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

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  I'm so sorry, I thought I'd replied to you a while ago.  But maybe I closed the window before clicking Send.  (It's been one of those weeks.  Or one and a half, really.)

The link you posted is private—it's asking me to sign into Google Drive, meaning I can't see the upload.

[SimmerGeorge]

@puzzlezaddict What about this one?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KKZAnA9o2_hyu1bodZD1og8UnCTgNW7n/view?usp=sharing

Alternatively I also made this: http://www.mediafire.com/file/8b0vc6dcs5trdvc/Logging_SimmerGeorge.CSV/file

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  I can see the first one, thanks.  I'll get to it in a few hours, when I'm in front of Windows again.  (My log reader doesn't deign to work in macOS.)

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  I took a look, and so did someone else who's better at this than I am.  The issue is that your hardware, particularly your graphics card, is barely being utilized, certainly not anywhere near the level it could run if required.  So the question is why.

Please run another dxdiag and attach it to a post.  I want to see if there are any useful driver updates since the last dxdiag from a few months ago.  Please also see whehter you can set the Windows energy plan to "AMD Ryzen Balanced" in Power Options (Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options).  If you can't, you may need a chipset driver update, which should also be clear from the dxdiag.

[SimmerGeorge]

@puzzlezaddict I just attached the DxDiag to my post.

As far as chipset driver updates go I installed one when I bought this PC 1 year ago. I found it on Reddit so I don't know if it was a good choice to install it. 

My power settings were on Windows Balanced so I changed them to AMD Balanced, not sure if this will cause problems because I had this power plan before and I think it raised my CPU's EDC to 97-99 all the time which made me worry. Maybe this problem has been solved somehow, I will check.

I don't really have any problems with other games (or I just didn't notice). The only thing is my other games are all installed in my D drive while the Sims 4 is installed in my C Drive which is an SSD. Could an SSD cause hardware to not being utilized or is that not relevant? 

Could my power supply or my RAM play a role in this? 

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  Having a game on an SSD isn't going to make the other components run slower, for sure.  And there's no evidence of any problems with your hard drives, your RAM, or your PSU.

I think the steps that are more likely to help are updating your BIOS and your chipset drivers.  I believe that this is your motherboard:

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B450M-PRO-M2

But it's always best to double-check the manual.  For this board though, MSI offers a much newer BIOS and newer chipset drivers.  Install the BIOS update first, and after your computer reboots, install the chipset drivers and restart again.  Then test the game.

Please run hwinfo again, this time with power settings set to AMD Ryzen Balanced, and I'll take another look.  (By the way, your CPU was running at the EDC limit in your previous hwinfo log, so using the Windows Balanced plan didn't help with that.)  Even if you need to adjust the settings later, I'd rather see how the system performs with the Ryzen Balanced setting, and after both BIOS and chipset drivers have been updated.

[SimmerGeorge]

@puzzlezaddict I have a different board and found the BIOS update for it online but I haven;t installed it yet cause I am contemplating whether or not I will ruin my PC :P

Could you help me find an update for my Chipset Drivers? I don't know how to find this.  

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  Please list the motherboard you have, as in, what you see in the board's manual, and link the download page if you've found it.  Don't download the BIOS from a third-party site though.  You should always get it straight from the manufacturer of your board.

Updating BIOS isn't zero-risk, but it is very-low-risk if you follow instructions.  I've seen other people with AMD CPUs that needed a BIOS update to get ideal performance in Sims 4, although I don't remember another player having as dramatic a gap between expected and actual performance as you do.

[SimmerGeorge]

@puzzlezaddict So my motherboard is the MSI A320M PRO-M2 V2 (MS-7B84) as it is listed in my PC's System Information I found through Run->msconfig. As my PC is Pre-built I do not own the manual. I got all my Warranties they gave me in a box but they send me no manual so I cannot identify the motherboard any other way. 

The BIOS I want to install is from this link:  https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/A320M-PRO-M2-V2

I thought I'd download the latest one from 07/09/2020

I just watched the tutorial on YouTube and it seems rather simple. I am confident in my skills to pull it off I had just never thought it might affect my performance so much really this is why I was doubting it. 

I know this is taking a really long time but please stick with me and hopefully it will work. Also let me know, if possible where to get the right Chipset Drivers for after updating my BIOS. 

I really hope this improves things because honestly I cannot think of why my system would be underperforming. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@SimmerGeorge  It's strange that MSI would have two different motherboards with the same ID, but it looks like that's the case—the one I linked is also listed as 7B84.  But that's why you always check first.

Anyway, the chipset drivers are listed under the Driver tab on the same site you linked.  There's only one option under System & Chipset Drivers, and that's the one you want.  And yes, download the newest BIOS.

I'm not going anywhere, don't worry.  If I get stuck, I'll call for backup.