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Graphics performance in OS X - we need your info!

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  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    @southaltan fabulous :)

    @FloppyFish It has a 4Gb dedicated AMD GPU, so yes you should be able to play on high. If you're running Boot Camp anyway just give it a go!
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  • FloppyFishFloppyFish Posts: 3,881 Member
    Thanks @BluebellFlora !!! :) That makes me relieved. I was scared it was gonna run the game poorly, haha.
    Mafia Stats
    Games Played: 14 | Games Won: 8 | Games Lost: 6
    Times Town: 9 | Times Mafia: 2 | Times 3rd: 2
    Town Wins: 6 | Mafia Wins: 1 | 3rd Wins: 1
    Deaths: 8

  • DarayaVahu777DarayaVahu777 Posts: 12 New Member
    > @DarayaVahu777 said:
    > I can't find out if Sims 4 use Metal on macOS?? probably not, that's why it's so bad, and now Metal 2 comes out they should use it.
    >
    > Right now I have 2012 21.5 base 1080p 640m iMac and Sims 4 are playable at 1080p only on low settings ;( it won't even turn on on medium :( I can't visit San Myshuno, game will crash right away, everywhere else it's up to 40fps but goes down to under 10fps if lots of sims around.
    >
    > Ok, so I've spent days trying to configure settings for best-looking and playable fps and withoud crash right away. This is the lowest settings I can look at, anything fewer looks too ugly to play, the most important thing is for sims to be very high (the textures are so bad at high and lower), and lighting needs to be at least on medium so the blurred background works and edge smoothing at least low, I can't even look when it's off, all the edges so bad. At this settings the game crashes from time to time, and can't visit San Myshuno for more than one second.
    >
    > Sierra 10.12.5
    > Display Type - Windowed
    > Resolution - 1920 x 1031
    > Vertical Sync - Yes
    > Graphics Quality - Custom
    > Sims: Very High
    > Objects: Low
    > Lighting: Medium
    > Reflections: Off
    > Visual Effects: Low
    > Edge Smoothing: Low
    > 3D Scene Resolution: High
    > View Distance: High
    > Uncompressed Sim Textures: Yes
    > Post Processing Effects: Yes
    > Laptop Mode: No

    OMG! EA WT*!
    So I wasn't playing since I wrote that in June, after couple months... so much game updates and new clean install macOS High Sierra (with Metal 2 that I had lots of hopes) and upgrade to SSD I was sure it will be more playable... I bought Cats and Dogs, excited to check how much smoother the game will play, and I can't believe, previously I was complaining about having under 40 fps down to 10 fps sometimes, now with the same low settings and no cc I have rarely 15fps at most, most of the time 5fps or 1fps! completely unplayable. Changing settings to completely lowest (that makes the game too ugly to play anyway) helps only with couple fps, still unplayable. So I'm like WT* they have done, this iMac specification is still much better than the minimum system requirements for The Sims 4, nearly like the recommended system requirements. (21.5 iMac i5(quad-core up to 3.2GHz) 8GB 640m SSD) Only one good thing it lets me visit San Myshuno now without crashing immediately, but 3 fps anyway...
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    @DarayaVahu777 what exact Mac do you have? What graphics card does it have? How much free space do you have left on your SSD?
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  • reianarareianara Posts: 1 New Member
    Hi @BluebellFlora Thanks for helping all of us, your the best :)
    I'm thinking of purchasing a new iMac, since mine MacBook is pretty laggy when I play sims 4. I want to run my game on highest, and I also use a lot of cc (including alpha hair).

    I was thinking about 2017 iMac 21.5-inch Retina 4K Display with custom specification
    3.6GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
    16GB 2400MHz DDR4
    1TB Fusion Drive
    Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB video memory
    Retina 4K 4096-by-2304 P3 display

    I'm ok with using windows on my mac, since I know it can be better for gaming.
    What do you think? Will I be able to run my game without lagging and with a ton of cc? My biggest concern is graphics card

    Thank you for your help <3
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    reianara wrote: »
    Hi @BluebellFlora Thanks for helping all of us, your the best :)
    I'm thinking of purchasing a new iMac, since mine MacBook is pretty laggy when I play sims 4. I want to run my game on highest, and I also use a lot of cc (including alpha hair).

