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dolldrms1's avatar
dolldrms1
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago

Re: Sims 4 Massive FPS Drops

@Gameshark144  and @puzzlezaddict 

I started having frame drops and stutters on a frequent enough basis recently that I've been trying changes on my end. It is/was baffling to me because the game had been running silky smooth for me for the last nine months. Not here to hijack thread, I'm following only, not asking for help, at this time anyway, lol.

I just want to insert a couple of things. The first is that when I started troubleshooting I discovered that I wasn't seeing adaptive sync in my Nvidia Control Panel either and discovered it was apparently turned on in my monitor settings from the get-go of setup last July. My husband set it up for me and the monitor has performed so well that I just hadn't even looked into settings at all. Sort of a not broken, don't fix mindset. @Gameshark144  my guess is that its turned on in your monitor, too.

Secondly, I've been following driver release threads on the Nvidia site. In the newest thread for the newest driver, they stickied a link on 4/16/21 to a thread at reddit about v-sync issues caused by recent Windows updates. The link pertains to the KB5000842 update but reading the thread links to an updated thread for KB5001330 forced in the April Windows update that some gamers have found also messes with v-sync working properly.

While I found the update information good to know, it was also discouraging news to think we might need Microsoft to fix it.  In my case, I thought a driver update I did on 3/21/21 might have something to do with it but since the issues didn't immediately start, I can't help but think the updates are involved. The fps drops and stutters I had suddenly started seeing didn't get really irksome for me until about the time the KB5001330 was forced on me 4/13/21.

After reading last night, I turned v-sync off in game settings. I left adaptive sync on in the monitor settings but also limited the frame rate in the program settings for the ts4_x64.exe in the Nivdia Control Panel and tried playing. So far, so good but I do have a G-Sync compatible monitor so I would venture to say that what works for me may not work for everyone. I also don't have enough play time yet to evaluate whether or not the setting changes made will be fine for the foreseeable future.

Sheesh, there are certainly many, many times I miss just plug the monitor in and go. There are so many places to adjust settings now that I become confused as to where the best place to do so is. There's now windows settings and Nvidia Control Panel settings and now I see monitor settings I didn't even know were available that then reflect in the control panel, *facepalm*! I guess all the settings available now in different places is a good thing but I tend to feel a little overwhelmed when trying to figure out where to start troubleshooting.  Also can't forget it now seems to be a matter of figuring out settings, factor in what may be game engine issues and maybe a Windows update contribution to a problem, sigh.  BTW, I love the specs of your system! Congrats on the new hardware. Once the issue gets sorted for you, you can just sit back and enjoy 🙂

9 Replies

  • Gameshark144's avatar
    Gameshark144
    5 years ago

    @dolldrms1 I don't believe that the issue was a driver issue nor Windows because I have had this random fps drop issue since around the start of 2020. At the time, I simply thought it was likely my hardware and since then have replaced my monitor and effectively the entire computer except the ram (which I added an extra 2 sticks to) and the storage. I appreciate the heads up though about the Windows Update and the Nvidia driver update but I had actually updated the driver yesterday (after which I still have the drop). I did go ahead and go into my monitor settings just in case and disable the Freesync there. Maybe it was compounding the issue since it was designed for AMD and I no longer have any AMD but I am thinking that is likely not the case since I experienced the drop before with all AMD.

  • dolldrms1's avatar
    dolldrms1
    Seasoned Ace
    5 years ago
    @Gameshark144 the product page for your monitor indicated it was "Adaptive-Sync/FreeSync" compatible so I thought turning off that setting might make both Adaptive and Adaptive (half refresh rate) options appear in your Nvidia Control Panel, like they did for me. When I started troubleshooting, my panel v-sync options looked just like the pic you've attached. I just turned the monitor setting off, restarted my computer and opened the panel again. Then those two previously mentioned v-sync options appeared in the control panel as selectable options, as well as off, on, fast. Sorry that wasn't the case for you.

