New PC time, but which one?

"puzzlezaddict;c-17249489" wrote:
@SusieCue I don't exactly play TS4, but I have installs in both macOS and Windows for the sake of testing. (Not the point, but it's quite useful to be able to test on the exact same laptop in both OSs, since it removes any question of hardware issues.) I haven't really done any rigorous monitoring on my MacBook Pro's Windows install, and I haven't even tested on that side of the partition since... I want to say a month ago... but temperatures have certainly never been anywhere near 94º C, nor did I see evidence of thermal throttling at any point. I can grab some numbers later, if you're curious.

With your reported temperatures, I'd say that either there was something wrong with the laptop's cooling system, or maybe, depending on your OS build, the issue is the fullscreen optimization settings or some other feature of Windows that doesn't work as well as it should. TS4 is certainly more demanding on a CPU than TS3, but if it were consistently driving temps into the 90s, we'd see a lot more reports of game and system crashes. There are some, to be sure, but not enough to suggest the game itself can't be run on a proper gaming laptop.

The other possibility, if you happen to have an AMD processor, is that the monitoring app isn't reporting the CPU temp correctly. Most of the tools in common use were designed with Intel hardware in mind, and I've seen AMD CPUs reported to be running as high as 125º C, which is definitely inaccurate.

At any rate, if you want to look into this further, feel free to ask. We're not really supposed to troubleshoot TS4 here, but you can always post at AHQ. (As a minor bonus, you can upload files directly instead of having to send them to a third party site.) On the other hand, it sounds like you'd prefer to play on a desktop anyway, so it might not be worth the trouble for you.

No, it's an i7-4700HQ.


That could definitely be a possible explanation. I was using HWMonitor at that time, and it has proved not to be entirely reliable. I have it on my desktop computer too, and it reports right now that the mainboard is 118 degrees hot, but according to Speccy it's only 28... on the other hand, Speccy thinks that my little Lenovo low end laptop is 103 degrees inside, while AMD:s own software, AMD Overdrive says it's 35... it really is difficult to know which program, if any, you can trust.

But this question, whether TS4 overheats the CPU or not, is mostly theoretical in my case, since I'm not that interested in playing it anyway, it's just too boring and limited compared to TS3.


Yes, I would if I could, but none of them are connected to the Internet, and never have been. I use the laptops for that, it's more convenient since I can put them near the router, and plug them in via ethernet cable instead of the slower and less reliable wifi connection.

So I just spent £1,107 on a new PC with everything I want in it. Now I wait for it to be built so I can pick it up, but I'm reading that I might not be able to install my Sims 3 collection on windows 10. I'm so angry. From what I'm seeing I need to do it through origin, which I most definitely don't want on my PC and is why I just can't get on with sims 4. My concern with Origin is that I have bought every one of my EP's, etc from Game UK and despite registering each game on purchase some didn't stay registered and when I enquire about it I'm told someone has already used my install code (yeah me), I was also told once that my code was invalid, so basically, even if I wanted to download them through Origin to install, I can't. So have I just wasted over £1000 to get better game play for a game that won't install on a windows 10 PC?

@fluttereyes - Well, that's an annoying setback to be sure although you do have options here. Game UK is an authorized reseller of EA games. How did they provide the game to you in the past if it was not by way of Origin codes? Did they used to offer their own downloadable installers -- some resellers did in the past, no one sells the game in that format any longer, but the older installers should still work. Or is it the case that the older installers are indeed still available to you but they are not compatible with Win 10?

On the Origin option, if the games are registered to your account then that should definitely work. I understand not really wanting an Origin/Patch 1.69 install but it's not usually fatal and this is the way EA now provides digital versions. Origin does not require install codes, just the one-time registrations to your Origin account. Authorized resellers have to provide a way to register purchased games this way or else they wouldn't be authorized any longer.

But if you must avoid Origin entirely, there is another way. You might consider repurchasing the game through Steam, which delivers it on Patch 1.67 with no Origin involvement. During their several times per year 75% or more discount sales, one can buy the base game and all EP/SPs (except Katy Perry which no one carries anymore) for under $100 (USD), prices will be slightly different in other countries. I put up with the nuisances of Origin and Patch 1.69 for a year myself before doing the Steam repurchase; I would rather not have had to do that, but the discounted prices were too good to pass up and I remain very happy with my Steam install as do many others. Under this setup, after the initial install one can still do a Launcher bypass to TS3w.exe and not have to startup the game through a third party system. Steam always runs this sale in June and December, but there are unscheduled specials at other times throughout the year.

