Official System Requirements

[Vlade Divac]

Just an FYI, my laptop seems to be pretty near the CIV minimums (at least when it comes to Graphics). I just downloaded and played the Napoleon: Total War demo through steam and it ran just fine. This was theorized to be a pretty good test for your computer and how it might do with CIV.
Here are my laptop's main stats:
Core 2 Duo T6500 2.19 GHz
4 GB RAM
512 MB VRAM ATI Radeon Mobility 4570 ( I was told this was not near as powerful as the minimum of ATI HD2600 XT)

I didn't change any of the graphics options off the default, which seemed to be set pretty high...a lot of the defaults read 'High Detail'. When the demo was loading it did maybe take a little longer than I would normally expect to load, but having never played it before I don't know how much longer. It wasn't too bad. I tried to get a whole lot going on during the demo, moving all my units and engaging them quickly. I zoomed in and out a lot and moved all over the battlefield. It seemed to hang with it pretty well. I got all the way to the end without much of a noticeable lag. Now I've never played this series before so I don't absolutely know for sure if performance was lagging, but I didn't notice it and I still definitely had lots of room to lower the graphics settings...like I said I played on default settings.

This may not mean anything to anybody, but I was really concerned I would be shut out and at least this was slightly encouraging. :shrug: I hope I'm not setting myself up for mega disappointment when CIV comes out.

 

[tokala]

Just an FYI, my laptop seems to be pretty near the CIV minimums (at least when it comes to Graphics). I just downloaded and played the Napoleon: Total War demo through steam and it ran just fine. This was theorized to be a pretty good test for your computer and how it might do with CIV.
Here are my laptop's main stats:
Core 2 Duo T6500 2.19 GHz
4 GB RAM
512 MB VRAM ATI Radeon Mobility 4570 ( I was told this was not near as powerful as the minimum of ATI HD2600 XT)

This may not mean anything to anybody, but I was really concerned I would be shut out and at least this was slightly encouraging. :shrug: I hope I'm not setting myself up for mega disappointment when CIV comes out.

Hope springs eternal

After several people claimed that the N:TW sysreqs are comparable with Civ5, i finally looked them up (info from steam store). And found that they are not
CPU and RAM are at about 60% of what is stated for Civ5, and video card is not even specified.
Minimum: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c Shadermodel 2b
Recommended: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c Shadermodel 3
Taken literally, this would mean even the crappiest Intel IGP would meet the "recommended" specs. And the lowliest dedicated cards too meet the "recommended" requirement would be the 256 MB versions of Geforce 6200 and Radeon X1050.
Small wonder it runs smoothly on a mobility 4670

Try the Mafia 2 demo for a better assessment. Those requirements are for real almost identical with the Civ5 reqs.

 

[PieceOfMind]

Antec, you can generally get them combo'ed with a PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492901

Yep, I'd recommend Antec cases too.

 

[Vlade Divac]

Hope springs eternal

After several people claimed that the N:TW sysreqs are comparable with Civ5, i finally looked them up (info from steam store). And found that they are not
CPU and RAM are at about 60% of what is stated for Civ5, and video card is not even specified.
Minimum: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c Shadermodel 2b
Recommended: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c Shadermodel 3
Taken literally, this would mean even the crappiest Intel IGP would meet the "recommended" specs. And the lowliest dedicated cards too meet the "recommended" requirement would be the 256 MB versions of Geforce 6200 and Radeon X1050.
Small wonder it runs smoothly on a mobility 4670

Try the Mafia 2 demo for a better assessment. Those requirements are for real almost identical with the Civ5 reqs.

Who let this guy in here to poop in my punch bowl?

Allright, thanks for the info...that's why I asked earlier if N:TW was a good canary in the coal mine. I'm not very well versed on the tech specs. I'll try the Mafia 2 demo.

 

[Vlade Divac]

Hope springs eternal

After several people claimed that the N:TW sysreqs are comparable with Civ5, i finally looked them up (info from steam store). And found that they are not
CPU and RAM are at about 60% of what is stated for Civ5, and video card is not even specified.
Minimum: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c Shadermodel 2b
Recommended: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c Shadermodel 3
Taken literally, this would mean even the crappiest Intel IGP would meet the "recommended" specs. And the lowliest dedicated cards too meet the "recommended" requirement would be the 256 MB versions of Geforce 6200 and Radeon X1050.
Small wonder it runs smoothly on a mobility 4670

Try the Mafia 2 demo for a better assessment. Those requirements are for real almost identical with the Civ5 reqs.

Well...I'm still hoping for the end of September here!

