Friend looking for a new video card (again), need 2nd opinon

[rditto48801]

Uninstall + Sims 3 = extremely time consuming and royal pain in the ass task. Especially when it can involve registry editing and needing to take manual uninstall steps to properly uninstall it.

I am trying to find the 'config' file for Sims 3. As far as I can tell, there seems to be no file mentioning video card configuration, just in game graphics settings, although i did find one file (some 'what the heck is this' file extension) that could be opened in notepad to reveal a long list of video cards. There are only two entries for 5800 series, but I can't find it being listed anywhere in the apparent config file.
I like it when I can just edit a file, or just delete it and let the game create a new one the next time it runs. Or games that have an actual in-game thing to select the graphics options.

The fact the frame rate shot up a good bit indicates it is working well with the new video card, it's just that the one issue is still there. It also reset the base refresh rate from 60hz to 85hz, another sign it likely already recognized the new card.
Checking a (non-EA) site about Sims 3, while mention lots of things, including when it is time to get a new video card (they got a list of cards that will, might, or won't work with Sims 30), but it apparently does not mention anything special needing to be done with The Sims 3 after installing a new video card.

There are over 2500 pages (38,000 topics) on the Sims 3 tech support forum on the official site, just to give you a clue to the type of issues the game has.

Most of the symptoms are the same as I had before. Relating to Sims 3 simply 'aggressively throttling' a video card (such as fps topping out at 130 even though the game itself lags and is sluggish, when one sitesays a benchmark for the card on SIms 3 shouldn't be anywhere that high), and overall ignoring the refresh rate.

[rditto48801]

I ran the 3DMark06 program with the tests.
I have no idea how to access the results, although. Got the results saved on my desktop in a file I don't know how to access.
The 2 CPU tests, however, were of slide show quality, as in averaging 0-1fps, taking a bit of time just to do 50 frames on one of them.
For the graphics tests, fps usually averaged about 40, a few low points hit about 20, high points were 60.

GPU-Z didn't report a temp over 42c (42/40/37.5 for the three GPUs) or GPU load higher than 14%.

Oh, I was recommended a program called HWMonitor to help see if there might be other issues behind my SIms 3 problems, such as CPU troubles. Considering my CPU test with 3DMark06 went about as fast as a snail...

It seems like no one every diagnoses stuff with Sims 3 anymore, they just start pointing fingers until something pops up that works... some people are good at pointing at the right thing off the bad... it's creepy... like pseudo-telepathy driven by having said problem occur with tons of other people...
They did also nail my PSU model, on the dot, just from me saying 'cooler master 600w'... and then said it was not a good one to have, that others they knew had problems with that type of PSU...

[Blín D'ñero]

Uninstall + Sims 3 = extremely time consuming and royal pain in the ass task. Especially when it can involve registry editing and needing to take manual uninstall steps to properly uninstall it.

I am trying to find the 'config' file for Sims 3. As far as I can tell, there seems to be no file mentioning video card configuration, just in game graphics settings, although i did find one file (some 'what the heck is this' file extension) that could be opened in notepad to reveal a long list of video cards. There are only two entries for 5800 series, but I can't find it being listed anywhere in the apparent config file.
I like it when I can just edit a file, or just delete it and let the game create a new one the next time it runs. Or games that have an actual in-game thing to select the graphics options.

The fact the frame rate shot up a good bit indicates it is working well with the new video card, it's just that the one issue is still there. It also reset the base refresh rate from 60hz to 85hz, another sign it likely already recognized the new card.
Checking a (non-EA) site about Sims 3, while mention lots of things, including when it is time to get a new video card (they got a list of cards that will, might, or won't work with Sims 30), but it apparently does not mention anything special needing to be done with The Sims 3 after installing a new video card.

There are over 2500 pages (38,000 topics) on the Sims 3 tech support forum on the official site, just to give you a clue to the type of issues the game has.

