EA please tell us the requirements for Ultra Settings (with stable fps) [ Edited ]

[SimmerGeorge]

So hey, 

I recently bought a PC thinking it would be enough to run the game in ultra settings with 50-60+ fps on 1080p... but I was wrong. I had to turn down my settings slightly already because in some areas like Britechester the game dropped from 60 to 30 back to 70 then 25 fps. 

I own a pre-built with: 

- gtx 1060 6gb

- ryzen 5 2600

- 16GB RAM

- Windows 10

And unfortunately this isn't enough to run more crowded areas in this game with an fps that somehow stays at one place when moving the camera around. It completely breaks the immersion of the game. I already contacted EA Support and they refused to give me an answer as to if my issues come from my PC specs being too low for ultra settings or there is another source like the game or Origin. I bet they don't know either. 

I know EA has released recommended specs for this game already but as we know those aren't nearly good enough for the max settings with all or mostly all of the DLC. 

So can somebody from EA make it clear what hardware one would need to run this game with all its DLC on ultra with a good fps even in crowded areas? 

[holger1405 · Accepted solution]

@SimmerGeorge 

First, the GPU-Z reading is fine.

To your question: "(maybe the fps meter that is built in with the game just works this way?)"

No, the Frames counter will be fairly accurate. I assume this happens because of the uneven utilization of your system, especially of your GPU.

For the 1440P reading, rendering a game in 2K (2560x1440) means that you have to render roughly about 2x as many pixels as in Full HD (1920x1080P)

So that is way more demanding for the GPU. (And the rest of the system as well.)
Your HWinfo log, and your description, show that your GPU is scaling as expected, going out from the sub-average performance on 1080P.

So your system can not only handle the game, it can handle it at a much more demanding resolution.

That it looses more frames on a populated lot is completely normal, there is just more stuff to draw. Every object that is on the screen, or that could be on the screen in the next split second, has to be rendered, and if there are more objects to render the GPU has more work.

Now, @puzzlezaddict  and I both think that the utilization of your GPU is sub-average compared to what we have seen so far, but we have also done everything that is reasonable for online troubleshooting. (Without having our hands on the machine.)  
There are literally dozens of possible reasons why your performance is not ideal, and the game is surely not good optimized for modern high end systems.

If it runs better on 2K you can just set it back to that resolution, also let the High performance mode for the game enabled.
A positive side effect should be a noticeable better picture quality.
It is not uncommon for an older game to run better in a more demanding environment, the GPU is just better utilized and if you're not experience big shuttering 30 FPS zoomed out are not ideal of course, but playable. 

[TheSuperWolf100]

@SimmerGeorge your system is cable of running Ultra High but some of the words do slightly lag due to what has to load

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  Your hardware is certainly above the minimum needed to be able to run Sims 4, all packs included, on ultra settings.  However, other factors can make the game more demanding, for example playing at a higher resolution, using a lot of high poly custom content, using certain mods, etc.  Background apps can also contribute.

As a test, please move your entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  (Your existing content will be intact in the folder you moved but temporarily not read by the game.) 

Restart your computer before launching the game.  Don't add anything to the new folder yet; just see how a new save runs in various worlds.  Please play in either fullscreen or windowed fullscreen, at a resolution of 1920x1080, or something similar if your monitor's native resolution isn't 16:9.  Let me know how it goes.

[SimmerGeorge]

Thank you guys for replying. The thing is I have tried everything. From removing my folder and letting the game create a new one, to removing Origin cache, re-installing the game, running as admnistrator, you name it. 

I always play in 1920x1080 as it is my native resolution and I can't play above that. I play in 75Hz but that makes no difference to 60 Hz in my eyes. 

I'm just really confused as to why my machine has drops to 20-30 fps in community lots or in worlds like Britechester, Windenburg and Newcrest out of all places. If I keep my camera still it can go up to 50-60 in those areas but any slight movement of the camera causes a huge drop. Those spikes going up and down are really harsh on the eyes. 

I don't use any mods or CC and my mods folder is completely empty. 

I watch all these Youtubers with the moster PCs running the game so smoothly in ultra and I really want to do that to but honestly I don't know which cards to buy anymore, do i really have to go buy a super-expensive one for a game from 2014? I don't know. I wish I had a clear answer. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  Does it help to play while your computer is offline?  Does a clean boot help?

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-boot-windows-10

If you try it, please also shut down any non-critical background processes in the Task Manager: anything from MSI Afterburner to lighting software.

[SimmerGeorge]

I usually try to pay attention to what is happening in the background so there's never really anything big running but I will try a clean boot once I get back home and will report back. 

Playing offline helps in my eyes but I think the fps meter averages out to about the same. Not sure though, it definitely does look better in my eyes. 

[SimmerGeorge]

So I did a clean boot and really I still get fps dips in the same areas as before with my graphics set to maximum. I really don't know, maybe it's a hardware problem. I can't seem to find the solution. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  I think you might have done some hardware monitoring before, but it would be good to get another reading, to see if there's anything obvious.  Download hwinfo from here:

https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

You don't need to install anything if you don't want to; just choose the Portable version, unzip it, and launch it from Downloads or wherever you want.  (If you would like to install, be sure to click the green button, not the orange one.)  Restart your computer, and don't open any other apps.  Launch hwinfo, choose "sensors only," and click the icon that's a sheet of paper with a + sign to start logging.  Save the file to your desktop for easy access later.

Wait five minutes, then launch Sims 4 and play for at least 20 minutes.  (More is fine.)  Click the same button to end logging.  Then upload the log to a third-party free filehosting site and link it here.  Please leave it in .csv format, or if you use OneDrive to share, please compress it in .zip format instead.

[SimmerGeorge]

@puzzlezaddict Again thanks a lot for taking time to try and help me with this. I did what you suggested and during gameplay I visited the areas where I get the smoothest performance in the first 10 minutes and then the areas that cause my problems after that. 

This is my link to the file on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KKZAnA9o2_hyu1bodZD1og8UnCTgNW7n/view?usp=sharing

I tried to read it myself but I don't really understand it so I'll leave it up to you. Thanks again. 

[SimmerGeorge]

@puzzlezaddict Just tagging you again in case you missed the notification