Downloaded the Mafia 2 demo and, once again, the game ran really well. Went through the entire demo and tried to make fast movements looking around and running and it ran smooth. I even turned up the shading and geometric detail to 'high' and it looked and ran well. By the way, that game is a blast. Thanks for the tip.

So, obviously I'm going to be downloading and playing the CIV demo before I order the game. However, for other worried people out there...I'm pretty much near the minimums as you can see above and this game did well. :fingerscrossed:

 

[LeroyJones]

Okay - I think I may need a new graphics card to fully enjoy ciV

My computer is an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 6GB, 1TB, Radeon HD 3650, Vista Home Premium 64.

My concern is that the Radeon is only 3650 / 512 MB (SOOOO CLOSE). Should I see how it plays? Any suggestions re: a cheap upgrade?

 

[trevort]

Okay - I think I may need a new graphics card to fully enjoy ciV

My computer is an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 6GB, 1TB, Radeon HD 3650, Vista Home Premium 64.

My concern is that the Radeon is only 3650 / 512 MB (SOOOO CLOSE). Should I see how it plays? Any suggestions re: a cheap upgrade?

What is your budget?

 

[LeroyJones]

What is your budget?

I'd definitely prefer under $100 but if I can go over if it's going to make a big difference...

 

[Red Adept]

Bah, this is so frustrating. After trying those two sites that judge if your computer can play Civ V, I've come to the realization I need a new laptop.

Due to the fact that I have a line of credit with Dell, I'm looking at one of their laptops to replace the one I have. Unfortunately with the way graphics cards are numbered, I can't tell which would meet the specs for the game.

Using Game-debate.com, it's telling me that the MINIMUM system that will play CivV is an alienware with i5-M540 chip with the ATI Radeon 5850.

That unfortunately is $1600 which I think's a little pricey. Anyone know of any laptops that meet the standard requirements that are cheaper?

 

[tokala]

I'd definitely prefer under $100 but if I can go over if it's going to make a big difference...

Newegg has HD 5670s for ~$65, with a better cooling solution for ~$80, HD 5750s start at ~$100 and HD 5770s at $130.

Should all be worth their money, with the 5650 about 30% slower and the 5770 15% faster than the 5750, and all in the ballpark of the "recommended" 4800s.

Bah, this is so frustrating. After trying those two sites that judge if your computer can play Civ V, I've come to the realization I need a new laptop.

Are you sure? Lots of people came to the conclusion that those sites are spitting out nonsensical results
What's your current system? Dedicated gaming Desktop is not an option?
And no, you do not need a mobile 5850 for Civ5, but it is probably the cheapest mobile chip that falls into the "recommended" category.

 

[trevort]

I'd definitely prefer under $100 but if I can go over if it's going to make a big difference...

SAPPHIRE 100289L Radeon HD 5670 1Gb GDDR5 memory is the card I just bought for $99 from Amazon. Their price has gone up to $114. It is $99.99 at Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102869

SAPPHIRE 100284L Radeon HD 5750 1GB $124.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102859

Look at the chart titled "Specifications" about 3/4 down on the first page of this review at Legit Reviews for an illustration of the difference between some of the ATI 56xx, 57xx and 58xx series cards. Basically, there is a big difference between the 5670 and the 5750. Especially when you consider the difference only costs $25. If you have the money and power out of your PSU than get the hd 5750. The vapor-x card ($149 at newegg) is pretty nice alternative to the one I mentioned above. The vapor-x cooling allows for slightly higher clock speeds. Here is a review of the Sapphire Vapor-x 5750 (and 5870) at OverclockersClub.com
Make sure your current power supply (PSU) can handle the proposed video card. I had to replace the stock 375w PSU in my Dell xps 420. I got a brand new OCZ 600w PSU on eBay for $49 including s&h. I hope this helps. And yes I like sapphire products. Their boards are blue.

 

[LeroyJones]

Thanks all - I'll definitely check them out. Since it's playable, I may try pushing it a bit on the current board and once I find it can't utilize the top graphics settings (which I fully expect, but want to at least cross my fingers and give it a whirl), I'll trade up...

 

[trevort]

LeroyJones - Sshhh.....ATI is "supposed" be to coming out with the 6xxxx series early next year. Prices might come down for the "old" generation 5xxx series. Maybe. I don't know if you can wait that long. I know I couldn't.

 

[Red Adept]

Are you sure? Lots of people came to the conclusion that those sites are spitting out nonsensical results
What's your current system? Dedicated gaming Desktop is not an option?
And no, you do not need a mobile 5850 for Civ5, but it is probably the cheapest mobile chip that falls into the "recommended" category.

