Freezes & Lags - Do I have too many Expansions?

[LolTacChik]

I had almost all the expansions and was playing just fine.  Pretty soon, my game started lagging and freezing up on me for a several seconds at a time.  It started when I started building a house for my sim.  So I uninstalled some of the expansions.  Now I play with Seasons, Pets, Supernatural, Island Paradise, Late Night, Showtime, and Outdoor Stuff.  My game was playing fine once again then started doing the same thing.  It freezes up or lags for a few seconds at a time.  Is this because I have to many expansions and store content? 

Operating System:  Windows 8 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200)
Processor:  AMD E2-1800 APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics (2 CPUs), 1.7GHz
BIOS:  6.20
Memory:  4096MB RAM
DirectX Version:  DirectX 11

I only use items purchased from the Sims Store.  I don't have mods or CC.

I re-installed the entire game and expansions a few weeks ago.  It helped until I started building a house. 

When it freezes and lags, the water, trees, and Sim icon above their heads still move.  It will last for about 5 or 10 seconds. 

A few times, my game has completely frozen and I had to reboot. 

It doesn't do this when I'm in buy/build mode. 

I know very little about computers.  So any help or advice you have will be appreciated. 

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Hi, LolTacChik.

Looking at the processor, it is under the minimum specs needed to play the game. The game requires a 1.8 GHz dual-core, and your laptop has a 1.7 GHz dual-core. It also has a built-in graphics chip that isn't up to par for the game.

For the immediate, I would try lowering the graphics settings to medium or low and see if that helps. The game won't look as nice, but it should help the speed. Two main settings would be to clear "Enable Advanced Rendering" and to check "Enable Object Hiding." These will help alleviate the strain on the graphics system at the expense of detailed graphics. You may also want to consider disabling the weather effects in Seasons, or even un-installing it, as it is probably the more graphics intense of the expansions. Also, disabling the Fairies in Supernatural can help, as their wings are somewhat graphics intense as well. Another setting to clear would be "Enable Interactive Loading Screens" as these are processor and graphics intense.

Afterward, you may want to consider expanding the memory in the laptop to 8 GB. That can also help improve the game's performance.

Hope this helps, and happy Simming!

Flynn

[LolTacChik]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.  Awesome info!!  You're the bomb-diggity.