How fast is your TS3?

[Luisa]

Just wondering if the speed my game runs at sounds about right to other players considering the hardware...

This is how long it takes TS3 (with latest EAxis patches and Awesomeware) to do the following actions after a clean boot into WinXP SP3:

46 secs: Boot TS3 with 3booter, fpslimter, nointro, and AwesomeMod. This is from clicking the desktop icon to the point where I'm at the main ts3 menu.
26 secs: Create new sunset valley game.
21 secs: Load standard game Glover family into Myrtle Bungalow.
23 secs: Save the game.
14 secs: Quit without save.

The machine I'm running this on is a rig I built a couple of months ago to be a good lo-energy machine and TS3 is installed on the Velociraptor (fast system drive).

Gigabyte GA-M720-US3 AMD Nvidia 720D Socket AM2+
Antec 300 Three Hundred Black Case
Antec EarthWatts 650W 80Plus PSU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e 2.5GHz Socket AM2 Energy Efficient 1MB L2 Cache
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 GOLD XTC Memory Kit CL5(5-5-5-18)
PowerColor HD 4670 PCS Edition 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E
Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB 10000RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD1500HLFS)
Western Digital 640GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM Green Power
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM

Given those specs, what do people reckon to the posted times - does anyone know if they sound about right for TS3?

To me the game seems a little slow sometimes, especially since I like to save often in a crash causes me to lose valuable playing hours. I'm wondering what h/w upgrade might give the best extra speed for my money when it comes to TS3 - whether it be going up to a Phenom II, or faster RAM, etc?

And I'm wondering what speeds other people get for doing the same basic actions I listed above, or how I might speed up my game software wise? Only thing I can't change is my OS: need it for work sadly.

[Krib]

I can't give you load times and the like, even though I understand exactly why you would want them. I can tell you my framerates though - fairly related topic.

I run the game on a 2008 Macbook Pro, in Boot Camp, fully patched + Awesomemod, with XP SP3. The main specs on the 08 MBP:

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz
6 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz bus
2 GB of RAM (yeah, I need to put in another stick)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB of onboard memory

At 16x12 (on an external LCD), with everything on high and shadows enabled, I get anywhere from 20-28 fps. In a game like this, that's kind of okay for me. It's not an FPS or an MMO and nobody can kill me because I was too slow lol.

I usually turn it down some if I'm in a busy area though, and disable shadows. Then I get 30+

As an aside, I used to run the game in OSX, and I would describe TS3 (and Cider emulation) performance there as: laughable, pathetic, and unplayable. Running at 1024 x 768 with everything on low, 5-15fps. On a good day. Yeah, and that's okay. I did that for two weeks when I got the game, because it's really nice not to have to switch OS to play, and then I read about how bad Cider is. Promptly switched, and will never again play another game that runs on that piece of garbage.

Other aside: even in Windows, when ghosts appear, they destroy my framerate. Don't know why, would like to know. Overall, my impression is there's a lot of memory leaks still in TS3, and it's certainly a system hog. Sooooo many objects to draw. Your times look damned nice, and I know I could get something like that if I built another gaming box, but it's just not in the money cards right now.

[Doc Doofus]

It takes me longer to load a save-game than it does to start the game .exe.

[PrinJess]

It's really a matter of your processor, your RAM, and installed CC. Of course, the more CC you have, loading a save and ending the game takes a while. I just use Game Booster to terminate unnecessary programs to increase my RAM. 

[pbox]

Krib, the OS X performance problem has nothing to do with cider. EA fucked up the graphics for OS X in patch 1.3.

I'm running 1.2.7, and I have no lag whatsoever with all settings on High. My machine is older and lamer than yours.

[RiceBall]

No clean boot, sorry

45 secs: Nointro, awesomemod, +1.5 gigs of custom content(dccache+mods folder)
29 secs:
12 secs:
24 secs:
11 secs:

Not sure if you wanted my sys specs but I'll post it.