I'm fairly sure as my system's 2 years old, Inspiron Studio 15 (1557) . It's a dual core 1.8g but the graphics are pretty boring. I can play Civ IV with high graphics on it though.

And yeah, a dedicated gaming desktop would be bad. I can hang out with the wife with my laptop, but to use a desktop for as many hours as I'd play... well... I'd be sleeping in my office in no time.

 

[tokala]

I'm fairly sure as my system's 2 years old, Inspiron Studio 15 (1557) . It's a dual core 1.8g but the graphics are pretty boring. I can play Civ IV with high graphics on it though.

And yeah, a dedicated gaming desktop would be bad. I can hang out with the wife with my laptop, but to use a desktop for as many hours as I'd play... well... I'd be sleeping in my office in no time.

In this thread we were discussing two pretty powerful but still reasonably portable laptops just short of $1000.

 

[Guardian_PL]

Ok, I'm hoping for experienced help here

After several years of ignoring the outside world the time has come for me to become interested in that whole HD technology. I'm currently looking for a proper monitor to do that allegedly amazing gaming in Civ5 using HD.

Now:
My graphics card is only a humble Pny GeForce 9600GT 512GDDR3. Does it make sense to connect it to HD screen via HDMI-DVI adapter and use it in 1920×1080 resolution?
Do I need a monster rig in order to make use from HD technology? I currently have oc'ed E6600 Core 2 Duo running @2.88Ghz and 4GB of DDR2 on Win7 32bit.

I'm a bit ignorant on these matters, and one of my friends has recently said that if I'd to run a latest game on a 1920x1080 resolution in HD my comp will not cope

Any hope for me?

 

[tokala]

Ok, I'm hoping for experienced help here

After several years of ignoring the outside world the time has come for me to become interested in that whole HD technology. I'm currently looking for a proper monitor to do that allegedly amazing gaming in Civ5 using HD.

Now:
My graphics card is only a humble Pny GeForce 9600GT 512GDDR3. Does it make sense to connect it to HD screen via HDMI-DVI adapter and use it in 1920×1080 resolution?
Do I need a monster rig in order to make use from HD technology? I currently have oc'ed E6600 Core 2 Duo running @2.88Ghz and 4GB of DDR2 on Win7 32bit.

I'm a bit ignorant on these matters, and one of my friends has recently said that if I'd to run a latest game on a 1920x1080 resolution in HD my comp will not cope

Any hope for me?

A 9600GT is not a bad card, but it will indeed struggle with recent games on maximum settings on a fullHD screen. Should still work decently with somehow reduced settings, which might not look that much worse.

If you decide to upgrade the card, you would need at least a HD 5770 or better GTX460 to get a big enough performance increase to justify an upgrade.

 

[civ_king]

LeroyJones - Sshhh.....ATI is "supposed" be to coming out with the 6xxxx series early next year. Prices might come down for the "old" generation 5xxx series. Maybe. I don't know if you can wait that long. I know I couldn't.

The King is dead. Long live the King.
ATI is being replaced by AMD,
the 6xxx series might be out this year (well the upper section at least)

 

[Likes_Civing]

yeah I picked up a GT 240 for $45 shipped after rebate from newegg this weekend.

I think that is a great deal. It is right there with the 9600GT.

This is the DDR5 512MB model.

I will be ready to go on the desktop. The laptop has intel series 4 which is garb but the canirunit says it passes, that is impossible.

Oh well, I get the GT240 tomorrow. In she goes on my desktop. Can't wait.

Just wondering, what do you guys this is better, the 9600 or the 240? Aren't they a push?

 

[Guardian_PL]

A 9600GT is not a bad card, but it will indeed struggle with recent games on maximum settings on a fullHD screen. Should still work decently with somehow reduced settings, which might not look that much worse.

If you decide to upgrade the card, you would need at least a HD 5770 or better GTX460 to get a big enough performance increase to justify an upgrade.

sigh...
Yeah, my mouth got watery when I was checking Gainward GTX 460 GS 2GB GDDR5 yesterday... "Only" £199 Sh*t, I want it badly, I really do...

So, if I'm thinking correctly my CPU/RAM has no impact on HD performance, it's only the graphics card that matters, right? If that is the case, then GTX460 might be my early Christmas present methinks

...What do you mean by "somehow reduced settings"? Like, game settings (texture level, AA etc) or screen settings (refresh rate, resolution)? If the latter then I'm screwed if I'll try to use my screen on a non-native resolution...


===> I still could use some more input. Please