the sims 3 graphics issue, chunks missing from sims and land/water, distorted triangles.

[punkprincess]

i was trying to play both the sims 2 and 3 and this weird graphics issue i've never seen before occurred. :cry: there's large chunks missing in the sims hair, body, the ground, and the water and what looks like stretched out triangles. i can't seem to fix it. i've tried updating the drivers, i also re-installed all the games, i have done a system restore because i thought i might have downloaded something that affected the game, and i've downloaded the game's patches but nothing has seemed to work. i have also tried looking for answers through the web to see if others have experienced this but they're problems are different than the one i've been having.
the games worked a few months ago without any issues.

System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 220 Processor (2 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3840MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Card name: ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x9616)

this is what the issues on both games look like:

http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r595/swest2010/IMG_1729.jpg

http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r595/swest2010/IMG_1728.jpg

just looking for some answers so i can play. thanks!

[Ghost sdoj]

I don't seem to see your graphics card listed in the System Requirements list here at MTS (http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:TS3_System_Requirements) I am also not enough of a techie to know if that is integrated graphics or a separate card, but it does sound like it's not dealing well with the game and it finally quit trying.

[faytdarkblade]

I'm actually having the exact same problem. I noticed it after I updated my graphics card its a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 Series.

[punkprincess]

i think it happened after mine updated too. i don't know what to do. maybe invest in a new graphics card or wait until another update?

[whiterider]

Is that a prebuilt or a laptop? If so, could you tell us the make and model so we can check properly which graphics card it comes with?

[Gamineannie]

I am having the exact same problem. At first I thought it was just a messed-up store world, but all others are the same - like triangular holed Swiss cheese.

My PC is a Hewlett-Packard desktop model p7-1020, with AMD Phenom II X4 960T processor 3.00 GHz, 8.00 GB RAM, running Windows 7 64-bit. Graphics card is an ATI RAdeon HD4200. I just installed the latest graphics card update or thought I had, but it is still showing an update date of 4/05/12 for version 8.961.0.0. If there is any other information needed, please let me know (and where to find it, please), and I'll gather that, too.

[whiterider]

Well, the 4200 is nowhere near supported for TS3 (to give you some idea, NotebookCheck's review of it includes the line "Older games like Doom 3 (2004) or Quake 4 (2005) should be barely playable."), so problems aren't at all unexpected. It is possible that a recent driver update is the cause of the problem, so you may want to try rolling back to a driver version which you know worked in the past. However, in your case, Annie, it's more likely that the card is just on its way out.

[Gamineannie]

Thanks for the swift answer, whiterider. Less so for the bad news, and why am I not surprised - seems like if there is one graphics card that doesn't work with this game, I will own it (fortunately, there are so many to NOT choose from). Well, guess it's time to see what is available as an affordable replacement that meets with the approval of the above referenced requirements list.

[whiterider]

Make sure to check that your power supply unit is strong enough for any replacement you buy. That particular card is odd - it's an integrated graphics chip by design, but it seems that manufacturers can also "upgrade" it to make it a dedicated card. I don't know which version you have, but either will probably have a very low power consumption, whereas gaming cards don't. If you need more help with that, I suggest making your own thread in the Computer & Software support forum. :)

[punkprincess]

my computer is an Asus Essentio CM1730 desktop and came with the ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics. is there any possible way of going back to another driver before the update because i definitely think that's when the problems started happening, after i updated it.

[whiterider]

Interesting. It seems 3000 is in fact the precise model number, but it doesn't seem to be present on the majority of comparison charts. Odd. In any case, research suggests that it is about on a par with 5-6 year old entry level dedicated graphics cards such as the GeForce 8400, which means that it's nowhere near sufficient to play TS3. It's possible that a driver update nudged it over the edge into total failure, but it wasn't going to last long anyway, even without any possible driver problems. Stop playing TS3 on that computer until you can save up for a replacement power supply unit and a graphics card - the 3000 is integrated with the motherboard, which means that if you break it (which is likely if you keep trying to play TS3), you'll have to replace the motherboard as well, and that's a lot of complex work.

