Predicted system requirements

[cccv]

Yeah well it was the only computer I ever bought knowing it wouldn't be used for playing games, and it's done just fine (and still going strong) doing everything else I need a computer to do. I'm one of those people who prefer to do gaming on a desktop computer where it's much cheaper to buy parts and it's easier to tailor it to my own needs.

heh, yeah I figured that was the case for your comp. In my case, this is my only computer =o I'll have a new one by the end of the month. One that can, y'know, do something >.>

It may or may not be worth noting that according to the system requirements lab website, this computer cannot run Civ IV because my graphics card doesn't have hardware T&L. And yet, I managed to get it to work. Just not very well. It lived up to my standards of "playable," at least. But maybe I just had low standards >.>

 

[civ_king]

What are you spending on the new computer?

 

[cccv]

um, 1340 before taxes, why?

 

[civ_king]

desktop? and I'm just wondering the specs, (I'm a computer junkie)

 

[cccv]

yeah, desktop. Sorry, I was just a little worried at the possibility of being told I was spending way too much or way too little or whatever. I made my bed, I'm gonna lie in it, hehe.

i7-860 processor
8GB RAM
5770 radeon graphics card-- IIRC 1024 MB or something.
1TB hard drive

I'm pretty confident it'll play civ 5 =)

 

[civ_king]

Vybe P55
i7-875K 2.93GHz Quad
HD 5770
8GB DDR3-1333 (Crucial)
XTS 100H Heatpipe Cooler
640GB WD (Caviar Black) @7200 RPM
$1,644

1) set clock multiplier to 30
2) Run Prime95 twice (if no crash proceed)
3) enjoy your quad core @4GHz

(for extreme power get the Intel X25-M and put OS and most played game on it)

 

[cccv]

Wait, are you telling me what you have, or are you recommending that for me? hehe, if it's the latter, 1-- I actually ordered the comp already, it ships on the 21st and will be here a week later, and 2-- my "do not cross" line for price was 1500. Like I said, my bed has been made. I know I could have bought better for more money, and I'm sure I could have even spent less for better if I had any idea how to build it myself (I don't), but I'm also fairly confident it'll run everything I want it to.

 

[Shurdus]

Vybe P55
i7-875K 2.93GHz Quad
HD 5770
8GB DDR3-1333 (Crucial)
XTS 100H Heatpipe Cooler
640GB WD (Caviar Black) @7200 RPM
$1,644

1) set clock multiplier to 30
2) Run Prime95 twice (if no crash proceed)
3) enjoy your quad core @4GHz

(for extreme power get the Intel X25-M and put OS and most played game on it)

Recommending him to overclock like that? Ouch... Overclocking is a lot safer and easier than it was ten years or so back, but I would definitely not recommend making huge jumps at once like that. Also the way you describe it will almost certainly mess up memory timings. He won't pass the 'if no crash proceed' step.

There are a few good guides on overlcokcing out there, so cccv, if you want to know how to do it get advice from an expert and not from civ_king.

 

[Zhahz]

Kinda doubt these guesses. Civ 5 will most likely run on far less - but if you want all the bells and graphical whistles, you'll need a decent/relatively recent PC.

I also seriously doubt the game takes 9gigs of HD space.

Doesn't matter to me, my PC is smokin', and I'd kinda like to see the game move forward tech-wise, but I would bet they'll keep it accessible, because they're obviously looking to bleed and milk players for cash and limiting availability would be a dumb idea towards that goal.

 

[Shurdus]

Kinda doubt these guesses. Civ 5 will most likely run on far less - but if you want all the bells and graphical whistles, you'll need a decent/relatively recent PC.

I also seriously doubt the game takes 9gigs of HD space.

Doesn't matter to me, my PC is smokin', and I'd kinda like to see the game move forward tech-wise, but I would bet they'll keep it accessible, because they're obviously looking to bleed and milk players for cash and limiting availability would be a dumb idea towards that goal.

