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choochb123's avatar
choochb123
3 years ago

The Sims 3 Freezing

Hi. I got a PC several months back that runs Windows 11. I downloaded and played The Sims 3. It worked for a month, but then had some issues with EP items not showing up in build/buy mode, even if the EP is selected for play. I uninstalled it and reinstalled it finally a few weeks ago.

The game does fine in regards to startup, loading, saving, and such. I can sit and use create-a-sim for a good bit of time without issue. When I launch build/buy mode or live mode, the game will work for a minute and then freeze. I then get a notification that the program is no longer responding. I have uninstalled and reinstalled content. Did not reinstall my EPs or store downloads. I have used these forums and tried the Direct X file method. I have even swapped the computer to compatibility mode. The game worked once before on my PC, and so I know it runs. Is there anything more I can do to fix this? I have sent reports through Origin without any assistance.

pc
technical issues

6 Replies

  • choochb123's avatar
    choochb123
    3 years ago

    Weirdly, I did not change the quality settings. Right after I posted the game unfroze and started playing as normal. Maybe the game is sensitive to higher graphics? I also did not download all of my EPs and content from the store.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @choochb123  With your hardware, you should be able to play on ultra graphics settings.  However, the game engine doesn't handle high values for water and high-detail lots very well; I and many other players keep these at "mirrors only" and 2, respectively.  Other than that, you should be fine.

    I would suggest updating the driver for your graphics card though.  The Sims 3 errors in your dxdiag are a type often related to the graphics driver, and yours is almost a year old by now.  Try the newest WHQL driver from May, not the newer optional version.

    https://www.amd.com/en/support/graphics/amd-radeon-6000-series/amd-radeon-6600-series/amd-radeon-rx-6600

  • choochb123's avatar
    choochb123
    3 years ago
    @puzzlezaddict I did both of those things. It still freezes. I have it at low settings too. Any other thoughts? I appreciate the help.
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @choochb123  Just checking, but are you testing in Sunset Valley?  It's best to use SV, or Twinbrook if you have Ambitions installed, as these are the most stable EA-made worlds.

    Have you taken steps to manually limit your in-game framerates?  Your graphics card is fast enough to generate unnecessarily high fps while runnung Sims 3, and the game doesn't have its own fps limiter.  With an AMD card, I'd suggest using RivaTuner Statistics Server, which does need to be running while you play.  I described how for someone else here:

    https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Budget-desktop-for-Sims-3/m-p/11775025#M252095

    Among other things, playing on low settings can exacerbate fps-related issues since the graphics card has less work to do per frame and can therefore produce them even faster.

    You might also get better performance if you use the GPU add-on utility hosted at NexusMods.  (Third-party links aren't allowed on this site, but google should know.)  The tool edits a few other values in graphicscards.sgr, which seems to help with AMD cards.  If you don't like the results, just repair the game, and the changes will revert.

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