    I was thinking about 2017 iMac 21.5-inch Retina 4K Display with custom specification
    3.6GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
    16GB 2400MHz DDR4
    1TB Fusion Drive
    Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB video memory
    Retina 4K 4096-by-2304 P3 display

    I'm ok with using windows on my mac, since I know it can be better for gaming.
    What do you think? Will I be able to run my game without lagging and with a ton of cc? My biggest concern is graphics card

    Thank you for your help <3

    Aside from any game bugs that can arise, yes absolutely. I have the same GPU and almost the same CPU in my MacBook Pro and it runs great on the highest settings. Loading the game takes a few minutes as I have 5Gb CC but gameplay is smooth :)

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  • athenaleeathenalee Posts: 2 New Member
    Hi. I have a MacBook Pro 13inch Retina from early 2015. I'm wondering it's ok or not to run the Sims4. What are the ideal graphic settings?

    Here are the specs:
    Processor: 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7
    Memory 16GB 1867 MHz DDR3
    Graphics: Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB

    Thank you.
  • athenaleeathenalee Posts: 2 New Member
    > @athenalee said:
    > Hi. I have a MacBook Pro 13inch Retina from early 2015. I'm wondering it's ok or not to run the Sims4. What are the ideal graphic settings?
    >
    > Here are the specs:
    > Processor: 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7
    > Memory 16GB 1867 MHz DDR3
    > Graphics: Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB
    >
    > Thank you.

    I also forgot to mention that the system is macOS Sierra 10.12.6.
    Thank you.

    @BluebellFlora
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    @athenalee

    You'll be ok on low settings but don't overload it with CC. Cats & Dogs may slow it down.
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  • hilariousdolphinhilariousdolphin Posts: 1 New Member
    Heres my specs and graphics-settings :)

    -mac specs:

    I have a macbook pro, retina 13-inch, mid 2014
    System: Sierra version 10.12.6
    Processor: 2,6 GHz intel core i5
    Memory: 8 gb ram
    Graphics: intel iris 1536 MB

    -settings:

    Display Type - Windowed
    Resolution - 2560 x 1484
    Vertical Sync - Yes
    Graphics Quality - Custom
    Sims: high
    Objects: medium
    Lighting: medium
    Reflections: high
    Visual Effects: Low
    Edge Smoothing: off
    3D Scene Resolution: low
    View Distance: High
    Uncompressed Sim Textures: Yes
    Post Processing Effects: Yes
    Laptop Mode: yes

    fps live mode: 30-35
    fps build mode: 30-35

    -How happy are you with the overall graphics performance. Are you experiencing any lag?
    I'm pretty satisfied. the only thing i hate is that i wish pool/water graphics would be at least somewhat okay without having to play without laptop mode. i have to play with it, otherwise i get a lot of small lags which is too ugly to my taste

    i play with basegame, get to work, get together and dine out. i play with cc (a lot). i play in offline mode (origin)

    things i've noticed help a lot with game performance is

    - laptop mode makes a huge difference with my game. i get a lot of tiny lags here and there when its turned off, but everything is a lot smother when its turned on. the downside to having this turned on is that pools, and water in general is ugly af. sometimes i play with it off because its like the pool is like an empty box with a sheer top layer. it doesn't look pretty at all.. also some cc hair looks broken when i play in laptop mode, but its because of the compromising visuals by playing with laptop mode.
    - lighting, reflections, and edge-smoothing makes a big difference when turned to a lower setting. my game is unplayable with edge-smoothing on.
    - delete localthumbcache in the sims 4 folder after every other play
    - merge cc if you have a lot/ if you have a lot of cc with special letters/symbols in their names. (. , - _ [ ] & / ' " < > ( ) = + ? ! ) and spaces, it takes longer for the mac to read those letters. i usually merge all my cc in categories/ by creater and save the unmerged cc somewhere on my mac so if something breaks i can easily put the original files back in and pinpoint exactly what is broken and remove it. i use sim4studio (candy apple) to merge cc (also they have fixes for broken cc and a lot more)
    - play in windowed mode improves performance
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    @hilariousdolphin

    Thank you so much for taking the time to post your experience and what works and doesn't work, it's so helpful for others :)

    I can help you with the special characters issue. I used Automator to create a very simple app that gets rid of them automatically for you. I uploaded it so others could use it too. You can find it here :)
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  • Zoahh1Zoahh1 Posts: 2 New Member
    Hey there guys!
    I want to purchase Sims 4, however I have a Macbook Air 2015 with a Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB which I know I can't run sims 3 on (can't find a patch or bug fix anywhere) and there is nothing mentioned in the thread above about this particular graphics card.

