Save the laptop...

[Dier]

My laptop (Dell Inspiron B120) is heating up considerably when I play Civ4. I'm thinking of getting a desktop for the sole purpose of playing Civ, but I can't tell Radeon from Geforce and whatnot. Is it possible to get a decent setup by customizing one of these cheapskate machines? What options would be a must (from what's available on the site)? Any other suggestions are welcome too.

Thanks!

 

[UERD]

Stay away from Celeron/Sempron processors (most new computers come with Core 2 Duo or a decent AMD processor), get 2 GB of RAM if possible, and make sure the computer has a PCI-Express slot (all new ones should) and buy a relatively decent video card. If I remember correctly, Radeon and Geforce are ATI and nVidia's 'gamer' graphic card lines, and are pretty much equivalent. Other than that, you should be fine. Civ 4 is not a terribly resource-intensive game.

 

[Ghost Ranger]

I would also recommend that you get Vista (Home premium minimum). You would also be better building your own computer, because you get better parts for better prices if you look around.
And everything UERD said is right- and some info on the Gfx cards-
If it's name is like this x9xx or x8xx - then its high end
x7xx through x5xx - mainstream
x0xx to x4xx - budget
get at least a mainstream budgets suck
(hope you actually understood my nonsense )

 

[Dier]

Civ 4 is not a terribly resource-intensive game.

Heh, that's a very helpful perspective, thanks!

NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU
128MB ATI Radeon X1300

Ghost, I think your nonsense makes sense, as I've seen GeForce 5--- and GeForce 7--- but where would Radeon X1300 fit in? It's only a bit more expensive than the other one listed...[/dangerous thought]

Thanks guys, I should be able to make up my mind this weekend.

 

[Ghost Ranger]

Heh, that's a very helpful perspective, thanks!

Ghost, I think your nonsense makes sense, as I've seen GeForce 5--- and GeForce 7--- but where would Radeon X1300 fit in? It's only a bit more expensive than the other one listed...[/dangerous thought]

Thanks guys, I should be able to make up my mind this weekend.

The X1300 is a budget card because the second number is a 3. I would suggest you at least get a card that can handle DirectX 10 (GeForce 8xxx or Radeon HD2xxx) so you can play those games when they come out, however it is November when the 1st DirectX 10 game(s) come out. Therefore, you probably want to get a non-DX10 video card then get a DX10 card when you need it. (make sure you get a good processor so it doesn't bottleneck the new Gfx card)

 

[Dier]

lol, I guess I was looking at the wrong number. Maybe now it makes sense...

If the past is anything to go by, I won't be needing anything too fancy. I usually buy older games that have been all patched up and come with an expansion or two in the same box. For now, I just want to play Civ on a large map and turn the movies on.