I'm in urgent need of help, because I think I'm starting to run out of options.
I have the DxDiag and the DeviceConfig if that's of any help, but don't know how to add files.

My issue is that on my new gaming laptop (Acer Predator Helios 300 i9, Windows 11, NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti), graphics are distorted when playing The Sims 3 in full-screen mode. The issue only exists when playing the game on the NVIDIA card and only on full screen, not in windowed mode. I hate playing in windowed mode though, I need edge scrolling. When I direct the game to use the integrated Intel graphics card, graphics are fine, but I experience out-of-memory crashes. On the NVIDIA card I have no crashes but distorted graphics.

I don't know how to add images, but I have a picture of what the distortion was like. Adapting some settings has made it miles better, but it's not yet gone.

Here's what I already tried:
- Reinstalling recommended drivers (clean uninstall, clean install)
- Installing newest drivers (clean)
- Editing the graphics files to get the card recognised (successfully)
- Lowering refresh rate to 60fps, in the NVIDIA panel, in-game and on windows
- Set screen in windows to 100%
- Using recommended resolution in-game and on windows
- Turning on VSync and Triple Buffering
- Turning off full-screen optimisations for TS3W.exe

Now, my laptop can still be returned and exchanged for another one, however, I feel like this might just be a setting thing I'm missing and
A) I don't want to go through the hassle of returning this laptop and setting up a new one if there's a simple fix
B) As long as I don't know what the issue is, who's to say another laptop won't have the same thing wrong?

I also asked this question on the EA Answers forum, where Puzzlezaddict has very nicely been trying to help me by offering potential solutions I have tried. No success yet. I'm hoping someone here has a brilliant suggestion we both missed.

Some internet searching has led me to topics in which issues with Windows 11 and playing games in full-screen mode are also mentioned, but I can't find a true solution there either.

Anyone?

I'd be interested in seeing what your distortion looks like. I got a very similar laptop (mostly the same but i7 instead of i9) and I have a whole thread about my distortion problem over here.

I ended up returning it because nothing, NOTHING I did made any difference. I ended up going with a Lenovo Legion Slim 5 (this model), and I have no issues. I did want more storage and ram so I upgraded those but Sims 3 still ran great even without the upgrades.

indignantgirl post_id=100078 time=1709753847 user_id=20577 wrote: I'd be interested in seeing what your distortion looks like. I got a very similar laptop (mostly the same but i7 instead of i9) and I have a whole thread about my distortion problem over here.

I ended up returning it because nothing, NOTHING I did made any difference. I ended up going with a Lenovo Legion Slim 5 (this model), and I have no issues. I did want more storage and ram so I upgraded those but Sims 3 still ran great even without the upgrades.

Thank you so much for your reply. I checked out your thread and yes, that's my issue too. Same graphics card and all as well... Oh, I can feel it coming... This one will need to go back, won't it...?

@CardinalSims, Thank you so much for your reply. I had no idea right-click pan was an option. I've tried it, and it works a charm, so that helps a lot.

I know expecting a 15-year-old game to just work without flaw is a stretch, to say the least, and I'm very used to TS3 having issues. And maybe this way, windowed gaming would be a solution. However, I'm still not sure I want to "compromise" in that way on a brand-new laptop bought specifically to play this game on. I think if I spend money like this, I shouldn't be "forced" to only play in windowed mode. I should at least have the option to play full-screen.

However, I love this laptop in every other way. It's fast, quiet, doesn't heat up too much, and has sufficient RAM and SSD. So, I will consider your solution and decide if that's a compromise I'm willing to make. Your reply truly helped a lot in that sense. Thank you.

Kimmi_atoh post_id=100097 time=1709806591 user_id=27000 wrote: However, I'm still not sure I want to "compromise" in that way on a brand-new laptop bought specifically to play this game on. I think if I spend money like this, I shouldn't be "forced" to only play in windowed mode. I should at least have the option to play full-screen.

Not to say you should return it, but this was basically my whole reason for returning it. I play very few games and nothing that requires the coddling that TS3 does. So TS3 is what I get a gaming laptop for. If some laptops can run it the way I want (i.e. full screen) and this one couldn't, it wasn't worth the expense, because I knew I would never truly be happy with it. Also it was easy to return locally so that made it an easy decision.

Some day, there will be no new computers that will run the game without compromise, and then, I guess I will compromise.