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Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 8:24 PM
Choppy performance on high end PC with all EPs. Please help - stumped!
Hey everyone! New here. Not exactly sure where it would be best to post this, but here goes;

So I'm aware this has probably been asked by a million people a million times, but for whatever reason I seem to have extremely poor performance when I run The Sims 3 with almost all EPs and Stuff packs, as well as a bunch of store content.
Now I hear you say "Well duh, you just answered your own question."

But here's the thing: I'm running a fairly decent rig that consists of the following hardware that makes a difference:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 3,4 Ghz. Quad Core CPU
1x4GB DDR3 RAM
Msi GTX 760 OC 4GB GDDR5

While I can play games like Crysis and Battlefield and such on fairly high settings on a 1080p resolution, in the Sims 3 I have to pull down most of my settings to low - medium and then hope for the best to get a playable performance. It's bugging the hell out of me.
Hell, Sims 3 used to run even smoother on my old Geforce 9600GT 1GB with 2GB RAM, and an AMD 64 Athlon 2,2 Ghz quad core CPU.
Of course, that was just the base game.

It really doesn't make sense to me how only having more stuff in my game should make the game so heavy. It really IS the game that's causing problems I think, because everything else seems fine. (I've monitored performance via Msi Afterburner and various other software) My RAM never spiked above 80% either while playing.

I'm completely stumped, and really upset I can barely play Sims 3 with medium settings...

To anyone who asks: Yes, I have tried completely reinstalling, with and without CC - it doesn't matter, it's gives me the same.
It's like it's either the patches, or the content that's causing it. I have no idea.
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 8:31 PM
Story of my life concerning this game
Funny how the more money you fork over the worst your game becomes
Test Subject
#3 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 9:48 PM
Because of pathing issues, especially with horses and some of the premade neighborhoods, you're going to have lag no matter what you do. You can try some of Nraas' mods like Overwatch though and that might smooth things out a bit more.
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#4 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 9:52 PM
That's not really a high end PC - the CPU is rather nice, but 4GB of RAM and a GTX 760 is what I'd consider adequate for TS3 with all EPs, not good.

But even if you had the best consumer PC in the world, TS3 would still perform like complete shite.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Instructor
Original Poster
#5 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 10:22 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Lilana_Astrix
Because of pathing issues, especially with horses and some of the premade neighborhoods, you're going to have lag no matter what you do. You can try some of Nraas' mods like Overwatch though and that might smooth things out a bit more.


Yeah, I've figured that much. I'm already using Nraas' mods though, including Overwatch.
Theorist
#6 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 10:23 PM
Need moar RAM. You said it never goes above 80%. I've seen in multiple places that say if your RAM usage even hits 80%, your machine slows down drastically. I'd increase the RAM and try to make sure usage stays well below 80%. It's a very RAM-hungry game.

Although some lag is perfectly normal. It's a very un-optimized game. I get plenty of lag with an FX-8320 oc'd to 4GHz, 16GB of RAM, and an HD7870.

Resident wet blanket.
Instructor
Original Poster
#7 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 10:27 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Nysha
That's not really a high end PC - the CPU is rather nice, but 4GB of RAM and a GTX 760 is what I'd consider adequate for TS3 with all EPs, not good.

But even if you had the best consumer PC in the world, TS3 would still perform like complete shite.


High end, adequate, call it as you like. The bottom line is it's more than capable of smoothly running pretty much any game.
Of course, I'm aware of the issues that Sims 3 is notorious for. But seriously. The performance on it is a joke right now. An expensive, bad joke.
Instructor
Original Poster
#8 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 10:45 PM
Quote: Originally posted by GnatGoSplat
Need moar RAM. You said it never goes above 80%. I've seen in multiple places that say if your RAM usage even hits 80%, your machine slows down drastically. I'd increase the RAM and try to make sure usage stays well below 80%. It's a very RAM-hungry game.

