I've had performance issues with The Sims 3 for as long as I can remember, but recently the game became flatout unplayable.

Recently the stuttering got so bad animations are actually failing to synchronize. Sometimes after a 2 to 5 second freeze a sim can end up with their hand sticking through their forehead. On top of that, when I try to rotate the camera it often slows down or even stops completely as if it's waiting for the area to be rendered, often for minutes. I used to get this a lot in build mode (particularly when using CASt) but now I'm getting it in Live Mode as well, and combined with the stuttering it makes the game unplayable. Heck it actually runs better in Build Mode now.

Game normally runs at around 50 FPS, with no change in performance if I set the graphics to minimum, though I've actually limited the frame rate to 25 FPS in an attempt to reduce the stutter, and it seemed to improve performance at first although it never actually fixed anything, but now that ceased to make a difference as well.

PC Info:

OS: Windows 8.1 Enterprise 64bit (previously Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit)
-Up to date

CPU: Intel Core i5-661 3.33 GHz (Clarkdale 32nm Technology)
-Average temperature: 31 C Desktop, 49 C Desktop with Sims 3 running, 58 C in Sims 3.
-Usage: 0% - 5% Desktop, 19% Desktop with Sims 3 running, 50% in Sims 3.

RAM: 8 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 666 MHz (9-9-9-24)
-Usage: 10% Desktop, 40% Desktop with Sims 3 running, 40% in Sims 3.

Motherboard: Intel DP55WB
-Average temperature: 44 C Desktop, 44 C Desktop with Sims 3 running, 44 C in Sims 3.
-Last available driver installed, last available BIOS installed (both 2012)

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti (1GB)
-Average temperature: 33 C Desktop, 33 C Desktop with Sims 3 running, 51 C in Sims 3.
-Driver up to date

HDD: 298GB Western Digital WDC WD3200AAKS-22L6A0 ATA Device (SATA)
-Average temperature: 37 C Desktop, 37 C Desktop with Sims 3 running,
-Usage: 1% Desktop, 1% Desktop with Sims 3 running, 1% - 3% in Sims 3.

SOFAQ:

-I have all expansions and stuff packs, + 6GB of Store content and 1GB of unofficial content (including fixes, Overwatch, ErrorTrap, etc). Everything up to date.
-I delete cache files every time I start up the game.
-Yes, I've tried removing all the custom content. Yes, it improved performance initially, but it doesn't take long before it all goes FUBAR just as before.
-Lowering graphics settings doesn't improve anything.
-I've made the game large address aware, though memory usage never goes above 40% for some reason.
-My graphics card is supported. Though support for it must've been added in one of the last few updates, it was unsupported prior to University Life(?). Yet somehow it ran better when the GPU was unsupported, hah.
-There are no background programs interfering. And if there are, they're essential.
-I'm not using any garbage Booster software.

What can I do to make the game playable again? If not software-wise, what should I swap? Nothing seems to be used to it's fullest, CPU and memory usage never go over 50% and 40% respectively, graphics card seems irrelevant, I have no clue.

EDIT: In the time it took me to write this, game went from unplayable to super unplayable. Whenever I load the save now and try to move the camera in any direction or speed up the game it takes a minute or more to respond. Basically, it's as if it ran at one frame per minute :/ Plumbobs are still animated in real time no mater what though, creepy.

It could be rogue cc item(s) that slow everything down or some in-game alarm that fires constantly but doesn't trigger anything.
Here is the simswiki article on package file lag.
Finding bad alarms is a bit more complicated as it can be caused by Store items like the Tree of Prosperity or in-game alarms gone rogue. It involves dumping the alarms to a separate file and analysing whether there is something unusual, but there aren't many people who really know what is and what is not unusual. People at NRaas might know and as you will have to use NRaas DebugEnabler anyway they may be able to help if noone here can.
Here is a post by crinrict on the alarms issue.

Another possibility is simply some stuck or corrupt Sims or lots. Does the same happen with a clean user folder (no mods, no Store, fresh game)?

And yes I have tried starting a new game. Obviously it works better in a new game but that's hardly a solution.

The performance issues occur all the time, they just get worse as the save gets bigger. The one I've been playing on isn't even 5 hours old, and the home lot I play on is just a crappy trailer with basic furniture in it.

Yes, I can read. I suggested a new user folder with nothing in it at all

Yeah well that's not exactly a solution is it? What good is the game if I can't hold onto a save for more than 1 or 2 hours.

Do you want to find out what's causing it or not? What I suggested was the first step in finding out not a solution. My computer isn't that much better than yours and I don't have these issues. When I did have them it was a bad, invisible .package file in one case and a broken alarm system in another. I did go through what I linked to above and that's how I found out and fixed it.

I know what processes I have running in the background, and there aren't any that I can close, so if one of them is causing problems for Sims 3 there's nothing I can do.

Ran the custom content through the dashboard, zero conflicts, zero corrupt files.

Already have ErrorTrap and Overwatch working.

I used the Debug Enabler to create the scriptError XML, not sure what I'm looking for in it :S

Sorry if I seemed ungrateful, I appreciate you trying to help C:

Process Monitor is for finding the processes that run INSIDE TS3W.exe, not any other background applications. It will tell you how often the game reads your game files - packages, your DCCache, etc.

Ok, and what am I looking for?

http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php...r_.28Windows.29

Already did that. I don't know what I'm supposed to see, everything looks fine as far as I can tell.

Well, if there are no exceptional read cycle spikes in Process Monitor for files that are not EA default then your lag is not caused by any rogue packages. Packages are read, maybe, a few hunderd times, broken ones several thousand or more times.
But you still haven't said what your experience is with a totally fresh and clean user folder, no Store, no mods, only EA vanilla. And if you get the lag there, too, when does it happen, what is it like, does it get worse over time, is it constant or intermittent, what world did you use for testing. etc. etc.?
There are various kinds of lag, and various reasons for each

I did ._. It runs slightly better, but becomes unplayable eventually just like the modded game.



While I'm playing :/



What do you think? Time of my life ._.



Up to a point, can't really get worse than unplayable.



I used several worlds, Isla Paradiso, Sunset Valley, Bridgeport. And IDK how it is, look man, the game runs like crap ok? I don't know if it's constant or intermetient or whatever, I know than when I try to rotate the camera, change the speed or do pretty much anything the game waits a whole minute to do it :/



Silly me, I thought global warming was solely to blame for this.

Forget it