Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

Thread for new members to post their Sims 3 game issues (2020-22 version!)

Comments

  • SuzyCue72SuzyCue72 Posts: 526 Member
    edited September 2020
    dark wrote: »
    @SuzyCue72 I used Nvidia control panel to activate V-sync

    As for the graphics settings I figured some settings could be taxing my cpu a bit, since i'm running on a laptop and it's running really hot (sometimes close to 100 degrees) But I heard laptop CPU's are build to reach those kind of temperatures. I put them on medium to test whether or not the stutter I had would disappear and it didn't. But now everything works after updating my chipset driver!

    @dark I'd be very interested to see a DxDiag report on your computer if that's possible?

    How to gather information on your PC using DxDiag

    After the report is finished, upload it to Pastebin and put a link to it in your next comment here.

    And about your CPU temperature, I think 100 degrees sounds rather high. What software do you use to measure the temps, only one or several?

    When I played The Sims 4 the CPU on my Asus gaming laptop reached 94 degrees Celsius, which I think is way too high to feel safe, and that is one of the reasons why I stopped playing TS4 altogether. I haven't played it since 2017. When playing Sims 3 the temps rarely go above C 60-70 degrees.
    Post edited by SuzyCue72 on
  • darkdark Posts: 11 New Member
    @SuzyCue72 https://pastebin.com/HAW2Qrg9 There you go

    If it helps: Its not just The Sims 3 that's giving me high temperatures, it's pretty much every game. I had to undervolt my CPU and disable Intel Turbo boost to reduce the heat it produced when idle. I still feel like my CPU is having some heat related issues since the fan makes a lot of noise when active, it's probably worn by now (I've had this laptop for 3 years)

    But CPU aside, I'm still rather confused why my game freezes for just a second when I click on my active sim. The only way to solve this is to run less expansion packs, but I've heard people play with every expansion and no issues whatsoever, so I'm really curious.
  • SuzyCue72SuzyCue72 Posts: 526 Member
    dark wrote: »
    @SuzyCue72 https://pastebin.com/HAW2Qrg9 There you go

    If it helps: Its not just The Sims 3 that's giving me high temperatures, it's pretty much every game. I had to undervolt my CPU and disable Intel Turbo boost to reduce the heat it produced when idle. I still feel like my CPU is having some heat related issues since the fan makes a lot of noise when active, it's probably worn by now (I've had this laptop for 3 years)

    But CPU aside, I'm still rather confused why my game freezes for just a second when I click on my active sim. The only way to solve this is to run less expansion packs, but I've heard people play with every expansion and no issues whatsoever, so I'm really curious.

    @dark It seems like many/most HP laptops are prone to overheating, I've seen a lot of people all over the internet complaining about it, and asking for help and advice, if there's anything they can do to avoid it.

    And in your case it looks like the integrated graphics chip on the i7-7700HQ (Intel HD Graphics 630) has been disabled by the manufacturer, which means that the strong dedicated card is running constantly, thus adding to the overheating tendency.

    In a laptop with dual graphics configuration the small chip is doing most of the work alone, with the dedicated card in idle state/powered off.

    I have a few gaming laptops, with and without dual graphics, and there is a significant difference between them when it comes to heat generation and fan sound level. The "duals" are noticably cooler and more quiet. Usually I can't even hear the fans. On the "non duals" the fans are running practically all the time, not loud at all, but audible.

    Things to try to get the temp down (if you haven't already):

    Lower the screen refresh rate, (Hz), to 60, which with Vsync on would then cap the FPS to 60 also.

    Lower the in-game resolution.

    Use a cooling pad.

    Check to see if the vents are blocked by something like dust, lint and/or pet hair etc.
  • darkdark Posts: 11 New Member
    > @SuzyCue72 said:
    > (Quote)
    >
    > @dark It seems like many/most HP laptops are prone to overheating, I've seen a lot of people all over the internet complaining about it, and asking for help and advice, if there's anything they can do to avoid it.
    >
    > And in your case it looks like the integrated graphics chip on the i7-7700HQ (Intel HD Graphics 630) has been disabled by the manufacturer, which means that the strong dedicated card is running constantly, thus adding to the overheating tendency.
    >
    > In a laptop with dual graphics configuration the small chip is doing most of the work alone, with the dedicated card in idle state/powered off.
    >
    > I have a few gaming laptops, with and without dual graphics, and there is a significant difference between them when it comes to heat generation and fan sound level. The "duals" are noticably cooler and more quiet. Usually I can't even hear the fans. On the "non duals" the fans are running practically all the time, not loud at all, but audible.
    >
    > Things to try to get the temp down (if you haven't already):
    >
    > Lower the screen refresh rate, (Hz), to 60, which with Vsync on would then cap the FPS to 60 also.
    >
    > Lower the in-game resolution.
    >
    > Use a cooling pad.
    >
    > Check to see if the vents are blocked by something like dust, lint and/or pet hair etc.

