How to Improve Game Performance

I see a lot of the same problems asked over and over again that while not always preventable can be lessened or altogether solved with some relatively simple tasks. Some of this information is common knowledge, some it takes a bit more experience and some can even be found with Google.

I know that the system requirements for Sims 2 and Uni are 256 MB RAM, DirectX 9.0 compatible video card with 32 MB memory with T&L capable chipsets, but these are the minimum game requirements. I had all that and more when I got my game, but it was soooo... slow still. When I saw a video interview of the game being shown at a show I was gnashing my teeth.

It took me going to 768 MB of RAM and a newer ATI 256 MB video card before my game got even close to what was shown.  I was jumping for joy when I saw my first game cut scene, enabled reflections and so forth. It made a huge difference. (This is just regular game play, keep in mind that whenever you add a family, take pictures for a story or download custom content from the internet, you are adding more lag on your game.) I still lagged loading lots until I got 1 gig of RAM.

So basically keep in mind, just because you have the minimum requirements doesn't mean that the game should and will run perfectly.

Here are some tips that will help you improve your PC performance thus improving your game performance as well.

You can purchase new RAM or buy a newer video card, or if you can't purchase anything at this time try:

Before playing:

Update your video card
Defragment your computer
-> Go to My Computer on your desktop
-> Right Click your C Drive
-> Select "Properties"
-> Tab to "Tools" and select "Defragment Now"
Run Scan Disk
Same steps as above, just from the "Tools" menu select "Check Now"
Close all background tasks
Steps listed below

To view and close background task (Windows XP):

Before you start your game...
  1. Hold control and alt and then tap delete. The windows task manager will appear
  2. Click the processes tab.
  3. Click the user name column heading. This will sort the processes by user name
  4. Select an item with the user name, DO NOT select one that says SYSTEM, LOCAL SERVICE, or NETWORK SERVICE groups. Also DO NOT select the explorer.exe or taskmgr.exe items.
  5. Click END PROCESS. You will receive a warning message, just click "Yes". The selected item will then disappear from the list.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all that remains under the user name are the explorer.exe and taskmgr.exe

To view and close background task (Windows ME or 98):

  1. Hold Ctrl and Alt then tap Delete. The close program window appears. This window displays a list of all background tasks running on your system.
  2. Select an item, but DO NOT select the Explorer or Systray items.
  3. Click END TASK. The close Program window closes and the task is ended.
  4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 until only Explorer and Systray remain.

After that close the task manager and start your Sims 2 game. Your game should run much better.

To restart the applications that you closed restart your computer when you are finished playing the Sims 2 and all those tasks you closed will run again. You will need to do this process every time before you play your game.

During game play:

If you are running windows XP you can set up an admin account just to run Sims 2, it will free up a lot of virtual memory:

(information posted by DearOldBlightean at the official Sims 2 BBS)  Setting up a separate admin account in Windows XP

Hardware Upgrades

512 MB or more of RAM
128 MB or better video card (check the game requirements before you purchase one)
Update your video card (Old card or new one. Just because your card is brand new out of the box doesn't mean it didn't sit on a shelf somewhere while the manufacturer continued to make upgrades. So it never hurts to look.)

Great sites for PC upgrades at a more than reasonable price is www.pricewatch.com and www.newegg.com

Conserve Space

Scan your Downloads, Packaged Lots and Saved Sims folders for duplicates or things you don't really need.  Those folders can get huge without you even knowing it and you can get a lot of duplicate files, especially terrains, walls and floors from all those lots you download from the internet.

A great utility to help keep those folders organized is the Sims Clean Installer from ModTheSims2. It will scan the folder and shown any duplicates in pink.

I would also suggest Posie's guide to organizing your downloads found here, once the initial organization is set, keeping it that way is a snap.

Protect Your PC

Run your virus software and anti-spyware programs often.  I don't have any links for free viral protection, but here are some great free spyware removal programs.

And if the worse should happen and you have WindowsXP, here are the steps to do a system restore, which will effectively restore your system settings back to a previous date without wiping your computer clean of its' data.

WindowsXP System Restore

Go to
-> Start
-> Programs
-> Accessories
-> System Tools
-> System Restore

Choose the option of restoring your computer to an earlier date.  Choose a day from the calendar that comes up and then follow the prompts to restore your system.  It's amazing what dings and bruises 15 minutes of this can heal.

If you have any questions you are welcome to private message me and that way it will come to my attention faster, thus getting you a faster response.

I don't know everything but what I don't I will try my best to research and find you an answer or refer you to another fantastic Simmer who can maybe help you more. (I hate to say the words I don't know and usually stick to... "Let me find that out for you.")

Happy Simming!