Civ 4 on a netbook (increasing performance without upgrades!)

[electronicmaji]

Ok, welcome to this small series, Civ 4 on the netbook.

Im trying to get the game playable, on my Acer Aspire one, without any upgrades, since upgrades really aren't possible.


Right now my fps are around 5-10

Stats:
1.6 ghz Intel Atom Processor with Hyper Threading Support
1gb of Ram
Intel GMA 945 express with 256 mbs of Video Memory
160 gb Hard Drive


Installation:
Downloaded via steam, initial bootup failed, insufficient resolution to run, forcing windowed mode fixed this.

I'll update with more measures I've taken in the morning.

 

[ziggyinc]

I have your exact Acer, I am still trying to get mine to run Civ 4. what did you do to "force windowed mode"? the only thing I found while searching the forums was hooking into a larger format display, is that what you did?

Thank you for any input.

 

[allhailcaesar]

I am trying to get a simpler version, Civ 3 Complete, to run on mine. Even downloaded a utility (a1ctl I think) to increase screen resolution since 1024 x 600 isn't big enough and I still can't get it to work. Also have downloaded Europa Universalis Rome and Vae Victis and they dont work either. What else have you all tried? I've been on the acer forums and that utility was about all I could find. Thanks and good luck.

 

[hockeyrox38]

I have gotten civ running (again, on the exact same netbook). to get it running, you have to put it into windowed mode. Go in to C:\Program Files\2K Games\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 Gold\Beyond the Sword and right-click on the Civ4Config file, click 'Open With...' and choose notepad. Scroll down until you find;

Specify whether to play in fullscreen mode 0/1/ask
FullScreen = 1

Change to;

Specify whether to play in fullscreen mode 0/1/ask
FullScreen = 0

 

[Obscuru]

Somebody has try the CIV4 on the new Atom Z3740 machine ? (example: Asus Transformer Book T100TA) or something similar.
(I try Civ4 in the past on Atom Z2760 (ASUS VivoTab Smart) but the experience was not so good (very slow on [middle to late] game)