High Settings - Is This Build Powerful Enough

[Karatekid5]

I don't have a problem playing large and huge maps, and no problems with turn times. However, I've always noticed a bit of lag occasionally. Also, when I'm moving the map around (with the map scroll inertia in effect), when it is scrolling over my own territory or other visible territory late in the game, it's a bit jumpy/stuttery (just the camera, not the music or anything like that). Is this something I should worry about or just a quirk in the game? More importantly, is this build optimal for max graphical settings? Should I stick with high settings or switch to medium? I've noticed a bit more lag since BNW's release.

Dell XPS 8300
Processor: Intel i7 Quad Core 2600@ 3.4GHz
RAM: 8GB (not sure of the brand or the clock speed)
Graphics: AMD Radeon 6870 1GB
Storage: 1TB HDD 7,200RPM
Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit

Any input is welcome!

 

[Makavcio]

It's way more than enough to play on max settings. However, Civ5 is one of the games which are never fully satisfied with available resources. My build is very similar to yours, only slightly better, and even though I'm not experiencing any issues concerning graphics, turn times on large map and late eras are awful. When a war breaks out between 2 AI parties, a minute long wait is inevitable (with above mentioned game settings).

To improve performance you may try the standard route: disable all unnecessary background programs, defrag your HDD, make sure that your drivers are up to date. Or you can overclock your CPU, which requires some expertise and proper cooling system, but otherwise should not be such a problem.

 

[RedFuneral]

You can max the game out just fine. My build is just a touch lower spec(i5 2500K, Radeon 7770) and I can max it out lategame, large maps(haven't tried Huge yet). One thing I'd suggest is throwing in an SSD drive if you want the game to play a little smoother. You don't need anything more CPU or graphics wise.(assuming you're running 1080p/1200p or lower)

 

[m8ms]

I bought a new computer recently and I was really hoping that Civ 5 (BNW) would work on high detail settings. Here are the specs:

CPU: i7 3630QM
RAM: 8
GPU: geForce GTX 660M
OS: win8
HDD: 7,200RPM

The system is almost pristine clean. I just installed Steam and Civ 5 (+ symantec antivir, ms office, and netbeans if you really want to know).

High details were unreachable since the day 1. It gave me around 2 fps. So I changed some settings to medium and reduced antialiasing to the 2x setting. It worked just around acceptable.

But then recently even at medium details the game is unbearably jerky. And I'm talking even at the beginning!

I tested my gpu heat levels:
it jumps from 46 to 48 when in the game.
Charts say it's 100% used though.
Cpu is not heating up either.

I'm getting tired and really disappointed with Civ 5's performance. Is there something I'm missing?

Ps. I just installed Sniper 2 to see whether it works smoothly. It does (but the game sucks).

 

[ColdFire979]

Just an FYI to all you guys buying high end PCs to play CIV 5:

The game is completely unplayable on large or huge sized maps, or with too many civs.
Since Civ 5 is a 32-bit application, it can't use more than 4GB of RAM at any time - regardless of how much RAM your PC has. I have a ferrari of a PC (i7-2820k, gtx 690, 32GB of RAM, win 7 64-bit) but it still crashes when I try to play the YNAEMP Giant Earth Map with 22 Civs. I have to restart my PC and load the most recent autosave to push through the point where it crashed, but crashes will become more and more frequent as the game progress. Eventually I get to the point where the game will crash literally every 3-4 turns - effectively making the game unplayable.

Sure I could play on smaller maps with less civs, but I dislike that style of play and it's not what I bought this game for.

 

[RedFuneral]

I bought a new computer recently and I was really hoping that Civ 5 (BNW) would work on high detail settings. Here are the specs:

CPU: i7 3630QM
RAM: 8
GPU: geForce GTX 660M
OS: win8
HDD: 7,200RPM

The system is almost pristine clean. I just installed Steam and Civ 5 (+ symantec antivir, ms office, and netbeans if you really want to know).

