Smoothest PC i run Civ4

[mikesh]

I have the chance to install and try out the game from my friend's newly fixed high end computer, and conclusion was.. all the bugs etc ... are not visible at all, so its might be some of us who play, our computer is just not good enough for it
The setup was a Althon dual core 64x2 4400+ overclocked to 4800, running water cooling, 2x raptor hardisk, 2xgeforce 256mb and all the other good stuffs ...
I created a huge map (I guess most of us have problems with it) and 17 other civs competing! He played for 2 days and completed without a single problem at all!!! No hanging , no black/white spots, no wonder animation problems. Everything was so smooth.
Guess its time for a new computer ?

 

[adb280z]

You shouldn't need a 2 or 3 thousand dollar computer to play this game.

 

[Xavier Von Erck]

You don't. I have a ATI 9000 (Less than a hundred bucks), 512 DDR of RAM and a P4 2.4 GHZ processor...

Game runs fine. Just fine.

 

[knightofhope]

P4 2.4G
1G RAM
Asus Geforce440 64M
SATA 80G Harddisk

Must Crashed within 20 rounds
sometimes crashed within 1 minutes

 

[nistech]

p4 2.4G 80g hard disk 420 geforce4 64bit- 480mb ram
never crashes the game runs fine
intro is laggy and the game gets slower as it progresses (huge maps are slower)

 

[Die_Spieler]

It's all about compatibility. You could have a 3 grand pc, and have trouble. You could have an 800 dolar pc and run it wonderfully.

 

[mikesh]

P4 2.4G
1G RAM
Asus Geforce440 64M
SATA 80G Harddisk

Must Crashed within 20 rounds
sometimes crashed within 1 minutes

I have exactly the same setup as you except on a pentium 1.8 p4 .
It runs just fine with standard maps, managed all the way to victory without any problems... Its just huge maps, with 16 other civs that is causing problems rite ? Was fine intially, till later stages, it hangs from every 10 turns to every 2-3 turns and finally, every turn with the 64mb video card. I changed to a 256mb fx5700 that cost only 60-70 bucks and it was fine for at least 20-30 turns even in the later stages now

 

[Paccali]

I have a 3.4 GHz P4, 1 GB ram (ordered another gig today), 128MB GeForce 6600 GT, and I have so many issues. Its irritating. My computer runs Half-Life 2, Doom 3, WoW, and everything else just fine. This game is crap.

 

[JasperKlybek]

The game should run fine on the specifications set forth by Firaxis.

If it requires a $3000 dollar computer to run the game properly then it amounts to nothing more than false advertising.

If I ever invest $3000 bucks in to a computer it won't be to sit around and play games on anyways.

For me everything is fine except on huge maps. So I will avoid them and save myself about $2200.

Investing 3 grand to make Firaxis look good is something your friend can do.

 

[robaughjr]

Thats the problem. If you need a 3 grand rig to run the game it should say so on the box. 2k fudged the reccommended specs to boost sales.

 

[Zevus]

I have a 3.4 GHz P4, 1 GB ram (ordered another gig today), 128MB GeForce 6600 GT, and I have so many issues. Its irritating. My computer runs Half-Life 2, Doom 3, WoW, and everything else just fine. This game is crap.

I had a 3.2ghz P4, 1GB ram, 256MB geforce 6800 GT.... stuck exclusively to small & standard maps because large and huge just became way too sluggish (even standard got a little slow near the end).

I see how other ppl report that they can run the game fine with 512MB of memory and such, but, well, I solved my problem by upgrading to 2GB of memory - didnt change anything else, even increased graphic settings to high and resolution to 1600x1200 afterwards. It runs fine now for me too. No clue how some people can run it on less memory. Shrug.

 

[Ninja2]

2k fudged the reccommended specs to boost sales.

Nah, that's not it. The game is just poorly programmed to begin with. Either that, or QA just messed up, big time.

 

[Paccali]

I tell you what though, I am certainly not buying another game from Firaxis. I don't care if there's an endorsement of Sid having sex with the franchise; I'm done with it. Not even if they release an all encompassing patch right now. This customer service problem is unbelievable.

I have been forced to keep a game that I don't want, and that doesn't work. I can't return it, because the mighty forces at EB Games say that I can't. I am stuck with this 50$ game, and its complete trash.

