Re: EA please tell us the requirements for Ultra Settings (with stable fps)

@puzzlezaddict Good day. I tried what you suggested just now. I followed your instructions carefully and did everything with no issue. However one thing I couldn't manage was to get rid of Cortana and Microsoft Edge from running in the background, which is almost impossible. I tried ending the task, disabling the programs in settings and restarting, didn't work, they kept running in the background. 

As for the Anti-virus, I only use Windows Defender which I successfully disabled after restarting along with the firewall. 

Here's the link to the log:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1delbd9ROGKpm1EP7h5in_-eVMvUdCDM8/view?usp=sharing

One thing I noticed this time around is that (I think) the GPU performance was a bit more stable in the beggining but then it started losing stability completely after like 15-20 minutes. I don't know if that is true or not, so it would be great if you checked for me. I don't know If I did anything to cause the performance to be unstable again. In the beggining I spent some time in CAS and just Sulani at home, I think the instability started when I visited community lots in other worlds. Or another thing I changed halfway during gameplay (which probably has no correlation but I'll mention anyway) was that I turned on The Sims 3 camera which was off for the first 15 minutes. 

Also for every log I make I delete the Sims 4 folder to have a fresh one.

One theory I have developed over the course of doing this is that maybe the real problem is my proccessor. The Sims 4 is a weirdly made game and if I'm not mistaken not so well-optimized in general. It's also pretty old right now. I own a Ryzen processor and the AMD Ryzen series only launched in 2017, so 3 years after the release of the game. My assumption is that the game just isn;t well-compatible with the Ryzen processors and the team didn't think it was a problem important enough to fix, since many Simmers either play in systems older than 2017 or they play on laptops which rarely have Ryzen processors, they mostly have Intel.

I think the processor could be bottlenecking my GPU because in order for the GPU to work harder it needs the CPU to work harder. Now if the game can only utilize max 30% of my CPU power but the GPU needs more than that to function at it's best then it hits a ceiling and cannot go over it unless it finds a way to utilize more CPU power. 

It's just a theory I have, since I know many Sims players have the gtx 1060 6gb card and most say it works fine. But I don't know many Sims players with my particular CPU. 

Hi @SimmerGeorge 

I am the person @puzzlezaddict  refereed to as "someone else who's better at this than I am" which may or may not be true. 😉

First I like to address your other thread about EA support, and wile I will not comment on the quality of that support, in your case there is just very little they can do.

The support of a gaming developer is for problems caused by the game, in your case it is very unlikely that this is a game problem and much more likely that it is a problem with other components on your system, and then it is jut not something EA would be responsible for nor something they could provide support for.

For your theory it is true that your system as a whole is underperforming when you use Sims 4, so it can't be ruled out, that is why I asked Puzzle to see to a newer Bios that might address that problem.  (Unfortunately the only newer BIOS that is available for your board is a beta BIOS, so we should take this as a last resort.)

But I don't think that there is a general problem between the game and AMDs Zen possessors. We would see much more feedback in this regard here if that would be the case.

After all what was done I like to get a fresh overview of your system. Please create a new DxDiag and attach it to your next post.

@holger1405 Hey hey, thanks for taking time to help haha. It's so awesome people are so helpful in here. 

Just to clear things up I have to add that my complaint on the other thread is not about me finding a solution to my problem not about me thinking the issue is caused by the game and the game alone. It's more that, no matter what kind of a technical issue one is facing, there shouldn't be advisors telling people to launch video games in safe mode. It was more about having competent people who take time to listen to the issue rather than read down a list of possible solutions that aren't nearly related to the problem, or even are destructive. 

I was thinking about trying to update my BIOS again and I'm really almost convinced it could work but first I am going to write an E-mail to the company that built my PC and ask them for their help on choosing the correct BIOS for my computer. They have my specs in their database and know the most about my system so hopefully they will provide me with the right update. It can take some time for them to reply but I'll let you know as soon as they do.

I just updated my DxDiag on my original post. 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

@SimmerGeorge 

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SimmerGeorge wrote:

there shouldn't be advisors telling people to launch video games in safe mode.

