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Re: How to make Sims 3 recognise graphics card?

Got framerate capped, thank you!

Sorry, I was working off the phone at the time and it wouldn't let me embed it. Here it is.

And this is my friends deviceconfig. Sorry, I'm an idiot for forgetting it last time.

=== Graphics device info ===
Number: 0
Name (driver): NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
Name (database): NVIDIA GeForce 940MX [Found: 0, Matched: 0]
Vendor: NVIDIA
Chipset: Vendor: 10de, Device: 134d, Board: 14901043, Chipset: 00a2
Driver: nvldumd.dll, Version: 23.21.13.8873, GUID: D7B71E3E-500D-11CF-5A51-9D3418C2DA35
Driver version: 8873
Monitor: \\.\DISPLAY1
Texture memory: 32MB <<OVERRIDE>>
Vertex program: 3.0
Pixel program: 3.0
Hardware TnL: 1

Thank you again!

7 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @thekaratekitten  That's a strange arrangement, but you do in fact have the monitor plugged into the graphics card.  The motherboard also has the additional ports for keyboard and mouse, speakers, ethernet, etc.

    For your friend, I'll post the same instructions plus a bit of extra context.

    Spoiler

    To get the GPU recognized, you'll need to edit a two files called graphicscards.sgr and graphicsrules.sgr, which are both located in the Sims 3 program files.  For an Origin install, the default file path is:

    Program files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin

    Note:  These instructions only apply to and will only work for the original poster's graphics card.  If you'd like help getting your own card recognized, please post the same information from deviceconfig and ask for help.

    Open graphicscards.sgr (Notepad works fine), and crtl-F to search for 10de.  That 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 "Nvidia" line, copy this text, and paste it in the new line:

        card 0x134d "GeForce 940MX"

    So you should now see this:

    vendor "NVIDIA" 0x10b4 0x12d2 0x10de

    card 0x134d "GeForce 940MX"
    card 0x0fd1 "GeForce GT 650M"
    card 0x0fd2 "GeForce GT 640M"

    (with indents from spaces that this site isn't displaying properly).  Save, quit, and open graphicsrules.sgr.  Crtl-F and search for 8800, which will take you here:

     elseif (match("${cardName}", "*8800*") or match("${cardName}", "*9500*") or match("${cardName}", "*9600 GSO*") or match("${cardName}", [etc.]

    Change the bolded 8800 to 940MX.  Don't change anything else, not even the asterisks.  This will classify your card as uber.

    Finally, scroll back to the top of graphicsrules, and look for this, 8-10 lines down:

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

    change the 32 to 1024, and add a # and a space in front of setb.  Your card has more VRAM than that, but TS3 can only use 800 MB anyway.  The lines should look like this:

    if ($textureMemory == 0)
    seti textureMemory 1024
    # setb textureMemorySizeOK false

    Launch the game once to refresh the deviceconfig.log.  You'll know it worked if you see a [Found: 1, Matched: 1] next to the card name in deviceconfig, and texture memory listed as 1024 instead of the current 32 MB override.  If the edits don't work, please repost that same section of the deviceconfig. 

  • Glad to know I'm not completely mad! lol

    Sorry to get back to you so late, my friend didn't get back to me until now. She got the card recognized and was trying to make the fps instructions work for her too. But her settings look different, because she has a laptop I'm assuming. Is Maximum pre-rendered frames the laptop equivalent of Max Frame Rate? Got a screenshot from her of it. What should she choose?

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @thekaratekitten  Don't worry about the late reply.  The Max Frame Rate setting was only introduced this year, I think maybe in February, so if your friend's Nvidia driver is older than that, she won't see the option.  The setting you've posted is different and won't help here.

    Your friend can try enabling vertical sync for Sims 3 in the Control Panel's program settings tab.  (As always, be sure to use TS3.exe for an Origin install and TS3W.exe for a disc or Steam install.)  But it doesn't usually work anymore for laptops with dual graphics cards.  So she'll probably need an outside tool.  Nvidia Inspector (free download) is a popular one; instructions for using it are here, under the second spoiler:

    https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/16540301/#Comment_16540301

    Another option is RivaTuner Statistics Server (also free), which is much simpler.  You just choose the appropriate .exe (highlighted in blue on the left), set the framerate limit (red box), and choose whether to start RTSS with Windows (yellow box).

    Unlike the other tools, RTSS does need to be running to work, it can't be closed out, but it's fine to minimize the window, and the app is very lightweight.  That's why a lot of people allow it to start with Windows—it's easier than trying to remember to open it before playing.

    After installing and setting up RTSS, your friend would need to restart her computer once to get it to work.

  • Oh right, yes her laptop is a little bit older than that. I'll pass those on to her. One of them has to work. The last thing is just wondering what framerate she should cap it to. She says her refresh rate is 60 Hz.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @thekaratekitten  Then a cap of 60 should work fine.  Anything above that, the screen won't display the extra frames.  She could cap it lower if she wanted, but most people would notice some choppiness with an fps of 30 or so.

    And it's not a question of how old her laptop is but how old the driver for her graphics card is.  There's a current one for her GPU, but it's usually better to stick with the (often older) version provided by a laptop manufacturer until it stops working.  Those drivers are often tweaked to work on the specific laptops for which they're offered and to be compatible with the driver for the integrated graphics chip.

  • Okay, she's set it to 60.

    That's all then I guess 🙂 Thank you so much for your time and help. I really appreciate it 🙂

  • HarryPotter4444's avatar
    HarryPotter4444
    Seasoned Rookie
    1 year ago

    @thekaratekitten This is for those who came from the Google search "how to make sims 3 recognize graphics card", an easier more comfortable option is a mod. It was a little confusing for me and, so, I recommend following the user guide that's in the Files tab. If the mod is saying that your GPU isn't recognized, please double-check it by doing the following:
    Follow section 8.2 in the user guide > highlight all of it (ctrl+a doesn't work) > copy (use ctrl+c) > paste it into a text document > ctrl+f to bring up the "Find on page" > search for your GPU. If it's there, then the mod supports your gpu but, if not, then follow section 8.1 in the user guide. If it's there then you may need to go through the mod again as if it recognizes your GPU.

    [CM Edit: Mod link removed]