Shader Model 2 for The Sims 3...Need Help PLEASE!!

[spangler021]

Hello,
I recently installed the Sims 3 to my HP Presario with Windows XP. Also bought and installed Radeon 9250 after I was prompted to upgrade my video card, and continue to get this message:

"Device 0 cannot run this title. Your video card does not appear to support at least Shader Model 2. Please upgrade your card."

Is there something I did wrong with the card install, or something I need to disable/enable? I would love any recommendations to resolve this. Thanks a lot!!!

 

[omnisome]

Hello,
I recently installed the Sims 3 to my HP Presario with Windows XP. Also bought and installed Radeon 9250 after I was prompted to upgrade my video card, and continue to get this message:

"Device 0 cannot run this title. Your video card does not appear to support at least Shader Model 2. Please upgrade your card."

Is there something I did wrong with the card install, or something I need to disable/enable? I would love any recommendations to resolve this. Thanks a lot!!!

The Radeon 9250 is very old, although I believe it does support Shader Model 2.0. Have you installed the latest drivers?

Edit: I've just checked the minimum system requirements for Sims-3. You need at the very least a Radeon 9500 to play that game!

 

[jaguarskx]

The Radeon 9250 is a DX8.1 video card. The Sims 3 requires a DX9 or better card. The reason why the Radeon 9500 is listed as the minimum card is because it is the slowest Radeon card which does support DX9.


You need to buy a new video card if you want to play Sims 3. It's always a good idea to check if your PC meets the minimum game requirements.

 

[mavroxur]

FOR WINDOWS XP

* 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 1 GB RAM
* 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* The latest version of DirectX 9.0c
* Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
* At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

FOR WINDOWS VISTA

* 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 1.5 GB RAM
* 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1
* At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

For computers using built-in graphics chipsets under Windows, the game requires at least:

* Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA 3-Series or above
* 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
* 0.5 GB additional RAM

FOR MAC OS X

* Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard or higher
* Intel Core Duo Processor
* 2 GB RAM
* ATI X1600 or Nvidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100.
* At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games
* This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems, or the GMA 950 class of integrated video cards.

Windows Supported Video Cards
NVIDIA GeForce series

FX 5900, FX 5950
6200, 6500, 6600, 6800
7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
9300, 9400, 9500, 9600, 9800
G100, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150
GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295

ATI Radeon™ series

9500, 9600, 9800
X300, X600, X700, X800, X850
X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
2400, 2600, 2900
3450, 3650, 3850, 3870
4850, 4870

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)

GMA 3-Series, GMA 4-Series

Laptop versions of these chipsets may work, but may run comparatively slower. Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly.
Integrated chipsets such as the ATI Xpress and the NVIDIA TurboCache variants may default to settings that are higher than what would be optimal for them. Graphics settings can be lowered to improve performance.
The NVIDIA GeForce FX series is unsupported under Vista.
MAC OS X Supported Video Cards
NVIDIA GeForce series

7300, 7600
8600, 8800
9400M, 9600M GT
GT 120, GT 130

ATI Radeon™ series

X1600, X1900
2400, 2600
3870
4850, 4870

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)

GMA 3-Series