Are there particular graphics settings that can make the game run faster?

becks1112

I have a brand new gaming laptop, but TS3 still runs slowly for me. I don't want to totally sacrifice the good graphics, but are there particular settings that can make a big difference? I've Googled this problem many times but haven't found a solution that really adds to the speed.

GraceyManor

Which laptop do you have? Mine sets my graphics all to high and ultra by default but I turn a lot of them down to medium.I keep textures on high and sim details high.Rest are medium.Lot detail I set to three and draw distance to medium.

puzzlezaddict

I play on ultra graphics settings, other than water (second or third setting) and high-detail lots (2), and the game runs fine for me. What resolution are you playing at? Fullscreen or windowed, and have you tried the other one? Have you manually limited your in-game framerates? Are you using GeForce Experience? Your hardware should handle Sims 3 on ultra settings without any trouble, but sometimes a few other settings need to be tweaked to get things working properly.

becks1112

puzzlezaddict wrote: »

I play on ultra graphics settings, other than water (second or third setting) and high-detail lots (2), and the game runs fine for me. What resolution are you playing at? Fullscreen or windowed, and have you tried the other one? Have you manually limited your in-game framerates? Are you using GeForce Experience? Your hardware should handle Sims 3 on ultra settings without any trouble, but sometimes a few other settings need to be tweaked to get things working properly.

How do I tell what resolution I'm playing at? And how to I limit my in-game framerates?
I do have GeForce Experience installed.
I run the game in fullscreen mode.

puzzlezaddict

For the resolution, open Options, then the graphics settings page; the resolution should be listed above all the other settings. As long as it either matches the resolution of your monitor or is a supported scaled-down version, you should be fine. Playing at an unsupported resolution can make the game choppy.

Having GeForce Experience is fine, but make sure it's not set to optimize your TS3 settings. This can often cause issues as GFE thinks you should be using different settings than the game does.

To check your framerates, bring up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes. A number will appear in the upper right corner of the screen, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your monitor. If it does, there are plenty of ways to cap it. This is a good guide to using the built-in Nvidia Control Panel, or Inspector if CP doesn't work:

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/16540301/#Comment_16540301

If Inspector doesn't work either, there are other tools to try.

becks1112

puzzlezaddict wrote: »

For the resolution, open Options, then the graphics settings page; the resolution should be listed above all the other settings. As long as it either matches the resolution of your monitor or is a supported scaled-down version, you should be fine. Playing at an unsupported resolution can make the game choppy.

Having GeForce Experience is fine, but make sure it's not set to optimize your TS3 settings. This can often cause issues as GFE thinks you should be using different settings than the game does.

To check your framerates, bring up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes. A number will appear in the upper right corner of the screen, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your monitor. If it does, there are plenty of ways to cap it. This is a good guide to using the built-in Nvidia Control Panel, or Inspector if CP doesn't work:

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/16540301/#Comment_16540301

If Inspector doesn't work either, there are other tools to try.

How to I determine the refresh rate of my monitor?

becks1112

puzzlezaddict wrote: »

I play on ultra graphics settings, other than water (second or third setting) and high-detail lots (2), and the game runs fine for me. What resolution are you playing at? Fullscreen or windowed, and have you tried the other one? Have you manually limited your in-game framerates? Are you using GeForce Experience? Your hardware should handle Sims 3 on ultra settings without any trouble, but sometimes a few other settings need to be tweaked to get things working properly.

Does playing in windowed mode improve things?

becks1112

becks1112 wrote: »

puzzlezaddict wrote: »

For the resolution, open Options, then the graphics settings page; the resolution should be listed above all the other settings. As long as it either matches the resolution of your monitor or is a supported scaled-down version, you should be fine. Playing at an unsupported resolution can make the game choppy.

Having GeForce Experience is fine, but make sure it's not set to optimize your TS3 settings. This can often cause issues as GFE thinks you should be using different settings than the game does.

To check your framerates, bring up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes. A number will appear in the upper right corner of the screen, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your monitor. If it does, there are plenty of ways to cap it. This is a good guide to using the built-in Nvidia Control Panel, or Inspector if CP doesn't work:

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/16540301/#Comment_16540301

If Inspector doesn't work either, there are other tools to try.

How to I determine the refresh rate of my monitor?

Nevermind I figured out my refresh rate, it's 144. So far it hasn't gone above that.

Any other speed tips you have would be much appreciated. I want to play the game but it is just. so. slow.

puzzlezaddict

What world(s) are you playing in? Some run better than others. And windowed mode can sometimes help; at the very least, it's worth testing to see whether it makes a difference.

If that doesn't help, please move your entire Sims 3 user data folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop. The game will create a new folder when you launch it. Don't add anything to this folder yet; just start a new save in Sunset Valley or Twinbrook and see how it runs. If it's better, that means there's an issue with some content in the old folder.

If the game still lags even with the new folder in place, please run a dxdiag. Hit Windows key-R and enter "dxdiag" without quotes. Let it finish, then click "Save all information," save it to your desktop, upload it somewhere (the free option on pastebin.com is fine), and link it here.

becks1112

puzzlezaddict wrote: »

What world(s) are you playing in? Some run better than others. And windowed mode can sometimes help; at the very least, it's worth testing to see whether it makes a difference.

If that doesn't help, please move your entire Sims 3 user data folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop. The game will create a new folder when you launch it. Don't add anything to this folder yet; just start a new save in Sunset Valley or Twinbrook and see how it runs. If it's better, that means there's an issue with some content in the old folder.

If the game still lags even with the new folder in place, please run a dxdiag. Hit Windows key-R and enter "dxdiag" without quotes. Let it finish, then click "Save all information," save it to your desktop, upload it somewhere (the free option on pastebin.com is fine), and link it here.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try that.

I'm currently playing in the new version of Sunset Valley.

igazor

For what it's worth, since you are attempting to stabilize the game's performance on a new computer it might be best to stay with EA worlds that are known to not have huge performance issues (the regular Sunset Valley, Riverview, Twinbrook as examples) before moving on to custom made worlds. Otherwise there can be too many performance variables in the mix to separate out.

Turjan

If "new version of SV" means SV2020, that runs even better than the original, mostly because it uses a fixed world as basis. During the phase where role sims are assigned, there may be some choppiness involved, which should disappear after a short while.

Of course, if ellacharmed's fixed world was installed correctly, that one would be used in a "new game" start, anyway. Which should eliminate all potential drag by too many role objects.

becks1112

Turjan wrote: »

If "new version of SV" means SV2020, that runs even better than the original, mostly because it uses a fixed world as basis. During the phase where role sims are assigned, there may be some choppiness involved, which should disappear after a short while.

Of course, if ellacharmed's fixed world was installed correctly, that one would be used in a "new game" start, anyway. Which should eliminate all potential drag by too many role objects.

Yes, I meant SV 2020.

InfraGreen

How many High Detail Lots do you allow in graphics settings? You can turn it up and down without exiting the game so it's an easy testing variable.

becks1112

InfraGreen wrote: »

How many High Detail Lots do you allow in graphics settings? You can turn it up and down without exiting the game so it's an easy testing variable.

I think I've got it set to 3 now. I've played with it and didn't notice any difference in game speed.