Official System Requirements

[Aro]

I'm willing to buy a Dell-Alienwere. I need a machine to work (i'm a political cartoonist and a musician), but it's for Civ V as well. I just need to click the link and it's mine...If I'm going to do something wrong, someone stop me!

The specs:
CPU:Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz 2.8 GHz Turbo Mode 6MB Cache (468-6211)
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz (317-3665)
LCD: HD 1920x1200 (1200p) RGB LED 17 polegadas UXGA (320-8854)
Video card: ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870 Crossfire 1GB (320-8988)
Stem and Portal pre-installed...

Is this machine as great as it seems to be?

 

[Tarkhan]

That laptop seems pretty good - I have no clue how the Radeon Mobility cards stack up against their desktop counterparts, but the 5870 is a really good card. With most gaming grade laptops, you probably won't get much battery life when that video card starts chugging along, but you probably aren't planning on running it off battery much.

Mine's a desktop, but i'll be running Civ on this. Got a new CPU/mainboard, and DDR3 RAM to replace the old DDR2.

CPU: Intel Core i7 870 2.9Ghz Quad Core 8MB Cache
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 1333Mhz
Radeon HD 4870 1GB
LCDs: 1: 23" 1920x1080 2: 17" 1280x1024
-and a bunch of other specs not relevant to Civ5-

You've a nice screen there as well, mine goes up to 1080p (1920x1080). I always find it funny, how screen resolutions have become more common, with HDTV's being what they are. So many people don't realize their computer screen has been doing HD since 1995 and before

 

[Myth5]

I'm willing to buy a Dell-Alienwere. I need a machine to work (i'm a political cartoonist and a musician), but it's for Civ V as well. I just need to click the link and it's mine...If I'm going to do something wrong, someone stop me!

The specs:
CPU:Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz 2.8 GHz Turbo Mode 6MB Cache (468-6211)
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz (317-3665)
LCD: HD 1920x1200 (1200p) RGB LED 17 polegadas UXGA (320-8854)
Video card: ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870 Crossfire 1GB (320-8988)
Stem and Portal pre-installed...

Is this machine as great as it seems to be?

With a mobility card I'm assuming it's a laptop? And yes, if you can afford them, alienware computers are very powerful.

<snip>

You've a nice screen there as well, mine goes up to 1080p (1920x1080). I always find it funny, how screen resolutions have become more common, with HDTV's being what they are. So many people don't realize their computer screen has been doing HD since 1995 and before

Advertisement informs the masses. I personally think 1440x900 is a good resolution for any laptop, but if you're gaming on a 30" monitor obviously 2,500x1,600 resolution is much more appealing!

 

[PieceOfMind]

I'm willing to buy a Dell-Alienwere. I need a machine to work (i'm a political cartoonist and a musician), but it's for Civ V as well. I just need to click the link and it's mine...If I'm going to do something wrong, someone stop me!

The specs:
CPU:Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz 2.8 GHz Turbo Mode 6MB Cache (468-6211)
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz (317-3665)
LCD: HD 1920x1200 (1200p) RGB LED 17 polegadas UXGA (320-8854)
Video card: ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870 Crossfire 1GB (320-8988)
Stem and Portal pre-installed...

Is this machine as great as it seems to be?

It's a great computer, and I've no doubt it will run civ5. Of course, any gaming computer that costs about US $3000 I would expect to.

The only thing you could be doing wrong is buying something overpriced, but if it's for work as well and you're happy to pay a premium, you won't be disappointed. Laptop computers designed for gaming are always going to be expensive anyway, because portability and power are natural enemies.

Oh, and Alienware products have an exterior design that is likely to attract attention, in case it matters.

 

[Aro]

Thanks a lot, for all the help!

Yep, it&#8217;s a laptop, and it is an expensive machine, but in general, good game machines are excellent in my job&#8230; I need processing power, fast video cards, and lots of memory, due my graphic work, and, because my other job, I have to travel a lot&#8230; And, still, I have to send the work to my newspapers (my deadline is 18 o&#8217;clock, in general). Well, with my Wacom tablet, an external (big) HD, my portable USB internet connection (just in case) and this machine, I can do it from any hotel room. AND play some turns of Civ V before the gig!
Also, being a DELL machine, I can count with good support around the world. I know that for my own experience. Not to mention that I paid for it... The whole three years!

Btw, I'm upgrading my desktop to meet the requirements, also...

And I sincerely hope you excuse my poor English, folks...

 

[J-man]

You're buying that laptop and upgrade your desktop? Are you rich or something?

 

[asix79]

Thanks a lot, for all the help!

Yep, it’s a laptop, and it is an expensive machine, but in general, good game machines are excellent in my job… I need processing power, fast video cards, and lots of memory, due my graphic work, and, because my other job, I have to travel a lot… And, still, I have to send the work to my newspapers (my deadline is 18 o’clock, in general). Well, with my Wacom tablet, an external (big) HD, my portable USB internet connection (just in case) and this machine, I can do it from any hotel room. AND play some turns of Civ V before the gig!
Also, being a DELL machine, I can count with good support around the world. I know that for my own experience. Not to mention that I paid for it... The whole three years!

Btw, I'm upgrading my desktop to meet the requirements, also...

And I sincerely hope you excuse my poor English, folks...

I'm glad the global economy is in good shape somewhere.

 

[Aro]

You're buying that laptop and upgrade your desktop? Are you rich or something?

I'm glad the global economy is in good shape somewhere.

I live in Brazil... As you know, we had a little more luck with the crisis and all. But the main reason is that I'm old. And somewhat successful in my two professions for more than 30 years, so I have the budget… But I’m not rich, not even close!

