Unsure if your Mac will run Civ5? Read this

[AspyrRyan]

The processor speed on the MacBook Airs is below the minimum system spec. I wouldn't recommend playing Civ 5 on it. It won't be a configuration we support.

That being said, I've tested the game on the 11 inch MacBook Air with the 1.8 GHz processor, and it was playable on low graphics settings and smaller map sizes.

 

[Edge44]

Hi there,

Bought Civ5 on Mac App store. I have a 2011 Macbook Pro running Lion, with 2.2 Ghz Core i7 processor, 8 Gb DDR3 RAM, and AMD Radeon HD6750M 1024Mb Video card. I have all the video settings set to low or off (had to, as performance as the game went on continued to get worse).

Now, roughly mid-game (ie 1900's), I get red/white checkered tiles all over the place, and what looks like flashing grey clouds. It's basically unplayable in "3D". Of course it's extremely sluggish as well.

What are the options here? My laptop should be well ahead of the minimum specs.

 

[forty2j]

The "red checkered square" bug was fixed, but that patch hasn't found its way to the app store yet. Soon-ish.

 

[Edge44]

Hi there,

Thanks for the comment regarding the upcoming patch. Are there any other performance tips? I feel that with the hardware I have, the performance shouldn't be this poor. No other apps are open, fresh re-boot, settings as low as they can go...and still performance is very sluggish.

 

[forty2j]

Hi there,

Thanks for the comment regarding the upcoming patch. Are there any other performance tips? I feel that with the hardware I have, the performance shouldn't be this poor. No other apps are open, fresh re-boot, settings as low as they can go...and still performance is very sluggish.

MBP's just aren't graphics beasts. But you should be doing a little better than that.

- As I understand it, running in Windowed mode may work better than full screen
- Some MBP's have dual video cards (like "everyday stuff" and "performance"), and forget to switch to the right one while Civ is running. There's a way to force this.

You can always contact support.aspyr.com for direct help.

 

[Edge44]

MBP's just aren't graphics beasts. But you should be doing a little better than that.

- As I understand it, running in Windowed mode may work better than full screen
- Some MBP's have dual video cards (like "everyday stuff" and "performance"), and forget to switch to the right one while Civ is running. There's a way to force this.

You can always contact support.aspyr.com for direct help.

Thanks - yeah I have opened a ticket and sent them my system info. I'm debating just switching over to the PC version via bootcamp - it definitely seems like many video game ports to mac are much fatter than their PC versions. I notice this with even WoW or SC2 - my 5 year old desktop with an 8800 GTS, win 32, and Core2duo processor runs video games faster than mbp on lion.

 

[forty2j]

Differences in technologies means that, for right now, Windows versions will almost always graphically outperform Mac versions on identical hardware (and that, of course, includes Boot Camp). Not until Apple/ATI/nVidia get serious about OpenGL hardware acceleration, as they have for DirectX, will there be a race for the speed title.

But, usually, the speed penalty is easy to pay for those of us who simply prefer to stay in OS X. Yours seems like an exceptional case though, and I hope Support finds something.

 

[crag]

The processor speed on the MacBook Airs is below the minimum system spec. I wouldn't recommend playing Civ 5 on it. It won't be a configuration we support.

That being said, I've tested the game on the 11 inch MacBook Air with the 1.8 GHz processor, and it was playable on low graphics settings and smaller map sizes.

I have been running this game on the recent 13" Macbook Air (with an i7 chip) and it runs fine on small maps (which is what I prefer to play anyway). The only problem I'm having is all the leaders appear washed out - they are all white.

Other then that, the game runs fine.

Edit: The leaders being washed out has corrected itself.

 

[Operc Etcagatal]

I'm still unsure whether the game will work on my new MacBook Pro.

These are my specs:

2,4-GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
4 GB, 1333 MHz
500 GB, 5400 rpm
Intel HD Graphics 3000

Does anyone here have the same specs and played the game? Or does anybody know whether it will work on my MBP? (And what about CIV IV?)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Xyth]

I'm still unsure whether the game will work on my new MacBook Pro.

These are my specs:

2,4-GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
4 GB, 1333 MHz
500 GB, 5400 rpm
Intel HD Graphics 3000

Does anyone here have the same specs and played the game? Or does anybody know whether it will work on my MBP? (And what about CIV IV?)

Thanks in advance!

That looks like the recent 13" MBP. Unfortunately that model only has the Intel graphic chipset as you list above, and not a second dedicated graphics chipset like the larger MBPs. Aspyr have officially stated that Civ5 does not support Intel graphics; there is no dedicated graphics RAM and they're just not designed with 3D gaming in mind. While it may run, I imagine it would be a pretty miserable experience.

 

[Operc Etcagatal]

Thank you for your reply, would CIV IV run smoothly?

 

[crag]

It will run. And it is VERY playable. I play Civ5 on a Macbook Air i7 (2011) which has the same Intel chip. BUT (there's always a but) you will be playing with the graphics setting set to low. And I don't play on maps larger them small. I have tried medium, and the game slowed down toward the end.

