Slow turns.More ram?

gagemo

Chieftain
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
38
Location
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is there any way to make this game run faster all the turns are slow as hell. what works best? more ram?
 
Please post your DxDiag file (see my sig) so we can see your system specs. More RAM, faster CPU and better graphics card will all help, but your system may have a specific bottleneck.

Moderator Action: Moved to Tech Support.
 
I vote no to more RAM. Not only the game is still a 32 bits executable, which means it won't be able to access more than 2 GB, but I've got 6 GB of memory and that doesn't seems to help. The game stays quite consistently around 1 to 1,2 GB of memory occupation.
Given the nature of what's being done after you click next turn, I'd guess that more horsepower in the CPU is definitely a solution to explore.
 
------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/31/2010, 12:07:59
Machine name: GAGEMO-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.100608-0458)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP-Pavilion
System Model: GC385AV-ABA d4890y
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6420 @ 2.13GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 2417MB used, 1913MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode
DxDiag Previously: Crashed in system information (stage 4)
 
Your problem is most likely not the main memory but

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 7500 LE :D

That card has only about 1/4 of the processing power of a "minimum" 7900GS

Having more than 2GB RAM will only matter if those are used up by the game and operating system. Unless you are playing large/huge maps and those are filled up with cities, 2GB should be sufficient.

A minor issue is the CPU, a 2GHz C2D is just about the "minimum" requirements. But even the most powerful moderrn CPU will only be about twice as fast in Civ5.

You should also consider updating your Windows, Service Pack 2 is stated as required for Civ5. Keeping your windows up to date is a good idea in general.


Edit: the audio and video drivers are ancient by computer standards, you should update those as well ;)
 
is there any way to make this game run faster all the turns are slow as hell. what works best? more ram?
CPU needs an upgrade
------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/31/2010, 12:07:59
Machine name: GAGEMO-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.100608-0458)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP-Pavilion
System Model: GC385AV-ABA d4890y
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6420 @ 2.13GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 2417MB used, 1913MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode
DxDiag Previously: Crashed in system information (stage 4)
you need:
faster CPU Just above minimum
more RAM below minimum once you subtract all the RAM used by Vista
better GPU a bit below minimum
Update OS, Vista needs to be on service pack 2
Getting a new computer might be better
 
I have same problem with very bad lag once the game gets going...Wife and I have never finished a multiplayer game cause we have to start over because the lag between turns gets too bad. There is definitely nothing wrong with our rigs and they are identical.


Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
BIOS: BIOS Date: 07/23/09 18:29:19 Ver: 08.00.15
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 6136MB RAM
Page File: 2443MB used, 9824MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series
 
civ_king tends to be a bit dismissive towards anything but a state of the art machine ;)

He is obviously correct in that a better machine will be faster at civ, but as already mentioned, even the most powerful machines will not give you THAT much faster turntimes.

The video card is the only thing that stands out as really sub-par in your machine. It's not entirely clear if and how much a better one will speed up the game, people have reported mixed results there. But it will certainly enable you to play it at higher graphical settings :)
 
r u serious?a new comp isnt there a quick fix?

$120 for a new CPU
$50 for new RAM
$80 for low profile GPU
$250 total

tokala, yeah I find non-state of the art repulsive, that's why I showed people how to make a $600 computer that beats recommended spec!
 
r u serious?a new comp isnt there a quick fix?

No, you only need a new video card. I had almost the same specs except my vid was a 7600GT. I got a 460GTX with 768MB on sale for $159 and now its just fine. If that's out of your budget I bet a 220GTS or even 210 for <$60 would work OK. Check that your power supply can run a new card. HP's stock power supplies aren't all that strong. The box for the video card will say 'requires x watts power supply'.
 
That's what one would think if the game would have been properly programmed :D

But there were a few reports where graphics settings, tweaks or hardware made a significant difference. Most famous example the "turn times on the strategic map are way faster". Not guaranteed that it will make a difference in every case, though.
 
OK, so I have been one of those who suffer from SLOOOOWWWWW TUUUURRRRNNNNNSSSSS syndrome, but I think I might have a couple of quick fixes that will HELP reduce your turn time. Some of these are no brainers, but one in particular I found to be a great help.

1) Turn down your graphics settings. Yeah, duh, but seriously, the difference between HIGH and Medium can translate into as much as an extra minute of "Please Wait" time between your turns.

2) Play on Standard Map Size or smaller. Again, yeah, duh, but the difference between Huge and Standard is another minute of turn time.

3) If you're comfortable with doing this, alt+tab out of the game, go into your task manager, select the Civ V Process, right click and change the priority to High. This CAN help you if you have a lower processor speed, but mileage may vary. This does, however dedicate more of your PC's resources to the game process, making it run a bit smoother. It can, however, cause instability in the process, causing the game to crash (not like it doesn't already though, right?)

And the one that surprised me:

4) When you're setting up your game, go into Advanced (at the bottom) and select Fast Combat. What this does is skip the animation for units in battle. It is my firm belief that the game waits for each animation to finish (whether the game shows the combat or not) one at a time before going to the next turn. When I play on a Huge map, my turn times are about 2 min each in the late game. With this option off, my turn times are about 1/2 that. This SERIOUSLY speeds up your turns, but can be a bit confusing. On a Standard map this can shave 15 seconds or more off your wait time.

My usual games now are all played at medium graphics, Standard Map, and with fast combat on. In my last game as Monty, turn 200 or so fielding a HUGE army and waging a world war my wait time was down to about 10-15 seconds per turn.

I hope this helps someone. The fast combat is something a lot of people miss, and I thought I'd throw this up there to see if it helps anyone else. I hope it does.
 
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