The Sims 3 lag after multiple tries of fixing [ Edited ]

[puzzlezaddict]

@PepsyQ  Thanks for the info.  Your CPU temps look fine in the log, but it doesn't list GPU temps or utilization.  By the way, I'd remove the log: it contains information that might compromise the security of your system.

Is that Task Manager screenshot from when you had Sims 3 open and running (not minimized)?  It sure doesn't seem so.  Please grab one from when the game is running behind the Task Manager.

Please also let me know whether you've taken any steps to limit your in-game framerates.  If not, let me know what kind of numbers you're getting: open the cheats console, enter "fps on" without quotes, and a number will appear in the upper-right corner of the screen.

[PepsyQ]

Oops, sorry, I had Sims 3 minimized. I attached screenshots of task manager while Sims was windowed. I also made a 1 minute video of the gameplay and fps, max was 62fps (I set it from NVIDIA control panel), min was somewhere at 12fps. (don't mind the fire that started while I was recording lol)

video: https://imgur.com/a/speZdiy

[puzzlezaddict]

@PepsyQ  Wow, Sims 3 should definitely not be using so much of your CPU.  The SSD is maxed out too; did you take the screenshots while the game was loading?  If not, is this still while your computer is offline?  If you were playing with an internet connection, please test and let me know if the game's CPU use drops without one.  A maxed-out processor could absolutely explain the lag all by itself, and I supposed a maxed-out SSD could too, but that shouldn't happen outside of loading screens.

The other oddity is how neither the graphics card nor the integrated chip is being utilized at all, at least in this screenshot.  That could be the result of the excessive CPU use, but in case it helps, try telling Windows to run Sims 3 in high-performance mode.  Hit Windows key-i, select System > Display > Graphics settings, click Browse, choose Sims 3 (TS3W.exe, with the W), click on it and choose Options, select the high-performance option, and save.  Then restart your computer.

By the way, if you've reapplied any fixes, performance improvements, the Smooth Patch, anything at all, please undo the change(s) and run the Super Patch again.  Since this is such odd behavior from the game, we really need to work with a completely vanilla setup before adding anything extra.

[PepsyQ]

The game wasn't loading when I took the screenshots and the computer was online, but I finally got some better news. I made it run with the high-performance option, made sure I got all cc and other fixes out and opened it, in airplane mode. It took 5 minutes to load the save (it took 15mins in the past) and it was running pretty smoothly. As I said before, max fps 62, min 30-ish. The only problem were the lag spikes. Also, some transparent lines would appear going up the screen when I zoomed in or moved quickly. Task manager looks better than before too. (I ran the sims with minimal settings)

[puzzlezaddict]

@PepsyQ  The game is still using more CPU than I'd expect, and the workload of the Nvidia card is low, but it sounds like the game is at least playable.  I think you should be able to raise the graphics settings as well, although it's best to leave water and high-detail lots on the low end.  Your GPU clearly has plenty of headroom to accommodate a higher workload.

The game itself willl have some fps drops, although I'm surprised you're seeing framerates in the 30s.  Does it improve if you play in fullscreen mode?

For the lines, you can try enabling antialiasing in the Nvidia Control Panel.  These are the settings I usually suggest:

Antialiasing - FXAA: On
Antialiasing - Gamma correction: On
Antialiasing - Mode: Override any Application Setting
Antialiasing - Setting: 2x [or higher]

But there's no harm in experimenting to figure out what works best for you.

[PepsyQ]

I raised some graphics settings (except water and high-detail lots) and the fps were kind of the same. Huge lag spikes though, where the fps would drop to 0-3 and then work their way up to 62. The weird lines dissapeared and nothing improves if I play in fullscreen, it's the same as windowed. The lag spikes really annoy me, they occur even when I change the Sims speed from normal to higher. Is there any way to fix them? (attached another task manager photo. I had wifi on this time.)

[puzzlezaddict]

@PepsyQ  From your screenshots, it seems highly that the lag spikes happen when CPU use reaches 100% in-game.  This can be addressed in part by not running any other tasks that use significant CPU; you can see which ones those are at any given moment in the Task Manager as well.  But Sims 3 shouldn't be using nearly this much either, and the question is why.

So, my questions:

• Are you still playing in Sunset Valley, and if not, where?
• Which expansions do you currently have installed?
• Have you installed any store content?
• Have you added back in any third-party content?
• How many sims are in your active household, and how many pets?
• Have you edited the world at all since the save was started?

There are plenty of causes of lag, too many to list really, so it's necessary to narrow things down a bit.  If you happen to use NRaas mods in general, now would be a good time to add them, except leave out StoryProgression (or remove it) for now—it's the one NRaas mod that adds significant overhead to the game.

[PepsyQ]

I am still playing in Sunset Valley.

I have all expansions installed.

I believe I have some store content.

I did not add any cc.

5 sims and 1 cat.

I only added a dance club from Nightlife.

I will add the NRaas mods and will let you know how it went

edit: Game still had lag spikes, worse ones while on 3x speed. The weird lines would sometimes reappear (I changed the Nvidia settings). While on normal speed, everything moves much better than before, but still not perfect. I will attach another task manager picture (the game was in 3x speed)

[puzzlezaddict]

@PepsyQ  I'm still baffled as to why Sims 3 would use so much of your processor.  I mean, it shouldn't be able to at all considering it can only use two CPU cores or threads, and yours has four cores.  But regardless of how much of this is a Task Manager reporting error, the overall load is still excessive, and it still seems likely to me that the lag you're seeing is due to the overall processor load.

Have you installed NRaas Overwatch, and if so, how many vehicles does it clean up each night?  Have you installed MasterController, and if so, what are the town's demographics?  In particular, I'm wondering whether your save has thousands of unnecessary NPC sims.  MasterController can usually find them if you're persistent.  If the Demographics options don't turn anything up, try running a simple command from City Hall, for example NRaas > MC > Sim > Basic > Family Tree, then filter by Type of Service, Type of Role, or Type of Sim (Or) > Service.  Run a few different commands—the results aren't always exactly the same—and let me know if the number of sims in any list is higher than a few dozen.

You can also try the suggestions in this list:

https://www.nraas.net/community/TIPS-FOR-BETTER-GAME-PERFORMANCE

You don't need to do alll of them, but for now at least, it's a good idea to implement everything feasible and see how well the game runs under ideal conditions.  The one thing you definitely don't need to do is lower the graphcis settings: as said, your hardware should handle mostly ultra settings just fine, and if it's not doing so, that means something else isn't working properly.

[PepsyQ]

I got some other mods from NRaas (traffic and something with the ''go here'' command), but no change. I believe that the lag spikes are more often and last a bit longer. Somewhere around 17 cars/hour are cleaned and I attached some pictures with the found sims (sorry for the bad quality, the prntsc button wouldn't work). I did up the settings a bit too.