Building/Upgrading a PC for TS2

[KatEnigma]

When you uninstalled, did you do a manual uninstall to make sure everything actually got removed properly?

I consider Age of Empires III to be a comparable game to TS2- it sucks up every bit of processing power you can give it and maxes out the video card to make it all look pretty.  You can download a demo if you need to test if its a Sims problem or computer problem.

[jsalemi]

jsalemi, I do have DirectX 9.0c, I'm  not sure if it needs updating?

No, that's the latest version.

[twistingsims]

Thank you jsalemi, I thought it might be 

When you uninstalled, did you do a manual uninstall to make sure everything actually got removed properly?

Yup, I had to add a new harddrive and totally format the drive with WindowsXP, so there was nothing there when I installed the Sims2 game.

I consider Age of Empires III to be a comparable game to TS2- it sucks up every bit of processing power you can give it and maxes out the video card to make it all look pretty.  You can download a demo if you need to test if its a Sims problem or computer problem.

thank you, I did download this demo and played it, works great!! 

So now what?  I have sent an email to EA with all these details as well, just in case they have any other suggestions.

Always an adventure in my life!! 

[ZiggyDoodle]

My Dell 8400 documentation states that if adding a graphics card that runs at 75W or more, a card fan must be installed.  I ordered one from Dell on Sunday.  My order arrived today but it contained a DVI/VGA adapter(!).  That has just been resolved with a credit to my account.

I'd rather not deal with Dell's apparently outsourced sales staff again and wonder if anyone can suggest a good card fan that can be added, which won't sound like a 747 taking off in my house.

And yes, I've upgraded my power supply by ordering a new one from PC Power & Cooling (waiting on that as well as the new card), so I'll have a power source for the card fan.

[KatEnigma]

I replaced my stock fan on the card with a Zalman Ultra Quiet VGA Cooler. The loudest part on my computer is the hard drive and my card doesn't overheat. 

[KatEnigma]

Thank you jsalemi, I thought it might be 

When you uninstalled, did you do a manual uninstall to make sure everything actually got removed properly?

Yup, I had to add a new harddrive and totally format the drive with WindowsXP, so there was nothing there when I installed the Sims2 game.

Yes, but you said after it happened, you uninstalled and reinstalled just TS2.  Maybe something got screwed up in the first install, and it didn't uninstall properly so it's still screwed up.  I know I've seen this problem before, but the damn search on the BBS is useless.  Did you patch the game when you reinstalled?

[ZiggyDoodle]

Appreciate the info, katenigma.  My documentation seems to suggest an additional fan is needed: "NOTICE: PCI Express graphics card that run higher than 75 W require an additional cooling fan.  Otherwise, your card could overheat and damage your computer."

All the PCIe cards I looked at had their own fans, plus the Dell installation instructions talk about mounting it with extra brackets somewhere inside the case.  Haven't looked yet to see where that may be.

[KatEnigma]

Appreciate the info, katenigma.  My documentation seems to suggest an additional fan is needed: "NOTICE: PCI Express graphics card that run higher than 75 W require an additional cooling fan.  Otherwise, your card could overheat and damage your computer."

All the PCIe cards I looked at had their own fans, plus the Dell installation instructions talk about mounting it with extra brackets somewhere inside the case.  Haven't looked yet to see where that may be.

The Zalman is supposed to keep the card cooler than the stock fan- it takes up a lot more room and it comes with a lot more heatspreaders for the RAM than the one ATI provided.  I never have any problems with heat on this machine, but I do have a case that's very efficient and my lovely OCZ power supply that sucks air from the case and spits it out the back, which lowered my system temperature by 5ºC all on its own.

If you have to mount an actual fan to the case, 120 mm fans are quieter and move more air than 80 mm ones.  You can also go to websites that specialize in silent PC's, to get recommendations on quiet fans or order rubber washers to hold down the rattling.

[twistingsims]

 

Thank you jsalemi, I thought it might be   

  When you uninstalled, did you do a manual uninstall to make sure everything actually got removed properly?

  Yup, I had to add a new harddrive and totally format the drive with WindowsXP, so there was nothing there when I installed the Sims2 game.

  Yes, but you said after it happened, you uninstalled and reinstalled just TS2.  Maybe something got screwed up in the first install, and it didn't uninstall properly so it's still screwed up.  I know I've seen this problem before, but the damn search on the BBS is useless.  Did you patch the game when you reinstalled?

Okay, so I've uninstalled the game again and followed these directions: http://forums.modthesims2.com/article.php?t=139059 for a complete uninstalled.  I reinstalled just the original game plus the first patch for Sims2, and although I was prayin' hard this might work, unfortunately the sims still are in slow mode! 

So I took a video capture just to show how this is looking in my game.  Like I said everything else is loading and playing fine, until you get to the neighborhood's screen, the panning is really slow.  Then I pick any lot, which I think is loading fine, and as soon as I unpause for play, slow motion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOz2liSh57E

Okay this is interesting, the video shows no slow motion!!    that must be a clue to what's goin' on, I hope! I think I will play around with the video settings a bit, to see what happens.

I played around some more, and its still slower in game, but the video does seem to speed it up a little bit, this one's a little bigger (and I'm changing settings of video as I'm recording, so exuse the stops and starts):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKcz1NeCuw

[J. M. Pescado]

Here's a tip: Don't name your computer after you, and don't post its name on the Internet when you post Dxdiag reports. Always censor the names.

[twistingsims]

Didn't even know it was there, oh well!    Any suggestions for my dilemma? 