 

[pikeman666]

It's all about compatibility. You could have a 3 grand pc, and have trouble. You could have an 800 dolar pc and run it wonderfully.

Yup - this is absolutely true. For video you need something equivalent to a GF4 with 128 megs. This game will not run on a $9 vid card!
A gig of memory is a real good idea. Memory is pretty cheap now.
I'm running OK - not a single lock-up - on an $800 PC.

 

[mikesh]

Yup - this is absolutely true. For video you need something equivalent to a GF4 with 128 megs. This game will not run on a $9 vid card!
A gig of memory is a real good idea. Memory is pretty cheap now.
I'm running OK - not a single lock-up - on an $800 PC.

Hi, I know is alright playing this game with a $800 pc, but the problem is to play a huge map... a simple pc that just meets the specs just couldn't do the job well, in the later stages of the game.
I could play this game with no problems at all up to the end without any problems on a standard or small map with just a $500 pc, but the fun are in the huge maps I feel and a pc that just meets the specs can't handle the job well. Even reformatting the hdd etc ... it just couldn't do the job

 

[VimesUK]

I think that Civ 4 comes into its own *IF* you have a damned good PC spec and it co-exists with your hardware, software and driver combination.

For me I play on maps larger than huge and have no problems with slowdowns even in the later ages with the full map revealed.

I suppose that can be the problem with some cutting edge games like Civ 4 that push the demands of the hardware beyond what the average punter has and yet they can load up and be enticed by a huge map that soon becomes unplayable.

For those of you who can remember the game Total Annihilation from a few years back might recall that there were some v-e-r-y huge 64mb maps available that would slow the beefiest machine of its day down to a crawl. Well the situation hasn't changed.

I am pleased that I have seen the game played on low spec machines with reduced resolution and eye candy, and it played well, but for me I can play it fine at 1280x1024 2xAA with all the eye candy on and it not only plays fine but it looks damned good as well.

 

[mikesh]

The game should run fine on the specifications set forth by Firaxis.

If it requires a $3000 dollar computer to run the game properly then it amounts to nothing more than false advertising.

If I ever invest $3000 bucks in to a computer it won't be to sit around and play games on anyways.

For me everything is fine except on huge maps. So I will avoid them and save myself about $2200.

Investing 3 grand to make Firaxis look good is something your friend can do.

U don't need $3000 to run this game, $500 pc will run this game. But to run it perfectly on a huge map till the end, u do need a really good pc.
Btw.. huge maps are more addictive

 

[Zydor]

Its not about hardware specs - the "average" PC will run, many do, as do older ones. As said earlier its about compatibility and the various elements being configured to run together . I have a problem running it at present, but mine is not Civ IV related as the same problem appears in Supreme Ruler 2010. 3D games are hugely complex in the background, new ground rules apply, 2D based asumptions and values are not relevant.

Granted there is a lot there due to releasing it too early - very naughty - but its wrong to automatically assume that ALL woes & troubles can be laid at Civ IV's door. Many have not really played a true 3D game before - including yours truely - and when you do a whole new set of software & hardware issues surface.

All part of life's sweet pattern

Regards
Zy

 

[garion29]

I have the same problem, but I was able to resolve it. Yes, Civ4 is a memory hog. I am running a huge map with 4 civs. Mine crashed at year 1990 when I discoved satellites and the whole map became visual. Found the problem to be a lack of memory issue. Here's my systems specs:

P4 3.0c
Asus P4C800 Deluxe Mobo
Asus Gforce FX5900 Ultra w/ 256mb
3 GB Corsair DDR400 XMS3200 memory
HP dvd200i
Sony DVD writer
Soundblaster Audigy 2

At the time it was crashing, I had only 1GB of on board memory. I updated all my drivers for the mobo, vid card, both dvd players, and sound card to the current releases.........no go. Still crashed. I checked the performance tab in the Task Manager window while the game was running and it said that Civ4 was taking a little over 550MB!! The rest of the memory was taking up by memory resident programs.........so where does that leave me? 0. I ordered 2 more Gigs of mem from zipzoomfly.com and put them in. I reran the game and WALA, solved. No more crashing, no more stuttering. Smooth as glass. I rechecked the memory usage and I had 1.8 GB avail. Firaxas wasn't kidding when they say the wanted 512MB memory. It is just for the game and nothing else.