I took a long break from the sims 4 and I’m slowly trying to get back into it, but my fps are so low ☹️(( i have a nividia gtx 1060, and most of my setting are actually set to low (in hopes of better performance). I’ve tried remove (the small amount) of cc and mods I have, cleared cache several times (I’ve also cleared origin cache a few times), I’ve even uninstalled the game, and when I first opened the game after that I think it ran okay, but now I have constant lag spikes and low fps again. I don’t remember my game being this laggy before. I was planning on buying cottage living this month, but I’m having second thoughts because it would be a shame to spend money on it if the game continues to run this poorly.

I might finally have found the solution: my computer was overheating. I cleaned my fans (which was incredibly dirty), and my game performance seem to have improved. Thank you to all the people trying to help me

Sims 4 laggy :(( | EA Forums

24 Replies

EA_Darko
Community Manager
5 years ago
Hey @lindhard1234 can you grab me a DxDiag so that I can take a look at your system: https://help.ea.com/en/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

Darko
lindhard1234
5 years ago
atm it's running fine for some time and then it suddenly drops, maybe it's wishful thinking i was just hoping to be able to run the game smooth, and as far as i know i should be able to with the graphic card i have.
DxDiag.txt117 KB
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago
@lindhard1234 Sorry for the late reply. I'm not sure where your thread was before, but it looks like it was only moved to a Sims 4 section today.

Anyway, you should be able to play on ultra graphics settings, that is as long as your laptop is holding up overall. Please start by updating the driver for your Nvidia card. You can download the newest driver here:

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/176524/en-us

Select the custom option and check the box to "perform a clean install." Restart your computer after the driver is installed.

If that doesn't help, please set Windows to run Sims 4 in high-performance mode. Hit Windows key-i, select System > Display > Graphics settings, click the Browse button, and add TS4_x64.exe. Click on it, select Options, and choose "High performance."

If that doesn't help either, please test in a clean user folder. Move the entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a new folder will spawn with no content. Don't add anything to this folder yet, and don't change the settings; just start a new save and see whether you get any lag. If you do, please let me know the context: what's happening in-game, how long you've been playing, and what else is running on your computer.
EA_Darko
Community Manager
5 years ago
Hey @lindhard1234 can you go ahead and check that you are launching the game on your Nvidia card and not your integrated card.

To change from your integrated card to your Nvidia card:

Open "Nvidia Control Panel".

Select "Manage 3D Settings" under 3D Settings.
Click on "Program Settings" tab and then select the program you want to run.
Select "Preferred graphics processor" in drop-down menu and then select use the dedicated graphics card, select High-performance Nvidia processor.

Darko
lindhard1234
5 years ago
@EA_Darko My sims 4 runs on the Nivida graphics card.
lindhard1234
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict I already had the driver installed I tried to update it tho, didn’t seem to make a difference. I tried making it run in high-performance mode, that’s unfortunately didn’t seem to help either.
I tried clearing them game as you said, but I still can’t seem to get above 30 fps, and still having drops.

I mostly build so that’s where I know that it does it, and I live mode it still has drops and can’t really run a 100% smooth. It’s actually really odd, sometimes it runs fine, sometimes it runs fine for some time and then go into “lag mode”, and sometimes I just has a bad day and run poorly when I start up the game.
When I play i try not to run anything in the background and I often turn off the wifi.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago
@lindhard1234 Do you always play with the laptop plugged in? Performance will be worse, often much worse, on battery, regardless of the other steps you take.

There's also a known issue with low fps when entering build mode, and that's not usually fixable. But a workaround is to open and close the menu (the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen); let me know whether this helps.

Otherwise, please try playing in a clean user folder, just for comparison's sake. Move the entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content. Don't add anything to it yet; just see whether a new save runs better. The point is not to abandon your current saves, only to try to figure out whether the issue is more about your system or the content you use in-game.
TheSuperWolf100
5 years ago
@lindhard1234 are you using Vsync? that can also limit your fps to the monitors refresh rate that may cause low fps
lindhard1234
5 years ago
@TheSuperWolf100 As far as I know, I don’t use it. I don’t even think I know what Vsync does
lindhard1234
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict I mostly play with my laptop plugged in, and I still feel likes it’s not running as smooth as it should.

Clearing the user folder and playing on a “fresh” game didn’t help either unfortunately.