Budget desktop for Sims 3

@sativsim  Did you actually launch the game once after changing to the high-performance option?  If so, and deviceconfig still lists the AMD card, delete the file and launch the game again to create a new one.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  Did you actually launch the game once after changing to the high-performance option?  If so, and deviceconfig still lists the AMD card, delete the file and launch the game again to create a new one.

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 No I didn’t, I will do that and let you know if it changed anything

@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  Did you actually launch the game once after changing to the high-performance option?  If so, and deviceconfig still lists the AMD card, delete the file and launch the game again to create a new one.

I just launched the game (I went to the main screen of the game) and checked the deviceconfig and it still says found 0 matched 0. Do I delete the deviceconfig file?

@sativsim  Sorry for the late reply.  No, you don't need to delete deviceconfig, although it won't matter if you do or you already have.  The first step here was to force your computer to use the Nvidia card to run Sims 3, which it wasn't doing before and is now.  (The card deviceconfig lists is the card being used.)  There wasn't any point in getting your Nvidia GPU recognized if the game wasn't going to use it.

Anyway, if you're satisfied with how the game runs, you don't actually need to do anything else.  But if you would in fact like to get your card recognized, that's easy enough.  You'll need to edit two files called graphicscards.sgr and graphicsrules.sgr.  In a Steam install, they're both here by default:

Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims 3\Game\Bin

First, open graphicscards.sgr (you might not see the .sgr extension, but it's the same file).  Hit crtl-F and search for 10de , which will take you to these lines:

vendor "NVIDIA" 0x10b4 0x12d2 0x10de
card 0x0fd1 "GeForce GT 650M"
card 0x0fd2 "GeForce GT 640M"

Create a new line under the one that says NVIDIA and copy and paste this:

	card 0x25a0 "GeForce RTX 3050 ti"

Make sure the entry lines up with the other ones below it.  Save, close the file, and open graphicsrules.sgr.  Crtl-F and search for 8800 , which will take you to this line:

elseif (match("${cardName}", "*8800*") or match("${cardName}", "*9500*") [etc.]

Change the bolded 8800 to RTX , but don't change or delete anything else, not even the asterisks.  Now scroll back to the top and find this, 8-10 lines down:

if ($textureMemory == 0)
seti textureMemory 32
setb textureMemorySizeOK false

Change the 32 to a 1024 and put a # and a space in front of setb , but again, don't change anything else.  Save, quit, launch the game, quit (you only need it to start loading), and look at deviceconfig again.  You should see [Found: 1, Matched: 1] after your card name.  The texture memory a few lines below should also say 1024 instead of 32.  Your GPU has more VRAM than that, but Sims 3 can only use 800 MB.

If your card isn't found and matched, or you want me to double-check your work, please post this same section of deviceconfig again.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  Sorry for the late reply.  No, you don't need to delete deviceconfig, although it won't matter if you do or you already have.  The first step here was to force your computer to use the Nvidia card to run Sims 3, which it wasn't doing before and is now.  (The card deviceconfig lists is the card being used.)  There wasn't any point in getting your Nvidia GPU recognized if the game wasn't going to use it.

Anyway, if you're satisfied with how the game runs, you don't actually need to do anything else.  But if you would in fact like to get your card recognized, that's easy enough.  You'll need to edit two files called graphicscards.sgr and graphicsrules.sgr.  In a Steam install, they're both here by default:

Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims 3\Game\Bin

First, open graphicscards.sgr (you might not see the .sgr extension, but it's the same file).  Hit crtl-F and search for 10de , which will take you to these lines:

vendor "NVIDIA" 0x10b4 0x12d2 0x10de
card 0x0fd1 "GeForce GT 650M"
card 0x0fd2 "GeForce GT 640M"

Create a new line under the one that says NVIDIA and copy and paste this:

	card 0x25a0 "GeForce RTX 3050 ti"

Make sure the entry lines up with the other ones below it.  Save, close the file, and open graphicsrules.sgr.  Crtl-F and search for 8800 , which will take you to this line:

elseif (match("${cardName}", "*8800*") or match("${cardName}", "*9500*") [etc.]

Change the bolded 8800 to RTX , but don't change or delete anything else, not even the asterisks.  Now scroll back to the top and find this, 8-10 lines down:

if ($textureMemory == 0)
seti textureMemory 32
setb textureMemorySizeOK false

Change the 32 to a 1024 and put a # and a space in front of setb , but again, don't change anything else.  Save, quit, launch the game, quit (you only need it to start loading), and look at deviceconfig again.  You should see [Found: 1, Matched: 1] after your card name.  The texture memory a few lines below should also say 1024 instead of 32.  Your GPU has more VRAM than that, but Sims 3 can only use 800 MB.

If your card isn't found and matched, or you want me to double-check your work, please post this same section of deviceconfig again.

