Constant flashing and lag spikes.

sproutedpup​  Looking at sold items on Ebay Canada, you could, if you're paying attention, find any one of these GPUs for under $200 CAD:

AMD RX 6500 XT (about equal to the 580) [January 2022]
AMD RX 6600 standard or XT or 6700 standard or XT (a lot faster) [various dates in 2021]
Nvidia RTX 3050 regular or Ti (somewhat faster) [January 2022]
Nvidia RTX 3060 regular or Ti (a lot faster) [December 2020]

The 6700 regular and XT use a bit more power than the RX 580, but a 650W power supply would be more than fine, and you could get away with 550, or possibly 600 for an overclocked 6700 XT.  The same goes for the 3060 ti.  The other cards use the same amount of power as the 580 or less.  You can see the wattage printed on the side of the PSU.

I put the dates there to give you an idea of how old the model is, although you should keep in mind that individual cards may be newer, as it took a couple years for each to be superceded by the equivalent of the next generation.  Whether you want a newer GPU may depend on how long you plan on keeping this computer, which might be for a while if all you want to play is Sims 4.  While some graphics cards last a decade, I think seven years from initial install is a good estimate of what you can expect.

Local sellers may be able to do even better on price, especially if you have cash and will meet in person.  (For safety, somewhere with lots of security cameras works great, like a Best Buy or a chain pharmacy... or I've heard of people meeting at a police station.  Seriously.)  The fact that you're in a small town can work against you in terms of selection, but it can also help you since sellers won't have as many local options.  And not having to ship the GPU is always a bonus.

If you'd rather not go through this whole process, you can get an RTX 3050 new from Canada Computers for $260, so no worrying about the seller or the condition of the GPU.

https://www.canadacomputers.com/en/powered-by-nvidia/267678/gigabyte-geforce-rtx-3050-windforce-oc-v2-6g-graphics-card-gv-n3050wf2ocv2-6gd.html

i uh. dont have one near me. i live in a small town and id have to ship it out but none are even close (6 hour drive away) and canada post has been iffy with packages lately, so i dont even know when id get it back. there used to be a guy who did them in my town, so ill see if hes still around before i spend anything.

as for graphics cards, my paychecks are usually 600-700 cad so somewhere around 350-400 cad would be awesome. used are completely fine, as long as the seller has decent reviews! 

my old pc was 120 on amazon. i think that says enough LOL. integrated graphics, barely any storage, etc etc. 

sproutedpup​ what happened to your old PC? did it have a graphics card in?

sproutedpup​  Before spending any money, I would suggest taking the computer to a repair shop where someone could install a new GPU to test with.  While it's very possible your current card is dying, you don't know that without testing, and it would be a shame to spend money to fix the wrong problem.

As for a newer GPU, what price range are you thinking of, and do you want a new one or are you willing to buy a used model?  I can have a look at what's available in your country if you want.  I would absolutely not pair a high-end card with your 1700X CPU, since you'd just see bottlenecks, but a mid-tier GPU would be fine, and there are some very cheap options on the used market in most locations.

I went to an RX6600 that worked great for the sims but still a bit pricey at nearly 200 pounds new. Maybe see what you can find on ebay? I have since upgraded again to an rx9060xt which works great for all games but at 300 pounds a bit pricey. I remember when you could go to Maplins and get a vga card for 20 pounds and just about every game you played worked great. lol.

unfortunately, nobody else in my family has a pc. thank you for the suggestion though.. if it really is a graphics card issue (which it seems like it is at this point) ill try and get my hands on a newer one next paycheck. any suggestions based on what i have?

sproutedpup​ I just watched the video and this is very similar to what my rx580 was doing sometimes. At the time I thought it was lightning but shortly after the card failed completely. Only lasted 5 months ;(

sproutedpup​  Clean-uninstalling the graphics driver would have wiped your previous settings, so it's not a surprise that this particular setting would have reverted.

Do you have access to another graphics card you could test with?  I'm not saying that your current GPU is definitely faulty, only that it's enough of a possibility at this point to justify the work to swap out the card.  If you can borrow one from a friend or family member, please do so and see how the game runs.

For an Nvidia GPU (or an Intel one if you know anyone that has one), you'd need to DDU the AMD driver before removing the card, remove it and install the new one, and then install the proper driver yourself, all with your computer offline.  So download the correct driver first so that you don't have to go back online.

its weird because i swear i had that turned off. i just turned it off again, but it doesnt seem to have helped anything unfortunately.