Question regarding bootcamp

Phoenix_Fire91

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Hi, I'm tentatively planning on buying a MacBook Pro next spring in preparation for my departure for college. I've looked at it's specifications, and compared them with the requirements to run Civ IV, and found that the low end MacBook Pro meets all of them.

These are the specs of the MacBook Pro:

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2 GB Memory
200GB Hard Drive
256MB VRAM and NVIDIA 8600M GT Graphics card

Like I said, these specs seem to indicate that Civ IV (and presumably it's expansions on top of it) would run fine. Thing is, I have researched the Mac version of Civ IV and I know of how they are somewhat buggy and how Aspyr may very well stop porting over the expansion packs.

My idea (one shared by many on this board no doubt) is to install Windows XP/Vista on the new MacBook Pro, and then buy the windows versions of Civ IV, which I have heard are better, cheaper and always released, obviously. I have gathered however, that running Windows on a Mac is slightly slower and has some issues. My major question then, is whether or not the system specs of the MacBook Pro will continue to suffice even if I am running Civ IV in Windows.

I ask this because I fear slowdowns. A lot. I used to play The Sims 2 and I learned the hard way that not having your computer trump the recommended requirements results in lag, slowdowns, and horrible graphic output. I don't want this to happen when I play Civ IV. At all.

To sum it up my question is this:

If I play Civ IV in Windows on my Mac, will I experience slowdown even if the Mac is above the recommended requirements?

Thanks for reading this and thanks in advance for the answer =)
 
Hello, welcome :wavey:

I doubt if many Windows laptops would outperform a MacBook Pro running Civ4 in Bootcamp. Note, though, that a lot of Civ4 players on Windows laptops do experience late-game slowdowns, and if you are into large maps you might want to add extra RAM to your laptop - whoever makes it.

A Mac running Windows in Bootcamp has no overheads that should make it any slower than the equivalent generic PC hardware running the same drivers and Windows OS. When booted into Windows it becomes, to all intents and purposes, a generic Intel-based PC.

MacBook Pros have been favourably compared with other laptops in shoot-out tests by magazines like PCPro and others. Just Google MacBook Pro vs PC for a whole long list.

Disclaimer: I don't run Bootcamp, and I don't use a MacBook, so you might want to wait to hear some first-hand experience from someone who does.
 
I have a MacBook Pro (early 2007 with Core2 Duo 2.33 GHz, 3 GB RAM). I run the Windows versions of Civ IV (Vanilla, Warlords & BtS). I have no problems running teh games as far as speed goes. However, I will caution you that the more you do to increase the memory load the slower the game will run. These things include using the largest map sizes, running memory intensive mods, going for highest detail, etc.

One recommendation I would make. I am using Windows XP Service Pack 3. If you can, I encourage you to purchase and run the 64 bit version of XP or try Vista. Personally I am not a fan of Vista, but then again I have never tried it. The reason for encouraging you to go 64 bit is that Civ IV Vanilla and Warlords have a bug in them. Supposedly, BtS has eliminated the bug, but I am not completely convinced. The bug is called MAF for Memory Allocation Failure and it will haunt you later in the game. You can review this thread -

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=225205

for more details. I am not sure what the consequences of going to 64-bit XP are as far as other programs go. I do not know if you will run into issues or not. If I had to do it again, I think I would have purchased 64-bit XP to try it out.

One last thing - go for the full load of RAM, all 4 GB worth. You don't need to get it from Apple, although it is relatively inexpensive from them now at $200. The more RAM you have, the less likely you are to run into troubles with MAF.

Good luck.
 
Great, thanks for the advice!

I am not planning on buying a new laptop until at least February/March when Apple comes out with their new line of Laptops, at which point I plan to make my move and purchase the "low-end" MacBook Pro. According to what I've read here and everywhere else, the starting specs should be plenty and I do plan and someday upgrading to 4GB RAM as, after all, you can never have to much RAM.

Just a extra note I'm usually used to smaller sized maps anyway. In Civ III (which I usually play now) I usually only use the smaller sized map with only about 3 AI players. Sometimes I go for a slightly larger map but never more than a medium sized one. I've gotten used to it so I don't expect to be playing "epic" sized maps in Civ IV. The only thing is I like shiny graphics, so I'd probably have the graphics turned very close to all the way up.

Thanks again for the advice but just a clarification on your post rabber: The 64-bit Windows XP has the MAF problem you mentioned? Or it doesn't? I'm slightly confused as to which "package" of windows to get. I have plenty of time to investigate but there are so many... You seemed to suggest 64-bit WIndows XP would be my best bet? Any other suggestions?

Thanks again ^_^
 
I had a first generation Macbook Pro which I replaced with the current generation when it came out. They both do a great job of running BTS in XP. I would recommend that you upgrade to a version that has 512 MBs of VRAM, as I do think that would make a difference playing Civ.

I haven't had any problems with MAF playing BTS. I play on both my MBP and PC that I bought for games. I didn't run vanilla or Warlords on the PC as I used OSX for those. Personally I would just get 32-bit XP. You might need to buy XP in January as I think it is supposed to stop being sold after that.

I play smaller maps on the MBP but mainly because the screen is smaller than the 1920x1200 I have on the desktop instead of speed issues.
 
The 64-bit Windows XP has the MAF problem you mentioned? Or it doesn't? I'm slightly confused as to which "package" of windows to get.

Supposedly the 64 bit version of XP cures the MAF issues. As I understand the issue, it is caused by two things. The first is that Win XP 32 bit does not use more than 2 GB of RAM. If you have the 64 bit version it can use much more RAM. The second issue is that each individual program running under Win XP can't use more than 2 GB of RAM. Therefore, the fix is to alter your boot.ini file to use more than 2 GB and to modify the Civ IV .exe file to use more than 2 GB. The thread I gave you outlines some additional refinements to this that didn't really work for me, but did for others. I think my problem is that I am limited to 3 GB of RAM and I would love to have 4GB. (Of course if I could I would go higher, but it isn't possible with my computer. Something to do with the limits of the chip I have.)
 
Is the addition of extra VRAM as simple and easy as adding more RAM? And if so how much does 256 MB of VRAM cost?

Also, I didn't know XP is not going to be sold post-January, thanks for the heads up. I may just go with the 32-bit XP, as that seems to be what most everyone uses (?), and as such I'd like to be in the same boat problem wise with the majority of Civ IV owners, as it seems problems get fixed faster that way.
 
VRAM (video RAM) is built into your graphics card, so you can't upgrade most Macs to include more VRAM - Mac Pro is probably the main exception, as you can replace its graphics card. So you need to ensure that the Mac you buy includes a graphics processor with 512 MBytes if you want that capacity.

FWIW, I originally had a 256 Mbyte GeForce 7300GT in my Mac Pro. I have added a 512 MByte GeForce 8800GT this year, and that is now my main GPU. It seems OK, but I don't play much Civ4.

I think 64 Bit Windows still has some issues with hardware drivers, so I would recommend sticking with 32 bit unless you really want to tightrope walk along the bleeding edge.
 
Hmmm I see. I might have to go with the 256MB graphics card at first, and possibly update it later, cause in order to get the 512MB graphics card, you have to pay $800 extra for the high-end MBP. Seeing as I play mostly small maps I would think a 256MB should suffice.
 
I have an "older" MacBook Pro with 256MB of VRAM. I am not sure if a more powerful graphics card will help all that much until you get at least 4 GB RAM. Even then, I am not sure it helps much. Of course, I would love to try it out!!!
 
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