I got a new laptop in part to run this game, with overachieving specs, and the same problem happens over and over. It runs well until about the time all the civs have 2 or 3 cities and some are hitting Medieval, and then the game freezes for a few seconds, and then the screen goes black (actually dark grey). Then my cursor is still there and usable, the music and sounds are there, and if I blindly click around I think I am affecting the game. Whatever causes it doesn't seem to be a specific action. It happens when I click a city, or a unit, or a research choice, or when I'm waiting for the AI players' turns. The only constant is it happens sometime between turn 50 and 90 or so.
Computer is HP Envy 14 built this way:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 graphics [HDMI] - For Quad Core Processors
6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
14.5" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1366x768)
What I have done:
Run Windows 7 updater several times until there is nothing left to update
Upgraded drivers for GPU from ATI site (Catalyst 10.10, Oct. 22 2010 version)
Had Steam verify files, one gets reloaded every time which I understand is not unusual
Uninstalled and reinstalled Civ V
Reinstalled DirectX from folders on Civ V DVD
Eliminated all the HP bloatware I could
I've also tried tricks from here and elsewhere -- start in and/or play in window mode, turn off opening animation, etc.
I've also tried putting the video settings all the way low or off, even though the GPU and CPU should be able to handle higher settings. I am playing Prince and Standard.
Nothing helps. The way it plays before it goes bad, everything is great except for sometimes I get a minor persistent flickering horizontal grey streak (a couple of pixels is all) across the whole screen, and the leader animations have a lot of small flickering and moving square or triangular black spaces on them. But otherwise it looks great and is fast in terms of filling in details, scrolling, and processing turns.
Adjusting video settings does not seem to help or hurt in any way. The crash to grey with cursor happens at about the same time every time. It even seems to help if I keep the graphics medium to high, before the inevitable crash.
Note that if I try to play in DirectX 9, it looks really bad (not just lowered graphics, but flickering and artifacts everywhere) and the same crash happens.
I'm thinking I just have a for now incompatible computer with the game, and should wait until either Civ V is patched up more or a new ATI driver.
But I am posting this just in case someone can figure out if I am doing something wrong or has a suggestion. It's frustrating, I dropped over a grand on this computer! I didn't just buy it to play this game, but I did buy it now just to play this game instead of waiting a bit for better tech or lower prices.
Thanks in advance if anyone can help.
Computer is HP Envy 14 built this way:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 graphics [HDMI] - For Quad Core Processors
6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
14.5" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1366x768)
What I have done:
Run Windows 7 updater several times until there is nothing left to update
Upgraded drivers for GPU from ATI site (Catalyst 10.10, Oct. 22 2010 version)
Had Steam verify files, one gets reloaded every time which I understand is not unusual
Uninstalled and reinstalled Civ V
Reinstalled DirectX from folders on Civ V DVD
Eliminated all the HP bloatware I could
I've also tried tricks from here and elsewhere -- start in and/or play in window mode, turn off opening animation, etc.
I've also tried putting the video settings all the way low or off, even though the GPU and CPU should be able to handle higher settings. I am playing Prince and Standard.
Nothing helps. The way it plays before it goes bad, everything is great except for sometimes I get a minor persistent flickering horizontal grey streak (a couple of pixels is all) across the whole screen, and the leader animations have a lot of small flickering and moving square or triangular black spaces on them. But otherwise it looks great and is fast in terms of filling in details, scrolling, and processing turns.
Adjusting video settings does not seem to help or hurt in any way. The crash to grey with cursor happens at about the same time every time. It even seems to help if I keep the graphics medium to high, before the inevitable crash.
Note that if I try to play in DirectX 9, it looks really bad (not just lowered graphics, but flickering and artifacts everywhere) and the same crash happens.
I'm thinking I just have a for now incompatible computer with the game, and should wait until either Civ V is patched up more or a new ATI driver.
But I am posting this just in case someone can figure out if I am doing something wrong or has a suggestion. It's frustrating, I dropped over a grand on this computer! I didn't just buy it to play this game, but I did buy it now just to play this game instead of waiting a bit for better tech or lower prices.
Thanks in advance if anyone can help.