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Well, that is true. 😃
Before you update the BIOS, and it is not nearly as dangerous as some seem to think, 😉 I would recommend a different approach, namely to upgrade to the newest Windows build.

You are still on Windows build 18363. That build will lose support in Mai 2021, so you need to update soon anyway.

To make this clear, you don't have a performance problem in the sense of the word.

This has nothing to do with the game getting "bigger" and your CPU could not handle it. The HWinfo logs show clearly that neither your CPU nor your GPU are utilized as they should be.  

@holger1405 Do you know why my Windows update doesn't automatically suggest those new build updates? 

I could download them manually though. Can I just install the latest 20H2 version or do I have install them one after the other? 

@SimmerGeorge 

Many possible reasons, but not easy to determine. The update will most probably take care of that issue as well.

You can directly install 20H2. Easiest way is to use MS Edge to go to this MS side.

Than click on "Update now", download the Update exe, run it and let Windows do its work.

@holger1405 The company that built my PC just contacted me. They said I do have an A320M Pro installed inside, but it just happens that MSI uses the term MS-7B84 for both my and the B450 motherboards. 

They said my BIOS could have failed due to issues with the USB not being read correctly. To be honest I do think there's something more happening there. When I tried the BIOS Update the first time the USB I wanted to use got corrupt after putting the BIOS files in there, since I always double-check everything, I took a second look in my USB contents before doing the update and found the flash drive had created tons of files, all with unreadable names like "78($%+_aθι" and so on. So I just redownloaded the BIOS files, put them in another (kind of cheap 4GB FAT32) USB and tried -the now failed- BIOS update. I also did a Windows Defender scan later on, but nothing came up. 

Maybe I should get a new USB for this update, not sure but I think I'm certain the issue with the update came from the sytem not being able to read the USB files correctly. 

Also I did do the 20H2 update, thanks again! 🙂

For now I am waiting on what the company (called Megaport, if you're German you might know them) is going to suggest, unless you have anything else you can suggest? 

@SimmerGeorge 

So the performance after the update did not changed at all?

From the Windows build update? Idk I still can't zoom out to view the whole are without my fps dropping to 28 and in community lots the more sims come, the lower it drops reaching 27-35 average. I don't know, should I make a video or something? 

This is my latest log: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-FMu6W-RthuAjChqOgYIYHNy95oM6j_L/view?usp=sharing

I also updated my DxDiag. Is there anything we haven't tried yet? 

@SimmerGeorge 

Did you heard back from Megaport?
And no, a video is not necessary.

Now that we are on the newest chipset driver and Windows build I like to focus on the driver.

• Follow this manual to the letter to cleanly uninstall all NVIDIA components.
• Install the graphics driver and GFE. > Go online.
• Test.

@holger1405 Yes, Megaport did actually reply after viewing my logs and said everything with the hardware should be fine, if I have been experiencing issues with a certain game (but not all my games) then they unfortunately cannot provide any specific game support (which is understable).

Thank you for sending me this manual. I did everything exactly as this manual suggested. Since you can't really tell, you'd have to trust me on that one. I paid a lot of attention (since I am honestly also getting tired of the situation). As always I made a new log after finishing up the process https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uwTp3iv9_lsVFiWMgH2SoUqce1rTAkE7/view?usp=sharing

I used another fresh Sims 4 folder for this log aswell. 

From an fps point of view I have to say I am not facing any issues in residential lots. The big problems happen when I visit community lots, especially in areas like Britechester or the pier area with the bar and lounge in Brindelton Bay or even some Newcrest areas that have a lot of lots. Generally, where there are Sims, lots of objects and water the fps drops to the 20-30s almost instantly. I still have this issue this time around, though I might be wrong but it seems a little more stable now. It's just those massive drop in GPU usage I cannot understand that happen for several minutes at a time, especially towards the end. 

I do not think there's hope here, I have literally cleanly uninstalled and reinstalled everything even a bit related to the game's performance. It must be something else and even if it is, I doubt it is fixable at this point. 

As always, I immensly apprieciate any help or suggestion you might have and if you have any other I will gladly try them. And thanks a lot again!

@SimmerGeorge 

Ok, your GPU clocks look considerable better in this last HWInfo log than in the first one.

The GPU usage is hard to compare for me.

