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saraellen1993's avatar
saraellen1993
Seasoned Newcomer
4 years ago
Solved

I want to add both the sims 3 and the sims 4 to my laptop

I have an Acer Notro 5 gaming laptop. What can I add to it to optimize my laptop to be able to run both the sims 3 and the sims 4 without slowing my computer down or adding lag to the game

pc
technical issues
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    4 years ago

    @saraellen1993  Yes, you did it correctly.  There's nothing obvious that needs to be addressed; you should be able to play both games just fine.  Sims 4 should run well on a mix of high and ultra settings, and feel free to experiment a bit with the settings to get a mix that works for you.

    It's also a good idea in general to enable vertical sync in the graphics settings, thereby limiting in-game framerates, so your graphics card doesn't overwork itself.  This setting only works in fullscreen mode though, so if you like to play in windowed, you'll need to use an outside tool.  (See below.)  While not strictly necessary, capping framerates lowers the workload for the graphics card and therefore lowers the amount of heat it produces, and your laptop may run a bit hot otherwise.

    Sims 3 should also run fine on a mix of high and ultra settings, although you'll want to turn down water and high-detail lots regardless of your other preferences in order to reduce the load on the game engine.  (I use "mirrors only" and 2, respectively, when I'm playing.)  Other than that, choose the settings you want.  If you don't install Pets or Seasons, you can probably play on all ultra settings, other than the two mentioned, without problems.

    Sims 3 definitely needs a framerate limiter, and the in-game version doesn't work at all, so you'll need an outside tool.  I think that the built-in Nvidia Control Panel won't work with your setup, but feel free to try it:

    Spoiler

    Right-click on the desktop, select the CP, then Manage 3D Settings, then Program Settings, and choose TS3.exe (for an Origin install) or TS3W.exe (for a disc or Steam install) from the list (green box).  Then enable vertical sync and triple buffering (red box), and click Apply.  This setting only works in fullscreen mode.

    If that doesn't help, or you want to play in windowed mode, click Global Settings, scroll down to Max Frame Rate (red box), turn it on, enter 60 in the box, and Apply.

    If the above steps don't help, you can try RivaTuner Statistics Server (free download):

    Spoiler

    When you've installed RTSS, open it, select TS3.exe (for an Origin install) or TS3W.exe (for a disc install), set the framerate limit to 60 (red box), and choose whether you want it to start with Windows (yellow box).  The otehr settings don't matter unless you want to use them.  You do need to leave it running in order for it to work, but you can minimize it to the Tray, which is where it will be if it starts with Windows as well.

    In any case, you can see your in-game fps by bringing up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and entering "fps on" without quotes.  A number will appear in the upper right corner of the screen (or the lower left for Sims 4), and it should never go above the refresh rate of your screen, which is 60 Hz.

    The same principles apply to Sims 4, using TS4_x64.exe to set the fps limiter(s), although it's not as critical as it is for Sims 3.  Still, it can help keep your laptop temparatures down, which can't hurt.  Both games will have fps drops regardless of what you do; this is about keeping the maximum at a reasonable level.

    Load times for Sims 3 will be somewhat slow because your hard drive is slow, but the game should play fine once it's loaded.  There's no way to address this other than to buy and install a solid state drive, which you may or may not want to do.  Sims 4 should load quickly enough on its own.  A significant amount of custom content will increase load times for both games, so if you like using a lot of cc, a solid state drive may be a worthwhile investment.

    Finally, the Sims 3 world of Isla Paradiso is so broken that it's almost impossible to play without serious edits.  You can fix the world yourself, download a fixed copy, or just use the features of the Island Paradise pack in another world—the features should work in any world that has the space and deep enough water.

    If you run into any specific issues, let me know, and I'll try to help.

6 Replies

  • saraellen1993's avatar
    saraellen1993
    Seasoned Newcomer
    4 years ago

    I currently have all of the sims 4 installed. All downloaded from origin.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @saraellen1993  Please save the entire dxdiag as a text file, then attach it to a reply here.  There should be a "Save all information" button in the lower right corner of the dxdiag window.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @saraellen1993  Yes, you did it correctly.  There's nothing obvious that needs to be addressed; you should be able to play both games just fine.  Sims 4 should run well on a mix of high and ultra settings, and feel free to experiment a bit with the settings to get a mix that works for you.

    It's also a good idea in general to enable vertical sync in the graphics settings, thereby limiting in-game framerates, so your graphics card doesn't overwork itself.  This setting only works in fullscreen mode though, so if you like to play in windowed, you'll need to use an outside tool.  (See below.)  While not strictly necessary, capping framerates lowers the workload for the graphics card and therefore lowers the amount of heat it produces, and your laptop may run a bit hot otherwise.

    Sims 3 should also run fine on a mix of high and ultra settings, although you'll want to turn down water and high-detail lots regardless of your other preferences in order to reduce the load on the game engine.  (I use "mirrors only" and 2, respectively, when I'm playing.)  Other than that, choose the settings you want.  If you don't install Pets or Seasons, you can probably play on all ultra settings, other than the two mentioned, without problems.

    Sims 3 definitely needs a framerate limiter, and the in-game version doesn't work at all, so you'll need an outside tool.  I think that the built-in Nvidia Control Panel won't work with your setup, but feel free to try it:

    Spoiler

    Right-click on the desktop, select the CP, then Manage 3D Settings, then Program Settings, and choose TS3.exe (for an Origin install) or TS3W.exe (for a disc or Steam install) from the list (green box).  Then enable vertical sync and triple buffering (red box), and click Apply.  This setting only works in fullscreen mode.

    If that doesn't help, or you want to play in windowed mode, click Global Settings, scroll down to Max Frame Rate (red box), turn it on, enter 60 in the box, and Apply.

    If the above steps don't help, you can try RivaTuner Statistics Server (free download):

    Spoiler

    When you've installed RTSS, open it, select TS3.exe (for an Origin install) or TS3W.exe (for a disc install), set the framerate limit to 60 (red box), and choose whether you want it to start with Windows (yellow box).  The otehr settings don't matter unless you want to use them.  You do need to leave it running in order for it to work, but you can minimize it to the Tray, which is where it will be if it starts with Windows as well.

    In any case, you can see your in-game fps by bringing up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and entering "fps on" without quotes.  A number will appear in the upper right corner of the screen (or the lower left for Sims 4), and it should never go above the refresh rate of your screen, which is 60 Hz.

    The same principles apply to Sims 4, using TS4_x64.exe to set the fps limiter(s), although it's not as critical as it is for Sims 3.  Still, it can help keep your laptop temparatures down, which can't hurt.  Both games will have fps drops regardless of what you do; this is about keeping the maximum at a reasonable level.

    Load times for Sims 3 will be somewhat slow because your hard drive is slow, but the game should play fine once it's loaded.  There's no way to address this other than to buy and install a solid state drive, which you may or may not want to do.  Sims 4 should load quickly enough on its own.  A significant amount of custom content will increase load times for both games, so if you like using a lot of cc, a solid state drive may be a worthwhile investment.

    Finally, the Sims 3 world of Isla Paradiso is so broken that it's almost impossible to play without serious edits.  You can fix the world yourself, download a fixed copy, or just use the features of the Island Paradise pack in another world—the features should work in any world that has the space and deep enough water.

    If you run into any specific issues, let me know, and I'll try to help.

  • saraellen1993's avatar
    saraellen1993
    Seasoned Newcomer
    4 years ago

    Thank you so much for all your help. This is the best answer I have seen! I’ve spent days looking for someone having this issue and haven’t found one. 

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