Sims 3 performance issues

Hello, first off thanks for the great downloads, I downloaded base game plus a whole load of EPs and it works perfect.

However the game isn't running smoothly at all, even on lowest settings, I was wondering if this could be fixed or if its just my machine. I'm running it on Parallels on a MBP Retina with 2.7 GHZ i7 Processor 8 GB Ram and a Discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics card, 1GB Vram. It seems like some pretty strong hardware to run Sims, and I can run Far Cry 3 no problems on parallels, so i'm hoping its a software issue that can be resolved.


Mod edit: Topic moved to "Mac support". 

- Carlos

Hello there!

I'm afraid I have not much solutions for you there. My game is kinda laggy as well, eve at optimum settings. However, I am not quite sure if it is the Parallels doing it in your case. Personally I had worse lags when I ran my game on BootCamp.

Otherwise, you could still try the following solutions:
Solution 1: Reducing Game Memory Usage
- Lower your game resolution.
- Use the "Save As" option instead of "Save" to generate new "healthy" files.
- Keep your Sim's inventory as empty as possible.
- Disable "Memories" from your in-game options.
- Delete existing "Memories" with the Nraas MasterController. [NRAAS/Master Controller/Sim/Intermediate/Remove memories>Homeworld]
- Read this link that Phoebe has posted before. It has many suggestions on how you can reduce memory usage which are quite often the causes of crashes.


Solution 2: Defragment your Mac
- Yes, you read me right. Macs actually do need to be defragmented, especially if you have large files. The Sims 3 files usually get very fragmented during installation, which means it takes a long time for the Mac to read the files, causing lags and eventually crashes.
- I personally use iDefrag. It is a little pricey, but definitely a great investment if you intend to keep your Mac healthy for a long time. Otherwise, you can look for any other alternative you wish. 


Solution 3: Free-up Space in your Mac
- Clean up your files regularly and keep enough space in your Mac. It helps a lot!




I hope one of it helps you. Do keep us updated!