[Mariposita Obsidiana]

I have a brand new 13" black Macbook (the 2.4GHz), with standard installation features, including Bootcamp. I ordered the VMWare Fusion because some delightful outsourcing representative in Australia told me that I needed it to run the Sims 2 or any other Windows program on a Mac (he did not bother to tell me Bootcamp came already installed on the computer--how lovely of him to leave that out). The only Windows platform I have is the Windows XP for Dell computers (which I found out is a crappy version), but I am going to order a new version.

But here is my problem: I can get Windows installed on VMWare Fusion (but not on Bootcamp, hence the main reason I am ordering a new version), and when I install the Sims 2 and all of its expansions, and I run it, it says "Failed to find any DirectX 9.0c compatible graphic adapters in the system! Please make sure you have a Directx 9.0c compatible graphics adapter and have installed the latest drivers provided by the manufacturer..." I have tried installing Direct X, uninstalling and reinstalling the Sims, and nothing changes.

Here are some other facts about my situation:
1) My MacBook has the Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
2) The Sims 2 website says that other than the ATI Radeon series, NVIDIA Quadro series, and NVIDIA Geforce series video cards, the only Intel video cards it supports are Intel Extreme Graphics series with a 2.0 GHZ processor.
3) I am not willing to re-purchase all of the Sims 2 and expansion packs, because not only will it cost a fortune, but they are not all available, and from what I've heard, they are subpar compared to the PC versions.
4) I am not keeping my PC. I am reformatting it and giving it to my mother since her basic computing needs are minimal and simple. I am also not willing to buy a cheap PC just for gaming; I have fallen in love with my Mac (except for this issue) and I won't go back!
5) I have been searching for a couple of weeks now (since I got the computer) for answers on the internet, and I keep getting convoluted and/or contradictory answers.

So basically:
-Do I need to get a new video card?
-Will it benefit me more to run windows on Bootcamp or VMWare Fusion (I've heard both sides...I'd like to hear from actual Mac users)?
-If I do not need a new video card, and I find the right program to run the Windows platform, what do I need to do to get my Sims 2 to work?

Please respond in layman's terms...I am fairly tech-savvy, but technical language and geek-speak go right over my head. If you can help me, I will be ETERNALLY grateful to you, because I miss my Sims 2!!!

[mduell]

Your problem is that the video card VMWare Fusion emulates is really bad. Install Windows via Boot Camp (good luck with that, I can't make it work on my MacBook Air), reboot into Windows, and your precious Sims will pay just fine.

[Mariposita Obsidiana]

So you think it should be okay if I just run bootcamp and play the Sims via that method?

[@pplejaxkz]

Originally Posted by Mariposita Obsidiana 

So you think it should be okay if I just run bootcamp and play the Sims via that method?

That's the way I am currently playing the Sims, and any of the my other PC games. Works like a charm.

[Mariposita Obsidiana]

Thanks!

[Arkham_c]

There is another option that may work.

Parallels 3D support

I haven't tried this, so I don't know if it works or not, but it may let you play without rebooting into Bootcamp.

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by Arkham_c 

There is another option that may work.

Parallels 3D support

I haven't tried this, so I don't know if it works or not, but it may let you play without rebooting into Bootcamp.

Still doesn't support DX9.0c, however. VMWare has the same feature, with the same limitations. It sounds like the Sims 2 requires 9.0c, which means his only option at the moment is Boot Camp.

OP: As for installing Boot Camp, I've successfully done it twice now on my 1st-gen Macbook. It has an older GPU (GMA 950), but I can confirm that the Sims 2 runs like a champ in Boot Camp.

EDIT: Found it: VMware Fusion Features, Run Windows on Mac, Virtual PC on Mac - VMware. VMWare supports the same 3D features as Parallels. Also, it runs like crap.