Recommended spec.

[JoeM]

Hi,

Really what graphics card to run Civ IV?

I'll have 2.53 GHz proc., 2GB Ram and eternal HDD, and an empty PCI-E slot which rules out quite a few standard cards.

Any recommendations under £100?

Cheers all.

 

[Alistic]

Hi,

Really what graphics card to run Civ IV?

I'll have 2.53 GHz proc., 2GB Ram and eternal HDD, and an empty PCI-E slot which rules out quite a few standard cards.

Any recommendations under £100?

Cheers all.

Right now really isnt the best time to buy a vid card. I would wait a couple of months for ati to fully release the rest of their new models. So the price on their previous gen will go down.

The ATI x800XL and Nvidia 6800gt cards will give you the most bang for the buck. They are in the middle of a price drop, been dropping for a couple of months and will continue for a couple more. Both cards are a bit of overkill just to run a turn based game, but they are fast enough to supply you with smooth gaming for at least the next year and a half 2 years.

Ok I just noticed you said under £100, not sure on pricing in that currency. x800xl is probably somewhere around that price. I can't stress enough how much better those 2 cards are then their lesser/cheaper counterparts. Value wise, if your looking for an investment in your future gaming its worth the extra $50.

 

[JoeM]

Well the only game I ever play, believe it or not, is Civ.

I'm considering the new 3D modelling features of Civ 4 really, CivIII already irked me running it off my laptop so I want to esure a happy experience this time

The GeFORCE 6600LE seems like a fair enough card, but could the FX5500 serve Civ just as well..?

 

[Sark6354201]

Right now really isnt the best time to buy a vid card. I would wait a couple of months for ati to fully release the rest of their new models. So the price on their previous gen will go down.

The ATI x800XL and Nvidia 6800gt cards will give you the most bang for the buck. They are in the middle of a price drop, been dropping for a couple of months and will continue for a couple more. Both cards are a bit of overkill just to run a turn based game, but they are fast enough to supply you with smooth gaming for at least the next year and a half 2 years.

I agree. If you have the cash buy the Geforce 7800

The current of graphics performance.

edit: I just saw the post about the FX 5500. DON'T! get the card. Any FX series cards are not good performers overall. Get something that will last, like the 6600, 6800. If you really want to save money, at least purchase a 6200 Geforce.

 

[dannyevilcat]

I agree. If you have the cash buy the Geforce 7800

The current of graphics performance.

edit: I just saw the post about the FX 5500. DON'T! get the card. Any FX series cards are not good performers overall. Get something that will last, like the 6600, 6800. If you really want to save money, at least purchase a 6200 Geforce.

Well, you're clearly an NVIDIA fan, but at least you have the clarity of mind to avoid the FX series.

 

[Sark6354201]

Well, you're clearly an NVIDIA fan, but at least you have the clarity of mind to avoid the FX series.

Yes, I guess you could say I am an Nvidia 'fan' merely because I know Nvidia is good at supplying its resellers with chipsets. ATi tends to be lax on this, not saying they don't make good cards... they do, but if one were to look for a video card in a store, you'll find the newer Nvidia cards in ample stock.

This has been my experience at work and elsewhere, so don't bash me if it is different where you may live

 

[Smidlee]

Well the only game I ever play, believe it or not, is Civ.

I'm considering the new 3D modelling features of Civ 4 really, CivIII already irked me running it off my laptop so I want to esure a happy experience this time

The GeFORCE 6600LE seems like a fair enough card, but could the FX5500 serve Civ just as well..?

If Civ is all you play then FX 5500 should be all you need. I have Fx5500 and play Pirates just fine with a few graphic options turn off.( shadows,lighting,etc.). Since Civ is a turn-based game (even unlike Pirates) then fps (frames per second) is not an issue. It would be a waste of money to spend $300 on a graphic cards just to play Civ.

If you want to have high fps to play FPS or simulations then 6600 may be worth the investment (if not a faster PC).