Most of the symptoms are the same as I had before. Relating to Sims 3 simply 'aggressively throttling' a video card (such as fps topping out at 130 even though the game itself lags and is sluggish, when one sitesays a benchmark for the card on SIms 3 shouldn't be anywhere that high), and overall ignoring the refresh rate.

but it apparently does not mention anything special needing to be done with The Sims 3 after installing a new video card.

NO game support site mentions that (because they support their games, not hardware software tech in general), but it is a fact of life. Browse tech forums, and you'll find that people get the advise of reinstalling their games after a videocard switch, if only to be able to rule that out as a cause for abnormal videocard related behaviour.
Probably editing a file won't do it, because there will be deeply buried registry settings involved too.
What, a pain to un/reinstall a game? Really? And what if your Windows gets corrupted so you'd have to format and reinstall, then you would have to reinstall the games as well. Be prepared for such events...

[Blín D'ñero]

I ran the 3DMark06 program with the tests.
I have no idea how to access the results, although. Got the results saved on my desktop in a file I don't know how to access.
The 2 CPU tests, however, were of slide show quality, as in averaging 0-1fps, taking a bit of time just to do 50 frames on one of them.
For the graphics tests, fps usually averaged about 40, a few low points hit about 20, high points were 60.

At the end, you get the user interface showing you the 3DMark06 points, then you click on the button to see the details. Now you have to run it again to get to that point.
The 3DMark06 CPU tests are usually extremely slow because that test is as the word says the testgame running on the cpu only. 1 ~2 frames per second is common for most processors.
I'll see if i can dig up some of my results (or make a new one) and post later.

[Blín D'ñero]

Oh i found out i had one posted already.
This is with a beta Catalyst driver early this year: CAT8761 and run on Windows 7 x64. A bug in the benchmark makes it misread the actual cpu speed (which is 3.82 Ghz), nevermind...



Click on button "Details..." And that is the info you should compare to others (google is your friend) with similar hardware, to get an indication if all is working as generally to be expected.

[rditto48801]

If I had to reformat, re-installing would be easy. It tends to not delete everything and leave some stuff in place, meaning manual work and editing of the registry just to get it so it will reinstall again.
Having to format and start from scratch would sort of bypass those problems.

Oh, I have included a file with a jpg of the HWMonitor results.
Someone on the other site said I should consider getting a new PSU .
What they said.

Temps all look good but your +12v rail is fluctuating quite a bit and is out of spec. You definitely need a different power supply. Hopefully that's the only problem and it will fix the stuttering as well.

Here are two PSUs they recommended.
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Although, I might want to get something better, in case I do get around to upgrading my CPU someday.
From the MB specs.
AMD Socket AM2+ / AM2 ;Phenom™ FX /Phenom™ / Athlon™ /Sempron™ Processors
AMD 140W CPU Support
AMD Cool 'n' Quiet™ Technology
Support 45nm Phenom™ II CPU

I am guessing I will need more power if I do get a better CPU, since the present PSU seems barely able to supply what I got at present.
Would a 650w be enough, or should I aim for a 700w or higher?

On a side note, I can't access details with 3DMark06. It seems a lot of options are grayed out or disabled with the basic version.

[Blín D'ñero]

If I had to reformat, re-installing would be easy. It tends to not delete everything and leave some stuff in place, meaning manual work and editing of the registry just to get it so it will reinstall again.

Um hello;... not true! Full format is what you should do. Nothing will remain, all will be new.

The 12 v is just a tiny little out of spec but nothing to be worried over.
Really, i don't think you would need to change your current PSU. You should start ruling out possible causes of issues. Meaning, after change of videocard => complelely un/reinstall game(s).
That PSU is not crap. Just run Furmark which will stress the card to its limits. Make sure the card is running at default speeds. If it does not get enough juice (power), the test will just fail.

[rditto48801]

Oops, I messed up the wording.
I meant more like this.