[J. M. Pescado]

What do you mean by "slow motions"? Also, your computer doesn't have enough RAMs.

[twistingsims]

I've had the same RAM as I had b4 I had to install the new harddrive and format.  I even put my old video Card Radeon 9600 SE, back in and reinstalled the software, but the graphics did not behave normally even then.

By slow motion, I mean the sims are playing in slow motion, like if it was a video playing in slow motion.  They walk, talk, interact, move their hands, everything is slow motion.

Did you watch the videos, I posted above?  The first one doesn't really show it as well as the second one does, and even those videos are not showing it as slow as it is when I'm playing it.

If you have anything else I can try, other than what others have suggested, as I tried them all and no difference, I would be sooo grateful!!

[ZiggyDoodle]

Sorry if you posted this previously, twistingsims, but did you download the updated driver on that new 1900 card from the ATI site and  remove the old driver before you installed the new card?

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/Catalyst_69_release_notes.html

The driver number you listed is 6.14.0010.6631, which is lower than the Catalyst release referenced above. 

Do you have .NET Framework installed?

I read info that Driver Cleaner can be helpful in removing old drivers but haven't used it:  http://www.drivercleaner.net/

Just fishing around trying to find an answer....

[twistingsims]

thank you so much ZiggyDoodle, I will try these things, I really do appreciate your help! 


edit:  I do have .Net Framework 1.1 installed.  I used the drivercleaner, and cabcleaner.  Reinstalled ATI orignial driver.  The link you posted goes to unauthorized page.  However I did find the right page, and downloaded it.

I'll report further findings.

[twistingsims]

   Well I'll be hornswoggled, that actually worked, don't know if it was the cleaning of the drivers, or that latest driver update, which for some reason I couldn't find before, only the 6.8, but so far so good, the sims are back to normal, well as normal as sims can be, lol.

Thank you everyone for your help!!    I know its pretty pathetic to be so addicted to this stuff but I am addicted and don't mind admitting it! 

[KatEnigma]

The driver is new, released Wednesday. So you didn't just miss it, but it may have been a driver conflict issue. I haven't updated in months, and didn't have the problem. Somewhere on my machine, I have ATI's own driver uninstaller, as its near impossible to find on their site, but they put it with the driver downloads one month, to push it.

[SpaceDoll]

Well, I just got my memory and my 9600 pro in the mail today. 
I'm going to put in the memory first and then deal with the video card.  I had to turn off my integrated video in BIOS to work the old card, and I would rather not mess with that again, but I need to be able to use the display when installing the new card.  The old card is an Nvidia geforce 2  and the new one is ATI, will there be some kind of driver conflict?  Can I just install the new drivers, open up the box, rip out the old card and put in the shiney new one?  Or do I need to do somethin' special?
Thanks for your help!

[Hegelian]

You need to purge your PC of all vestiges of the nVidia drivers before installing the new board.The nVidia driver uninstall utility may or may not accomplish this, so you may want to try Driver Cleaner (do a Google search) after doing the uninstall from Add/Remove Programs. Once those drivers are gone, shut down and switch boards. Boot the PC and cancel out the new hardware wizard when it attempts to install drivers for the ATI board (you may need to do this more than once). Then run the ATI driver setup program from the CD, or the downloaded drivers if you choose to use those.

[SpaceDoll]

So, if I wait to install ati drivers 'til after the baord is in and my integrated graphics are off in BIOS, will my screen actually work?  I mean, isn't there nothing there?
Sorry to sound silly, but the simplest of hardware tasks, although I theoretically know how to handle them, often turn into huge complicated piles of shit for me!!!  Just trying to evade any computer 'splosions!

[KatEnigma]

So, if I wait to install ati drivers 'til after the baord is in and my integrated graphics are off in BIOS, will my screen actually work?  I mean, isn't there nothing there?
Sorry to sound silly, but the simplest of hardware tasks, although I theoretically know how to handle them, often turn into huge complicated piles of shit for me!!!  Just trying to evade any computer 'splosions!

Windows will use a default generic driver to give you something on the screen. 

[SpaceDoll]

Cool, Thanks!  Now I just have to remember to ask my Mom to come babysit while I install.  Little one year old hands do not help the innards of computers.  And she screams bloody murder when I type (like now)!  The act itself breaks her little heart.

[witch]

Cool, Thanks!  Now I just have to remember to ask my Mom to come babysit while I install.  Little one year old hands do not help the innards of computers.  And she screams bloody murder when I type (like now)!  The act itself breaks her little heart.

Ha ha, maybe she thinks you are hurting the keys...

[SpaceDoll]

She does the same thing when I stand at the sink (to wash dishes or brush my teeth, whatever)!  It is just weird, like somehow these two acts are me completely ignoring her.  I can do anything else, like stand at the stove to cook, or sit at the computer and use the mouse; just those two specific acts kill her!!

UPDATE:  I got my memory and video card installed, finally!  I'm downloading the latest drivers as we speak, then off to test the Sims!! Yay! 

By the way, my current RAM is now 512MB, any broad suggestions for the size of my paging file?  I haven't done any testing yet.

[J. M. Pescado]

Cool, Thanks!  Now I just have to remember to ask my Mom to come babysit while I install.  Little one year old hands do not help the innards of computers.  And she screams bloody murder when I type (like now)!  The act itself breaks her little heart.

The key to dealing with screaming babies is to give them something to scream about. Once they realize that their screaming only brings them more pain, they'll stop doing it.