 

[Aro]

Actually, I have my desktop at my studio, and for productivity reasons I'll have to upgrade it. It's in the annual planning of expenses, anyway...
And, of course, I could pick another expensive notebook (also in the annual planning of expenses), I was looking for a portable workstation Precision... But why not put a little more money (really little) and play Civ V in the best possible way?

 

[Brownsfan02]

im ok on ram with 3 gb but im not sure about the graphics

 

[asix79]

I tested the Napoleon: Total War demo on my computer today, and it ran fine for me, after making a couple of minor adjustments to the video settings. I've gotten the sense that the N:TW demo will be comparable to the ciV demo. Do you think the ciV demo will be more stringent, or more lenient, than the N:TW demo? Logic would dictate to me that the ciV demo will be easier on our systems, because it's not rendering full-scale, real-time battles. What are your thoughts?

 

[Mercade]

I tested the Napoleon: Total War demo on my computer today, and it ran fine for me, after making a couple of minor adjustments to the video settings. I've gotten the sense that the N:TW demo will be comparable to the ciV demo. Do you think the ciV demo will be more stringent, or more lenient, than the N:TW demo? Logic would dictate to me that the ciV demo will be easier on our systems, because it's not rendering full-scale, real-time battles. What are your thoughts?

If you compare the minimal and recommended system requirements for Civ5 and N:TW it shows that N:TW has minimal single core and recommended dual core, while Civ5 has minimal dualcore and recommended quadcore. Memory and graphics requirements are about the same. So no, I don't think the Civ5 demo should run easier than the N:TW demo, but if the N:TW demo runs fine, and you've got a dual core processor, then you'll probably do fine with Civ5 too.

 

[Mercade]

As promised, here are the system requirements:

Minimum System Requirements

Operating System: Windows® XP SP3/ Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
Processor: Dual Core CPU
Memory: 2GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB Free
DVD-ROM Drive: Required for disc-based installation
Video: 256 MB ATI HD2600 XT or better, 256 MB nVidia 7900 GS or better, or Core i3 or better integrated graphics
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0c

On the Civilization 5 website the Minimal Requirements have been quietly adjusted to included more detail on the minimally required processor:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz

Btw, anyone got a good link for a website that benchmarks multicore processors? Googling yields a lot of rubbish.

 

[warmonger]

My Turn My turn

I think my 1 year old lap top is border line? Can anyone confirm?

Windows 7 64 bit
Intel T4300 (dual core, 2.1GHz,)
NVIDIA Geforce GT220M 1 GB
4 GB Ram
500 GB HD

Any chance? TIA

 

[J-man]

Don't know about the graphics card but you're OK with CPU and fine with ram.

 

[warmonger]

Don't know about the graphics card but you're OK with CPU and fine with ram.

It's the graphics card I'm most concerned about. It doesn't get a lot of work - just high end video presentations and civIV.

 

[tokala]

Btw, anyone got a good link for a website that benchmarks multicore processors? Googling yields a lot of rubbish.

It takes a lot of competence and dedication to make meaningful gaming benchmarks for CPUs. Thus most of the benchmarks found on the web are at best not very helpful and at worst outright misleading. Your best bet are small enthusiast websites and boards.

In any case "which CPU is best" is HIGHLY dependent on the specific game. As a general rule, the jump from 2 to 3 cores has the biggest effect, a few games also scale quite well from 3 to 4 cores. But than there a one or two examples where a triple core will be slower than a dualcore of the same clockspeed and architecture due to shoddy programing. Ballpark averaged speed increases:
2 --> 3 cores: +30%
3 --> 4 cores: +10%
4 --> 6 cores: 0%

Hyperthreading is in most cases worse than useless for games. Possibly useful for dualcores in multicore-optimized games.

Bigger and faster caches are generally quite helpful for games. The difference for an AMD CPU with/without a L3 cache will be of the order of 10%. For Intel, depending on the architecture, the difference between the entry level and top of the line caches can be even larger.

 

[mamba]

Btw, anyone got a good link for a website that benchmarks multicore processors? Googling yields a lot of rubbish.

I like TomsHardware for that kind of stuff. For actual tests you will have to search around a bit here, one review I found was this.

They also do monthly best of summaries, if you only care for the results.

 

[bhavv]

Since we know that Civ 5 is going to be using DX11 and tessellation on its maps, for people wanting to run tessellation, this graph may help you choose what to buy:



This might explain why in one of the early reviews, they mentioned that the game got really laggy into the later eras even when running on a 5870.

I wouldnt think that Civ 5 would use anywhere near as much tesselation as this benchmark does, but if you do want to use tesselation in any future game as well, a single HD 5000 series card doesnt seem capable of handling it too well.

If anyone is looking for a video card upgrade right now, for their respective price ranges I would have to recommend the ATI 5670 (absolute minimum and a good deal better than either a 4670 or 9800 gt plus DX11 support), ATI 5770 (Very good, solid mid range card, if you need extra performance later on this is a very good card to crossfire for its price), or the 1 Gb GTX 460 for a high end spec (SLI for an uber high end rig).

If buying a new upgrade or PC for gaming, it would be really unwise to go for anything lower than a 5670 right now.

 

[Ballcrusher]

Thanks for all the info above. However, much of it is for desktops, and I'm about to buy a laptop. So 2 questions:

What laptop CPU will be best for Civ V: i5 2,4 GHz (dual) or i7 1,6 GHz (quad)?

And will a ATI Mobility 5650 graphic card be able to run the game ok (not necessarily on high settings)? Or do I need a ATI Mobility 5850 or 5870?