Recommended spec.

[JoeM]

I'll have a PCI-e x16 slot.

Not sure what that means but I think it refers to how much I can get from a card.

The 6600 is looking good so far, unless there's bargains out there I don't know about...? (UK)

 

[Janos]

I'll have a PCI-e x16 slot.

Not sure what that means but I think it refers to how much I can get from a card.

The 6600 is looking good so far, unless there's bargains out there I don't know about...? (UK)

www.ebuyer.com have some good deals for PCI-E cards, and are an extremely reliable store. They're excellent, take a look there.

 

[alamo]

http://www.srtest.com

That's exactly what I was looking for!

ATI RADEON VE DDR (ATI RV100 (QY)) Fails Xform+Lighting

Recommended is ... GeForce 6800GT $$$279 -- hOLY cOW!

 

[Sark6354201]

I'll have a PCI-e x16 slot.

Not sure what that means but I think it refers to how much I can get from a card.

The 6600 is looking good so far, unless there's bargains out there I don't know about...? (UK)

The AGP or PCI-E graphics slots allow for greater bandwith when transmitting graphical data. Many times this translates to better performance, but sometimes this extra bandwith is wasted because the game you are playing does not require it. This happens frequently when newer standards are introduced, but games haven't been designed yet to take advantage of the extra bandwith.

PCI is very old... heck there were PCI/ISA (old slot) combo boards at one time.

As far as the best PCI video card, AFAIK Geforce fx 5500 would sound right. If you don't have a AGP or PCI-E slot though you have a very cheap motherboard. This isn't necessarily bad.. I mean, why put the slot on there if someone like Grandma isn't going to use it? But for many users it is a drastic limitation to the power of their PC.

@Alamo

You should not need a 6800 to play Civ4... buy a 6600, should be your best bang for the buck.

 

[De Lorimier]

Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes , You have - No

I'm a computer moron, so what does that mean for me and CIV IV?

 

[pdathert]

I've got a Radeon 9600SE and 512 + 64K RAM

where does this sit in the scheme of things?

is it enough?

 

[Mr. Hyperbole]

Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes , You have - No

I'm a computer moron, so what does that mean for me and CIV IV?

I've read every 'minimum requirements' thread here, but have yet to see any clear consensus.
From what I've read, it "MAY" be possible to run CIV IV without HW Transform & Lighting, but it certainly isn't recommended.
If you can afford to upgrade to a graphics card with HM T&L, do it.
I, for example, cannot afford to upgrade ATM, so I'm going to risk running CIV IV with my ol' crappy Intel(R)82845G/GL Graphics Controller.
If it doesn't work, I'll just hold onto it until I get a computer that does.

Wish me luck!

 

[Sark6354201]

I've got a Radeon 9600SE and 512 + 64K RAM

where does this sit in the scheme of things?

is it enough?

I'm assuming you mean a 64mb Radeon 9600SE, and 512 mb of RAM on your system. Not sure where the kilobytes (K) came from.

It should work fine with Civ IV.

 

[NinjaCool]

too bad its the SE version which has been serious cut down but at least it should run the game.

 

[pdathert]

thanks i meant 512 RAM plus 64 RAM in the other slot i know it's unbalanced its some crazy type of RAM RDR or something

9600SE yes i know thats the cut down version thats why i was wondering

 

[Sark6354201]

thanks i meant 512 RAM plus 64 RAM in the other slot i know it's unbalanced its some crazy type of RAM RDR or something

9600SE yes i know thats the cut down version thats why i was wondering

RDRAM, or Rambus. A now defunct memory type. As far as quality and performance goes, it was fine. But it costs way too much (now and then) to make it viable. Plus you have to buy sticks of ram in pairs, compounding the issue.

 

[SomethingWitty]

I, for example, cannot afford to upgrade ATM, so I'm going to risk running CIV IV with my ol' crappy Intel(R)82845G/GL Graphics Controller.
If it doesn't work, I'll just hold onto it until I get a computer that does.

Wish me luck!

Oy! Could you let me know how that works out for you? I've got the same ol' crappy card.

 

[Mr. Hyperbole]

Oy! Could you let me know how that works out for you? I've got the same ol' crappy card.

I almost dread Tuesday because of what my Load Screen might say. I'd prefer not to have a moment, followed shortly thereafter by :suicide:

 

[Mr. Hyperbole]

@SomethingWitty

Misery loves company


This link may help:

http://intel.com/support/graphics/intel845g/

 

[southafrica]

@SomethingWitty

Misery loves company


This link may help:

http://intel.com/support/graphics/intel845g/

I have pirates! works find on my intel, just put it to the highest settings...
I'm holding thumbs... otherwise I will pay a visit to compusa/bestbuy...

-SA

 

[alamo]

I'm sorry to say this has pretty much been the best thread on video cards so far.

We really need a sticky thread to summarize things.

1-Requirements
2-How to test your system
3-How to pick a new card
4-PCI vs AGP, resolution and other hw issues
5-Known Good and Bad Cards

The civ4 website is completely void of technical details. We really need a beta tester to tell us about video options or even testing on older cards.

 

[Sark6354201]

I'm sorry to say this has pretty much been the best thread on video cards so far.

We really need a sticky thread to summarize things.

1-Requirements
2-How to test your system
3-How to pick a new card
4-PCI vs AGP, resolution and other hw issues
5-Known Good and Bad Cards

The civ4 website is completely void of technical details. We really need a beta tester to tell us about video options or even testing on older cards.

I would be willing to help with that or even write it... however, it's really difficult to give exact specs that you should have... I can answer a few right off the bat.

3. The card should have 128 or 256 ram, that is not shared with the ram at all. Good cards would include Geforce 6200, 6600, 6800, 7800, ATi x800, x850.

4. PCI = Old standard, highly inefficent for today's graphics, if you are forced into using PCI you not only will be limited by the slot but by your card selection, as there basically no premier cards for the PCI slot.
AGP = Old but still around. You'll be able to find good cards for this slot type, and since AGP slots tend to be universal compatibility shouldn't be a big issue when picking a AGP card.
PCI-E= PCI Express, the best cards will fit in this slot, with the best options for upgrading in the future. Basically, you can't go wrong with this slot.

5. Some bad cards = Geforce (mx 4000, FX series). ATi (9200,9250, 9550)

I'm not much of an ATi guy, so if anyone would want to add or (gasp ) correct what I have posted please do.

edit, number 1 really should just list the civ4 requirements that have been given to us.

number 2... by testing you mean what? Testing to see if it is good enough? Basically, if you have a good processor (Pentium or Athlon with a high clock like 3.0 or 3000+ prefferably) and at least 512 ram, that should be enough so that your system does not bottleneck due to inefficiency. A good processor, lots of ram, and a good video card (see above) is what it comes down to.

 

[Mr. Hyperbole]

I have pirates! works find on my intel, just put it to the highest settings...
I'm holding thumbs... otherwise I will pay a visit to compusa/bestbuy...

-SA

Southafrica gave me hope, so I did a little more checking...

 

[Mr. Hyperbole]

So I, and many others with old Video Cards, 'MAY', PERHAPS, HOPEFULLY, will be able to play Civ IV until we can upgrade...

I hope.

 

[doronron]

Ghandi might have looked like the T-1000 for a while, but that would've been livable had I not upgraded my main machine for other reasons.