High details were unreachable since the day 1. It gave me around 2 fps. So I changed some settings to medium and reduced antialiasing to the 2x setting. It worked just around acceptable.

But then recently even at medium details the game is unbearably jerky. And I'm talking even at the beginning!

I tested my gpu heat levels:
it jumps from 46 to 48 when in the game.
Charts say it's 100% used though.
Cpu is not heating up either.

I'm getting tired and really disappointed with Civ 5's performance. Is there something I'm missing?

Ps. I just installed Sniper 2 to see whether it works smoothly. It does (but the game sucks).

That's a gaming laptop right? I'm pretty sure those won't run at full speed unless you've got it plugged in. I'd say it's either that or you need to mess with the Nvidia Optimus settings because it's using the integrated GPU.

 

[timtofly]

Just an FYI to all you guys buying high end PCs to play CIV 5:

The game is completely unplayable on large or huge sized maps, or with too many civs.
Since Civ 5 is a 32-bit application, it can't use more than 4GB of RAM at any time - regardless of how much RAM your PC has. I have a ferrari of a PC (i7-2820k, gtx 690, 32GB of RAM, win 7 64-bit) but it still crashes when I try to play the YNAEMP Giant Earth Map with 22 Civs. I have to restart my PC and load the most recent autosave to push through the point where it crashed, but crashes will become more and more frequent as the game progress. Eventually I get to the point where the game will crash literally every 3-4 turns - effectively making the game unplayable.

Sure I could play on smaller maps with less civs, but I dislike that style of play and it's not what I bought this game for.

You also could have a corrupted file from each time it crashes, and they keep adding up. That may not be the case, but I have seen it happen in my own circumstances.

 

[m8ms]

Thanks for the suggestions!
I always play plugged in, and I did an extensive laptop (indeed ) speed test yesterday. The results turned out to be just fine...

I don't have the SSD which I originally wanted to get, but ppl said that it wouldn't affect games. It's definitely on the grocery list.

I (kind of) solved the recent problem of the game being jerky even at minimum settings.
Reinstalling did the job.

 

[kermidge]

Hi, all. Mostly for reference points: I bought Civ V in Jan. '10 and installed Steam and it on a lappy w/AMD P520 II, 8GB RAM (um, DDR3, I think), Radeon HD 4225 integrated, Win7 64-bit. Played fine with DX11 on mostly med to high settings, no AA, small to med maps. Play _always_ bogged down and with map stuttering from mid-game onwards, else all OK - crashes rare.

In June '10 I freshly installed Steam and Civ within a WinXP 32-bit bottle using Crossover Games 64-bit tweak of Wine on tower with: AMD 1090T (one core reserved for system, one core set in XML file for game processing (seems to help), the other four free for game use), 8GB DDR2, nVidia 460GTX 768MB and running 64-bit Ubuntu Linux.

Game plays exactly as before - settings, no AA, mid- and late-game bogs and stutters on small to medium maps, with default AI and CS numbers.

(I need a part right now to fix the tower; I'm playing Civ V on the laptop running Steam and Civ in a Wine instance - 32-bit XP - using PlayOnLinux atop 64-bit Ubuntu. Same settings, same issues, and some late-game lock-ups (not just crashes, the whole system freezes and does not recover.))

A few years ago I came across a post (which I haven't found searching today) that said the poster had narrowed down the main issue to how Firaxis had coded their graphics output. I don't know if this is so and am not sophisticated or knowledgeable enough to find out. Given the commonality of experience across the variety of systems and game settings reported over the past years, I tend to favor the explanation that lays the probs to how the game is written.

The things I've found that help (but do not fix): verify file integrity; lower settings; play in strategic view. Also, use PAE if your CPU permits; this lets 32-bit apps use more RAM in some manner from what I'm given to understand.

Oh, and yeah, save early and save often. [grin] I set 5 turns, 10 autosaves, and save any turn where I make a lot of changes before I hit "end turn".