Sim City 4 runs slow on Vista 64 bit

[brockwx86 0]

I just got a new laptop that is supposed to be good for entertainment and gaming. I used to have a few problems with SC4 on my old laptop and was excited to pop my disk in and have smooth play. Unfortunately , SC4 runs slow and choppy and makes playing unbearable. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem and have any suggestions on how to fix it.

My specs are:

OS - Vista 64 bit

Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 2.0G

4GB ram

Intel GMA x4500 integrated graphics card

[Interchange 0]

Hmm, I have 1.73 GHZ in mine and it still runs very smoothly.

[joel4 1]

well i have vista 32 bit.

but i got a AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processer with 1.60GHZ

And NVIDIA graphics card.

and simcity run smoothly on my

laptop with no problems.

[SC4BOY 20]

If there is a problem, I'd say its likely to be your integrated graphics card.. also I've not heard of a core2 having a "multiprocessor problem" but you might assign it single process affinity just to see if it matters.

[Rymac91 15]

2 things, 1. What is your virtual memory size? and 2. are the drivers for your computer up to date?

If your virtual memory is too low, it can cause choppy and slow gameplay...

And if the drivers for your machine are outdated, it may cause the graphics to load improperly...

Also(although I don't consider it a important question), is your game rendering graphics in software or hardware mode?

[crazymodder 0]

you at least need 8GB for playing SC4 on vista 64 bit. mine is 32 bit so i at least need 2GB.

[SimFox 800]

Crazymodder:

and how, may I ask, did you come up with this number? Just first number that came to your head?

brockwx86:

the only thing in your system that may be a bottleneck is your Graphics card. It is quite weak and (what could be most important) it's drivers may be not in a very good synch with game.

There is too much of a time between game and chipset. This may be reason for bad optimization...

[TV-VCR 14]

Originally posted by: crazymodder you at least need 8GB for playing SC4 on vista 64 bit. mine is 32 bit so i at least need 2GB.quote>

1. Make sure your virtual memory size is good

2. Make sure you have all of the latest drivers

3. Check for any unnecessary tasks running

If it still doesn't improve it may be the graphics chipset. The GMA x4500 is a pretty dull knife (still not as dull as other chipsets though)

[crazymodder 0]

posting the wrong thing, sorry.

Intel's GMA is *****. however, do you try the official patch?

[brockwx86 0]

A big thanks to all of your for all of your replies!

Rymac91: My current virtual memory size is 4326mb. I had a couple drivers that could be updated and I did that.

Crazymodder: What patch are you referring to? I tried searching google for a patch related to the graphics card and didn't find anything.

I just tried running RCT 3 which I couldn't even use on my old laptop. It seems to work fine.

[crazymodder 0]

simcity.ea.com/patch/index.php. this is the patch i referring to.

[stormlover 16]

8 gigs? Sorry but that's preposterous. The entire SC4 program is only 1.2 gigabytes.

With computers, more is not necessarily better. Many people (especially young users) waste their money buying memory and storage they don't need. 

Many computer problems are not related to memory but to lousy drivers or poor maintenance of older machines.

[crazymodder 0]

i know whats the problem, SC4 is an old game which vista 64 bit cant support. not like Crysis, Half Life 2 Episode 2 and C&C 3, they can run good on 64 bit.

[TV-VCR 14]

Originally posted by: crazymodder i know whats the problem, SC4 is an old game which vista 64 bit cant support. not like Crysis, Half Life 2 Episode 2 and C&C 3, they can run good on 64 bit.quote>

Huh? Vista 64bit and other 64bit systems can support older 32bit applications fine. Last I checked SC4 is 32bit. Vista makes this work by having, well, two program files folders, one for normal and one for older 32bit programs (correct me if I'm wrong). In other words, Simcity 4 should work fine on an x64 system.

[crazymodder 0]

no, i mean, xp 64 bit isnt a problem. just vista 64 bit, thats the problem. because vista 64 bit is new to the world, so lots of old games cant support that windows.