"igazor;c-17250170" wrote:
@fluttereyes - Well, that's an annoying setback to be sure although you do have options here. Game UK is an authorized reseller of EA games. How did they provide the game to you in the past if it was not by way of Origin codes? Did they used to offer their own downloadable installers -- some resellers did in the past, no one sells the game in that format any longer, but the older installers should still work. Or is it the case that the older installers are indeed still available to you but they are not compatible with Win 10?

On the Origin option, if the games are registered to your account then that should definitely work. I understand not really wanting an Origin/Patch 1.69 install but it's not usually fatal and this is the way EA now provides digital versions. Origin does not require install codes, just the one-time registrations to your Origin account. Authorized resellers have to provide a way to register purchased games this way or else they wouldn't be authorized any longer.

But if you must avoid Origin entirely, there is another way. You might consider repurchasing the game through Steam, which delivers it on Patch 1.67 with no Origin involvement. During their several times per year 75% or more discount sales, one can buy the base game and all EP/SPs (except Katy Perry which no one carries anymore) for under $100 (USD), prices will be slightly different in other countries. I put up with the nuisances of Origin and Patch 1.69 for a year myself before doing the Steam repurchase; I would rather not have had to do that, but the discounted prices were too good to pass up and I remain very happy with my Steam install as do many others. Under this setup, after the initial install one can still do a Launcher bypass to TS3w.exe and not have to startup the game through a third party system. Steam always runs this sale in June and December, but there are unscheduled specials at other times throughout the year.

I bought the discs in Game UK shop, sealed and direct from EA to them, I preordered most of them. I used the codes in the box.

The issue is that some of my EP's are not registered, despite me actually registering. If you look at my owned games you can see they are not all there and I have all of them and registered all of them.

I definitely don't want to play my games through Origin, I paid for the discs so I didn't have to. I don't see why I should have to repurchase either. I want to use my discs that I own. I prefer to play on 1.67.

So are you also thinking I might not be able to install this from my purchased discs?

I should be getting the call to pick up the PC shortly and I really only got it in an attempt to improve my gameplay and graphics.

I just checked Steam and the prices are too high for a game I've already purchased. I feel that I am going to be very angry in a couple of hours.

I just checked and on first glace it looks like my games are showing up on the sims 3 site but I don't have origin installed to see if they are showing up there yet, this is going to be a long day.

I just read that I can install from my discs using this method disc.Download Origin, I searched that and can't see whether I'm able to uninstall origin once done and play from disc, does anyone know?

Okay, wait a minute. I did not realize we were talking about sealed discs as the original purchase. Was the base game disc manufactured before Sept. 2012? It's only the ones that were released later that have an Origin requirement, they will have orange Origin logos on the box. The age and labeling of the other discs do not matter, it's only the base game. If the base game disc is from after Sept 2012, then it cannot be used to do a non-Origin install.

You can do an all-disc install, run EA's SuperPatcher, and stay on Patch 1.67 if you have an older base game disc. You do not need the Origin client program at all for this, anything Origin or EA/TS3 store related can be managed from the Origin.com website instead. The website will not try to take over and "upgrade" your game to 1.69 like the Origin client program wants to. When the disc installers offer the older EA Download Manager (EADM), do not accept because this was Origin's predecessor and it will keep trying to update itself to Origin.

As for the registrations, EA customer service should be able to help you with that if needed because again, you purchased from an authorized reseller. But if they are showing up under your account on the older TS3 site, the one that hosts the store, then you should be fine there. It doesn't matter what Origin thinks, especially if you will not be using it.

At no point was I suggesting paying Steam full price for a repurchase. The 75-80% off sales when they take place would make that purchase much less painful should it be required.

"igazor;c-17250245" wrote:
Okay, wait a minute. I did not realize we were talking about sealed discs as the original purchase. Was the base game disc manufactured before Sept. 2012? It's only the ones that were released later that have an Origin requirement, they will have orange Origin logos on the box. The age and labeling of the other discs do not matter, it's only the base game. If the base game disc is from after Sept 2012, then it cannot be used to do a non-Origin install.

