FPS Limiter for Sims 3

[Gakuen Babysitter]

So...I've tried to tweak the V-Sync on, use high performance and prefer maximum performance 3D settings, and use high NVIDIA performance processor...and the FPS already turned to 130s when in-game, with 420s when loading.

And it seems that both 3Booter and FPS Limiter are not working on my laptop, so...anything I should tweak of?

[Darklady5]

I simply locked the frames on my graphic card and now my game plays without freezes or lags

[Gakuen Babysitter]

Originally posted by Darklady5:

I simply locked the frames on my graphic card and now my game plays without freezes or lags

How do you do that?

[marstinson]

Originally posted by Gakuen Babysitter:

How do you do that?

You're apparently using an nVidia GPU, so right-click your desktop->nVidia Control Panel->Manage 3D Settings (left pane)->Program Settings tab (right pane)

Find "The Sims 3 (ts3w.exe)" in the drop-down. If it's not there, select "Add," navigate to \Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\ (if you're running through Steam) and select it. That "W" is really imporant, so don't grab "ts3.exe" by mistake. Now scroll down to the bottom, select "Vertical Sync", set it to "On", and click "Apply". You'll be locked to whatever the refresh rate of your laptop's monitor is.

If you're using a different GPU (AMD or Intel), I'll have to let someone who knows their controls respond.

[Gakuen Babysitter]

Yes, I've did that. Now the FPS turned from 50 to 120s but still run quite hot. I'm not sure how to put it lower, or if put it lower going to make it slightly cooler or not.

[marstinson]

Originally posted by Gakuen Babysitter:

Yes, I've did that. Now the FPS turned from 50 to 120s but still run quite hot. I'm not sure how to put it lower, or if put it lower going to make it slightly cooler or not.

120 FPS would mean that your display is refreshing at 120Hz, which is really odd for a laptop where battery life is a concern (or it could just be that I'm not keeping up with current tech trends). I suppose you could manually throttle it down to 60Hz or so in the device's properties. On Win10, I get there by right-clicking desktop -> Display Settings -> Advanced Display Settings -> Display Adapter Properties -> Refresh Rate dropdown. I would think that would force the nVidia controls to follow suit.

Also, what are you using to report your FPS? Steam's FPS counter lied to me outrageously for a couple of Sims gaming sessions before it finally settled back to 60, which is what it should have been reporting in the first place. I haven't fired up FRAPS in a long time, but it struck me as pretty accurate, although remembering to launch FRAPS before launching any games got to be a pain.

[Gakuen Babysitter]

Nvidia GeForce Experience. I installed it, but I didn't used it for some of the games that I have, including Sims 3.

[Gakuen Babysitter]

If I change the Screen Refresh Rate at Sims 3 Options from Default to 60Hz, is it going to affect the FPS?

[Alkpaz]

"A 60hz monitor refreshes the screen 60 times per second. Therefore, a 60hz monitor is only capable of outputting 60fps. It can still feel smoother to play at a higher framerate than your monitor can display however, because input lag with your mouse will be reduced. You might also start to see tearing though, which happens when your videocard is rendering frames faster than your monitor can display them."

"^^He nailed it, a 60Hz monitor can only display 60 frames on the screen per second because the screen displays one frame per refresh (or Hz). However it may "feel" smoother due to latency decreases."

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/382560-33-60fps-60hz-monitor

"Note, though, that refresh rate is not the same as frame rate. Refresh rate is an attribute of the monitor, while frame rate is an attribute of the information being sent to it. Improving refresh rate will not improve frame rate unless the frame rate of the content you’re viewing can exceed the refresh rate of your current monitor."

"V-sync is a common solution to tearing on 60Hz displays, as it caps the frame rate of a game at 60 FPS (in most games). But V-sync can introduce input lag and it limits the performance potential of a PC. Many gamers find a game running without V-sync on a 120Hz monitor more responsive than the same game running with V-sync enabled on a 60Hz monitor."

Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/do-you-need-a-120hz-or-240-hz-monitor/

What is your default refresh rate of your lappy?

[Gakuen Babysitter]

Originally posted by Alkpaz:

"A 60hz monitor refreshes the screen 60 times per second. Therefore, a 60hz monitor is only capable of outputting 60fps. It can still feel smoother to play at a higher framerate than your monitor can display however, because input lag with your mouse will be reduced. You might also start to see tearing though, which happens when your videocard is rendering frames faster than your monitor can display them."

"^^He nailed it, a 60Hz monitor can only display 60 frames on the screen per second because the screen displays one frame per refresh (or Hz). However it may "feel" smoother due to latency decreases."

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/382560-33-60fps-60hz-monitor

"Note, though, that refresh rate is not the same as frame rate. Refresh rate is an attribute of the monitor, while frame rate is an attribute of the information being sent to it. Improving refresh rate will not improve frame rate unless the frame rate of the content you’re viewing can exceed the refresh rate of your current monitor."

"V-sync is a common solution to tearing on 60Hz displays, as it caps the frame rate of a game at 60 FPS (in most games). But V-sync can introduce input lag and it limits the performance potential of a PC. Many gamers find a game running without V-sync on a 120Hz monitor more responsive than the same game running with V-sync enabled on a 60Hz monitor."

Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/do-you-need-a-120hz-or-240-hz-monitor/

What is your default refresh rate of your lappy?

I'm not sure. How do I check the refresh rate in a laptop? I'm not quite that expert in gaming-related things.

[Alkpaz]

If your laptop is able to play 3D games it is 120hz+ if not it is the standard 60hz.

[Gakuen Babysitter]

Then it's 120hz

[Alkpaz]

Then the answer would be, yes, it will affect the FPS if you change to 60hz. ;) But, games like the Sims 3 and Skyrim 32bit (Oldrim) need to be capped at 60 FPS. Sims 3 is notorious in overheating graphics cards if not fixed to 60 FPS. Oldrim physics go wild if not capped to 60.

[Gakuen Babysitter]

Originally posted by Alkpaz:

Then the answer would be, yes, it will affect the FPS if you change to 60hz. ;) But, games like the Sims 3 and Skyrim 32bit (Oldrim) need to be capped at 60 FPS. Sims 3 is notorious in overheating graphics cards if not fixed to 60 FPS. Oldrim physics go wild if not capped to 60.

Yes, definitely. When I saw what happened the first time, immediately I looked at internet on how to lowered the FPS. Now, the fan wasn't overheating very much and the FPS is more stable on 60 - 120 FPS

[MutatedSavior]

Great bit of advice! This is the solution that I was looking for! FINALLY my Sims3 runs perfectly! Considering the build of my laptop (I7-7820, 32 GB RAM, and GTX 1070) I was beyond frustrated that such an old game wouldn't run on my machine.

[cruinne]

BTW, if not sure how to check refresh rate, you can use a bit of free software called Speccy https://www.piriform.com/speccy/download

Load it up, hit "Graphics" and then under "Monitor" look at "Monitor Frequency".

I often recommend this program for helping troubleshoot hardware issues because it gives more information than System or dxdiag.exe, and in an easier-to-read format.