Upgrading my Monitor «12...Next Go

MintieSimmer

I don't know if I was supposed to make a new discussion for this but..I am wanting a new monitor, my current monitor was used as a tv, it is kinda pixelated (not only in game) And i'm not sure if it's the monitor or if it is because of my specs (listed below)

phoebebebe13

What is your video card?

MintieSimmer

Sorry for the late response, @phoebebebe13 I wasn't home

phoebebebe13

HD graphics don't meet requirements to run the game, Your issue may be the video card , not your TV. I need to make sure you don't have a second video card.

Can you post your DxDiag please. Windows Key and R key will open up your run box in the lower left hand corner of your computer. In the run box type DxDiag, hit Ok, let it load and chose save. Your DxDiag will be saved in a text file to documents. Can you please upload the DxDiag text file to https://pastebin.com .Once you upload the DxDiag to pastebin, post the link to your pastebin here . Thank you

MintieSimmer

Here you go @phoebebebe13 https://pastebin.com/GpLzF7cG

phoebebebe13

Is this a mini or a full tower? If it is a mini you would need a new computer to play on that meets requirements. if it's a tower the hardware is probably too old to try and upgrade but I will call in @chesterbigbird. for her opinion

MintieSimmer

I'm not sure which it is(I don't know much about tech ) This is what I have though

MintieSimmer

Well, i'm pretty positive that's it.

phoebebebe13

I don't believe you can upgrade that. It's the compact not a full tower. It's old and made for general use, not gaming. Do you have another computer to play on? If not someone here can help you find a computer that meets requirements should you choose to invest in a new computer . This game does require a gaming computer and has certain spec requirements to run the game . Sorry for the bad news

MintieSimmer

No need to apologize, I haven't had this one for that long, a few months, and the game quality isn't too bad, but i've seen others be better. Atleast this can handle being on ultra and have mods. (runs smoothly, just is a little pixelated) So I will just deal with it, it isn't a needed upgrade just a want.

SimplyJen

A better 1080p monitor would allow you to play in a bigger resolution but it's likely to affect how your computer performs while running Sims 4. The slight increase in quality wouldn't knock your socks off or be worth it. The more you force the computer to handle what it's not equipped for, the sooner it will start to give out.

I would save for a better set up whether your old enough for a job or able to find some jobs around the neighborhood such as babysitting, dog walking, mowing the lawn, house cleaning, or even washing cars.

phoebebebe13

Is your TV 1080p resolution? Can you lower the resolution on your TV? You can also lower the resolution in your game options. it wont be pretty. You can also check off laptop mode in game options even if you have a low end desktop. You can play in windowed mode . All that will take stress off your computer. The game requirements might go higher if you intend on adding seasons. Seasons always makes the sims games more demanding on a computer. I don't know how well your computer will do with that EP. You may run into issues

MintieSimmer

I haven't ran into any game problems, only being pixelated. And as for the resolution I am not sure, we have had this tv for a while. However I never though to change the resolution in settings (not in game settings) I changed the resolution to 1366x768 (recommended) and it looks a little better, I am not sure why that wasn't the default though

MintieSimmer

I would also like to point out, I don't play in laptop mode and I already play in windowed mode, only because alot of times I listen to music when I play, in windowed mode I can easily get back to google

phoebebebe13

pixelated is a problem. you can ruin the video card that is integrated with your processor. It's because that video card can't handle the game. As you add more and more to this game, the game will become more and more demanding on a computer . Your processor is fine but your video card is a problem. With the type of computer you have, you cant upgrade the video card.

Laptop mode will just take more stress of your computer. You can check off laptop mode and still play in windowed mode.

MintieSimmer

What am I supposed to do then, not play the game? I don't have the money for a new computer, I just got this one.

phoebebebe13

You risk ruining the computer playing the game. As long as your aware that can happen. That's up to you whether you continue to play on that computer. Your already having pixel issues because it does not meet requirements to run the game and the computer is not designed to run this game. As you add more to the game, you will add more stress on that computer. I get that it may be a new computer to you, but it has very old hardware. It's not a new off the shelf computer with new hardware.

are you having heating issues? your computer has no cooling. You generate allot more heat while gaming Heat can do permanent damage to a computer. This could also contribute to your pixel issues. This game does require a gaming computer with specific gaming hardware. These computers will also have specific cooling to handle gaming

MintieSimmer

I've never had heating issues

phoebebebe13

You monitor your temps in game? What are you using?