[Belzader]

If only the intregrated video-card breaks, there is no need to replace the mother-board, just installing a seperate one will make the computer work again, since most modern motherboards will automaticly switch off the integrated one if another is present.
Though stressing it to death, it will most likely take other parts with it when it dies.

[whiterider]

Indeed - the last sentence is the issue. It's not guaranteed to damage the motherboard, of course, but if it does then you'd be in trouble.

[punkprincess]

i will replace the graphics card i have in my system now with something on the list of cards that work well with the games. i don't want to have to spend a crazy amount of money but i found one that is well within budget but will my system support it? i was thinking about getting this one.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Ati+5450&hl=en&prmd=imvns&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1777&bih=861&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=2253307112895891966&sa=X&ei=op2-T_6kFNGA6QGQ1pAt&ved=0CLMBEPMCMAM

[Belzader]

Expansion Slots 2 x PCI
1 x PCI-e x1
1 x PCI-e 2.0 x16
PCI Express - AMD Radeon - Powercolor - 1 GB - VGA - DVI - HDMI - Dual-link DVI

So yes your system support it.
But you need to replace your powersupply, Power Supply Peak 300 W (PFC) the one that comes with the system will burn up if you put in that video-card and most likely take other parts of the computer with it when it does.
The minimum for that card on Powercolor's website is:
Minimum System Power requirement (W) 350W, so i recommend to get one with atleast 400-500W and make sure it's not the peak value, a PSU won't last long if it have to run on it's limit all the time.
I recommend one of theese:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=PSU+500w&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=14138032232406693380&sa=X&ei=wb_BT7jnGMTDswbVzpyRCg&ved=0CIEBEOUNMAA#
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=PSU+500w&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13672055349249141206&sa=X&ei=wb_BT7jnGMTDswbVzpyRCg&ved=0CJEBEOUNMAI#
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=PSU+500w&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13016415457492124182&sa=X&ei=wb_BT7jnGMTDswbVzpyRCg&ved=0CKEBEOUNMAQ#
Yes, they cost abit but your computer will run smoothly and you don't have to worry about that it won't get power enough.

[punkprincess]

okayy. thank you guys so much for your help!

[faytdarkblade]

I saw the post and it makes sense to me but...how do I change my driver back?

[Belzader]

That depends on your OS but generally, it's done from device manager, display adapter, expand that and double left click on the listed card (or right click and choose properties) then choose the driver tab and click on roll back driver button.
Or if you still have the old driver installation files, unistall the new one and reinstall the old one.

[whiterider]

That card isn't a great choice for TS3. According to the Game Help:TS3 System Requirements, it will work fine for just the basegame and WA (and the equivalent patches), but if you want to install later patches or EPs, you will start having problems. I recommend going for one which has a green Yes for all current EPs - and preferably not the lowest one in a series with all green Yesses either.

[punkprincess]

i mostly just want to start playing the sims 2 and it's expansions again. all i have is the base game for the sims 3 and i think i'm just gonna stick with that.

[Gamineannie]

Just a quick note to say I went ahead and installed a Radeon HD 5450 card. I'm sorry I was a touch stingy with the thanks, Whiterider, because the difference is like night and dawn. Not quite high noon, but loads better than the old "card".
Of course, now there's another patch out to ruin what fun I was almost having.....

[purex13]

hey, im having the same problem with the graphics triangles which is really starting to frustrate me.
I have NO prblems whatsoever in playing Diablo 3 which requires higher graphics i believe...

I have an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6550, i have done system requirement checks and it says that my comput ed is MORE then capable to run this game, however these graphic glitches are in the way making it near impossible to play.

Hopefully somebody could help ASAP! thanks

[pcfreak147]

i had this problem to with my ATI graphics card. you have to download the 12.4a hotfix. see the link.

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/AMDCatalyst124ahotfix.aspx