) CPU these days, or even a 2.2 GHz Northwood P4 (1.5V), and if you could it would probably cost more than the performance increase would be worth.

If your motherboard would accept a 2.8 GHz Northwood P4 that runs on a 400 MHz front-side bus, it might be worth the upgrade, but then again it might not:  I just bought for my mother for Christmas an HP Pavilion with an Athlon 64 3400+, 1024MB RAM, an 80 GB SATA hard drive, a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, keyboard and mouse, and WinXP Home, for 500 USD plus shipping, which is probably less than it would cost to upgrade the CPU, memory, power supply, hard drive, and operating system of an old PC (the model year for your Presario 6027US is 2002--it is nearly four years old). Granted, the HP has integrated graphics (ATi Xpress), but if you were to get something like this, you could always stick your Radeon 9700 in it (you would probably need to go into the BIOS setup to disable the integrated graphics).