Civ5 Requirements Help

[Meesterdude]

Hellooooo,

Let me get one thing straight--I am not a computer person. I mean sure I know how to use one and I am generally good when it comes to figuring my way around one buuuut that's about it.

I'm saving up my money to buy a better performing laptop. (Okay, a CHEAP one that works decently.)

I'm obviously not a serious gamer, but I do love the civilization franchise and I would really like to play CIV5.

I've checked the requirements but I have no clue what almost any of it means.

I'm thinking about getting this laptop: http://store.acer.com/store/acerna/en_US/pd/productID.272151400/parentCategoryID.60588000/

•Operating System: Windows 8, 64-bit version
•Processor: 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3537U processor (2.0GHz/3.10GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
•Memory: 8GB DDR3 memory
•Storage: 1TB hard drive
•Display: 15.6" HD widescreen CineCrystal™ multi-touch LED-backlit display (1366 x 768)
•Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 710M w/ 1GB memory, Mobile Intel® HM77 Express chipset
•Optical Drive: DVD±RW DL
•Audio: Dolby® Advanced Audio® v2 enhancement
•Card Reader: 2-in-1 card reader - MultiMediaCard (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) Card
•TouchPad: Multi-gesture touchpad
•Network: 802.11b/g/n WLAN, Gigabit LAN
•Bluetooth®: Bluetooth® 4.0
•Webcam: Yes
•Ports: HDMI®, USB 3.0


I'm not sure if CIV5 would run on it, do you know if it would work?

Like I said, I'm not really a gamer I would only play CIV5 and maybe SimCity but I just can't seem to find a decent, cheap, and durable laptop that will work with it.

Moderator Action: Moved to tech support.

ahhhhhhhhhhh, any help is appreciated.

 

[otaman1]

It'll run fine

 

[Meesterdude]

I'm just not sure if the processor will work with it. Or windows 8.

Too much computer talk. Haha

 

[sun8119]

Win8 and processor will work just fine but the graphics is very weak on this model.

Look for these graphics models:
ATI 8750M, 8770M and Nvidia 730M, 740M and maybe 750M should be affordable.

 

[timtofly]

I am using just the HD 4000 with an I7 2.0 GHz. This 710 is slightly better, and should work just fine. Spending more for the extra power, is not bad either.

 

[Meesterdude]

Hmmm. Isn't there a way to buy a better graphics card and install it or does it have to come pre-installed already? I am having a hard time finding a nice laptop with a decent graphics card and processor that is still somewhat affordable.

 

[timtofly]

You could add one in theory, but not in practice. They are usually bundled to get the best performance value between the CPU, motherboard, and GPU.

 

[RedFuneral]

Take a look at these models here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...Price=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=394:426160

I've been looking for laptops myself for the past week and that seems like the most solid CPU/graphics combo in the price range.

 

[Meesterdude]

I clicked that link but they said they were down right now.

What about something like this?

I just really don't understand all the technical terms haha

http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...7AV?HP-ENVY-15t-j000-Quad-Edition-Notebook-PC

 

[RedFuneral]

Yeah, that laptop is more than good enough. Only thing I'd recommend is upgrading to the 4702 CPU if battery life is important to you(it's a tad slower, but more power efficient) or the hybrid hard drive if you can get a good price on it. Neither upgrade is essential though, and that's a solid price.

 

[Meesterdude]

Yeah, that laptop is more than good enough. Only thing I'd recommend is upgrading to the 4702 CPU if battery life is important to you(it's a tad slower, but more power efficient) or the hybrid hard drive if you can get a good price on it. Neither upgrade is essential though, and that's a solid price.

I intended on upgrading those just because I figured they were better.

But if it's slower will that affect overall gameplay? And do you know if the 4th gen intel i7 can run civ v? I know they recommend a quad core processor...is that the same thing as the i7?

I seriously know close to nothing when it comes to computers, especially processors haha xD

 

[RedFuneral]

I intended on upgrading those just because I figured they were better.

But if it's slower will that affect overall gameplay? And do you know if the 4th gen intel i7 can run civ v? I know they recommend a quad core processor...is that the same thing as the i7?

I seriously know close to nothing when it comes to computers, especially processors haha xD

I'll be honest with you, I'm not really up to date on laptop CPUs but from what I've read the i7 4700M CPU is better than the desktop i7 2600K. I currently run an i5 2500K in my PC and max the game out just fine. The CPU isn't going to bottleneck you.

Personally I'm looking for an ultrabook to play Civ on and that's where it gets confusing. You have to remember that we've been using quad core CPUs for years now, a quad core first gen i5 running at 3.8GHZ is slower than even my second gen i5 running at 2.8GHZ.(personally tested that one) So figuring out what the game really needs with 'outdated requirements' is pretty darned hard. I'm thinking about an i7 4500U right now which if I remember right is a 4th gen 1.8GHZ quadcore and I think it will run fine... unfortunately Civ5 isn't a program they use to test performance in laptop reviews anymore so you've kind of got to compare the new CPUs to the old to get an idea of how the game will perform.

Even worse is trying to figure out what graphics card you need. The sites that test them did so without any real standards. What size map? Late game or early game? Few of them will say. The 740M in that HP should be more than enough. Again it's more of an issue when shopping for ultrabooks which are far less powerful. I was hoping Firaxis would release some performance graphics seeing they put in all that effort to make the game ultrabook accessible so that you could know just how powerful an ultrabook you need, but no luck there.

 

[Meesterdude]

If I could find an ultra book that was as powerful as that HP I would definitely get one but I don't think we will see those for a couple more years.

It was hard trying to find a powerful laptop at a cheap price but I figured I might as well just put that dream behind me because I'll get what I pay for.


I customized it and it will come out to around $1,280ish. I know of ultra books that are over $2,000 with a LOT less power. So I figured I might as well save up for a laptop that's powerful enough and will last me awhile. 1 paycheck down, 3 or 4 to go.

 

[timtofly]

This is the dell I mentioned in post #5. While it is only 12 inches, it does perform well.

 

[RedFuneral]

This is the dell I mentioned in post #5. While it is only 12 inches, it does perform well.

Have you tested it yourself? That's the kind of laptop I've been looking at so it'd be great to get some confirmation on how well it runs. On all the Firaxis videos showing the game running on Intel HD chips they're playing duel maps. Be nice to have something that can do standard at least.

 

[timtofly]

It plays G&K on huge maps just fine. I also played the first two levels of the BNW demo all the way to the end without any issues. The demo is a small size map.

 

[RedFuneral]

Thank you. I take it you were on low? Did you pay attention to the FPS?

 

[timtofly]

No everything was maxed out even the AA. I do not test for FPS. There is some hesitation at times, but the game is still enjoyable. If you changed the settings down to medium, that may go away, but FPS never factored into my game play. I just wanted to be able to scroll through the city views, and be able to choose build que items, without waiting for 20 seconds for the screen to refresh.