Serious lag/loading issues

jgall19  Does this happen if you choose to start a new save?  Please test, for comparison's sake, and let me know either way.

If the new save is fine, try loading a different household within your main save.

If the new save is affected, please provide a dxdiag.  Hit Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop.  From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons.

jgall19  Your dxdiag lists a handful of generic Windows errors, so please run a couple of basic checks of your Windows system files:

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes, and enter
• The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
• After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
• Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator)”
• Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes, and enter
• Post the message you receive here

Restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the box to check for updates.  If any install, restart again afterwards.

Please also disable Game Mode and Game Bar, both under Windows Settings > Gaming.

Finally, please update the driver for your Nvidia graphics card.  The newest-available driver is still somewhat old, but it's newer than your current one, so it may help.  Go here:

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/

Select GeForce, GeForce 700M Series (Notebooks), GT 720M [make sure GT is showing], Windows 10, and download the Game Ready Driver from 2019.  Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator."  Restart your computer afterwards and before trying to play.

jgall19  To be clear, you ran the Nvidia installer and got that message?  This isn't uncommon with laptops, but I haven't seen it much with Dell models.  At any rate, you can force-install the driver, which is in fact compatible despite the error message.

Please download 7-Zip and use it to extract the Nvidia graphics driver.  (Once 7-Zip is installed, you can right-click the driver and select Extract.)  Click Windows key-X, open the Device Manager, expand Display Adapters, and right-click the Nvidia GPU.  Choose Update Driver > Browse my computer > Let me pick > Have disk, choose the extracted driver, and select the Display.Driver folder.  The Device Manager should be able to select the correct file from inside.

jgall19  Try playing with your computer offline.  You can sign into the EA App and put it in offline mode, then disable wifi and/or disconnect the ethernet cable before pressing Play.  This might not be a good long-term solution for you, but it's a useful test.

If that doesn't help either, please post a new dxdiag so I can compare it to the first one.

jgall19  Offline mode blocks Gallery access, and it will also block you from starting the limited-time events or redeeming your progress.  However, you can occasionally go online to get what you want and then go back offline afterwards.  For example, the next event starts tomorrow, so you could go online once, start the event, go back offline, and only go online again (briefly) when you've completed all the tasks in-game and you want that progress credited to your account.  You only need to be online once (per set of tasks) to show EA servers you've finished the tasks, and then the rewards are yours permanently going forward.

A less drastic alternative you can try is keeping your computer online but placing the EA App in offline mode, or even leaving the App online but disabling Online Social Features within Sims 4, under Options > Game Options > Other.  It's not always clear which setting is the issue.  Either of these alternatives would still block Gallery access and the special events, but the above method of occasionally restoring the connection would work equally well.