    Anybody know if it will run? I don't want to buy the game and then not be able to play it.

    Thanks in advance! :)
  • Tremayne4260Tremayne4260 Posts: 3,126 Member
    There is a whole Sims 3 Mac section in the Legacy Sims Games section. Here is the link. This section is for Sims 4. :)

    http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/categories/mac-discussions
    Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'til Morning.
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    Zoahh1 wrote: »
    Hey there guys!
    I want to purchase Sims 4, however I have a Macbook Air 2015 with a Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB which I know I can't run sims 3 on (can't find a patch or bug fix anywhere) and there is nothing mentioned in the thread above about this particular graphics card.

    Anybody know if it will run? I don't want to buy the game and then not be able to play it.

    Thanks in advance! :)

    It will probably run but keep settings on the low side, MacBook Airs aren’t particularly powerful and not designed for gaming.

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  • Jo2uke_kunJo2uke_kun Posts: 10 New Member
    Hey! I'm not sure, what settings I should be running with for the best performance without overloading my Mac, since I couldn't find anyone to compare with.

    MacBook Pro, 13-inch, Early 2011
    Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
    Memory: 4GB
    Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
    macOS Sierra (the newest as of Feb 22nd, 2018)

    What do you guys think? Thanks in advance!
  • Zoahh1Zoahh1 Posts: 2 New Member
    > @BluebellFlora said:
    > Zoahh1 wrote: »
    >
    > Hey there guys!
    > I want to purchase Sims 4, however I have a Macbook Air 2015 with a Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB which I know I can't run sims 3 on (can't find a patch or bug fix anywhere) and there is nothing mentioned in the thread above about this particular graphics card.
    >
    > Anybody know if it will run? I don't want to buy the game and then not be able to play it.
    >
    > Thanks in advance! :)
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > It will probably run but keep settings on the low side, MacBook Airs aren’t particularly powerful and not designed for gaming.

    Thank You for the advice Bluebellflora! :smile:
  • PlantylPlantyl Posts: 53 Member
    Graphics card - Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB
    OS - High Sierra Version 10.13.3

    My graphics setting:

    - Graphics Quality - Custom
    - Display Type - Fullscreen
    - Resolution - 1280 x 800
    - Vertical Sync - No
    - Sims - High
    - Objects - Medium
    - Lighting - Medium
    - Reflections - Medium
    - Visual Effects - Medium
    - Edge Smoothing - No
    - 3D Scene Resolution - High
    - View Distance - High
    - Uncompressed Sim Textures - No
    - Post Processing Effects - Yes
    - Laptop Mode - No

    I use MacBook Pro Retina 15-inch Mid 2015, 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7, memory 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
  • IsraelIsrael Posts: 10 New Member
    Maybe this isn't the right section to be posting this but i've been experiencing blotchy pixels on my sims skin tones in my game and I don't know if its because of my iMac graphic cards so here is a picture of my iMac specs (can view it by removing the ".") h.t.t.p://tinypic.com/r/27x1q8h/9
    and here is a picture of my in game settings h.t.t.p://tinypic.com/r/2u8c8lz/9

    Included here are some pictures of my CAS which my sims look perfect with no blotchy pixels and all even skin tones h.t.t.p://tinypic.com/r/2j5bf9z/9
    h.t.t.p://tinypic.com/r/2irpt21/9

    and here are pictures of in game with blotchy pixels and maybe even some dead pixels? h.t.t.p://tinypic.com/r/4hvyub/9
    h.t.t.p://tinypic.com/r/2a5gb28/9

    I think it's just time to use my iMac for school and buy a gaming pc? What do you guys suggest?
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    @Israel

    Dead pixels are a hardware issue and would not show up in a screenshot.

    I don't really see what the issue is unless you mean the small paler rectangle of skin near the hairline in this picture?

    4hvyub.jpg

    Is that an EA skin tone or CC?
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  • IsraelIsrael Posts: 10 New Member
    @BluebellFlora Not only the pixels by the hairline but right on the forehead there’s a different shade of pixels. This is a skin default cc but even without it on the regular skin from ea it’s the same thing
  • BluebellFloraBluebellFlora Posts: 7,110 Member
    Israel wrote: »
    @BluebellFlora Not only the pixels by the hairline but right on the forehead there’s a different shade of pixels. This is a skin default cc but even without it on the regular skin from ea it’s the same thing

    And it happens with all CAS skins if you move out your entire Mods folder? Can you post a picture?

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