If I had to reformat, re-installing would be easy. The uninstaller tends to not delete everything and leave some stuff in place, meaning manual work and editing of the registry just to get it so it will reinstall again.

I am in the process of troubleshooting, but now, the problem is apparently not there as much.
Heck, the game loads a lot faster now.
Since I ruled out stuff that I know what it is (in terms of stuff I have downloaded for the game), I am getting into a few items in the folder that I am not to sure of the origins of.

I am in the process of ruling out stuff, and will probably quit and restart a few dozen times before I am done. Once I add an item and things go to crap, then I will know the likely culprit.

My guess is something I got from the Sims 3 exchange had some sort of messed up custom content with it.
Although, it could be worse, like horribly mutated stick figure shaped babies and kids, data corruption, or out right crashes...

Edit:
After much trouble shooting that was all over the place like a drunk driver on an icy road, I finally made progress. There are 2 basically identical groups of folders, except one is in Program Files and the other in Documents. I was looking in the wrong one (a recent patch changed where the game looked for mods at), and had a utility program also 'aimed' at the wrong folder. It turned out it was a pair of 'bad' files, a pair of files meant for Sims 2 somehow ended up in my folder for Sims 3 mods. I promptly deleted them.
The game seems better now, more stable fps, less lag (except when loading textures in some areas), and the game loads its saves a lot faster.
I am not sure how i missed certain things so much for a good deal of time. It took all of 10-15 minutes to fix things once I realized what I was doing wrong with my troubleshooting.
Since my computer setup puts me in the corner, I feel all I am missing ins a dunce cap...

Edit 2:
I almost forgot. I tried out that FurMark thing.
SCORE:1766 points (60000 ms) - Options: XB DM FX
Max GPU Temp: 74°C
Resolution: 1274x988 (W) - MSAA: 8X
FPS: min=2 max=32 avg=30

[Blín D'ñero]

You did with Xtreme burn, displacement mapping and post fx, and 8x MSAA and not failed the test. So it's alive!

You have run it windowed. So, check the box "fullscreen".
In windowed mode, the card will run at 2D speeds, you don't want that.
Run it again, now with standard settings (as mentioned on this page):

The graphics settings for the standard benchmark are:

Resolution: 1280x1024
Fullcreen
No MSAA (None)
Duration: 60 sec (60000 ms).

Make sure in CCC the settings for 3D are at defaults
Oh and also make sure you run version 1.8.2

Here is the changelog of FurMark 1.8.2

•New: different scoring web pages for version 1.7.0 and 1.8.2+.
•New: option to enable FurMark 1.7.0 compatibility mode.
•New: support of latest Radeon HD 5000 and GeForce GTX 400 series.
•New: display of GPU and memory clocks (even if GPU-Z is not started).
•Change: improved temperature graphs readability.

My results. Cards at Default speeds:

at the CCC Overdrive limits (900/1300):


Btw, this program misreads the actual CPU speed which is 3.82 Ghz.
And i do not understand why it says "Number of Active GPUs: 1" while i'm running crossfire, i launched from the multi-gpu shortcut and the crossfire logo appears during the test.
Maybe because it officially only supports XP and Vista 32-bit....

[rditto48801]

Okay. I redid both tests with CCC at default settings.
There is a slight problem, I did have MSAA at None, but it still popped out that it was at 8X. I did a quick test, regardless of what I set it at, it runs the test with MSAA at 8X

I also somehow missed that it was windowed earlier. I was wondering why the listed resolution didn't look right.

Edit:
Forgot to mention I was using the multi-GPU shortcut, since GPU-Z reads the card as having 3 GPUs, or at least it has 3 different GPU temps listed, so I guess it has several GPUs.

Edit 2:
Is it possible FurMark is reading the 'current' CPU speed at the time of the test, and not the max speed? Don't CPUs basically 'slow down' a bit when their full power isn't needed?