Expert: Parthiban.T - 10/9/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have been having trouble running The Sims 2 (PC) on my Dell Inspiron 530 computer. It runs very slowly and sometimes even “pauses” for several seconds at a time. At times, I can barely navigate the curser across the screen without having to wait for the game to catch up with it.  It seems the more I progress into the game, and the more I build on my lot, the slower it becomes. I was told by Dell representatives that by upgrading my memory from 2g to 4g and by installing a video card, that the issues would be resolved. I ordered these upgrades  from Dell and have installed them in my computer. (including the software that came with the RADEON B2 video card) I have also updated the Radeon driver(s) at the link provided by Dell. Although the graphic quality is much better with these upgrades, I’m still having issues with the slowness and the “pausing” which seems to be getting worse the more I play. My other games (The Sims Deluxe Edition and The Sims 3) run fine. Could you please help me troubleshoot these problems as The Sims 2 is my favorite game. Thank you.


ANSWER: Dear John,
Please try making some changes in the Game Graphics Level. Reduce them to low details and try,also ensure any AntiVirus or Security Problems causing interference, if still the Problem persist ask me again with specification like OS you are using

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:      Thank you for your response. It’s my understanding that installing such upgrades like new video cards and more memory was to be able to play games at their optimum performance. By lowering the games graphic level in the game’s performance options, I would be losing some of the game’s graphic detail. This is the reason I purchased the upgrades in the first place. Do you have any other suggestions? Also, I’m using Windows Vista for an OS if this helps any, and I’m not sure what you meant by anti-virus or security problems causing interference. How do I check this? Please respond. Thank you.
    John


Answer
The slower game performance may be experienced while graphics level is can't performed by the PC.So that i suggested to try. If any of your antivirus program is running while playing the game, if the real time scanning is running in it, it may cause a lower performance while playing the game.