Graphics Card

[AbuHab]

I'm planning on buying a new PC soon and I want to make sure the graphics card is sufficient to run Civ IV.

I don't know much about graphics cards, so any advice would be appreciated.

Here are the graphics card choices on Dell's website for the PC I'm considering. The last two cost substantially more than the first two, so I'd prefer not to have to buy one of the last two if I can avoid it.

128MB PCI Express x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X300 SE

256MB PCI Express x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X600 SE HyperMemory

256MB PCI Express x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800

256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX

 

[warpstorm]

Any of these should be fine.

 

[Thunderfall]

I recommend getting the GeForce 6800. I bought one (128 MB) for around $185 a few weeks ago and it works very well. It certainly can handle Civ4 w/o problem. You don't really need to get the 258 MB version.

GameSpot had an article about sub $200 AGP graphics cards not too long ago and they rated GeForce 6800 very highly:

http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-15255-2295-9-9-x&body_pagenum=2

 

[apatheist]

You don't even need that much. Any 3-D video card from the last few years from either NVidia or ATI will do. I cheaped out and went with a $31 PCI Radeon 7000, but that'll be just fine for Civ4, and it's several generations back (4? 5?).

 

[AbuHab]

You don't even need that much. Any 3-D video card from the last few years from either NVidia or ATI will do. I cheaped out and went with a $31 PCI Radeon 7000, but that'll be just fine for Civ4, and it's several generations back (4? 5?).

I suspected that Civ IV's graphics requirements wouldn't be all that demanding, but I wasn't sure because the Playing Requirements section of the Pre-release Information states:

The Minimum System Requirements for the game are: 1 GHz CPU, 256MB RAM, and a 32MB video card with hardware transform and lighting capabilities. The recommended Specifications are: 512MB of ram, Pentium4 processor, and a recent graphics card (like the Radeon 9800).​

My current system meets the minimum system requirements for Civ III, but barely. I'm tired of the graphics in my Civ games plodding along, so I wanted to make sure I was well above the minimum system requirements this time. How do the cards I've listed above compare to the recommended Radeon 9800?

 

[ThePersian]

the bigger the better with graphics cards, always. ATI looks better but Nvidia is smoother, i have Nvidia.

 

[Civrules]

A few weeks ago, I got the ATI X700 Pro. Very happy with it so far. It runs my games without a glitch.

But AbuHab, our recommendations might change if you told us more about your system. For example, GHz, RAM, etc.

If your GHz is pretty good and ram is at least 512, the listed cards will probably do fine.

 

[ainwood]

Moderator Action: Moving this to 'computer talk' - its a common question there, and you'll get a good response.

 

[AbuHab]

But AbuHab, our recommendations might change if you told us more about your system. For example, GHz, RAM, etc.

If your GHz is pretty good and ram is at least 512, the listed cards will probably do fine.

The system I'm looking at buying would have an Intel 3-GHz P4 processor with HT Technology and an 800-MHz FSB, 1-GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM, and a 160-MB 7200 RPM hard drive.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Or you can chose to buy outside of Dell. The std value card now seems to be the 6600 GT (Nvidia).

For myself, I just bought a X800GT (ATi) yesterday, which seems to be slightly better than the 6600 GT for much the same price.

 

[Zakharov]

Is Civ4 the only game you will be playing on this system?

If the answer is yes and you don't mind playing with lower graphic details and resolution, then any of these cards should be fine. However, if you have any plans to play more graphically demanding games during the lifetime of this pc, you should get the GeForce 6800 (the 7800GTX is too expensive, imo).

You need to make this choice now as it is not easy to upgrade a Dell pc (which is partly why I would never buy one myself).

I should warn you about the X600 option though. Hypermemory = graphics card steals system RAM.

Are these the only options available? As Knight-Dragon says, the GeForce 6600GT or the Radeon X800GT would be ideal.

 

[The Person]

I have a GeForce 6800 LE, and I'm satisfied with it. It runs all games I run perfectly.

BTW, what does LE mean?

 

[alva848]

Something like "Lite Edition".
Not sure if that's the oficial name but that what it boils down too.
It's a good card though.

@ threadstarter:

Seeing as you don't know much about it, do you know for sure you need a PCI-Express card??
If you have an AGP slot, those cards you mentioned won't fit into your system!!

Also, don't buy DELL, fo for an AMD64.

 

[Speedo]

He says he's buying a new system, so it *should* have PCIe. Besides, it's foolish to get an AGP now. It completely prevents you from being able to upgrade in the future.

Ideally I would go for a GF6800GT, or perhaps a 6600GT if you can get it.

 

[HAND]

go for the 6800 ... the 7800 GTX is too expensive at the moment.

 

[Comraddict]

I have a GeForce 6800 LE, and I'm satisfied with it. It runs all games I run perfectly.

BTW, what does LE mean?

literally: crippled-down cheaper version

 

[kasmasnou]

Got a RADEON 9600 SERIES. It would be fine for civIV?

 

[AbuHab]

Is Civ4 the only game you will be playing on this system?

No, I also play other strategy games, but all of them require minimal system resources. I would like to try out some roleplaying games (e.g., City of Heroes) and I have a friend who is pushing me to join him in playing WarCraft online. I'd like to be prepared for any strategy games that come out in the next three to five years. Most likely, I will never play the really demanding 3D games, though. Still, based on what most people are saying, it sounds like I should bite the bullet and get the GeForce 6800, even though it will increase the cost of the system by about 20%.

You need to make this choice now as it is not easy to upgrade a Dell pc

Why is it not easy to upgrade a Dell PC?

Are these the only options available? As Knight-Dragon says, the GeForce 6600GT or the Radeon X800GT would be ideal.

These are the only options available through Dell.

 

[AbuHab]

Seeing as you don't know much about it, do you know for sure you need a PCI-Express card??

No, I don't even know what PCI-Express means. (I know what PCI means, but I don't know what "PCI-Express" means.)

Also, don't buy DELL, fo for an AMD64.

Why?

 

[The Person]

Something like "Lite Edition".
Not sure if that's the oficial name but that what it boils down too.
It's a good card though.

I was thinking along those lines; I just wanted a confirmation. Thanks for the info!

literally: crippled-down cheaper version

I wouldn't say it's "crippled-down", but I know it's not as good as the GT. In my system it's more a processor issue when it comes to performance. But thanks anyway.

Sorry for thread-jacking.