@GouchoMarx Sims 4 should be using the MX450 at all times, although the data does pass through the Intel iGPU on the way to the screen in most laptops like yours. Still, the Intel driver is probably not the issue, and I would suggest not updating it if you haven't yet. These drivers are often tuned for the specific laptop, so an older driver provided by the manufacturer may be more compatible for general use than the newest generic Intel driver. This doesn't necessarily apply for games, but as said, Sims 4 should use the MX450.
For the lag itself, it's worth finding out whether this is an overheating issue. Please download hwinfo (it's free) from here:
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/
You don't need to install anything; just choose the Portable version, unzip it, and launch it from Downloads or wherever you like. If you do want the full installer, be sure to click the button for hwinfo itself, not for lansweeper.
Restart your computer, open hwinfo, choose Sensors Only, and click the button that's a sheet of paper with a + to start logging. Save the log file to your desktop for easy access. Wait five minutes, then open Sims 4 and play for at least 20 minutes. Don't alt-tab out of the game or run any other programs, aside from the EA App of course, while you're testing. When you're done, click the same button to stop the logging.
Please upload the log to the third-party filesharing site of your choice (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and link it for me. Either leave it in .csv format or, if you're going to use OneDrive, create a .zip file, and don't open the log before uploading it, or else my log reader might not be able to interpret it.
@puzzlezaddict I'm sorry for the long gap in response - I followed your instructions on trying to get a temperature reading of my laptop and it was hitting a high of 97°C while the Sims was running...! It was only then that I realised that I had actually not heard the fan spinning for weeks! While I was figuring out how to turn the data into a link for you, I just took my laptop to a computer shop and asked them to investigate it for overheating. They confirmed that the fan was very broken but the laptop itself seemed O.K. (no fried components etc). So I'm waiting to get the new fan fitted on Thursday this week (it took over a week for the fan to arrive... ¬_¬) Let's see if this makes a difference! If I still have game lag, I will run a new test with the new fan installed and respond (hopefully) with a link. Thanks again for helping out!
Hello, I'm facing the same issue you are. However, my laptop works fine, the drivers are updated, there is no overheating either. My sims take too long to respond when I cancel any action and like you mentioned, the clock is completely out of sync. I tried removing my mods and yet I'm facing the issue. I am playing on Dell laptop, I have also tried repairing and updating the game. If I uninstall and reinstall the game, can I replace the save files, will it still work? Please help me with the lags and the bugs.
@GouchoMarx A nonworking fan would definitely explain all the lag, although of course you won't know for sure until you test with the new fan. Let me know how it goes.
@AngenaChase Please test with no mods or custom content. (You don't need to save your progress.) If the game is still not running properly, create your own thread describing the issues you see. Please also run a dxdiag and attach it to the post.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
@puzzlezaddict I have spent a few hours today trying to get the game to play without lag - even with the new fan - and nothing has changed ☹️ I generated a new "The Sims 4" folder, created a new save file, made a new sim - but the lag and clock issues persist... I obviously tested without any mods - it's still lagging without mods and on fresh saves. The new fan is working and spinning freely like it should. What haven't we tried by this stage? I really think it's a fault in the game.
@GouchoMarx Double-check your laptop's internal temperatures just to make sure everything's fine. It's great that the fan is working, but nothing substitutes for testing.
Please also disable Online Social Features, under Options > Game Options > Other. While this setting shouldn't introduce any lag, it can cause a significant drop in fps when the EA App can't connect or is offline, which can confuse or seem to exacerbate the issue.
If that's not the problem, please try playing in a clean boot:
The one service to leave enabled is the EABackgroundService, which the EA App needs in order to run. Disable the rest as described.
When you reboot your computer, go through the Task Manager's background processes list shutting down any service that doesn't absolutely need to be running, for example anything from MSI Afterburner to RGB software might still be enabled. If you accidentally kill a critical process and it doesn't restart on its own, just reboot your computer again.
Don't open anything other than Sims 4 and the EA App while testing, not even a browser window.
Community Manager