You can do an all-disc install, run EA's SuperPatcher, and stay on Patch 1.67 if you have an older base game disc. You do not need the Origin client program at all for this, anything Origin or EA/TS3 store related can be managed from the Origin.com website instead. The website will not try to take over and "upgrade" your game to 1.69 like the Origin client program wants to. When the disc installers offer the older EA Download Manager (EADM), do not accept because this was Origin's predecessor and it will keep trying to update itself to Origin.

As for the registrations, EA customer service should be able to help you with that if needed because again, you purchased from an authorized reseller. But if they are showing up under your account on the older TS3 site, the one that hosts the store, then you should be fine there. It doesn't matter what Origin thinks, especially if you will not be using it.

At no point was I suggesting paying Steam full price for a repurchase. The 75-80% off sales when they take place would make that purchase much less painful should it be required.

My discs were bought in the order they came out and as soon as they came out to you can tell the dates from that. I can't remember the year Into the Future came out but in truth I can do without that if it doesn't work. I just looked, the base game doesn't say Origin but some of the EP's have Origin on the back, just an orange symbol and the word Origin, ITF and Seasons so far have that.

I have all the downloads from EA store that I'll need saved away in another folder so surely I can just install them via the launcher?

The registrations, I spoke to EA customer service and he couldn't find any record of my purchase, despite me pointing him to the S3.com site, not a concern if I can install from disc. This was discovered by me when I lost a registration code and called them to see if they could find it for me.

Steam, I'm sure you can imagine I'm desperate to try my game out right away as soon as I get my new PC, I already have a world in my head I'd like to build, lol.

Thanks for your help @Igazor. I think my next issue might be getting my mods to work, maybe I should just stop googling and wait and see how it all goes for me. I know some people had issues with upgrades to windows 10 but this is a new windows 10 machine.

To restate, and to be fair I did dump a lot of information on you all at once, it doesn't matter what the ages are of the EP and SP discs or what it says on their boxes. It's only the base game disc that is important. And if it's from 2009 or around there, then again you will be fine with an all-disc install, no Origin involvement, don't even install Origin if you don't need it for anything else.

Mods are operating system independent. They work (or do not work) exactly the same on all versions of Windows and even on the Mac version of the game on the macOS.

On the store content, yes the previously downloaded sims3packs should work. In fact, if you have access to a prior TS3 user game folder where they are already installed, you could try bringing the contents of that folder over to your new computer once everything program related is installed and confirmed to be working. But the absolute worst case should be that you have to redownload the store content; I had to do that for my Steam switchover, which was a bit time consuming but not all that bad. I never had to do that for a digital to digital crossgrade with or without Origin involved.

"igazor;c-17250298" wrote:
To restate, and to be fair I did dump a lot of information on you all at once, it doesn't matter what the ages are of the EP and SP discs or what it says on their boxes. It's only the base game disc that is important. And if it's from 2009 or around there, then again you will be fine with an all-disc install, no Origin involvement, don't even install Origin if you don't need it for anything else.

Mods are operating system independent. They work (or do not work) exactly the same on all versions of Windows and even on the Mac version of the game on the macOS.

On the store content, yes the previously downloaded sims3packs should work. In fact, if you have access to a prior TS3 user game folder where they are already installed, you could try bringing the contents of that folder over to your new computer once everything program related is installed and confirmed to be working. But the absolute worst case should be that you have to redownload the store content; I had to do that for my Steam switchover, which was a bit time consuming but not all that bad. I never had to do that for a digital to digital crossgrade with or without Origin involved.

I understood what you meant about the base game age, it's definitely from the first release, I pre-ordered just as the announcement it went gold was made, thanks for that.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding about mods not working and it could be the users not having a proper Mods folder in the right place.

I don't mind reinstalling all of my CC, in fact I intend to, that way I can just not install the stuff I don't use. The store stuff, I bought too much of that and in the end I have a folder called 'Cherry Picked EA' where I keep things I really use, I'd say I've only kept about a 1/4 of what I bought. I'll be going for full clean folder and going from there, a couple of days installing for me I expect. The only stuff I'll carry over is saved games and other things I need for my current game to work.

I'll just await the call to collect and get on with it once I have the PC here. I'll be keeping the one I'm using online until the new one is ready with everything on it, so if I get stuck I'll be back, lol.

Thanks again for all your help and advice

I have the PC, installed the base game in the shop no problem. Now installing all the EP's and SP's without issue. The speed at which the game loads up is unreal, seconds and the loading screen is gone. I always run each EP after install to check. The only problem I have is the graphics card not being recognised but that's an easy fix. I was worried about nothing.