Hello, I’m in desperate need of some help with the Sims 4 on PC. 

I’ll start with some background: I’ve had the game for years with no issues until last week. In the morning I played the game for a few hours with no issues but in the afternoon the game started lagging and freezing in build and live modes and it hasn’t been the same since. My laptop was not updated between the morning and afternoon; there were no changes to my laptop made that day. I have Windows 11 if that’s also relevant. 

I can’t go more than 30 minutes (on a very, very good day) without it lagging and freezing but usual it only takes 5 - 10 minutes for the problem to start. It has only crashed twice, otherwise once I notice the lag (and it’s hard to miss) I slowly save and exit before it totally freezes. I went through the forums and did as I was told: I’ve deleted my backups, I’ve deleted the local cash, I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the Sims 4 and the EA app, I've tried repairing the Sims in the EA app, I’ve restarted and troubleshooted my PC (and I didn’t receive notice of any issues that needed my attention), and I’ve adjusted my settings in the game (like turning on laptop mode and enabling the V setting in game options - sorry, I can’t remember what it’s called). Nothing has worked. I also have no custom content or mods, only the base game and some add ons. 

I would greatly appreciate any help with this issue, it’s been a pain to deal with. Thanks!

Hello, I’m in desperate need of some help with the Sims 4 on PC. 

I’ll start with some background: I’ve had the game for years with no issues until last week. In the morning I played the game for a few hours with no issues but in the afternoon the game started lagging and freezing in build and live modes and it hasn’t been the same since. My laptop was not updated between the morning and afternoon; there were no changes to my laptop made that day. I have Windows 11 if that’s also relevant. 

I can’t go more than 30 minutes (on a very, very good day) without it lagging and freezing but usual it only takes 5 - 10 minutes for the problem to start. It has only crashed twice, otherwise once I notice the lag (and it’s hard to miss) I slowly save and exit before it totally freezes. I went through the forums and did as I was told: I’ve deleted my backups, I’ve deleted the local cash, I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the Sims 4 and the EA app, I've tried repairing the Sims in the EA app, I’ve restarted and troubleshooted my PC (and I didn’t receive notice of any issues that needed my attention), and I’ve adjusted my settings in the game (like turning on laptop mode and enabling the V setting in game options - sorry, I can’t remember what it’s called). Nothing has worked. I also have no custom content or mods, only the base game and some add ons. 

I would greatly appreciate any help with this issue, it’s been a pain to deal with. Thanks!

wmoon123  That's more than I asked for and illustrates the problem: your CPU is overheating when the laptop is charging.  It's running hot, but not too much, when you're playing on battery.  For reference, anything above the low 90s will cause throttling.  The Core Max is the maximum temperature on any CPU core at that time, so it's a useful if incomplete measurement.

The main reason the CPU is overheating is probably that it's trying to work harder than it would on battery, which paradoxically means it can't work as hard, once it overheats.  But the heat from the battery itself, as it charges, may also be a contributing factor.

Regardless, this is a real problem that needs to be addressed.  It's possible the laptop is defective in some way, but more likely that the fans or vents are blocked.  If you're comfortable opening up the laptop, you can see for yourself.  I believe this is your layout:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jOm2280mj8

If the fans are working fine and the vents aren't blocked, and you're not playing with the laptop sitting on a blanket that would obstruct airflow or anything like that, then there may be a defect with the laptop itself, for example the CPU thermal paste could have dried out or been improperly applied.  This is when you'd want professional help, hopefully within your warranty if you have one.

  That's more than I asked for and illustrates the problem: your CPU is overheating when the laptop is charging.  It's running hot, but not too much, when you're playing on battery.  For reference, anything above the low 90s will cause throttling.  The Core Max is the maximum temperature on any CPU core at that time, so it's a useful if incomplete measurement.

The main reason the CPU is overheating is probably that it's trying to work harder than it would on battery, which paradoxically means it can't work as hard, once it overheats.  But the heat from the battery itself, as it charges, may also be a contributing factor.

Regardless, this is a real problem that needs to be addressed.  It's possible the laptop is defective in some way, but more likely that the fans or vents are blocked.  If you're comfortable opening up the laptop, you can see for yourself.  I believe this is your layout:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jOm2280mj8

If the fans are working fine and the vents aren't blocked, and you're not playing with the laptop sitting on a blanket that would obstruct airflow or anything like that, then there may be a defect with the laptop itself, for example the CPU thermal paste could have dried out or been improperly applied.  This is when you'd want professional help, hopefully within your warranty if you have one.

So a few days a go I had the chance to take apart the back of my laptop and clean out the fans. There wasn't much dust but since cleaning them I haven't had anymore problems with The Sims 4, whether I'm playing on battery or full charge plugged in.

I did still check the temperature after playing The Sims for a bit (using the same tool from before) and the maximum temperature caps at 100 but it still reaches 100 consistently.  I am not sure if this means that the problem is solved or that cleaning the fans merely bought me some time before the problem remerges. 

So a few days a go I had the chance to take apart the back of my laptop and clean out the fans. There wasn't much dust but since cleaning them I haven't had anymore problems with The Sims 4, whether I'm playing on battery or full charge plugged in.

I did still check the temperature after playing The Sims for a bit (using the same tool from before) and the maximum temperature caps at 100 but it still reaches 100 consistently.  I am not sure if this means that the problem is solved or that cleaning the fans merely bought me some time before the problem remerges.