The game has a lot of graphical stuff and a lot of movies and sounds. 9GB seems like not all that much to me...

 

[comatosedragon]

I also seriously doubt the game takes 9gigs of HD space.

I think that's a conservative estimate, actually, my BtS folder weighs in at about 10.5 GB right now (yes, some mods are installed, but IIRC un-moded the folder is about 5.5-6 GB)

 

[civ_king]

Recommending him to overclock like that? Ouch... Overclocking is a lot safer and easier than it was ten years or so back, but I would definitely not recommend making huge jumps at once like that. Also the way you describe it will almost certainly mess up memory timings. He won't pass the 'if no crash proceed' step.

There are a few good guides on overlcokcing out there, so cccv, if you want to know how to do it get advice from an expert and not from civ_king.

notice the k? it's an unlocked chip... people got it to 4GHz on the stock cooler just by increasing the clock multiplier, guess what, it doesn't screw up timings as the base clock is unaltered, and guess what, it is a better cooler than stock

Kinda doubt these guesses. Civ 5 will most likely run on far less - but if you want all the bells and graphical whistles, you'll need a decent/relatively recent PC.

I also seriously doubt the game takes 9gigs of HD space.

Doesn't matter to me, my PC is smokin', and I'd kinda like to see the game move forward tech-wise, but I would bet they'll keep it accessible, because they're obviously looking to bleed and milk players for cash and limiting availability would be a dumb idea towards that goal.

If you count expansion packs it will definitely be over 9GB, my Firaxis folder is over 20GB

 

[Shurdus]

notice the k? it's an unlocked chip... people got it to 4GHz on the stock cooler just by increasing the clock multiplier, guess what, it doesn't screw up timings as the base clock is unaltered, and guess what, it is a better cooler than stock


If you count expansion packs it will definitely be over 9GB, my Firaxis folder is over 20GB

I did not note the K. You obviously know more of it then I do, I figured it would indeed mess up timings. Anyway I would still not recommend large jumps, even if other people report good results with those exact same settings. I remember a few years ago that my computer did not agree with the settings from other people, and my computer let me know by making a loud sound, displaying somewhat of a flash, a bit of black smoke, a smell of burned plastic and the refusal of doing anything from there on.

 

[civ_king]

I did not note the K. You obviously know more of it then I do, I figured it would indeed mess up timings. Anyway I would still not recommend large jumps, even if other people report good results with those exact same settings. I remember a few years ago that my computer did not agree with the settings from other people, and my computer let me know by making a loud sound, displaying somewhat of a flash, a bit of black smoke, a smell of burned plastic and the refusal of doing anything from there on.

Yeah the k series is only ~2 months old. I'm pretty sure that bang was turning up the voltage. Which is why I chose a k series and chose Maingear as the supplier (Maingear is a boutique computer maker, they make extremely high end systems).

 

[timtofly]

Some of the new MB's will also automatically clock for you checking all of the parameters in a safe way.

 

[onedreamer]

Can Civ4 be played without a dedicated graphics card?

It can be but you would most probably quit after a couple of minutes out of frustration.

 

[Windsor]

It can be but you would most probably quit after a couple of minutes out of frustration.

Civ4 is no problem running without a dedicated card. I have played a lot with the integrated graphics on a AMD 785G-based motherboard. 1440x900, 4xAA and all settings on high.

 

[Mark Havel]

That's because the AMD 785G is based on a low end Radeon, the HD4200. Compared to the abysmal Intel offerings, that must be at least ten times better and akin to a mid-range graphic card from 2005-2006.

 

[civ_king]

It can be but you would most probably quit after a couple of minutes out of frustration.

um... I play Oblivion fine on my MacBook, it has an integrated Nvidia chip

 

[Mercade]

With the Strategic View being confirmed, and the fact you can play the game exclusively from the Strategic View, it would be very nice if there was an installation option for Strategic View Only that cut out all the eye candy so you could actually install it on a moderate laptop that doesn't have 6-9 GB of hard drive space available.