    I actually took my laptop apart today to clean a small bit of dust, but unfortunately it did not do anything to cool down my laptop.
    I will try the tips you've given me and i'll let you know how that went, thanks!
  • darkdark Posts: 11 New Member
    Alright, I've done some object resets in my world and boy did I find something that might just be a contribution to my lag:

    https://pasteboard.co/JqFs3c0.png
    There's a stones throw greenhouse in my town that just keeps spitting out seeds, right now there are at least 300 seeds but it's strange, because when I check it out through MasterController I can see that the seeds are called "***Seed spawner DO NOT USE"

    I have no idea what to do now, just remove the items? Hope that overwatch does the job of clearing it? Full town reset?
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited September 2020
    @dark - There is a bug (well, we assume so anyway because this can't really have been intended) with the greenhouse in that whenever you place it and rotate it around, it doubles over the number of seed spawners. If you are using a lot that someone else created, it may have come to you in this state.

    Since you already have MasterController, the excess seeds and spawners can be gotten rid of most efficiently by doing on the lot in question, NRaas > MC > Object Stats > Non-Inventory and select the unwanted spawners and seeds from the menu list to Flush (MC Cheats add-on module required). Then you may want to go into Build/Buy Mode with the buydebug cheat on and replace a couple of the seed spawners, but not the insane number of them that may have originally been there. Or try it without spawners for a while if your sims are not really in need of a sane but constant supply of seeds.

    You could also use the standard buydebug cheat to reveal the spawners and get rid of them and the seeds through Build/Buy Mode using the sledgehammer, but if there are that many of them then that could take quite a lot of work.
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • SuzyCue72SuzyCue72 Posts: 526 Member
    dark wrote: »
    > @SuzyCue72 said:
    > (Quote)
    >
    > @dark It seems like many/most HP laptops are prone to overheating, I've seen a lot of people all over the internet complaining about it, and asking for help and advice, if there's anything they can do to avoid it.
    >
    > And in your case it looks like the integrated graphics chip on the i7-7700HQ (Intel HD Graphics 630) has been disabled by the manufacturer, which means that the strong dedicated card is running constantly, thus adding to the overheating tendency.
    >
    > In a laptop with dual graphics configuration the small chip is doing most of the work alone, with the dedicated card in idle state/powered off.
    >
    > I have a few gaming laptops, with and without dual graphics, and there is a significant difference between them when it comes to heat generation and fan sound level. The "duals" are noticably cooler and more quiet. Usually I can't even hear the fans. On the "non duals" the fans are running practically all the time, not loud at all, but audible.
    >
    > Things to try to get the temp down (if you haven't already):
    >
    > Lower the screen refresh rate, (Hz), to 60, which with Vsync on would then cap the FPS to 60 also.
    >
    > Lower the in-game resolution.
    >
    > Use a cooling pad.
    >
    > Check to see if the vents are blocked by something like dust, lint and/or pet hair etc.

    I actually took my laptop apart today to clean a small bit of dust, but unfortunately it did not do anything to cool down my laptop.
    I will try the tips you've given me and i'll let you know how that went, thanks!

    @dark Yes, please do! It's always interesting and valuable to get feedback, especially if/when people find solutions to their problems, whether they are computer- and/or game related. :)
  • darkdark Posts: 11 New Member
    @igazor it worked! Thanks a lot!

    @SuzyCue72 I tried your advice (apart from using a cooling pad) and sadly, nothing reallly worked. I eventually disabled turbo-boost on my laptop through third party programs. I got the temperature down to about 85 degrees which is good enough for me. The laptop I have is more than 3 years old, and wasn't even a brand new laptop on the market when I bought it, so I figured it might just be the laptop's cooling system slowly degrading. It's bearable, but I'll have to think of replacing the parts, or just installing The Sims 3 on my Desktop PC and play from there (I just really like taking The Sims 3 along with me) But all in all, thanks for taking the time to help!
  • SuzyCue72SuzyCue72 Posts: 526 Member
    dark wrote: »
    @SuzyCue72 I tried your advice (apart from using a cooling pad) and sadly, nothing reallly worked. I eventually disabled turbo-boost on my laptop through third party programs. I got the temperature down to about 85 degrees which is good enough for me. The laptop I have is more than 3 years old, and wasn't even a brand new laptop on the market when I bought it, so I figured it might just be the laptop's cooling system slowly degrading. It's bearable, but I'll have to think of replacing the parts, or just installing The Sims 3 on my Desktop PC and play from there (I just really like taking The Sims 3 along with me) But all in all, thanks for taking the time to help!

