Consensus on the Intel HD3000 and CIV

[ChrisC323]

Hey Guys,

I'm a former player of C3C and a bit of C2, and I recently grew interested in CIV after some time being away. I hate to ask, but I have seen the lack of support for both 1.7.x and "Intel Integrated GPUs" on Aspyr's website and wanted to ask, "Will the disc version of Civ IV Complete work correctly (with any graphical settings) on a late 2011 Mac Mini with the 2.3GHz i5, HD3000 drive and 2GB of RAM?" Sorry if this is in the wrong section and is inappropriately lately posted, but my interest levels are quite high and I don't want to spend the money for the game without having a good idea that it will work.

Thanks for your time and input.

Regards,
Chris

 

[s.bernbaum]

I am using a Mac Mini that I bought last summer. It is the last model that came with Snow Leopard instead of Lion. CIV runs fine on it. I did expand the memory to 4 GB, right after I bought it. Expanding the memory is very simple. You just remove the cover to the memory compartment, unplug the old chip set and plug in the new one. I suspect that yours is the Lion model but if not, I can vouch for it working well. Here are the specs on my Mac Mini:

Model Name: Mac mini
Model Identifier: Macmini4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Graphics Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 320M

 

[ChrisC323]

Had you the same GPU but different OS, I'd probably pull the trigger right now (and buy the game), but I'd like to hear specifically about this integrated Intel processor. I've read that Lion isn't a huge problem, so if the video card is okay, then I'll be exceedingly happy and ready to go. Thanks a bunch for your information, s.bernbaum. You were definitely right about the different models, I think mine is one "later" than yours. Have a great memorial day weekend!

 

[dr_s]

I assume when you say HD 3000 drive above, you really mean the Intel HD Graphics 3000.

Have you asked Aspire? I asked Feral Interactive this exact question about Rome Total War, which carries the same warning in the app store (integrated graphics not supported). I wanted to know if it would run on my MacBook Air, which has the HD 3000 chipset. I didn't save their reply, but they said that warning applied to older integrated chipsets, not the HD 3000. I bought RTW and it runs fine on the Air (except for running the battery down too fast).

Different game, different company, but I suspect CIV will run fine on the HD 3000 chipset on your mini. (I haven't tried to run CIV on my Air because I have the DVD version, and no DVD drive in the Air, of course.)

 

[ChrisC323]

I assume when you say HD 3000 drive above, you really mean the Intel HD Graphics 3000.

It would be a good idea to spell out the full name... sorry man! Yes, you are completely correct, it's that GPU.

Have you asked Aspire? I asked Feral Interactive this exact question about Rome Total War, which carries the same warning in the app store (integrated graphics not supported). I wanted to know if it would run on my MacBook Air, which has the HD 3000 chipset. I didn't save their reply, but they said that warning applied to older integrated chipsets, not the HD 3000. I bought RTW and it runs fine on the Air (except for running the battery down too fast).

That would be smart... I am off to do that as soon as I've replied to this post! Glad RTW worked for you.

Different game, different company, but I suspect CIV will run fine on the HD 3000 chipset on your mini. (I haven't tried to run CIV on my Air because I have the DVD version, and no DVD drive in the Air, of course.)

I have a $35 dollar external optical for those few programs that I could only get by disc or for whose download I didn't want to wait, hence my purchasing the DVD version.


Thanks for the good ideas and feedback! Have a great weekend.

Chris

 

[z0wb13]

i think it will work fine on the hd3000. that's the gfx card that shipped in the mid 2011 macbook air. i've run civ4 on the late 2008 model with an Nvidia GeForce 9400M and core 2 duo, and i was emulating it on windows using the method described here.

steam has the complete edition available for $30. that's probably your best bet, because when you get it on steam, you get the license for multiple machines and either mac or windows. you can only play it on one machine at a time, because you have to login to play any steam games, but i think they have pretty good support, and they have got multiplayer nailed down. the only drawback is that you won't be able to run most mods without using bootcamp or vmware ($80), and that entails buying a copy of windows ($25 to $4500 !!! there is a lot of variation here;p and it's not on newegg anymore

if you are going to buy a dvd, then you need to decide if you want multiplayer or mods. for multiball, you need the mac version, but to get most mods to work you will want the windows version.