Although some lag is perfectly normal. It's a very un-optimized game. I get plenty of lag with an FX-8320 oc'd to 4GHz, 16GB of RAM, and an HD7870.


I'm actually considering getting more. I just haven't been doing too well on funds for a long time now, but as soon as I get a gap, I'll take care of it. It's good that you mention this. I knew I wasn't the only one considering the RAM a part of the issue. Mostly because the game never even gets to use the full 4GB because of Windows and a few other apps like Steam running.

It does make sense that nearly every EP + Stuffpack, as well as a crapload of store content will no doubt make my game choppy. Especially with a lack of RAM, and especially going hand in hand with the GPU I've got (which prefers more RAM to work with)
Though I'm fairly sure it's the game itself as well as my RAM, I'm just happy to see other people's opinions about this issue specifically. The kind where the game just runs choppily, rather than the typical pathfinding issues and such piling up.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 31st Jul 2014 at 11:49 PM
I had incredible lag when I installed Island Paradise. Then I put in a couple of Twallan mods - error check and overwatch and installed ellacharmed's fixed version of the world. I also needed to get rid of an outdated version of a couple of mods. Things run much better although Island Paradise is really bad - Sims get stuck all the time. Still, now I can play by the occasional resetsim * instead of just sitting through lags every few seconds.

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
Instructor
Original Poster
#10 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 12:27 AM
Quote: Originally posted by VerDeTerre
I had incredible lag when I installed Island Paradise. Then I put in a couple of Twallan mods - error check and overwatch and installed ellacharmed's fixed version of the world. I also needed to get rid of an outdated version of a couple of mods. Things run much better although Island Paradise is really bad - Sims get stuck all the time. Still, now I can play by the occasional resetsim * instead of just sitting through lags every few seconds.


A long time ago I noticed that too. My god, Isla Paradiso is a major clusterfudge of routing issues and too much crap going on. I try to avoid it. But I'm glad modders take the time to make right the wrongs of the devs.
Theorist
#11 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 4:28 PM
Quote: Originally posted by MarcyRoars
It does make sense that nearly every EP + Stuffpack, as well as a crapload of store content will no doubt make my game choppy. Especially with a lack of RAM, and especially going hand in hand with the GPU I've got (which prefers more RAM to work with)
Though I'm fairly sure it's the game itself as well as my RAM, I'm just happy to see other people's opinions about this issue specifically. The kind where the game just runs choppily, rather than the typical pathfinding issues and such piling up.


Yes, you're absolutely right that the game itself has issues. I doubt anyone who has every EP and SP has a game that runs 100% lag-free on any machine.

Although I think RAM will help you more, have you also considered overclocking the CPU? Is your computer a home-built kind where it has a motherboard capable of overclocking? It would be almost like a "free" upgrade in performance, anyway. I ask because I had the same CPU and was able to get a very stable 4GHz overclock out of it with a slight bump in Vcore. If it's the 125W version of the chip (a program like CPU-Z could tell you), I think you should have enough overhead to overclock it by just increasing the multiplier in BIOS. Then run OCCT or Prime95 and monitor temps with HWMonitor for several hours and if no errors or crashes and temperature stays within a safe zone under load (below 70C I think), then you have a stable overclock. Some 965 chips were 140W which can also be overclocked, but you'd probably need extra beefy cooling and a motherboard with very strong VRM.

Resident wet blanket.
Top Secret Researcher
#12 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 6:48 PM
Quote:
I'm completely stumped, and really upset I can barely play Sims 3 with medium settings...

To anyone who asks: Yes, I have tried completely reinstalling, with and without CC - it doesn't matter, it's gives me the same.
It's like it's either the patches, or the content that's causing it. I have no idea.