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Will do. Do I open the graphicscards.sgr and graphicsrules.sgr in notepad?

@sativsim  Yes, Notepad is fine.  Just make sure you're using the regular save instead of "save as," so you're changing the original files rather than creating new ones.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  Yes, Notepad is fine.  Just make sure you're using the regular save instead of "save as," so you're changing the original files rather than creating new ones.

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Sorry for the late reply I’ve been really busy and haven’t had a chance to try this out and I finally did it today and it worked! Thank you for the help.

I know this is unrelated to the thread but wanted to ask if you knew of any tutorials for installing CC and the pose player mod.

Once again thank you 🙂

@sativsim  I'm glad to hear it worked, and don't worry about the late reply.  For mods and any custom content that comes in .package form, here's how to install:

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files

For cc that comes in .Sims3Pack form, you just put it in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Downloads and install it through the launcher's Downloads tab.  However, I'd suggest testing out any .Sims3Pack cc in a clean user folder before adding it to your main one.  This type can come with hidden files you don't want and that can bork your saves, and getting rid of the worst offenders can be a whole process.

To test the content, move your existing Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts (or just rename it) and open the launcher to spawn a clean folder.  Then install the .Sims3Packs into that folder, one at a time, and look through the launcher's Installed Content tab for any cc you didn't intend to install.  If the downloads are clean, test the items in-game too.  (You can test a bunch at once; just make sure to try every item.)  If everything works as intended, you can trash the new Sims 3 folder, restore the old one, and install the cc into that folder.

It's also possible to get bad cc in .package form, but the nice thing is, all you need to do is remove the .package file and you're done.  So if you have a choice between the two types of files, always choose the .package rather than the .Sims3Pack.  Most cc works fine in either form; the only exceptions are worlds and patterns.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  I'm glad to hear it worked, and don't worry about the late reply.  For mods and any custom content that comes in .package form, here's how to install:

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files

For cc that comes in .Sims3Pack form, you just put it in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Downloads and install it through the launcher's Downloads tab.  However, I'd suggest testing out any .Sims3Pack cc in a clean user folder before adding it to your main one.  This type can come with hidden files you don't want and that can bork your saves, and getting rid of the worst offenders can be a whole process.

To test the content, move your existing Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts (or just rename it) and open the launcher to spawn a clean folder.  Then install the .Sims3Packs into that folder, one at a time, and look through the launcher's Installed Content tab for any cc you didn't intend to install.  If the downloads are clean, test the items in-game too.  (You can test a bunch at once; just make sure to try every item.)  If everything works as intended, you can trash the new Sims 3 folder, restore the old one, and install the cc into that folder.

It's also possible to get bad cc in .package form, but the nice thing is, all you need to do is remove the .package file and you're done.  So if you have a choice between the two types of files, always choose the .package rather than the .Sims3Pack.  Most cc works fine in either form; the only exceptions are worlds and patterns.

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Okay thank you. The only custom content I want is  hair, clothes, and makeup so I hope they all look good in game.

Also feel free to add me on thesims3.com, I don’t have any friends on there yet so if you have an account then you can add me.

@sativsim  I do have an account that site, but I can't seem to find yours.  If you want to add me, here's my profile page:

https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/puzzlezaddict

I don't actually do much on the site though, in fact I think the last time I uplpoaded any screenshots was when I wanted the bonus content for sharing memories.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  I do have an account that site, but I can't seem to find yours.  If you want to add me, here's my profile page:

https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/puzzlezaddict

I don't actually do much on the site though, in fact I think the last time I uplpoaded any screenshots was when I wanted the bonus content for sharing memories.

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Sorry I forgot to say that my username on that site is thesativasim but I sent you a request

@sativsim  I saw and accepted last night.  Let me know if you need help with anything else.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  I saw and accepted last night.  Let me know if you need help with anything else.

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I was looking through the downloads folder and saw these two files, one with my email and another one that says FSIViewCountTracking, I wanted to ask if I can delete these two files or do I need to keep them?

@sativsim  You can delete the files if you want, but they'll just regenerate.  They contain data related to your account that comes along when you download content from the Store or Exchange.

If you want, you can move all the other files out of Downloads.  The purpose of the .Sims3Packs is to allow you to install content through the launcher, and once you've done so, the files become redundant.  I personally save them elsewhere on my computer so I don't have to download them again later, but I keep the Downloads folder itself pretty much empty.

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@sativsim  You can delete the files if you want, but they'll just regenerate.  They contain data related to your account that comes along when you download content from the Store or Exchange.

If you want, you can move all the other files out of Downloads.  The purpose of the .Sims3Packs is to allow you to install content through the launcher, and once you've done so, the files become redundant.  I personally save them elsewhere on my computer so I don't have to download them again later, but I keep the Downloads folder itself pretty much empty.

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Will do.