    @dark It's age can certainly have something to do with it, but not necessarily, because I've seen quite a few people with brand new HP laptops still having severe overheating problems. One person had temps between 55-70 degrees C with the computer on idle! That sounds completely crazy if you ask me. My gaming laptops with good cooling systems usually are between 35-45 on idle, and about 45-70 under more or less heavy load.

    By "replacing the parts", do you mean the components inside the laptop?
  • darkdark Posts: 11 New Member
    @SuzyCue72 Yes, I meant replacing the fan, but after what happened yesterday that seems to already be happening...

    The fan stopped spinning yesterday, giving me a warning when I booted up my laptop. So I sent it to a computer store to get it fixed (after completely obliterating 2 screws that were in the laptop lid, making it impossible for me to open the thing)

    So now I wait, I really don't like having to hand over my laptop for repairs since it has all my personal files on it, I use it for school as well...

    On another note, I installed The Sims 3 on my desktop PC and it runs smooth as butter! No lag whatsoever, but it makes sense since I have custom cooling for that CPU, which makes it able to run at 4.1 GhZ which is pretty nice for an Intel Core i5. So I would say getting your CPU to run at reasonable temps and a nice clock speed will definitely help you run The Sims 3 without lag.
  • SuzyCue72SuzyCue72 Posts: 526 Member
    dark wrote: »
    @SuzyCue72 Yes, I meant replacing the fan, but after what happened yesterday that seems to already be happening...

    The fan stopped spinning yesterday, giving me a warning when I booted up my laptop. So I sent it to a computer store to get it fixed (after completely obliterating 2 screws that were in the laptop lid, making it impossible for me to open the thing)

    So now I wait, I really don't like having to hand over my laptop for repairs since it has all my personal files on it, I use it for school as well...

    On another note, I installed The Sims 3 on my desktop PC and it runs smooth as butter! No lag whatsoever, but it makes sense since I have custom cooling for that CPU, which makes it able to run at 4.1 GhZ which is pretty nice for an Intel Core i5. So I would say getting your CPU to run at reasonable temps and a nice clock speed will definitely help you run The Sims 3 without lag.

    @dark So the fan was apparently on its last legs then, hopefully they'll put a new one in without charging you an arm and a leg for it. Is it a computer store that you know well and trust from past experience? You have to choose carefully, because some of the personnel in those stores aren't always very knowledgeable when it comes to doing troubleshooting and repairing.

    I understand that 100 %, I wouldn't want to do it either. I've seen cases where the clumsy nitwits, so called repair men, have erased everything on the hard drive just by accident. :s I REALLY hope that won't happen to your laptop.

    That sounds great! I agree that desktops usually are much better if you're playing games, especially that they're so much less likely to overheat than laptops. Which is fully understandable when you compare the space inside them, and also the size and efficiency of the cooling fans.

    Which i5 is it, and what GPU?
  • darkdark Posts: 11 New Member
    @SuzyCue72 It's an i5 6600K, and the GPU is GTX 1060, so the GPU is the same as my laptop's but the non-mobile version which is a bit better
  • 8989898989898989 Posts: 11 New Member
    More of a browser issue

    Hi,
    Yesterday I did an update on windows. And every time I go on Lana cc finds, I cant download anything without having a threat detected by avast

    has anyone had that issue with the recent window updates? I try to play in the setting but got nothing.
    Also downloading from tsr and mod the sims if fine.

    Thank you kindly for the help
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited September 2020
    @89898989 - That sounds like more of an Avast issue than a Windows or browser specific one. Although it's pretty popular in the anti-virus/malware arena, most players aren't going to have Avast because there are so many others out there. And many of us find that Microsoft's built-in Defender is good enough for Win 10; others' needs will vary.

