Civ4 won't work on a new computer?!

[UserDood]

I had this game running fine on my old computer. It never crashed. Now I have a new computer, and it crashes all the time. I installed all the latest drivers (I left DirectX alone), I tested my DIMMs and did some basic graphics card sanity tests. I can't rule the computer out 100% (could still be a bad card). It's definitely not heat. I doubt it's a power problem (I have a 450W PS). When it crashes, it crashes hard. (I have to power cycle the computer.) BUT, the audio continues. About 5% of the pixels go crazy, forming a strange pattern on the display.
I modified the .ini to make max frames=30. That helped a lot. The crashes were about once per 90 minutes on average. It just crashed 3 times within 5 minutes tonight though.

Does anyone have any ideas?

My (partial) DxDiag follows:

Time of this report: 11/15/2006, 20:22:25

Operating System: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (5.2, Build 3790) Service Pack 1 (3790.srv03_sp1_gdr.060315-1609)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: NVIDIA
System Model: AWRDACPI
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+ (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 414MB used, 3549MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.3790.1830 64bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT/GTO
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 7900 GT/GTO
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0291&SUBSYS_40001682&REV_A1
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: SyncMaster 225BW(Digital)
Monitor Max Res: 1680,1050
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.9371 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/22/2006 12:22:00, 6514944 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: nv4_mini.sys
Mini VDD Date: 10/22/2006 12:22:00, 5283200 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-41D1-11CF-A951-0A6000C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x0291
SubSys ID: 0x40001682
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_B ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A
Deinterlace Caps: {212DC724-3235-44A4-BD29-E1652BBCC71C}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{212DC724-3235-44A4-BD29-E1652BBCC71C}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{212DC724-3235-44A4-BD29-E1652BBCC71C}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{212DC724-3235-44A4-BD29-E1652BBCC71C}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run

<-- snip -->

 

[CivDude86]

Try a different video driver.

 

[UserDood]

Any suggestions? I tried rolling back to a driver recommended for nVidia cards by users of this site. My card is too new I guess; I was told it did not support that hardware.

 

[UserDood]

Update: I just ran some extensive tests on my graphics card. One test was slowly increasing clocks (overclocking from stock) and it did not get very far before the PC locked up and the screen looked exactly like my Civ4 lock-up. So it appears I may have a bad graphics card

 

[crunch]

Perhaps you can try to underclock the card (at least for Civ). How about that?

 

[Artosoft]

Update: I just ran some extensive tests on my graphics card. One test was slowly increasing clocks (overclocking from stock) and it did not get very far before the PC locked up and the screen looked exactly like my Civ4 lock-up. So it appears I may have a bad graphics card

Overclocking graphic card doesn't help you to fixed the graphic problem. Overcloking graphic card only help you to play the game smoother.

Fixed the graphic problem first (by using correct driver for the card). I read somewhere, NVIDIA notorious for this driver problem.

Regards,
Arto.

 

[UserDood]

I did try underclocking the card. It didn't help. I tried playing in non-full screen mode. It didn't crash, but I only played for an hour, so I'm not 100% certain that fixed anything.

I went to the XFX site to report the trouble, and I noticed they no longer advertise this particular card anymore. I have also read that the nVidia 7900 GT's were notorious for crashing computers. Hmmmmm. Is this the part where I cry?