1.61 patch does NOT fix problem for 6800 users

Holj102

Chieftain
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
18
I just ran a test with the newly released patch. I got the same exact crash as I've been having since day one when I bought the game back in December. Twenty minutes in. Like last time. Updated you name it. This is an FYI for all who had hoped (like me) that the game might actually work on the new patch. It doesn't.
 
well I gotta say, I had no real hope anyway. The franchise is dead and if this patch is anything like what I have read on these forums the expansion is thru too.
 
I just barely got this game and was dismayed to find that there seems to be a problem with the Nvidia 6800 video chipset.

I played the entire tutorial without a hitch, then I started a game (changing resolution to 1600x1200 - my flat panel native) and went on to a bigger map. After running for several minutes I get the static tv with the square static cursor. I have to do a hard reboot to recover from this state.

So my question is, has anyone gotten a 6800 to work properly with this? I have read through this forum, but I have yet to see anything definitive. Lower resolution? Smaller maps? Nvidia tweaker? Anything? Driver rollback? (which I am hesitant to do)

I was really enjoying this game and excited about it, so it is frustrating to not be able to play.

@Zanmato: I get the same thing with the beta drivers btw.
 
dsmith said:
I just barely got this game and was dismayed to find that there seems to be a problem with the Nvidia 6800 video chipset.

I played the entire tutorial without a hitch, then I started a game (changing resolution to 1600x1200 - my flat panel native) and went on to a bigger map. After running for several minutes I get the static tv with the square static cursor. I have to do a hard reboot to recover from this state.

So my question is, has anyone gotten a 6800 to work properly with this? I have read through this forum, but I have yet to see anything definitive. Lower resolution? Smaller maps? Nvidia tweaker? Anything? Driver rollback? (which I am hesitant to do)

I was really enjoying this game and excited about it, so it is frustrating to not be able to play.

@Zanmato: I get the same thing with the beta drivers btw.

I have the 6800 working correctly. Mine has 256mb of RAM installed. In fact, I have yet to see many of the issues that people are stating are problems for the card.

I recently updated to the latest version of the driver, so I'm not sure what the problem is to try and recreate it.
 
Tried turning off the hardware acceleration or underclocking the GPU? I know it helped sort one issue out with a nvidia card. Don't think it was a 6800 though. Could be worth a try but I bet someone has already tried it.
 
Currently, I'm overclocking it, by nvidia's drivers and addons.

I'm not doing anything funky hardware-wise. My stuff is all standard hardware, drivers, and such.

My current PC: AMD 3800+, Geforce GT with 256MB ram, 2 gb Ram, 240GB HD space, SB Audigy.


Hope it helps.
 
In looking at this a bit further it seems that it may just be the BFG card of the Nvidia 6800. I am almost positive that I have a BFG (I will look tonight when I get home from work)

@senwiz: What vendor is your 6800 from?

@zanmato: I will look into that. I appreciate the suggestion.
 
BFG. I can check and see what the driver level is. I believe it's up to date though. I, usually, test out the latest ones anyways. If I don';t like the performance, I revert back to what ever I had before. :)
 
Senwiz:

Can you give me any specifics about what you are running?

Resolution, anti-aliasing, etc?

I think we may have the exact same card (and probably driver). I am going to check when I get home but I think I did go with the BFG. Seemed like the most bang for the buck at the time.

Thanks a million. I appreciate your responses.
 
mine card is a BFG 6800GT OC 256k...
the game has been working with this card for several hours last night and today.

Updated chip set drivers from Guru3d.com and used thier version nvidia drivers...no other video drivers worked. I can only play from fresh boot.

nc
 
Colburn said:
mine card is a BFG 6800GT OC 256k...
the game has been working with this card for several hours last night and today.

Updated chip set drivers from Guru3d.com and used thier version nvidia drivers...no other video drivers worked. I can only play from fresh boot.

nc

Hey Colburn. Do you mind giving me the link to the driver or the version?

Also, same as above: What resolution are you running at? Large Maps okay?

Thanks for your response.
 
Sure, but as I said...I won't be near that computer for any length of time until Wednesday evening. :)

I'll grab you the info then though. :)

Right now, I can tell you that just about any map size works, so long as you can wait for it to compute. Huge maps do take a couple of minutes once you get all the civs uncovered.

I'm running 1024 x 768 for a game mode with High graphics, I think. (I'll double check that)
 
hey, i had this problem too, with the BFG 6800gt, i turned on another fan in my case and turned off the aa and af features, installed the patch and it worked fine, running at 62 degrees. (before it was 72!) this is in a 1600x1200 window
 
Hey dsmith!!
Try this link...it's called "DGO NVIDIA Optimized Driver v1.8426"

http://www.guru3d.com/

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1372

1024 X 768 16 bit, No antialiasing, no filrer
Currently playing large map, single player vs 2AI

ASUS A8V Deluxe, w/AGP 6800GT 256k, Athlon64 3700+ (SanDeigo), Patriot Memory 3200/400hz 2GB, Antic P160 case w/2 x 120 fans, Ultra X Connect 500watt PS, CD Rom, DVD drive/CD Burner, 2 x 80 GB Hard drives in raid
 
Okay - so I turned the graphics down to 1024x768 based upon some of the comments here (from 1600x1200 - which is my flat panel native). I still get the same result, but it does run longer. I probably played for over an hour prior to my fuzzy screen.

@Colburn: Thanks for the link, I will try that driver tonight and let you know.

@Catbeef: I think you have nailed what the problem is with this thing. The video card is overheating! The temperature on my card was well over 80C after I had to do a hard reboot (thus it was probably quite a bit warmer when it crashed). Perhaps the BFG card is either overly sensitive to heat or the cooling is not the greatest.

I can not believe that Civ4 is harder on a video card than some of the games I have which I consider to be highly graphicly intensive on which I never have a problem. I've played Call of Duty 2 for hours straight on this machine without a glitch. I have got to believe there is something in the Civ4 code that is taxing the GPU unnecesarily. Unfortunately, that may never be resolved.

For those of you reading this, I would love to do a test. I would be interested to know:

  • What card do you have (brand/vendor)?
  • What is your initial GPU temperature at boot up?
  • What is the GPU temperature after playing CIV4 for 30 minutes?
  • What is the GPU temperature from playing another game for 30 minutes?

I have read other problems with this game, that lead me to believe that there are overheating problems with other cards/systems. I may be wrong, but it is the only thing that I can think of.
 
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