Very specific graphic problem with the Sims 3. Any solutions?

When I go to Create A Sim the specific sliders for facial features, muscle tone, etc. either have no effect on the Sim or cause parts to be distorted or completely disappear. Today I discovered that if I lock my computer (I have a notebook), then return to my account and wait for the Sims to pop up again, the problem is fixed. Usually, the game is rendered perfectly in Live Mode after this, but it sometimes reverts back right after leaving Create a Sim or when I press Pause. All of my system requirements match up except that I'm a little short on RAM, which I was told wouldn't be a huge problem, except that I couldn't play on a higher graphic setting, and my graphics card isn't one on the list, but could be considered somewhat equivalent. When I put in a ticket on the Sims 3 website, they said that my graphic card would render everything in the game except the Sims themselves, but if I can get it to render after locking, then could there possibly be a permanent way to keep the graphics nice and pretty? Perhaps I need to change a setting on my card?