Re: Game lagging out of nowhere

Hi! Thank you so much for responding.
I ran the first scan and received no error messages, and when I ran the second scan I received this message, "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag." 

I updated my computer, and fully uninstalled G-hub. 

I also failed to mention I had been receiving a Windows Visual C++ runtime library error (image attached below) recently when starting up my laptop, and I'm not sure if it has an effect on my sims performance. 
Also would like to mention that when I tried installing the game again, it ran fine as base game, or with a few stuff packs etc. As soon as I installed bigger packs, the lag started again. Having all the packs installed was never an issue before though. 
Unfortunately, even in a new save with no mods, I am still experiencing the same lag.  

@stickysara  I have no idea what that error message means, to be honest, but it's worth uninstalling and reinstalling the 2022 VC++ runtimes, which Sims 4 uses.  Hit Windows key-i, select Apps, scroll down to the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables, click on any version from 2015 or later, and select Uninstall.  Don't touch the older versions.  You can download the newest runtimes directly from Microsoft:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-US/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170

You'll need both the x86 and x64 versions of the 2015-2022 runtimes, but you can skip the ARM version, which is for a different class of device.  Restart your computer after installing and before trying to play.

For the game issue, try putting the EA App in offline mode before launching Sims 4.  The game should work exactly the same other than not supporting access to the Gallery.

I followed steps and reinstalled the C++ redistributables, but stilled received the same error message on startup. I did some more digging and found out that my adobe programs had something to do with the message, so I uninstalled them, and the message was gone. This probably had nothing to with my game. Tried playing it in offline and still had the same problem. Back to square 1, really not sure what could be causing this as practically nothing has changed with my laptop. 

@stickysara  Try playing in a clean boot:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-da2f9573-6eec-00ad-2f8a-a97a1807f3dd

The one service to leave enabled is the EABackgroundService, which hte EA App needs in order to run.  Disable the rest as described.

When you reboot, go through the Task Manager's background processes list shutting down anything that doesn't absolutely need to be running, for example GHub might have still been active had you not removed it.  If you accidentally kill the wrong process and it doesn't restart on its own, just reboot your computer again.

Please also put the EA App in offline mode for this test as well.  If you still get lag, restart your computer, repeat the process with the Task Manager, and this time, put the EA App in offline mode and then take your computer completely offline before pressing Play.

The idea here is to remove everything else that might be interfering with Sims 4, and once the game is running well again, start adding back services until you find out which one is causing the problems.

Once again, thank you so much for the response. I'm losing hope here as this also did not work. I also tried a bunch of other things such as checking for viruses, etc. No luck on anything so far. This situation is so confusing and it genuinely started out of nowhere, and I hadn't done anything new with my laptop as I was barely using it and then decided to boot up sims after a while. 

@stickysara  How hot does your computer get while you're playing?  I'm specifically curious about CPU and GPU temperatures.  You can see the GPU temps in the Task Manager's Performance tab; make sure to leave the game open when you check.  If the MX150's temperature is below 75º or so, it's probably not the cause of the lag, but please make sure the game is actually using the MX150 and not the integrated graphics chip.  You should be able to tell from the utilization.

For the temperature of the processor, you'd need to install an outside tool.  I like hwinfo because it captures everything, but the downside is that it captures everything.  The CPU data is near the top; for these purposes, you can ignore all the other stats.  GPU data, including temperature, is near the bottom, and please check this too if you do end up installing hwinfo.  You can download it for free from here:

https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

You don't need to install anything; just choose the Portable version.  When you launch it, choose "sensors only," then leave it running while you play.  It'll show max readings as well as current, so even if the temperatures drop after you close the game, you'll be able to see the peaks.

I ended up downloading hwinfo and all the temperatures seemed to be normal, and in task manager I could that the MX150 chip was being used and remained below 75 degrees. But I did notice that recently my fans seem to be much louder when playing the sims as compared to before. Not sure if I mentioned but I don't get these problems with any other games, I only seem to be experiencing performance problems with the sims. 

@stickysara  How hot are the CPU cores?  The fans running louder usually means that the processor is running hotter (and sometimes the graphics card), although a single fan might be louder if it becomes obstructed in some way.

So sorry for late response! The cpu cores look a bit hot, as they are highlighted in red. Current temp when having games open is around 80, minimum around 40, and max around 95. It does say that there is thermal throttling present. Could that be the issue?

@stickysara  Yes, a processor will thermal throttle in the 90s (Celsius) and can therefore slow down any and all programs currently running.  If you're comfortable taking off the bottom panel of your laptop, it's worth doing so and cleaning the vents and fan, making sure the fan can rotate properly as well.  This doesn't involve taking apart any hardware; you'd only nneed to remove some screws and the panel.

If you're not comfortable doing this, a computer repair shop could do it for you, for a fee, but in that case it's worth blowing compressed air into the vents to see whether it helps.  A can of compressed air is much cheaper than an appointment with a computer tech, if also somewhat less effective.

Additionally, make sure the laptop is always resting on a hard flat surface while you play; no running Sims in bed with the laptop on the covers.  If that's not enough, you might consider a cooling pad or tray, but that won't fix a major problem with cooling such as a blocked vent; it can only help around the margins.

Thank you for responding once again. I actually checked my fans and they didn’t look particularly dusty but I am still going to take it to a repair shop so they can clean them. I’m also curious if worn down thermal paste could be an issue? I’ve had my laptop for 5 years so I’m not sure if the thermal paste has worn down or not. If it has, could it be the cause for the performance issues as well?

@stickysara  Thermal paste doesn't really wear down, but it can dry out and therefore become less effective.  Reapplying it is something you might not want to do for the first time on a laptop, especially since that involves removing the heatsink and perhaps some other components, which in turn can be complicated or delicate depending on the laptop's layout.  It's certainly a possibility though, and one that should be considered if other interventions don't help.

So would taking it to a repair shop so they could replace the thermal paste be worth it? Could the dried out thermal paste be causing the throttling? My fan isn't dusty enough to be causing the issue, and I had them cleaned recently as well. 

@stickysara  The answer is... maybe.  I would be mildly surprised, but not shocked, if your laptop's thermal paste were so dried out that it absolutely needed to be replaced.  Laptop manufacturers know that their products could be used for a number of years and generally prepare for that possibility, and Asus generally makes quality products.  It's much more likely that dust clogs a fan or a vent, or something else prevents the fan from spinning properly, before the thermal paste itself fails.  On the other hand, it's far from impossible—it would happen eventually, and maybe your laptop's thermal paste just dried out ahead of schedule.

The other consideration is whether you want to invest this kind of money in your laptop.  A professional cleaning is usually relatively cheap, but having someone take apart the laptop and apply new thermal paste probably wouldn't be.  It would still likely be cheaper than a new laptop, but on the other hand, a decent new laptop would be significantly faster, and if you're going to get one in the near future anyway, you might not want to spend so much on this one.  This is where I can't tell you the right answer because I don't know your budget or what your local shop would charge, so think about what you want, and call around to get some estimates.

And of course you can't know for sure that the thermal paste is the issue until someone checks.  I'd still try a cooling pad or fan, and borrow one from a friend to test if you can, to see whether you can keep the processor below 95º C while playing.  A max in the low 90s is fine and shouldn't trigger thermal throttling.  You can also upload an hwinfo log for me to look at if you want.