With my RTX 3080 I get 144FPS (Caped) in normal game play, but even with this GPU I get FPS droops to 60 - 70 if I zoom out to max.
But the GPU goes never over 30% usage and I have no way itm to compare usage of a 1060.

@puzzlezaddict certainly knows more about the typical usage of different GPUs in the Sims 4 than I do.

• Make sure the game is closed.
• Open the NVIDIA Control panel.
• Choose "Manage 3D settings".
• Choose "Program Settings"
• Choose the "Sims 4" (If it is not in the list, search for it: "TS4_x64.exe" Standard path C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 4\Game\Bin\.
• Go to "Power Management Mode"
• Set it to "Prefer Maximum Performance"
• Apply
• Test.

@holger1405 Yeah again this whole thing could be fully normal. This is why I named the thread the way I named it when I first started the thread. I simply assumed that 30fps when zommed out was normal for my card in the Sims 4. But then again, how unstable can a game be when you get min 100 to max 180 fps in small residential lots and then suddenly min 28 to max 60fps in community lots. It's such a crazy difference. Are few more sims and few more objects so incredibly demanding that you lose so much fps? 

Coincidentally I did try the maximum performance thing out yesterday after looking around in the NVIDIA settings and made a really short log with it, since I didn't notice that much of an fps difference in community lots, only thing I noticed was that the fps for once didn't drop below 30 and it stayed at min 33 fps but I thought that nothing really changed so I got bored and exited the game and stopped the log. I could make a longer one if needed. This is the one I did yetserday. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZJEwlb_LF58jIr4WdZwiQEh4huKuMFS8/view?usp=sharing

I would really love to compare my performance or at least know what the gtx1060 6gb is in general capable of, in order to understand if this is a normal occurence or not. Maybe someone who knows about how certain cards perform like @puzzlezaddict or someone from EA could comment, because I know some EA people have seen this thread but didn't feel it was neccesary to step in. Maybe now is a good time?

@SimmerGeorge 

OK, there are two things I like to test.

First, I noticed a anomaly in the HWinfo log.

Please go here and download GPU-Z. 

The Tool don't requires a installation, just run it > Start TS4 and post a screenshot of the Sensor panel of GPU-Z.

Second:

• Make sure the game is closed.
• Open the NVIDIA Control panel.
• Choose "Manage 3D settings".
• Choose "Global Settings"
• Go to "DSR Factors"
• Enable: 1.78x
• Apply
• Now you should be able to choose 2156x1440 as in game Resolution > Set it this way.
• Run HWinfo log > Run the game for 10 minutes.
• Post the HW info log and tell us please what differences in FPS you see.

So I don't know if I got it right since the info changes once I go into desktop from my game but you can see the history. It reads around 30-45%

I will post the log from the NVIDIA thing as soon as I'm done. 

@holger1405 Okay so I just finished logging the Sims 4 in 1440p and I am a bit confused as to what to say about the fps. Overall I think the fps went up about 5-8fps in general. I particularly noticed that it dropped below 35 only for maybe a split second, before it used to stay at 26-28 for several seconds at once. I tried many different areas, residential as always around min 80 to max 180fps depending on how big and crowded the lot is. Community lots with the camera looking at the active lot I would say min 40 to max 90fps. If a lot of Sims are on the lot maybe 2-3 fps lower. And looking at the whole neighborhood area at around 33-38 (again weirdly enough depending on if it is residential or community, in residential lots looking around the hood zoomed out gives around 45-50 fps maybe it has to do with the amount of sims idk). 

One thing I noticed for the first time, yet I think it has always been happening was that I can be zoomed in at two sims having a conversation, no moving the camera, completely still and the fps will go from 70 then a second later 58 then 63 then 51 then back up to 70 without me moving anything and I also noticed it does that with the game paused aswell. Maybe this is normal in the Sims 4 not sure (maybe the fps meter that is built in with the game just works this way?). 

Other than that it looked smoother in my eyes, idk I couldn't tell you an average fps since I'm still playing with vsync off and it varies so much.

The link to the new log:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sYOZUMfGcWf7SQVDFJvSnVGjNoR3MYXa/view?usp=sharing##

Also I just restored my NVIDIA settings back to normal after this post.

