Sims 4 Laggy/Jerky Gameplay

[logydavyjones]

Short version: I got an Origin update, then after the update I had to reinstall drivers to make the game even run, and now my game is too laggy to play.

Full story: My game was working perfectly fine last week, then 2 nights ago my game opened, but a message popped up saying there was an Origin update or something, so I closed it out and got the update. While I was at it, I went ahead and bought an expansion/game/stuff pack bundle and downloaded it. Then I tried to open my game and an error came up saying the game was unable to start because it couldn't run with the video card in my system. Went through a lot of trouble yesterday and figured out how to update or reinstall my drivers. Did that, and was able to run the game, but then it said something about my game's graphics quality? I don't remember what it said. Now my game is super laggy, I can't even play. I went into the game settings and switched the graphics quality down from high, but it's not playable until it's all the way down to low, where it's still a little bit slow and now obviously looks like crap.

I'm on Windows 10. I got my laptop brand new just a year and a half ago. Do I need to get this legacy edition? What do I do?

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@logydavyjones  The problem, or at least the most pressing one, is obvious: your graphics card doesn't have a proper driver.  So your computer is defaulting to the Microsoft Basic Display Driver, and that driver doesn't handle games very well.

It's easy enough to download a new graphics driver from HP though.  Go to this site:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops

Enter your serial number, and look for the appropriate entry/entries under "Driver-Graphics."  You'll specifically want the newest driver for 1903, which is your Windows build.  If you're not sure which option to choose, feel free to link the driver page here.  It doesn't have any information about your own computer, just the make and model.  I would link you the page directly and show you which driver you'd need, but HP makes it difficult to find exactly the right page without the serial number.

At any rate, install the driver, launch the game, quit, and check the config.log again.  Instead of this:

Name (driver): Microsoft Basic Render Driver
Name (database): [Found: 0, Supported: 1]

you should see something like "Radeon Vega 8 Graphics" and [Found: 1, Supported: 1].  Let me know if you don't.

[puzzlezaddict]

@logydavyjones  I've moved your post to the Sims 4 PC tech section.

No, you don't need to run the Legacy Edition if you didn't need it before.  And it's not even clear that it would help in this case.  It sounds like the more likely possibility is an issue with your graphics card or its driver, or with how the game uses it.  So please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

Please also go into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4, open the file labeled config.log, copy the part between "Graphics device info" (about 25 lines down) and "Options" (about 40 lines down), and paste it into a post.

[logydavyjones]

@puzzlezaddict Here you go!

=== Graphics device info ===
Number: 0
Name (driver): Microsoft Basic Render Driver
Name (database): [Found: 0, Supported: 1]
Vendor:
Chipset: Vendor: 1414, Device: 008c, Board: 00000000, Chipset: 0000
Driver: d3d10warp.dll, Version: 10.0.18362.356, GUID: D7B71AF4-43CC-11CF-D462-BA67AFC2C735
Driver version: 356
Monitor: \\.\DISPLAY1
Texture memory: 890MB
Vertex program: 3.0
Pixel program: 3.0
Hardware TnL: 1
Opt. features: +sab +a8l8 +rgba16f +r32f -bc4 -bc5 -rawz -intz
=== Options ===
NumBoots 60
LightingQuality 2
GeneralReflections 2
ObjectQuality 2
VisualEffects 2
PostProcessing 1
UseUncompressedTextures 0
TerrainQuality 2
EdgeSmoothing 0
TerrainSlopeScaling 1
SimQuality 2
ViewDistance 3
AdvancedRendering 1
VerticalSync 0
UseHiDpi 1
UiScale 100
UseOSDpi 1
ResolutionWidth 1920
ResolutionHeight 1080
ResolutionRefresh 0
SceneResolution 3
VisualQuality 3
FullScreen 1
WindowedFullScreen 0
FrameRateLimit 200
DisableScreensaverInFullscreenMode 1
AudioQuality 3
AudiutputMode 1
MasterLevel 255
VoiceLevel 255
SoundFXLevel 255
MusicLevel 255
MenuMusicLevel 255
UISoundSXLevel 255
AmbientLevel 255
FocusMute 1
MoodChange 1
VoiceMute 0
SoundFXMute 0
MusicMute 0
UIMute 0
AmbientMute 0
MatchSpeedStereoMusic 1
EdgeScrolling 1
EdgeScrollingWarning 1
EnableTelemetry 1
InvertHorizontalRotation 0
InvertVerticalRotation 0
FPInvertHorizontalRotation 0
FPInvertVerticalRotation 0
FPDisableCameraBob 0
AdvancedCamera 0
CameraSpeed 100
FPCameraSpeed 100
CursorSpeed 100
CursorAcceleration 100
ScreenshotPostUI 0
VideoCaptureSize 1
VideoCaptureQuality 2
VideoCaptureSound 1
VideoCaptureTime 0
VideoCaptureHideUI 1
AutonomyHousehold 3
AutonomyDisabledForActiveSim 1
SimsSetAgeSpeed 2
SimsSetAgingEnabled 2
TradSocialMenuEnabled 0
MemoriesHelperEnabled 1
AutoAgeUnplayed 1
NPCReplacement 1
TutorialEnabled 1
MaxProtectedSims 1
SeasonLength 0
RainOptions 0
SnowOptions 0
TemperatureEffects 1
FameStartSimsOptedOut 0
ShowWhims 1
ShowModListStartup 1
ModsDisabled 0
ScriptModsEnabled 0
ShowOnlineNotifications 1
AutoReconnect 1
OnlineAccess 1
DisableComments 0
HideReportedContent 0
RazerOptionEnabled 0
AnimaticPack 24
SurveysEnabled 1
MuteTutorialNarration 0
EnableFTUETutorialStart 1

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@logydavyjones  The problem, or at least the most pressing one, is obvious: your graphics card doesn't have a proper driver.  So your computer is defaulting to the Microsoft Basic Display Driver, and that driver doesn't handle games very well.

It's easy enough to download a new graphics driver from HP though.  Go to this site:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops

Enter your serial number, and look for the appropriate entry/entries under "Driver-Graphics."  You'll specifically want the newest driver for 1903, which is your Windows build.  If you're not sure which option to choose, feel free to link the driver page here.  It doesn't have any information about your own computer, just the make and model.  I would link you the page directly and show you which driver you'd need, but HP makes it difficult to find exactly the right page without the serial number.

At any rate, install the driver, launch the game, quit, and check the config.log again.  Instead of this:

Name (driver): Microsoft Basic Render Driver
Name (database): [Found: 0, Supported: 1]

you should see something like "Radeon Vega 8 Graphics" and [Found: 1, Supported: 1].  Let me know if you don't.

[logydavyjones]

@puzzlezaddict That worked!! My game is now running smoothly once again Thank you so much for your help!

[luvpups08]

Will this work for a Toshiba laptop too?????? I have product number:  PSPN2U-003003 and serial number: -----

edited to remove serial number; you don't want that kind of information public.  -puzzlezaddict

[puzzlezaddict]

@luvpups08  There are plenty of reasons the game would lag, not all of which can be addressed.  From your product number, your laptop's hardware is a bit weak for the game, especially if you have some of the more demanding expansion packs installed.  So please list those packs (you can exclude game or stuff packs); please also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

[Karyss2006]

@puzzlezaddict Would this work with an Intel Core i5 8th Generation?

[puzzlezaddict]

@Karyss2006  Please describe the issue you're having in detail.  And what are you referencing when you ask if "this" would work on an 8th gen Intel i5?

Please also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/