Official System Requirements

[Modeltrainman]

Will my computer run Civ5? Operating System
MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 @ 1.80GHz 108 °F
Conroe 65nm Technology
RAM
2.0GB DDR2
Motherboard
Dell Inc. 0WG855 (Microprocessor)
Graphics
HP f2105 @ 1680x1050
1024MB GeForce 9500 GT (nVidia) 119 °F
Hard Drives
244GB Seagate ST3250820AS (SATA) 101 °F
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H31N
Audio
SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC

 

[Qpla]

Will my computer run Civ5? Operating System
MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 @ 1.80GHz 108 °F
Conroe 65nm Technology
RAM
2.0GB DDR2
Motherboard
Dell Inc. 0WG855 (Microprocessor)
Graphics
HP f2105 @ 1680x1050
1024MB GeForce 9500 GT (nVidia) 119 °F
Hard Drives
244GB Seagate ST3250820AS (SATA) 101 °F
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H31N
Audio
SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC

You should be able to play it on the "lowest" settings but I recommend trying the demo before purchasing. You are just at the minimum requirements.

 

[Modeltrainman]

OK. Thanks.

 

[Berba]

Will I be fine with this?

Windows Vista (not the slightest idea of which service pack I've got)
Intel Core 2 Quad 2.40 GHz
nVidia GeForce 8600 GS 512 GB
2 GB RAM DDR2

I don't know so much more, but if you can make a guess out of that I would be greatful

 

[Thrallia]

I dont even think a $400 computer from last year could run civ5

my $400 laptop from last year can.

 

[Civtilltheend]

my $400 laptop from last year can.

Curious as to what your running

 

[tokala]

Will I be fine with this?

Windows Vista (not the slightest idea of which service pack I've got)
Intel Core 2 Quad 2.40 GHz
nVidia GeForce 8600 GS 512 GB
2 GB RAM DDR2

I don't know so much more, but if you can make a guess out of that I would be greatful

Will probably work if you don't mind frugal and a bit choppy graphics.

 

[Saint03]

I hope someone can help me out as well. I think I can run it decently but would appreciate an extra opinion.

My specs:

Macbook Pro (w/Windows Vista 32-Bit bootcamp)
Ram: 4 GB
CPU: Core 2 Duo @ 2.66 GHZ
Video: Nvidia 9400 M + 9600M GT each card @256 MB (total 512 MB though canirunit said I have 2.7 GB of video ram)

I can probably ask my parents to send me Vista 64 bit in the mail. But would it make a significant difference?

 

[tokala]

I hope someone can help me out as well. I think I can run it decently but would appreciate an extra opinion.

My specs:

Macbook Pro (w/Windows Vista 32-Bit bootcamp)
Ram: 4 GB
CPU: Core 2 Duo @ 2.66 GHZ
Video: Nvidia 9400 M + 9600M GT each card @256 MB (total 512 MB though canirunit said I have 2.7 GB of video ram)

I can probably ask my parents to send me Vista 64 bit in the mail. But would it make a significant difference?

You should probably deactivate the 9400m, as SLIing two non-identical cards will just drag down the faster one (if it is even possible). The memory does NOT add up, both cards would need the same data in their RAM.

You won't need 64 bit unless and until Firaxis releases an 64bit Civ5 version (if ever)

It should run with a decent speed, but perhaps with limited graphics settings, as you only have 256 MB Vram.

 

[ERLoft]

Okay, I know my desktop will eat up Civ, but now, with the Steam Cloud feature, I'm wondering about my recently un-bricked laptop...

It has:

Athlon X2 QL62 (2ghz)
4 gb RAM
512mb 9600M GT
Win 7 Ultimate 32bit

I'm thinking I can run it, but certainly not on max graphics and it might struggle on seriously large maps...

Good evaluation?

 

[tokala]

I'm thinking I can run it, but certainly not on max graphics and it might struggle on seriously large maps...

Good evaluation?

That's at least what should be expected according to the official reqs, we'll see

 

[ThERat]

going to buy a new computer, I think.

What would people here recommend to buy to run civ 5 nicely? which processor and graphics card?
Thanks for the help

 

[DonStamos]

I just did a Canyourunit check, and I failed the following parts:

For the minimum specs, it says I failed the CPU test:

You Have: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6500 @ 2.10GHz

As far as I was aware, that met the GHz requirements for dual cores.

For the recommended specs, I failed the CPU test as well as the video card test, though I passed all four of the little subtests:

Features: Recommended attributes of your Video Card
Required - You Have
Video RAM 512 MB - 1.7 GB
Hardware T&L Yes - Yes
Pixel Shader version 4.0 - 4.0
Vertex Shader version 4.0 - 4.0

I'm on a laptop, btw, and the card is integrated though the results were somewhat surprising for me. My question is, do you think I can run the game, at least on minimum? Based on results I've gotten for past games, I'm fairly certain I could run it on recommended settings.

 

[bhavv]

From the manual:

Video Options

Screen Resolution: This displays a list of the available game resolutions.
Anti-Aliasing: Turn on to smooth the graphical edges in the game; improves with more
powerful hardware.
Full Screen: This allows you to choose whether to play in full screen mode or in a window.
VSync: Turning this on prevents video “tearing” by locking the frame rate. (Leave this “on”
unless you’re an advanced user.)
High Detail Strategic View: This causes the game to use higher texture resolution, allowing
you to zoom in more while in the strategic view. It may affect game performance on lowerend
machines.

Performance Options

On startup, the game will attempt to auto-detect the following options and set them for optimum
performance. (Note that not all options will be available for all Direct X versions.) If your
game performance is suffering, try switching some of these from “High” to “Low.”

