Low Frame Rates - What am I missing?

[cloud9]

I downloaded the civ5 demo from steam, and after 3 hours of waiting, I started up the game. The intro movie looked impressive enough, but as soon as I got into the game, even the menus, the resolution was low and when you start the game everything is choppy and slow. I know my computer could easily handle this game - I've got an i7 processor and 6 gigs of ram; so why is the performance so bad? Is it because it is the demo?

 

[ainwood]

What video card do you have?

Moderator Action: Moved to Tech SUpport

 

[cloud9]

I've got a Nvidia GeForce 9400. I know it ain't top of the line, but is it really that bad?

 

[ainwood]

According to this guide, its fairly well-down the performance list.

Check the links to the "minimum specs" in the first post of this thread. The link to teh "can you run it" website might be useful.

 

[The_J]

According to this list, it's below the minimum requirements .

 

[tokala]

I've got a Nvidia GeForce 9400. I know it ain't top of the line, but is it really that bad?

It should not be THAT bad. People with worse hardware got it to run better. Try DX9 mode with everything set to minimum. You might also want to update your video card driver, if you havn't already done that.
Your video card is a bit of a mismatch for an i7, though, it is not really designed for games.

 

[Shiggs713]

its not that bad, hell i have a 9500gt and i run it at anti-aliasing lvl 4 (up to lvl 8 is available) with everything on medium settings, except with textures on high. It scrolls flawlessly on those settings, it'll actually run with everything maxed out but a little sluggish.

 

[rbj2001]

Download the latest drivers from nVidia. It was slow as hell for me with my GTX 260 in DX10 mode (although DX9 was OK) until I updated the drivers, which I'd last updated maybe in last January. Also, make sure you're running the DX9 version.