    There's really no way to tell Avast to make an exception for that page? Can you switch off it's browser/web page protection system without switching off any of the other protections it provides? Does it matter if you use a different browser?
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • Fruity_pebbles19Fruity_pebbles19 Posts: 10 New Member
    Hi again, today my game launcher and origin will not open suddenly. I was reading an old forum post by you (I would tag you on here but I do not know how) and you were explaining about the super patch so I was looking into that and trying to get that to work. It downloaded fine and I doubled clicked it to use it with the launcher, it said about with setup.exe so I clicked it and it said "the setup has detected that no version of The Sims 3 is installed. This update requires that a previous version of the application be installed." And on some files the Sims 3 logo is there and on others it is a blue and white picture.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @Fruity_pebbles19 - This is now an Origin for Windows install? The SuperPatcher is strictly for retail disc and Mac installs, it should never be run on Origin (for Windows) or Steam controlled games as it will break them.

    Does an Origin Repair Game help at all?
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • Fruity_pebbles19Fruity_pebbles19 Posts: 10 New Member
    I can’t open both origin and game launcher. I did install with disks and origin just popped up when I put the disks in. But when I play I use the launcher not origin. Is there another way to use the repair game option? I didn’t want to uninstall and reinstall either origin or the game without having any suggestion to
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited September 2020
    @Fruity_pebbles19 - Okay, I think there are too many variables in play here. You used to have a less than legitimate install (assuming it was the same computer, we wouldn't know if the Windows Registry was cleaned effectively after its removal). You installed from disc, but Origin is trying to control the game, which is fine, but Origin is where the Repair Game function is. That leaves us with not knowing which patch level your game is on, 1.67 (disc) or 1.69 (Origin).

    I can understand not wanting to reinstall the game itself again, but removing and reinstalling Origin is usually painless.

    I suggest that you bring the issue to the TS3 board on EA's Answers.HQ forum. There are helpers there who will work with you to get to the bottom of this problem until your game is working the way it is meant to.
    https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/bd-p/the-sims-3
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • Vic2Point0Vic2Point0 Posts: 16 New Member
    Not sure if this is where I'm supposed to be posting this, but I can't create a new Discussion for some reason so here I go.

    I'm trying to figure out a way to completely remove certain books (written by my Sim) from the game. I downloaded a mod that lets me delete the book itself, but the name of the book is still saved somewhere in the game's memory. I know this because I tried starting a new book with the same name and it wouldn't let me.

    So does anyone know how to completely erase the game's memory of a particular book? Or even where the file for that is? Thanks in advance!
  • MarioMario Posts: 3 New Member
    Hi! I have recently switched to a new device and I'm wondering if I can smoothly run The Sims 3 on it. I'm talking about Dell Inspiron 5490 i5-10210U/20GB/512/Win10 FHD FPR. Any help will be very appreciated :D
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited September 2020
    @Mario - There are several configurations available under that product line. Can we get a better sense of your system's actual specs (we see the processor). Does it really have 20 GB of RAM and which graphics card?
    Post edited by igazor on
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • MarioMario Posts: 3 New Member
    > @igazor said:
    > @Mario - There are several configurations available under that product line. Can we get either a better sense of your system's actual specs (we see the processor). Does it really have 20 GB of RAM and which graphics card?

    This is the exact model I own, specs included :) Yes, it does have 20GB of RAM; it has Intel UHD Graphics card
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    @Mario - You can certainly run TS3 on that system, or should be expected to, on low to medium settings in Game Options but its lack of a dedicated graphics card will be holding things back. The heaviest of the EPs might be too much for it -- Pets and Seasons. I would be cautious about adding in IP and ITF as well. Integrated graphics put more stress on the processor and RAM, and as the game is 32-bit only, that will again be limiting to an extent. Actual performance will depend on player habits, gameplay style, and will sometimes vary for no apparent reasons.

    If you like to push things to their limits, you will need to monitor its cooling system (the fans might just ramp up on you a lot) because its processor will have to run in Turbo Mode throughout gameplay to keep up with the game's demands. An external cooling pad might be helpful.

    So TL;DR = Yes, the game will run, but how well or satisfying it will be would depend on your expectations and patience with it.
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • MarioMario Posts: 3 New Member
    @igazor Thank you for your advice, I will reconsider downloading the game - after all I don't want to overload my laptop :) also, I have rather high expectations when it comes to the graphical side of the game, so it's a pity it won't be so great :/ maybe I will find some other way round :))
    Thanks again for helping me out!
  • AuroraskiesAuroraskies Posts: 1,834 Member
    @Vic2Point0
    If it wasn’t the mod you meant; you could try Awesome Mod, and the command: "burnbook <TITLE>".

    I have not tried it myself, and am not by my gaming computer to test it.

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file
Return to top