Questions about Sims 3, laptop and CC Worlds

by drkatrine
Reply

Original Post

Accepted Solution

Questions about Sims 3, laptop and CC Worlds

[ Edited ]
★★★★★ Novice

Hello there!!

 

So I am sitting here with a pretty new gaming laptop. The specs are;

Intel Core i5-9300HF CPU 2.40GHz

16 GB RAM

404 GB available on SSD

Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 DDR4 2GB

 

I wanna play The Sims 3 again but at the same time the thought fills me with anxiety. I have had laptops dying on me because Sims 3 simply ruined them and I'm afraid that will happen again even if I'm sitting with a gaming laptop. It's the only kind of computer I have so it's very important to me. My biggest fear is the laptop overheating and just completely shutting down on me cause the game is too much. I have almost all of the expansions except for one or two and I have a few stuff packs. What are your thoughts?

 

I'm gonna throw another question in here if you don't mind; There was a time, and I did post it in here, but I posted how trying to download the Sims 3 CC world Storybrook County and save file caused my previous borrowed laptop to get a glitchy screen, purple and green colors all over and especially when the CPU came up. This confused me and I never got a final answer as to what happened there but that laptop did have integrated graphics, and then a second graphics card which was Nvidia Geforce 940mx or smth like that. Anyway, since I am afraid of trying to download that again - if I decide to install Sims 3 again - because I don't wanna damage my laptop - I wanted to hear your suggestions to CC worlds for Sims 3, some which might already be populated? As I just wanna get into the gameplay and don't feel like filling out the town.

 

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!<333

Message 1 of 5 (924 Views)

Accepted Solution

Re: Questions about Sims 3, laptop and CC Worlds

@drkatrine  The first fps limiting tool to try is the built-in Nvidia Control Panel.  You can start by simple enabling vertical sync and triple buffering in the CP.  Right-click on the desktop, select the Control Panel, click Manage 3D settings in the left panel, then choose Program Settings.  You'll see this:

 

Nvidia CP program fps limiter.png

 

For an Origin install, choose ts3.exe, and for a disc or Steam install, choose ts3w.exe (with the w), as shown in the green box.  Vertical sync and triple buffering are in the red box.  Click Apply when you're done.

 

If that doesn't limit fps, you may be able to set a max frame rate in Global Settings, depending on how new your graphics card driver is.  Select Max Frame Rate (red box below), turn it on, enter the refresh rate of your screen (probably 60), and click OK.

 

Nvidia CP global fps limiter.png

 

To check your in-game fps, bring up the cheats console (ctrl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes.  A number will appear in the upper right corner of your screen, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your screen, or the limit you've manually set.  If fps is still too high, there are other tools you can try as well, but you'd have to download them, so it's easier to start with the Control Panel.

 

The Sims 3 user data folder is the folder in Documents\Electronic Arts, the one that holds all the content you've created or downloaded into your game: saves, mods, saved households and builds, installed store or custom content, etc.  This folder can be moved out of the Electronic Arts folder, or it can be renamed (e.g. The Sims 3 old), and the game will create a new folder the next time you open the launcher.

 

So if you're looking to install new content but aren't sure whether you trust it, move or rename the Sims 3 folder, and open the launcher to create a new one.  When you download content, it'll install into that folder rather than your old one, so you can have a look around without interfering with your existing content.  When you're done testing, you can trash the new Sims 3 folder and put the old one back, no harm done.  If you do like the new content, just reinstall it once your main Sims 3 folder is back in place.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.

View in thread

Message 4 of 5 (884 Views)

All Replies

Re: Questions about Sims 3, laptop and CC Worlds

@drkatrine  Modern hardware is very good at throttling to protect itself from overheating, that is if it can properly cool at all.  This should never be an issue with a gaming laptop, or really even a laptop for normal use, that is as long as you're not playing games in bed with the laptop nestled in the covers or something.  Your laptop should be able to handle itself fine.

 

The biggest favor you can do though is manually limiting in-game framerates when you play.  Sims 3's fps limiter doesn't work, so you'd need to use an outside tool, and there are plenty of options.  The important thing is that fps in-game never goes above the refresh rate of your laptop's screen, which is probably 60 Hz.  Limiting fps will limit the workload on the graphics card, thereby limiting heat output.  It will also help prevent screen tearing and other graphics glitches.