There might be some tips here in Better Game Performance Tips and Tricks that could hopefully help you.
Test Subject
#13 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 9:27 PM
I have an i5 3570k and 770 gtx and I still got lag. I decided to try the world Ethlam's Drift and the game runs so much better now. I think I'm going to stick to smaller worlds. Give it a try.
Instructor
Original Poster
#14 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 9:31 PM
Quote: Originally posted by GnatGoSplat
Yes, you're absolutely right that the game itself has issues. I doubt anyone who has every EP and SP has a game that runs 100% lag-free on any machine.

Although I think RAM will help you more, have you also considered overclocking the CPU? Is your computer a home-built kind where it has a motherboard capable of overclocking? It would be almost like a "free" upgrade in performance, anyway. I ask because I had the same CPU and was able to get a very stable 4GHz overclock out of it with a slight bump in Vcore. If it's the 125W version of the chip (a program like CPU-Z could tell you), I think you should have enough overhead to overclock it by just increasing the multiplier in BIOS. Then run OCCT or Prime95 and monitor temps with HWMonitor for several hours and if no errors or crashes and temperature stays within a safe zone under load (below 70C I think), then you have a stable overclock. Some 965 chips were 140W which can also be overclocked, but you'd probably need extra beefy cooling and a motherboard with very strong VRM.


I have, yes. But I don't want to. Cooling is never an issue for me, at least it never has been, and most likely never will be. My case is loaded with large fans, in a usually cool environment. It's just that I don't want to shorten the lifespan of my CPU. Besides, I Don't think my motherboard would be okay with that. Her and I have a special bond, and she's the one with the pants on.
Theorist
#15 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 9:52 PM
I understand. Although overclocking may (in theory) shorten the life of the CPU from maybe 20-30yrs to 10-15yrs, does it really matter? Hard drive, motherboard, PSU, etc. are likely to die before the CPU, and it's not like a computer is something you want to keep long enough to pass to your grandkids.

Not that I'm trying to talk you into it or anything, just sayin'.

Resident wet blanket.
Instructor
Original Poster
#16 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 10:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by GnatGoSplat
I understand. Although overclocking may (in theory) shorten the life of the CPU from maybe 20-30yrs to 10-15yrs, does it really matter? Hard drive, motherboard, PSU, etc. are likely to die before the CPU, and it's not like a computer is something you want to keep long enough to pass to your grandkids.

Not that I'm trying to talk you into it or anything, just sayin'.


Oh, yeah yeah. I'm aware of that! I'll probably only consider doing that if I have enough money to back myself up just in case, or when my model is going obsolete.
But again, my motherboard would probably not like it so much. But that's okay. My CPU has sufficed all these years. Hell, I've never even seen it's usage go any higher than 50%.
Thanks for the thought though. Feels good to know someone's thinking along.
Scholar
#17 Old 1st Aug 2014 at 11:44 PM
I suggest to install some of the performance related mods from Nraas. Overwatch, Errortrap and Mastercontroller. Traffic is another one if you encounter the problem that Overwatch starts removing 1000's of cars every night. I mean, this still baffles me. EA happily going on to create TS4 while TS3 still having those glaring performance issues of which some could have been fixed. People bought their TS3 for 100's of dollars (if including EPs) and are dependant on mod creators to deal with these ridiculous bugs.
Mad Poster
#18 Old 2nd Aug 2014 at 12:20 PM
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
EA happily going on to create TS4 while TS3 still having those glaring performance issues of which some could have been fixed. People bought their TS3 for 100's of dollars (if including EPs) and are dependant on mod creators to deal with these ridiculous bugs.


No doubt. There were still issues with Sims 2 when then went on to release Sims 3. These issues, if not resolved or if handled incorrectly in game, could result in corruption to the core components of the game and the official guides actually recommended things such as deleting urns to make money. Sims 1 expansion packs were regularly released with errors and bugs. It's the way of EA. The games are fascinating and amazing, but the quality is spotty and they are always onto to the next "big thing" because it will bring in money. They've never been great with taking care of their fan base. It's a case of "let the buyer beware".

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
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