You can download cupid monitor. when I add the link in here it is sending me elsewhere which is not good . Just google cupid monitor

You open the app at desktop and keep it opened , Start your game,play a little while and exit. Read your average temps on GPU CPU

Your still ruining your video card playing this game. Heat will make it worse/

chesterbigbird

I actually would not recommend a higher resolution monitor as your integrated intel graphics will not be able to handle it and your simming experience will suffer.
If you want a new one then i would only recommend the same resolution as you have now
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GI2UR6Q/ref=psdc_1292115011_t4_B00S8W8QMG
It's not going to a big monitor as bigger would mean a higher resolution (as low resolution on a bigger screen makes things look washed out.)
If not replacing your existing desktop is not an option (it really is needed for gaming though) Then make sure the in game resolution setting is the same as your actual monitor resolution and be very careful of heat, Which means no long play sessions when your ambient temperature is high. If you ever get crashing or pc restarts then it's going to be from overheating. And just be mindful that it can shorten the life of the pc.

phoebebebe13

@chesterbigbird I don't think it''s their TV. They have HD graphics and a really old refurbished pc . Did you see the DxDiag. Its n old HP mini tower

ScarletSimEater

I'm doing things right now that shorten the lifespan of my computer. That's okay because the alternative is not using it. And if that's your goal, why even have a computer in the first place? Some amount of non-ideal use is fine.

That said, Phoebe is spot on when she says that the computer really doesn't have much oomph behind it. One of the reasons it made the image so pixelated is because that's easier on the graphics. (To simplify from computer speak, the graphics card has to draw each and every pixel on your screen, and that's a lot of work. Lowering the resolution means pretending there are fewer pixels, which means less work. Buying a higher resolution monitor means drawing a lot more pixels, which means a lot more work.) You can play with the settings turned down and possibly turning down the resolution as well. Adding expansions will add more strain to your system, and might push you to the point where the game won't run. But so long as you can run basic sims without too many problems, keep doing that.

Also, the monitoring tool isn't named after a little love fairy. The address is cpuid.com

SimsILikeSims

I would try playing the game in laptop mode. Laptops typically do not have much in the way of graphics cards. Another thing you can do if you just can't stand playing in laptop mode, is to turn down the graphics details in the graphics settings. Also, make sure your graphics card has the latest drivers. I had trouble playing Sims 3 on my laptop when it first came out until I updated my graphics drivers. (Objects were stretching in bizarre ways.) Once I updated my graphics drivers, I was able to play Sims 3 on my laptop (which had integrated graphics BTW). After I had installed ALL the expansion packs for Sims 3 on my laptop, and much of the store content, and about 2-4 GB of custom content, my Sims 3 game took about 30 minutes to load, including 1 full minute of a blank screen. Since I played games on computers in the 1980's, I was patient enough to sit through the black screen. (Some games simply took that long before you saw ANYTHING in the 80's, in the days of cassette drives for the VIC 20. Literally, a game on cassette tape took 5 full minutes to load, no graphics to keep you occupied, only the words loading...that was my teenage years) And once it was loaded, it played well enough for me. Once I found out about the frame rate cheat, I tried it out of curiousity. On my Windows 7 laptop with integrated graphics, Sims 3 was getting a frame rate of between 11 and 16 fps. But since I was desensitized to it in the 80s, it didn't even seem choppy to me. (If you've ever played the original Space Invaders, you might get the picture.)

chesterbigbird

phoebebebe13 wrote: »

@chesterbigbird I don't think it''s their TV. They have HD graphics and a really old refurbished pc . Did you see the DxDiag. Its n old HP mini tower

Yes i know their pc is well below recommended that's why i wouldn't go with a 1080p monitor.. However some cheap tv's can distort and make the pc images blury.. especially at 720p. But yes the pc is very low end.

SimsILikeSims

MintieSimmer wrote: »

No need to apologize, I haven't had this one for that long, a few months, and the game quality isn't too bad, but i've seen others be better. Atleast this can handle being on ultra and have mods. (runs smoothly, just is a little pixelated) So I will just deal with it, it isn't a needed upgrade just a want.

If it is pixelated, that means it is seriously struggling to be on ultra, and you should probably turn down the graphics settings. Ultra mode is designed for higher-end gaming machines. The laptop I still have that is a Windows 7 laptop with integrated graphics, I never run it on ultra. My gaming desktop on the other hand, I do. I don't have as much of a beast as the guy with the GTX 1080 - I have an NVIDIA GeForce 970 and my machine is just barely VR capable, but Sims 4 is just not as demanding of the graphics card as many other games. (I bought my gaming desktop one year after Sims 4 came out.) Your mods are probably not your problem unless you have too many of them (like I do - I have about 24 GB in my full mods folder, and only use all of them when I have the whole day to spend gaming since it takes 20 minutes to load with that much cc and mods). For a machine like yours, I would keep the size of your Mods folder under about 5 GB.

phoebebebe13

chesterbigbird wrote: »

phoebebebe13 wrote: »

@chesterbigbird I don't think it''s their TV. They have HD graphics and a really old refurbished pc . Did you see the DxDiag. Its n old HP mini tower

Yes i know their pc is well below recommended that's why i wouldn't go with a 1080p monitor.. However some cheap tv's can distort and make the pc images blury.. especially at 720p. But yes the pc is very low end.

I know , but they don't need a new monitor. they did have the game resolution set too high they said it got a little better when they changed that . They would be better off taking that monitor money and saving up for a new pc with new hardware that meets requirements