I recently built a new pc. pentium4 3.0e, 512mb, nvidia fx5900xt, windows xp home. Civ 2.42 runs just fine. I measure about 50% cpu utilization when it runs; just the nature of the beast. At startup, the pc draws 185 watts (including a 19" monitor), and 224 while running civ2. If you get unexpected shutdowns, here are a few things to look at:
1) Is there adequate cooling for the cpu chip? If the fan is not running or cooling is poor, you can be unstable. There are some more effective cooling solutions around. Don't forget to check that the the case fans are working and perhaps add one.
2) Don't overclock anything unless you know what you are doing and accept the problems.
3) Instability is often caused by poor quality or inadequate power supplies. A 400 watt supply does not always consume 400 watts; It consumes what it needs for a variety of voltages. Check that the 12v can deliver 18-20a or so for most users. There are power supply calculators on the web, and a new one will cost $50 or so, and is easy to install.
4) Is there spyware on your system? Run spybot s&d and/or adaware to find out and fix it.
---hope this helps---
1) Is there adequate cooling for the cpu chip? If the fan is not running or cooling is poor, you can be unstable. There are some more effective cooling solutions around. Don't forget to check that the the case fans are working and perhaps add one.
2) Don't overclock anything unless you know what you are doing and accept the problems.
3) Instability is often caused by poor quality or inadequate power supplies. A 400 watt supply does not always consume 400 watts; It consumes what it needs for a variety of voltages. Check that the 12v can deliver 18-20a or so for most users. There are power supply calculators on the web, and a new one will cost $50 or so, and is easy to install.
4) Is there spyware on your system? Run spybot s&d and/or adaware to find out and fix it.
---hope this helps---