 

[theatrus]

I'd look at a 6600LE or 6600GT. You'd probably find one around that price point. I've always liked NVidia cards better, since they can write compotent drivers and have vastly better multiple monitor support. And their Linux drivers actually work.

 

[Sark6354201]

If Civ is all you play then FX 5500 should be all you need. I have Fx5500 and play Pirates just fine with a few graphic options turn off.( shadows,lighting,etc.). Since Civ is a turn-based game (even unlike Pirates) then fps (frames per second) is not an issue. It would be a waste of money to spend $300 on a graphic cards just to play Civ.

If you want to have high fps to play FPS or simulations then 6600 may be worth the investment (if not a faster PC).

Buying any of the FX cards is a poor investment because they are way too slow for future games. You can easily find 6600s around the 100$ price range, and they will be able to handle future games (that you may or may not plan to buy...) MUCH better. Including Civ V

 

[Red Door]

There is a website to check if it will work.
But I'm too lazy to put a link up.

 

[QiZhe]

There is a website to check if it will work.
But I'm too lazy to put a link up.

http://www.srtest.com

 

[Smidlee]

Buying any of the FX cards is a poor investment because they are way too slow for future games. You can easily find 6600s around the 100$ price range, and they will be able to handle future games (that you may or may not plan to buy...) MUCH better. Including Civ V

I haven't check the prices laterly but if you can get 6600 for $100 then of course that not too much to spend on a card. If you like strategy games like I do there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a card since by the time you need these powerful cards they will be around $100.

 

[Lord Shadow]

I've a GeForce 6600 (MSI NX6600) and games run quite well despite the fact I only have 512 MB RAM. However, I think Civ IV will run like a charm with everything maxed out with that card and your 2 GB RAM.

 

[spankey]

Hey all,
I have a FX5500 because the only slot I have is a PCI (and I don't want to replace the motherboard when the only game I play is CIV). What is the best video card that would fit in a PCI? No option for PCI e or AGP and the card I have is a couple of bars ahead of recommended on the SR test.

 

[Lord Shadow]

The GeForce 6600 is also available in a PCI-Express version.

 

[Sark6354201]

The GeForce 6600 is also available in a PCI-Express version.

That's not normal PCI. PCI express is a whole different slot.

@spankey

Unfortunately I don't know of any faster PCI cards... with AGP itself becoming obsolete, PCI is really inadequate for the video cards of today.

 

[spankey]

That's not normal PCI. PCI express is a whole different slot.

@spankey

Unfortunately I don't know of any faster PCI cards... with AGP itself becoming obsolete, PCI is really inadequate for the video cards of today.

Thanks anyway,
I will wait and see how it plays. It will probably be okay. It definitely exceeds the minimum and I think the recommended specs.

 

[Smidlee]

Thanks anyway,
I will wait and see how it plays. It will probably be okay. It definitely exceeds the minimum and I think the recommended specs.

Again you shouldn't have no problem since high framerate isn't necessary for a turn-based strategy game. Since Civ 4 is in 3-D it will requir a little more speed than most strategy games when scrolling and zooming in/out.. Yet even if you only get 10 frames per second this won't affect the gameplay.

 

[Sark6354201]

Again you shouldn't have no problem since high framerate isn't necessary for a turn-based strategy game. Since Civ 4 is in 3-D it will requir a little more speed than most strategy games when scrolling and zooming in/out.. Yet even if you only get 10 frames per second this won't affect the gameplay.

But the overall system will be bogged down trying to handle the graphics, thus slower calculating everything else.

And personally, it would royally SUCK to play the game with 10 fps

 

[wotan321]

...PCI is really inadequate for the video cards of today.

Oooookay.... but what if the PC you have does not have PCI-e or AGP slots, only PCI? What is the best PCI slot card? At NewEgg, it looks like the FX5500 is the most powerful PCI card. Anyone know of a better one for the money?