Memory Boost
2025/09/23
Memory boost is currently in Early Access für Windows. It’s optional and can be activated in the game options.
Memory Boost is a new game feature that improves performance by optimizing memory usage.
It is designed to help reduce lag, improve frame rates, and prevent crashes caused by insufficient memory.
The new feature brings significant improvements and major changes. Since every system is different, EA is starting with an opt-in early access phase to ensure that everything works well. Feedback is very important during this phase.
Please use this thread for any feedback you have: Feedback & Support Thread
You can find the option in the Options menu.
To find it click on the tab Other. You will now see Memory Boost (Early Access). You have three options.
- Automatic: The game automatically optimizes memory usage based on your system. No manual settings are required. Currently this turns the option off as it’s opt-in. I suggest to use this option if you don’t want to use it now but use it later when it goes live for everyone
- Enabled: Memory usage is turned on.
- Disabled: Memory usage is turned off.
Restart your game after picking an option.
Like all game options there’s an entry for this in in the file Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims > Options(.ini) that you can manually change with a text editor. This way you won’t have to go through the restart.
Instructions
Make sure the game is closed
Navigate to your user folder in the file system and find the file Options.ini. If you have known extensions hidden you will only see the file as Options.
Right-Click on the file and choose: Open with and then Editor (you can use any text editor of your choosing).
Change the desired options
Save your changes. Make sure, Windows doesn’t add a txt as extension. The file needs to say an ini file and needs to have the corresponding icon.
Start the game.
Find the following line in the file: featurepreviewbuild = and change the value as follows:
- 0 = Automatic
- 1 = Enabled
- 2 = Disabled.
Currently only Windows is supported. Memory boost is not available for other platforms.
For Windows you can use it on EA app, Steam and Epic
- Memory boost is not supported in conjunction with DX9. Make sure that DX11 is enabled.
- Backup saves created with active memory boost have a special tag. More on this topic under Does this affect my saves?
- Memory boost comes with a new exe file (TS4_x64_fpb.exe). To ensure that your security software does not block it, you should add it as an exception.
- The feature is in early access and optional. Therefore, unwanted side effects can occur. To keep your data safe, I recommend additional measures such as an external backup of all your user data or a separate user folder for this feature.
- You use this feature at your own risk.
Testing with a subset of players is an important tool for identifying problems before the game is released to everyone, so your save files may be negatively affected.
The game tries to take this into account as much as possible. More details on how to recover your save can be found here: Recover Backup Save Game
- Automatically created backups are marked with Memory Boost and for saves that you have played without the feature, a save state that was saved without Memory Boost will always be available. You can always go back to that save in case anything goes wrong.
- Saves that were saved with the memory boost active remain marked as such. However, this has no effect on the actual game.
Despite everything, it is important that you make your own backups. To keep your data safe, I therefore recommend additional security measures such as an external backup of all your user data or a separate user folder just for this feature.
Make sure to read about current issues under Known Issues.
Yes, you can decide at any time whether you want to play with or without the memory boost. However, I recommend making a backup in this case as well.
Memory Boost comes with a new exe file (<Installation Folder> > The Sims 4 > Game > Bin > TS4_x64_fpb.exe). To ensure that your security software does not block it, you should add it as an exception.
While you’re at it, make sure that all of the following files are also added as exceptions (they are all located in the same place):
- TS4_DX9_x64.exe
- TS4_Launcher_x64.exe
- TS4_x64.exe
There are several reasons why you may not see this option.
- You are playing on a console or Mac.
- You are playing with DX9 instead of DX11. Make sure you disable launch options in your game launcher and that DX9 is disabled in the game options.
You can retrieve this information via the cheat console.
- Type version into the cheat console.
- Scroll all the way to the top for the base game version BASE:
- If you find the following text at the end (FPB), then the memory boost is active.
I haven’t thoroughly tested the feature yet, but there are currently two issues that I would like to point out. Especially the first one is a serious issue and can destroy your save game.
- Security software can block the exe file. Unfortunately, this currently leads to very unpleasant results. The game loads the current save file without houses and households and resets everything to the beginning … except that you are not taken to CAS and therefore cannot do anything. If this happens, it is very important that you exit the game without saving and then add your exe file as an exception as described here: Which exe file is exectued ? Otherwise, the save file will be unusable.
- The game didn’t mark the Memory Boost recover saves reliably for me. Sometimes they weren’t tagged at all and other times there wasn’t an untagged backup. Best to keep your own backups.