    I've seen @puzzlezaddict help lots of simmers with issues in this forum. All you can do is keep trying the suggestions puzzlezaddict offers. I'm not surprised you've had issues for longer than I have, as the experience differs for a lot of simmers. I'm glad you found the info on the Windows Update good to know. Now I'm back to just lurking around your thread, hoping you find the best outcome possible.
  • Gameshark144's avatar
    Gameshark144
    5 years ago

    @dolldrms1 Actually, I found the option to turn Adaptive-Sync/FreeSync off from my monitor settings and after doing so the adaptive and adaptive half-refresh rate appeared. I didn't realize that the option would have been hidden with the option enabled on my monitor directly and didn't think to check Nvidia control panel again to see if it would appear. After disabling that within monitor settings and setting a 60 fps limit on Sims 4 within Nvidia control panel, my issue seems to be somewhat remedied. Not completely but I was playing for nearly 3 hours earlier after messing with those settings and my fps never got nuked down to 15-20 fps. I did still experience the odd dip down to 40-45 range but only for a couple seconds before going back up to 60 which even if it stuck at 40-45 for a half hour or so like it did before at 15-20, its still very playable. Of course, this could have also simply been a massive coinkydink and the issue could crop up again. However, if my game stays like it has been the last few hours, I can certainly live with that. Thanks for mentioning to double check the settings. That hadn't even occurred to me.

  • dolldrms1's avatar
    dolldrms1
    Seasoned Ace
    5 years ago

    @Gameshark144   I am so glad to hear you've got improvement, even if it is "a massive coinkydink", lol. I'm enjoying the improvement in my game with the changes I made but running fps onscreen just to keep an eye on things. I'm just plain leery of seeing it again myself. I'm not at all sure the odd dip to a short term 40-45 fps can be completely avoided. Think that's probably game engine issue, although I'm guessing. It's just really nice to see you say you've been enjoying playing for the last few hours. A step forward is awesome! 🙂

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @Gameshark144  Based on my observations and other players' reports, I think the occasional brief fps drop into the 40s is a result of the game engine being occupied with other calculations and is therefore not really fixable.  One common cause is the close of Neighborhood Action Plan (Eco Lifestyle) voting, where the game needs to apply or remove the related commodities to every single sim in every affected neighborhood.  There are other causes too; this one is just particularly obvious and a good illustration of why this kind of fps drop might happen.

    If you see more dramatic or prolonged drops, please let me know; it would also be useful to hear what was going on in-game at the time.  But if this is as bad as it gets, then I think we'll just have to chalk it up to the game being its usual unoptimized self.

  • Gameshark144's avatar
    Gameshark144
    5 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict The drop into the 40s is one that I am able to easily live with especially since it is only for a couple of seconds and may have also been the lot that I was on at the time. The calculations sounds like a probable reason for a brief dip. I'm on the 64x64 lot in Brindleton Bay with a large home and it may have been the decorations that caused a brief drop also before going back up to 60. I wasn't doing anything specific really. Usual stuff like telling my sims to eat or use the computer. Before it did not matter what they were doing, the size of the lot or neighborhood, or how decorated the house was. I had drops even in the Willow Creek neighborhood where those three sims are roommates. I forget the characters names but its one of the cheapest areas and using the stock homes there, the drop would occur down to 15-20 and stay for up to half an hour before I closed the game out.

    Regardless thanks to everyone for the help! I think it has been sorted out but if I experience a drop again I will let you guys know. Thanks again!

  • morfinacs's avatar
    morfinacs
    4 years ago

    Just so everyone knows, I got this problem solved by changing Vertical Sync to "Fast" on my Nvidia Control Panel, on 3D settings 🙂

  • JeanVW's avatar
    JeanVW
    Seasoned Ace
    4 years ago
    @morfinacs what other settings do you have (in general but more importantly in regards to V Sync)? because just putting my vertical sync to "fast'' doesn't do much for me.
  • morfinacs's avatar
    morfinacs
    4 years ago

    I just recorded a video where you can see all my settings. It's in Spanish but it's pretty much the same.

    Just to mention it, I have Vertical Sync deactivated on the game settings. I hope it helps

    https://youtu.be/UHigGDgmM9A

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