@holger1405 Would playing in 1440p cause any problems in the long run? 

Also yeah, I figured that there's something wrong with the compatibility and my game just doesn't run as it should. It's crazy that it runs so fine in 2k. I expected performance to drop massively but I guess not. It's such a bummer this game is this way. 

However, I still wanted to ask if you think there are any issues in the logs of me playing other games or at least the FFXV log since I think I haven't posted any others. I am now a little bit worried that there could be  something wrong with my GPU so I think I'll try to look for the same issue in other games too just to rule out the possibility of faulty hardware. Maybe take a look at this, it's need for speed most wanted on Origin and I'm not sure if it shows a similar problem as the Sims 4.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eilKkNoV8o3ncVWR_IY8i5z82isSYGIa/view?usp=sharing

Keep in mind this is also a very old game so it probably doesn't use much GPU power anyway. I just hope it doesn't do the whole peak and drop thing too.

Thanks again for your help. It's unfortunate nobody from EA Support here and in the Live Chat could help or even cared to help really. 

I'll keep this thread open for maybe a day or two in case someone from EA wants to take a look, comment, agree or disagree, just anything really. After that I'll just use your reply as the solution. Also big thanks to @puzzlezaddict too. 

@SimmerGeorge  While @holger1405 is the expert here and will likely want to weigh in, I think it's unlikely that your GPU is the issue.  It performs just fine at the higher load of running Sims 4 in QHD and also running Final Fantasy at its max capacity, or close enough, without there being any indication of a problem in the hwinfo log.

It's almost impossible to tell why your system performs worse when running Sims 4 at 1080p; that's not normal behavior, and neither is the low fps you've seen, at least not for your card.  But Sims 4 is an older game with older dependencies; even though it's still in development, its game engine was created seven or eight years ago.  Combine that with newer hardware and drivers, and there are too many possibilities to consider; troubleshooting becomes more of a shot in the dark than anything else.  Which is what Holger was saying, but it's fun to repeat his ideas and sound smart.

Anyway, as long as your GPU is properly handling the load, as it is from your hwinfo logs, and not overheating, you don't really need to worry about it.

As far as EA people go, I think at least one was reading this thread, but maybe they didn't think they had anything else to offer.

@SimmerGeorge 

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SimmerGeorge  wrote:
Would playing in 1440p cause any problems in the long run?

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No, it would not.

Your Final Fantasy Log is completely fine.
The system behaves as it should, utilization of the GPU and CPU is where it should be.

In the Need for Speed log your GPU is not fully utilized again.

Do you have Vsync enabled or do you cap the frame rate in any other way?
How many FPS do you get?

I don't think that your GPU is the problem here as it performs as expected in Final Fantasy.

Isn't my usage supposed to be low in a game from 2012? I don't know I thought it would be normal. On that note I have to say I also cannot identify any visible performance issues with NFS, fps etc seems normal. Anyway the only difference between Sims/NFS Most wanted and FFXV ist that both Sims and NFS run on Origin while FFXV is on Steam. 

Another Steam game I play is Smite. Here's a log from it. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dRSjNkel3MHVQKJjCYVKPg1zjNuzs5Wc/view?usp=sharing

I am not trying to make you check every game I know :P, I just want to hear your opinion on a second Non-Origin game so I can pinpoint if the issue has to do with Origin or my PC. Smite has pretty high usage and no performance issues either in my eyes. Btw Origin-In Game is disabled in Settings and all games individually.

The ultimate test would be to either buy The Sims 4 on Steam just to check its performance there. Or that linked to Origin too? Another solution would be to get the FFXV Demo on Origin and see how it runs compared to the Steam version I own.

@SimmerGeorge 

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@SimmerGeorge wrote:

. Anyway the only difference between Sims/NFS Most wanted and FFXV ist that both Sims and NFS run on Origin while FFXV is on Steam. 

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I noticed that too. 😉

So how many FPS do you get in NFS?

No Vsync enabled?

Is "Origin in game enabled?

Did you clean uninstalled Origin or just over the Windows control panel?

The system requirements of Smite are so low that it just isn't a meaningful comparison.