Issue The game runs fine for the most part at 60fps, but there is an occasional hiccup/lag/sluggishness that gets annoying after a while. To be frank, yes, I have all my graphics setting set to maximum, but considering my specs, I really don't think that should be an issue for an old game like this. Specs Windows 10 Home Edition 64-Bit ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ AMD FX-8350 4GHz MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-1600 Game Version 1.69.43.024017 Origin (NOT Steam) DLCs Ambitions Fast Lane Stuff Generations High-End Loft Stuff Into The Future Late Night Outdoor Living Stuff Pets Seasons Showtime Supernatural University Life World Adventures Troubleshooting steps taken 4GB LAA Compatibility Mode (Win 7) No CC (I never use CC) Get the game to recognize the GPU via editing the .SGR files Verify I'm using the latest drivers Note I JUST installed the game two days ago after a long hiatus. No previous installations of this game on this PC. So I am not gonna do a clean install when it's already fresh.

@roberta591 Well, yeah, I know that, but are you seriously trying to tell me that my PC is not good enough to run The Sims 3 well at 1080p with AA on? If I had a PC built at the time when The Sims 3 came out, I'd have to agree with you, but seeing as I have modern-day hardware, even with AA set to maximum, my GPU shouldn't have to be working this hard. I can think of quite a few games that I can run at maximum settings at 1080p and have a constant 60fps without an issue, games that are more GPU- and CPU-intensive than The Sims 3. I honestly don't see a reason The Sims 3 shouldn't run well on my PC, especially when my specs far out-perform The Sims 3's requirements, and the fact I can run The Witcher 3, Elite: Dangerous, and many other games well. At this point, I feel like this is pointless. The game is just poorly optimized for modern PCs, so I'm just gonna have to live with it or get Sims 4 (which, by the way, actually ran perfectly fine without any issues on my PC). I think I'm done here.

Plaidygami

8 years ago

Solved

Sims 3 occasional lag on Win 10 64-bit gaming PC

Issue

The game runs fine for the most part at 60fps, but there is an occasional hiccup/lag/sluggishness that gets annoying after a while. To be frank, yes, I have all my graphics setting set to maximum, but considering my specs, I really don't think that should be an issue for an old game like this.

Specs

Windows 10 Home Edition 64-Bit
ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+
AMD FX-8350 4GHz
MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-1600

Game Version

1.69.43.024017

Origin (NOT Steam)

DLCs

Ambitions
Fast Lane Stuff
Generations
High-End Loft Stuff
Into The Future
Late Night
Outdoor Living Stuff
Pets
Seasons
Showtime
Supernatural
University Life
World Adventures

Troubleshooting steps taken

4GB LAA
Compatibility Mode (Win 7)
No CC (I never use CC)
Get the game to recognize the GPU via editing the .SGR files
Verify I'm using the latest drivers

Note

I JUST installed the game two days ago after a long hiatus. No previous installations of this game on this PC. So I am not gonna do a clean install when it's already fresh.

technical issues

Plaidygami
8 years ago
@roberta591

Well, yeah, I know that, but are you seriously trying to tell me that my PC is not good enough to run The Sims 3 well at 1080p with AA on? If I had a PC built at the time when The Sims 3 came out, I'd have to agree with you, but seeing as I have modern-day hardware, even with AA set to maximum, my GPU shouldn't have to be working this hard.

I can think of quite a few games that I can run at maximum settings at 1080p and have a constant 60fps without an issue, games that are more GPU- and CPU-intensive than The Sims 3. I honestly don't see a reason The Sims 3 shouldn't run well on my PC, especially when my specs far out-perform The Sims 3's requirements, and the fact I can run The Witcher 3, Elite: Dangerous, and many other games well.

At this point, I feel like this is pointless. The game is just poorly optimized for modern PCs, so I'm just gonna have to live with it or get Sims 4 (which, by the way, actually ran perfectly fine without any issues on my PC). I think I'm done here.

8 Replies

roberta591
Hero (Retired)
8 years ago
@Plaidygami I'm guessing your computer is a desktop. How is the display device connected to to the computer (DVI, HDMI, etc) - yes it makes a difference. What resolution are you set at? Most LCD monitors are locked at 60Hz (120 Hz are showing up now). Most consumer monitors are locked at 60Hz but LCD's that act like the old CRT are expensive and most people buy by their pockets books. The Sims 3 is a 32 bit application regardless of your operating system so the game will start paging memory to and from your system drive. The performance of this action depends on the speed of your system drive and how much free space you have. What do you have the video AA set at (edge smoothing). The higher you have this set at the harder the video card has to work. Is your display 4K?
Plaidygami
8 years ago
@roberta591 Yes, that's right. It's a desktop. To answer your questions:

Monitor is connected directly to my GPU via an HDMI cable.

Native resolution is 1920x1080 @60hz

Game is also set to native resolution

I have a Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive.

BTW, monitor is an Asus - VS228H-P 21.5" 1920x1080 Monitor

All graphics settings in-game are set to their maximum values.

My display is not 4k.
roberta591
Hero (Retired)
8 years ago
@Plaidygami How much free space on the SSD? Here is a link that explains what the video settings in the game do - link - Sims 3 video settings explained Try turning down the edge smoothing (AA).
Plaidygami
8 years ago
@roberta591 I have about 251GB free.

I'll try turning it down and see if that helps, though honestly, it's weird that a game this old doesn't run well on a modern gaming PC.
roberta591
Hero (Retired)
8 years ago
@Plaidygami AA or anti aliasing is very demanding on the video card and the higher you set it the more post processing the video chip has to do.
Plaidygami
8 years ago
@roberta591 While I do agree with you, I disagree that The Sims 3 with AA on would be that taxing on an AMD R9 390, especially with 8GB of VRAM. I think it might just be a case of lack of optimization for newer hardware and OSs.
roberta591
Hero (Retired)
8 years ago
@Plaidygami The amount of video memory has little to do with anti aliasing. AA is post video processing and the higher you set AA the harder the video chip has to work. The performance of the video chip is finite and as you raise the demands the performance is is going to take a hit. As resolutions continue to rise the search for FPS is going to heat up and the cost of high end video cards is going to rise. Optimization has to be done in the device driver and each model is usually optimized if that manufacturer wants bragging rights for performance. The video chip hardware is usually developed to perform better with certain settings. Those settings differ from chip to chip and are usually discovered by trail and error. There are so many variables that what works for other people may not work for you.
Plaidygami
8 years ago
@roberta591

Well, yeah, I know that, but are you seriously trying to tell me that my PC is not good enough to run The Sims 3 well at 1080p with AA on? If I had a PC built at the time when The Sims 3 came out, I'd have to agree with you, but seeing as I have modern-day hardware, even with AA set to maximum, my GPU shouldn't have to be working this hard.

I can think of quite a few games that I can run at maximum settings at 1080p and have a constant 60fps without an issue, games that are more GPU- and CPU-intensive than The Sims 3. I honestly don't see a reason The Sims 3 shouldn't run well on my PC, especially when my specs far out-perform The Sims 3's requirements, and the fact I can run The Witcher 3, Elite: Dangerous, and many other games well.

At this point, I feel like this is pointless. The game is just poorly optimized for modern PCs, so I'm just gonna have to live with it or get Sims 4 (which, by the way, actually ran perfectly fine without any issues on my PC). I think I'm done here.