Vista 64 bit
Slow WD Sata HD(5.3 WEI Score)
Abit IP35 mobo
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.44ghz
Patriot 800mhz (2x2)+(2x1) Cas 4-4-4-12
BFG 8800 GT OC

Are you using XP 64 bit? If not, your on 32 bit xp will only recognize 3 gigs of ram not 4.

[Mire Krisma]

Hey guys where can I go to download more RAM is there a torrent.

[Caraleede]

Hey guys where can I go to download more RAM is there a torrent.

[witch]

Hey guys where can I go to download more RAM is there a torrent.

!

[kutto]

Don't fret, Mire. I was able to catch your joke.

[Mire Krisma]

Don't worry, guys. I found a legit site.

Anyways, I'm running a 2007 iMac with Boot Camp ( Windoze XP SP 3 )

Core 2 Duo Processor ( Intel )
2 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 2400 video card

Hope this helps.

[edalbformat]

Everybody that is playing this game "Non-EA" way is having a pretty impressive hardware. All the results match yours.
None of us is satisfied. When you go public and say that you are creating a game that plays "at real time", have to accept claims that "real time" don't delay any second.

[Luisa]

Sweet, thanks for the info guys. And yeah I'm on XP 32bit so Windoze only sees 3GB for now.

The reason I was asking is because I'm wondering if an easy upgrade (like processor or RAM speed) might improve my TS3 experience... I initially built the PC for TS3 to be low noise and energy efficient but didn't realise how much of a hog modern games can be having not played any others since TS2.

I could either upgrade

A) Processor from AMD Athlon 4850e Dual Core to Phenom II X4 Quad Core 920 2.8GHz (AM2+)

B) RAM FROM 4GB PC2-6400 (800MHz) to 4GB PC2-9600 (1100MHz+ ish)

Anyone know which of these would give me the most noticeable speed increase in the TS3 operations I listed (like loading, saving etc)?

Thanks

[Caraleede]

Don't worry, guys. I found a legit site.

Anyways, I'm running a 2007 iMac with Boot Camp ( Windoze XP SP 3 )

Core 2 Duo Processor ( Intel )
2 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 2400 video card

Hope this helps.

[PrinJess]

Sweet, thanks for the info guys. And yeah I'm on XP 32bit so Windoze only sees 3GB for now.

The reason I was asking is because I'm wondering if an easy upgrade (like processor or RAM speed) might improve my TS3 experience... I initially built the PC for TS3 to be low noise and energy efficient but didn't realise how much of a hog modern games can be having not played any others since TS2.

I could either upgrade

A) Processor from AMD Athlon 4850e Dual Core to Phenom II X4 Quad Core 920 2.8GHz (AM2+)

B) RAM FROM 4GB PC2-6400 (800MHz) to 4GB PC2-9600 (1100MHz+ ish)

Anyone know which of these would give me the most noticeable speed increase in the TS3 operations I listed (like loading, saving etc)?

Thanks

I'm no computer buff, but I believe you already have enough RAM. I think increasing from Dual to Quad would be more beneficial. I have about a 2.4 GHz Dual Core Processor, 3 GB RAM, and a 9800 GT Nvidia Video Card, and my speeds are above average (with about 300 MB of CC installed).

[Buzzler]

A) Processor from AMD Athlon 4850e Dual Core to Phenom II X4 Quad Core 920 2.8GHz (AM2+)

B) RAM FROM 4GB PC2-6400 (800MHz) to 4GB PC2-9600 (1100MHz+ ish)

Anyone know which of these would give me the most noticeable speed increase in the TS3 operations I listed (like loading, saving etc)?

To exchange your RAM with the same amount of faster RAM would be ludicrously stupid as this would give you less than 10% more perfomance. Upgrading your CPU is the way to go. You might consider going for a Phenom II X3 720 BE (2.8GHz as well). Since Sims3 can utilize two cores plus something it should be just as fast as the Phenom 920, and the Black Edition Phenoms have an unlocked CPU multiplicator so it should be easy to overclock it to 3.2GHz or more.