[TV-VCR 14]

Originally posted by: crazymodder no, i mean, xp 64 bit isnt a problem. just vista 64 bit, thats the problem. because vista 64 bit is new to the world, so lots of old games cant support that windows.quote>

No offense but I think you should go to google or hit the books on some of this stuff before making assumptions. Vista has been out for over a year, and for the most part, the majority of active manufacturers have released 64 bit drivers for their components; Vista is no longer "new to the world." Older games can run on 64 bit systems provided they are at least 32bit. 16bit games or applications can't run on 64bit systems unless you use something like an emulator.

[crazymodder 0]

but 32 bit games are too buggy with the 64 bit windows vista. i had problems with it.

[TV-VCR 14]

Originally posted by: crazymodder but 32 bit games are too buggy with the 64 bit windows vista. i had problems with it.quote>

And what games were these?

[Screwballl 196]

Try switching it to software rendering. I have found this fixes it on almost all newer computers that I have played it on... since your system uses a PCI Express bridge for the graphics, SC4 being an older game cannot use that properly so it causes lag and stuttering.

[coolotter88 2]

I run SC4 on Vista Ultimate 64-bit without any issues. Please ignore the dis-information being spread on this thread.

[Bluesence 2]

Hey.

I'm having troble running the game.

I was able to install it sucessfully but it doesn't run: the screen gets all black as though the "EA Games" message will show, but then it stops and I'm back to my desktop. I need help.

Specs:

Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

Genuine Intel® CPU T2130 1.86 GHz

764MB RAM

I reallu need some help, I haven't played the game for over 6 months because of this bug, and it's driving me nuts!

Sorry about the bad english...

[TV-VCR 14]

Originally posted by: coolotter88 I run SC4 on Vista Ultimate 64-bit without any issues. Please ignore the dis-information being spread on this thread.quote>

Yeah. I have Vista Ultimate 32-bit with an 8800GTX under the hood. The only times SC4 has crashed is because of problems with custom content. I don't know why people are saying SC4 won't work if your card is PCI express, or if you have vista. Quite a few other people have systems with cards using the PCI-Express interface and/or Vista and Simcity 4 works fine with their computers. Misinformation indeed.

Originally posted by: Bluesence Hey.

I'm having troble running the game.

I was able to install it sucessfully but it doesn't run: the screen gets all black as though the "EA Games" message will show, but then it stops and I'm back to my desktop. I need help.

Specs:

Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

Genuine Intel® CPU T2130 1.86 GHz

764MB RAM

I reallu need some help, I haven't played the game for over 6 months because of this bug, and it's driving me nuts!

Sorry about the bad english...quote>

What graphics card are you using? Do you have the latest drivers for your sound and graphics chipsets (and also other components)?

[Bluesence 2]

I'm using the SIS mIRAGE 3 Graphics, I don't know what I should be using... Do I have to download something? what?

[TV-VCR 14]

Drivers for that chipset should be here: http://www.sis.com/download/

[KingTitan 6]

I got so fed up as well. So I decided to buy the SimCity BOX Set It includes SC4Deluxe. And is now VISTA compatible.....real simple fix if ya ask me. Plus you get the Spore Creator.

[coolotter88 2]

hey, not fair, they should release that fix for free on the intertubes! That's called a patch!

[Bluesence 2]

Originally posted by: TV-VCR Drivers for that chipset should be here: http://www.sis.com/download/quote>

Sorry about my ignorance, but I have no idea about which driver must be downoaded...

I have the SiS672 and that's the one they have available...

[TV-VCR 14]

Originally posted by: Bluesence

Originally posted by: TV-VCR Drivers for that chipset should be here: http://www.sis.com/download/quote>

Sorry about my ignorance, but I have no idea about which driver must be downoaded...

I have the SiS672 and that's the one they have available...quote>

Then download the driver the SiS672.

Kingtitan: The Simcity box just includes SimCity 4 and SimCity 4 Rush Hour. Not even patched. That would be a waste of money if you were just wanting a fix for Sc4. You might want to read up on it some more.

[Bluesence 2]

I already had the SiS672

[TV-VCR 14]

Originally posted by: Bluesence I already had the SiS672quote>

Oh, sorry.

It may be because SimCity 4 doesn't like SiS chipsets? I mean I've never really heard much about them before.