I'm new to this and need help. (computer specs added) O.k i recentlly bought 'The Sims 2' and the 'University' expansion pack. Whilst playing the game it runs slow and jumpy and becomes impossable to play. I know i'm using DirectX 9.0c and i also have lots of space free Could someone write an idiots guide to solving this as i'm not the best on the 'technical' side of computers. My full computer specs are; Chip type - Trident cyberALADDIN-T Processor - Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz Memory - 224MB RAM Approx, total memory - 32.0MB DirectX version - DirectX 9.0c Windows XP 226 GHz, 224 MB of RAM Any more info needed? Thanks in advance
Hi Andy, Sorry to hear that you're having problems. First off it seems that Trident cyberALADDIN-T is a mobile graphics chipset. That is not good news I am sad to say. Maxis did not test The Sims 2 on laptop/notebook computers. This is because such machines were never really intended for playing high-end graphical games. So there is no support as such for folks such as yourself. Your first port of call should be to check that you have the latest drivers for your display device (that's what the Trident cyberALADDIN-T is by the way The original design predates Directx 9.0c) Try here (If your notebook isn't a Toshiba click a different letter to find your computer's maker ). Next step is to reduce the demand the game makes on the your computer's resources. End all background applications, including internet connections and antivirus software. After starting the game set the all graphics options to the lowest available settings ... (you can start to tweak them up one at a time notch by notch to see which ones have the most effect after you get things running smoothly! ) NOTE that reflections, lighting and shadows cause the most video lag. Next is consider your sims families. Play small. Mom, pop and 2 kids in a little house will play smoother than 8 in a massive house. The same goes for community lots. Go small! Finally heat! Heat may not kill your computer but it will cause it to freeze and to lock up and generally misbehave or act up like it doesn't like you very much. Make sure it is well ventilated and if at all possible buy a cooling pad accessory (HINT: Google notebook cooling pad) You are also very short of memory. It may be possible to add more memory, this isn't a job for "idiots" tho, but any reputable computer store would install some extra memory for little cost. Aim to have at least 512MB. Lastly. You haven't told us about your page file resources. You might squeeze a few drops of extra performance out of the thing by tuning that up. See http://forums.worldsims.org/showthread.php?t=2929&highlight=page+file this excellent post for the hows and whys. OK
Thanks very much that was a great help But i just have one little problem. I followed your your link to check if i had the latest driver for my display device, but once i was onthe page you linked me to i had no idea what to do Is there any chance you could lead me through it, sorry. Andy. P.S - I know very little about computers all i do is play on the games.
Gosh and kull wahad! This was 3 months ago! Wot you bin up to, kid? Please tell us about your machine. What is it. I'm thru guessing.
