
Sometimes, especially if you've recently patched/updated your game, you may experience decreased performance.
For all kinds of info and links on maintaining your computer, see: System Checkup. not just for your game performance, but in general! Even if you're not a "computer person" it is definitely worth learning basic computer tune-up skills. If your computer isn't brand new, you might need to do some general maintenance to keep it running its best. For information on hardware, upgrades, and purchasing a new computer, see: MTS Computer & Software Technical Support Help Forum. If your computer does not meet or exceed requirements, you'll probably need to upgrade - this means either buying new components to spiff up your current computer, or, depending on your system, purchasing a whole new computer. For more information about graphics card, see: Graphics Cards.
If you have a laptop with Nvidia Optimus (switchable graphics), make sure TS4 is set to run on the Nvidia graphics card by going to the Nvidia Control Panel, add TS4.exe and set to "High-Performance NVIDIA processor".
The computer will use the integrated graphics if the monitor is connected to the motherboard video outs. Make sure the desktop monitor is connected to the graphics card video outs and not the one in the motherboard. Your computer should not only meet the minimum requirements, but exceed them! Make sure to note all the recommendations on that page by MTS staff, indicating what will not only run the game, but run it well!
For full requirements for TS4 and its EPs, see: TS4 System Requirements. Once you know what your computer has under the hood, you need to compare that to what is required to run the game and expansions you want to use. To find out your computer's specs, see: System Specs. This is something you should have checked before you got the game in the first place, but if you're experiencing crappy performance, this may be something worth looking into - is your computer strong enough to run the game? Usually, general performance issues can be traced not to something wrong with the game's programming, but an issue with your computer itself in some way. Go down the list and you could be playing a better quality game in no time! This guide is meant to give you some tips for bettering the experience while playing "The Sims 4" and, maybe, your computer as a whole! Each one of the following subsections has a link to an article that will help you down the road to making the game more enjoyable.
If any of these apply to you, you have stumbled across the right article. Or, maybe even you just want to know how to increase your performance to a higher level than it already is. Does your game lag or jump around constantly? Can you barely make it through a sitting without your game crashing, distorted images, or the program freezing on you? Maybe your game performance has gone downhill from when you originally installed it.