@msarrowette Another option to consider would be to install Windows on an external drive and boot into that to play Sims 3. I first Bootcamped my Mac three years ago, and it was surprisingly easy to set up Windows and Sims 3 the way I wanted. A Radeon Pro 580 should handle ultra graphics settings with no trouble at all at 1080p and probably at 1440p, and the graphics have always been better in Windows.
Installing Windows on an external drive through Bootcamp is a bit complicated: it's not strictly supported, although the OS and drivers will work fine. There are plenty of guides on the internet, or you could try installing Windows internally first and then installing it a second time on the external. Or if you get the internal SSD issue addressed, Windows would be fine there too, provided you have enough storage for both OSs.
@puzzlezaddict - I played Sims 2 in Bootcamp for years until Aspyr did their 2014 rebuild, but found that I’d go long periods without playing at all because of the need to reboot to play and then reboot to get back to everything else. So Windows is definitely an option, and I have at least one licence knocking around that I could use, but I like the convenience of playing natively where I can.
I’ve just been reading through the Poor graphics/low-resolution/graphics glitches thread again, and will try some of the suggestions about adjusting settings and resolutions to see if I can get rid of the rippling effect. I haven’t checked FPS yet either, so must do that. The Radeon Pro 580 is pretty capable - I used to play Sims 2 in 5K resolution at one point.
Anyway, Time to go and reinstall a couple more things and see if they break Sims 3…