Leader Scene Quality: Affects the quality of the image of the Leader Scenes.
Overlay Detail: Affects the quality of the overlays.
Shadow Quality: Affects the shadow quality of units, buildings, and other non-terrain items.
Fog of War Quality: Affects the quality of Fog of War.
Terrain Detail Level: Determines the level of texture detail in the terrain.
Terrain Tessellation Level: Determines the level of mesh detail in the terrain.
Terrain Shadow Quality: Determines the quality of the terrain shadows.
Water Quality: Determines the quality of the water.
Texture Quality: Determines the quality of the textures in the game.

Audio Options

This screen lets you set the volume of various audio streams in the game.
Music Volume: How loud the background music is.
Effects Volume: Set the loudness of the effects – explosions, war cries, etc.
Ambiance Volume: Sets the loudness of the ambient noise – birds, waves, etc.
Speech Volume: Set the loudness of the speech of advisors and other leaders.
Audio Quality: Set the quality level of all the audio outputs.
Click “Accept” to accept the changes you’ve made on the Options Screen.

Tessellated terain is in, with variable levels

 

[Thrallia]

Curious as to what your running

Windows 7 64-bit
AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.1GHz dual core
3GB DDR3 RAM
ATI Radeon HD 3200 512MB dedicated, up to 1.4GB shared.

Canurunit.com says I can't, but it also says I can't run Starcraft II, even though I can.

 

[bhavv]

Windows 7 64-bit
AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.1GHz dual core
3GB DDR3 RAM
ATI Radeon HD 3200 512MB dedicated, up to 1.4GB shared.

Canurunit.com says I can't, but it also says I can't run Starcraft II, even though I can.

Is your graphics card using Hybrid crossfire with your motherboards integrated graphics? If so then you should definately be fine, and that would be why it is performing better than expected.

 

[tokala]

going to buy a new computer, I think.

What would people here recommend to buy to run civ 5 nicely? which processor and graphics card?
Thanks for the help

Will be depending how much money you want to spend, how big your screen is, what graphics quality you are targetting and if it shpuld be a laptop ar desktop.

For the recommended specs, I failed the CPU test as well as the video card test, though I passed all four of the little subtests:

I'm on a laptop, btw, and the card is integrated though the results were somewhat surprising for me. My question is, do you think I can run the game, at least on minimum? Based on results I've gotten for past games, I'm fairly certain I could run it on recommended settings.

For evaluating that, we need the exact model of the video card. In any case it will be something between "if at all, than only statview" and "probably yes, on low settings".

From the manual:

Tessellated terain is in, with variable levels

So a "recommended" card would not necessarily be enough to run it with all the bells and whistles Or could it have a software mode fallback?

MUCH more interesting is the "Low Quality" mode for the stratview, could that be the "Netbook-setting"

Canurunit.com says I can't, but it also says I can't run Starcraft II, even though I can.

The minimum ATI card for Starcraft is the venerable 9800pro. I concede that one was a "once every ten years" card, but a 3200 should still be able to beat it in newer games
That's your usual CYRI nonsense. For Civ5 the 3200 will be borderline "minimum"

Is your graphics card using Hybrid crossfire with your motherboards integrated graphics? If so then you should definately be fine, and that would be why it is performing better than expected.

The HD 3200 is an IGP that CAN use dedicated VRam. Most notebook models just won't use this.

 

[Thrallia]

I'm not sure why it is that I'm able to run things I *shouldn't* be able to. I do know that I'm glad, because I can't afford to buy another computer for another year or two.

all I can say is that when I worked in computer sales, it was easy to tell which cards were better....now the naming schemes are all messed up and impossible to tell from a glance which ones should work.

 

[Lynxx]

So here comes my "will it work on my computer" question:

Dual core 2.7 Ghz
4 Gb ram
ati radeon hd 4350

How well will it work (I assume I should be able to play it, but can I run it under the best graphics)?

 

[mattkaru]

Hey all, I'm trying to decide between 3 laptops to buy and I was hoping you guys could help.

I'm planning on getting a laptop within the next three weeks (and of course Civ 5 with it!!) and I'm trying very hard to keep cost below $900. I've had some luck so far in finding something and I understand that I won't be getting the absolute best gaming laptop money can buy, but I was wondering if anyone could help me in deciding what to go with out of the following:

ASUS K52 Series K52DR-X1 NoteBook
Phenom II Triple-Core N830(2.1GHz) 15.6"
4GB Memory
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470
$679.00 on Newegg

I found this on newegg for $679.00, which is the most affordable thing I've found yet that I think I could rely on. However, the fact that it's a triple-core is a bit...weird? And Civ 5's recommended specs call for a 2.4 quad-core, and while Civ 5 isn't the only game I'll play I want something decent enough for Victoria 2, Starcraft 2, etc.

ASUS U45Jc-A1
Intel Core i3-370M Processor (2.4 GHz) 14"
Nvidia G310M Graphics Engine with 1GB DDR3 Dedicated VRAM and Optimus Technology
4GB of DDR3 1066MHz DRAM
$849.99 on Amazon

I'm liking this one the best so far but I'm not really sure if the i3 will be sufficient. It strikes a great balance between my needs as a student and wants as a gamer. I keep getting confused on whether the i3 is fast enough to meet the recommended requirements for Civ5's call for a quad-core processor. Also, I know the G310M isn't the hottest graphics card for hardcore gamers, but I'm more of a grand strategy/RTS gamer. Crysis and the like aren't really my thing. Is it still worth considering?

Toshiba Satellite A665-S6056
2.4 GHz Intel Core i5-450 dual-core processor 16"
4 GB DDR3 memory
NVIDIA GeForce 310M with 512 MB of dedicated DDR3 video memory
$801.99 on Amazon

This seems to strike a good balance as well, but the same questions about the ASUS U45Jc apply.


Thanks for any comments/suggestions/tips!