Other games I play in this MB Air: Warcraft, Call of Duty 4, Starcraft, and Diablo.

I will be installing Windows to play Skyrim and Star Wars:The old Republic.

 

[Operc Etcagatal]

Thanks for the information.
I think I'll stick to CIV IV then, because I would like to play bigger maps than the small ones and I don't want to wait very long between turns.

 

[Evil Homer]

Hi, looking at getting a new macbook pro (not retina) as currently have a mid 2009 13" 2.53GHz which runs Civ V ok-ish on small maps. I would like to play games on maps are a wee bit bigger than small, and reduce the crawl in the end game.
With the top end 13" as I understand the Intel HD 4000 graphics are a bit of an improvement over the previous generation (and a lot better than the 9400M in my current system) but this isn't saying much. Was hoping someone on the forums has some experience using this system and can advise on performance.
The other option is the base 15" model, which is a bit more than I'd like to pay, and the system itself is a bit more bulky (I do like the 13" form factor). Also looking at previous threads folk seem to be less than complimentary about Nvidia gpu's, particularly driver support.

Anyway thanks for any help you can give

 

[stlh2opolo]

Hi, looking at getting a new macbook pro (not retina) as currently have a mid 2009 13" 2.53GHz which runs Civ V ok-ish on small maps. I would like to play games on maps are a wee bit bigger than small, and reduce the crawl in the end game.
With the top end 13" as I understand the Intel HD 4000 graphics are a bit of an improvement over the previous generation (and a lot better than the 9400M in my current system) but this isn't saying much. Was hoping someone on the forums has some experience using this system and can advise on performance.
The other option is the base 15" model, which is a bit more than I'd like to pay, and the system itself is a bit more bulky (I do like the 13" form factor). Also looking at previous threads folk seem to be less than complimentary about Nvidia gpu's, particularly driver support.

Anyway thanks for any help you can give

I'd like to know as well! If you get any info on how the different versions run it, let me know! I'm looking to get a Macbook Pro for college and I want one that will last me a long time and be able to do at least a bit of gaming. I'd prefer not to have to get the 15" as you said, but it might be necessary. :|

 

[Evil Homer]

I'd like to know as well! If you get any info on how the different versions run it, let me know! I'm looking to get a Macbook Pro for college and I want one that will last me a long time and be able to do at least a bit of gaming. I'd prefer not to have to get the 15" as you said, but it might be necessary. :|

Well I decided to go with the 15" as although it's a bit bulkier, my friend has one and it's not too bad, and anyway I use it at home and tend not to carry it around too much. Also the higher screen res and dedicated graphics will be nice

However, taking it to college means the 15" probably not ideal for you. Found this topic on Mac Rumours, with one poster saying he's playing on a MacBook Air on medium sized maps and it runs fairly smoothly. Also on Civ Fanatics there's this topic discussing an issue with the diplomacy screen with the new 13" but again the game runs smoothly (but don't know on what size map) and I'm sure Aspyr will be able to iron out the glitches. So it seems the HD4000 is fairly capable at playing the game and is at least not a deal breaker like some previous Intel IGP's.
Anyway that's what I've been able to find, hope it is useful for you

 

[keroppi]

Unsure if it's okay for me to dig up this old thread, but anyway here's my experience (couldn't find these info anywhere before I bought the game):

Maxed out MacBook Air 13-inch (Late 2011) (1.8 GHz Core i7, 4 GB 1333 MHz RAM, 384 MB Intel HD Graphics 3000): can run Vanilla in strategic view (Small map, Low + Minimum for all graphic settings).

Maxed out Mac mini (Late 2012) (2.6 GHz Core i&, 16 GB 1600 MHz, 768 MB Intel HD Graphics 4000): can run G&K + Mongolian just fine (Standard map w/ 8 civs and 16 CS, Low + Minimum for all settings). Upgrading to Gold edition (all DLC) makes it feels a bit slower, so I had to disable all the shadows as well.

 

[beetle]

Just one more data point: Since it was so inexpensive ($12), I purchased the Steam version of the Mac Game of the Year edition. Seems to run just fine on my older 2009 iMac. There were no warnings, even though I only have the integrated (ATI Radeon HD 2400) video card.

 

[AlanH]

Aspyr *just might* have updated the list of supported hardware inside the patched game so that it accepts that card. A less satisfactory explanation might be that they *just broke* the hardware detection in the fall patch.

 

[beetle]

Aspyr just might have updated the list of supported hardware inside the patched game so that it accepts that card. A less satisfactory explanation might be that they just broke the hardware detection in the fall patch.

I concur that both possibilities seem improbable. The former seems like a difficult enough trick that (a) it wouldn’t need coincide with a bug/rebalancing patch and (b) the coders wouldn’t be silent about it! With regards to the later, it seems like an unlikely flaw to introduce so late in the product life cycle! FWIW, I am halfway through my first game and everything seems okay.

Anyone try running Civ V with a similar vintage iMac before the Fall Patch? I did not buy Civ V when it first came out because I thought my Mac was too underpowered. Either I missed a couple years of playing, or the Fall Patch is even a bigger deal than we think. It would be nice to know which!