I just checked how long my rig (Core2Quad 9550 @3.8GHz, 4GB RAM @450Mhz, Geforce 8800GT/512MB, Samsung T166 500GB) takes to do the operations you mentioned and it takes pretty much half the time for everything.

[wes_h]

It took me 49 seconds to get all the game loaded and into a saved neighborhood.
This is with no-intro mod, no awesome mod, on a Quad core Vista-64 machine with 8 GB RAM.

I downloaded another 256 MB of RAM from that site link, but it didn't help any.

[Marhis]

I downloaded another 256 MB of RAM from that site link, but it didn't help any.

Try putting your monitor on the floor and the PC on a support, so it's in an higher place. Data run faster downhill.

[Buzzler]

Try putting your monitor on the floor and the PC on a support, so it's in an higher place. Data run faster downhill.

That's a bad idea, trust me. Sure it works at first, but the increased data pressure leads to increased stress on the seals and that is bad because a) seals are cute and b) defective seals lead to data leaks and therefore data loss.

[Mire Krisma]

I downloaded another 256 MB of RAM from that site link, but it didn't help any.

Try putting your monitor on the floor and the PC on a support, so it's in an higher place. Data run faster downhill.

No, what you should do is microwave the ethernet cables for a minute or two before use. Data travels fastest when excited by heat.

Don't worry, guys. I found a legit site.

Anyways, I'm running a 2007 iMac with Boot Camp ( Windoze XP SP 3 )

Core 2 Duo Processor ( Intel )
2 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 2400 video card

Hope this helps.

-disturbing innuendo-

I smell a Mac fan.

[RiceBall]

If you buildt your own rig you should be fairly tech savy and comfortable installing/tweaking hardware.

Have you tried overclocking your existing cpu/mem? Defragged? Why spend money if you do not need to in my opinion.

You would get a more noticeable gain with a new cpu vs ram. Bad idea to buy faster ram, more is better, what I mean is 6-8 gigs of 6400 ram is more productive then 4 gigs of 9600 ram, cheaper too by roughly half. This is only appicable in a 64bit OS. Your video card will be a bottleneck if you upgrade to a faster cpu.

Overclock first then buy new hardware if you're still not satisfied. 

[shinygobonkers]

these threads always make me wonder...

I play the game on a 12 inch tablet laptop, with that whore that is Vista, half the time with several other programs running also, and have never felt that the game was running particularly/annoyingly slow for me? I remember TS2 took waay longer to load, back in the day....

will try to get specific specs later to see if i just have way lower standards than yall...

[Caraleede]

I smell a Mac fan.

You misunderstood why I came. Your legit site made me come.

[Skadi]

Since we're throwing around hardware configs and questions, I just upgraded to a AMD 4600+ dual core with 4gb ram and a shiny new Nvidia GTS250 1gb video card. TS3 flies, and I'm looking forward to reinstalling TS2 to enjoy it at a reasonable speed.
I am wondering if it would be worthwhile to arr-quire a copy of 64 bit XP to take advantage of the new hardware. Does 64 bit XP recognise more ram or is 4gb still the limit? I'd rather not go to Vista, I just find it really clunky.

[RiceBall]

Since we're throwing around hardware configs and questions, I just upgraded to a AMD 4600+ dual core with 4gb ram and a shiny new Nvidia GTS250 1gb video card. TS3 flies, and I'm looking forward to reinstalling TS2 to enjoy it at a reasonable speed.
I am wondering if it would be worthwhile to arr-quire a copy of 64 bit XP to take advantage of the new hardware. Does 64 bit XP recognise more ram or is 4gb still the limit? I'd rather not go to Vista, I just find it really clunky.

XP 64 recognizes up to 128gb of ram. If you going the arr route might as well go with Windows 7(ram limit ranges from 8-192gb between the six editions) to take advatage of dx10+, you can switch back to XP 64 of your not happy.

Nice video card but it' s hugely bottlenecked by your cpu a phenom II would be a better match. Hopefully your current cpu is socket am2 and not 939.

Sims 2 does not support multicore processors, so your performance leap may not be as profound.