 

Additionally, there are plenty of lightweight apps you could use to monitor temperatures, if you'd like to double-check while playing.  You could look in real time or log a play session and go over the numbers later to see how the hardware performed.  Fan noise isn't a problem at all—the issue would be if the fans didn't rev up while playing.  The fans in a gaming laptop are designed to handle the load, just like the other components.

 

As for custom worlds, I have very little personal experience in that department, but I know that many active players love Rflong's worlds.  You can find her work here:

 

https://www.thesims3.com/userExchange.html?selectedAsstType=all&persona=Rflong7

https://www.thesims3.com/userExchange.html?selectedAsstType=all&persona=Rflong13

 

For other recommendations, you could ask on the official Sims forums, or check out these threads:

 

https://www.nraas.net/community/Worlds-Recommended-By-Wiki-Members

 

From your description, I don't know what happened with the world you installed on your other laptop.  It's possible the lighting in the world wasn't being rendered correctly, but that's just a random guess.  In general though, a world should never have any negative impact on your computer.  At worst, it might come with bad custom content or be difficult to run properly due to its size.  But that's why it's always better to test out a world before committing to it.  You can download the world into a clean Sims 3 user data folder, have a look around, see how much memory it uses and if you notice any glitchiness or extra content installed through the launcher, and decide whether to add it to your main folder.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 5 (903 Views)

Re: Questions about Sims 3, laptop and CC Worlds

★★★★★ Novice

Thank you SO MUCH for your reply!! You have really saved me, haha. I do have a few questions though;

 

You're saying i can manually limit in game framerates by using an outside tool. I have no idea what to go for and what is best. Do you have any recommendations for me, perhaps? I would appreciate that very much.

 

"You can download the world into a clean Sims 3 user data folder, have a look around, see how much memory it uses and if you notice any glitchiness or extra content installed through the launcher, and decide whether to add it to your main folder." - I had NO idea you could do this, that's really effecient. Where is this clean Sims 3 user data folder and how can I download a world into it and take a look around? It's a good idea to do to be safe.

 

Thank you again and have a fantastic day!!!

Message 3 of 5 (893 Views)

Re: Questions about Sims 3, laptop and CC Worlds

@drkatrine  The first fps limiting tool to try is the built-in Nvidia Control Panel.  You can start by simple enabling vertical sync and triple buffering in the CP.  Right-click on the desktop, select the Control Panel, click Manage 3D settings in the left panel, then choose Program Settings.  You'll see this:

 

Nvidia CP program fps limiter.png

 

For an Origin install, choose ts3.exe, and for a disc or Steam install, choose ts3w.exe (with the w), as shown in the green box.  Vertical sync and triple buffering are in the red box.  Click Apply when you're done.

 

If that doesn't limit fps, you may be able to set a max frame rate in Global Settings, depending on how new your graphics card driver is.  Select Max Frame Rate (red box below), turn it on, enter the refresh rate of your screen (probably 60), and click OK.

 

Nvidia CP global fps limiter.png

 

To check your in-game fps, bring up the cheats console (ctrl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes.  A number will appear in the upper right corner of your screen, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your screen, or the limit you've manually set.  If fps is still too high, there are other tools you can try as well, but you'd have to download them, so it's easier to start with the Control Panel.

 

The Sims 3 user data folder is the folder in Documents\Electronic Arts, the one that holds all the content you've created or downloaded into your game: saves, mods, saved households and builds, installed store or custom content, etc.  This folder can be moved out of the Electronic Arts folder, or it can be renamed (e.g. The Sims 3 old), and the game will create a new folder the next time you open the launcher.

 

So if you're looking to install new content but aren't sure whether you trust it, move or rename the Sims 3 folder, and open the launcher to create a new one.  When you download content, it'll install into that folder rather than your old one, so you can have a look around without interfering with your existing content.  When you're done testing, you can trash the new Sims 3 folder and put the old one back, no harm done.  If you do like the new content, just reinstall it once your main Sims 3 folder is back in place.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 5 (885 Views)

Re: Questions about Sims 3, laptop and CC Worlds

★★★★★ Novice

This is fantastic, WOW, I didn't know at all that this was something you could do. You're truly a treasure helping people so much on here. Thank you sm for this!! I will come back if I have more questions but as of right now I don't. You've been a huge help to me. Let's hope I don't break my laptop now haha XD Just kidding. THANK YOU!

Message 5 of 5 (863 Views)