So slow, I could die.

[Vegasgustan]

I just found out that the processor is 600 mHz, so that pretty much sums up the rest. Wow, no wonder I got this thing for free! Thanks again.

 

[Zakharov]

I just found out that the processor is 600 mHz

In that case, if you want to add more RAM you will need PC100 SDRAM. You can probably find a 128MB stick for around $30 if you look around. A total of 256MB will really help Civ3 run smoother.

 

[gmaharriet]

I'm still learning the game, but I've observed a few things. I have a P4, 950mhz and 512megs of RAM.

I could play vanilla Civ3, Chieftain, huge maps and 10 civs with no slowdown during the game. When I went to Warlord recently, I was fine with huge map and 8 civs, but 10 civs has slowed me to a crawl since about 1900 AD. Does the difficulty level make a difference in how fast the game runs?

 

[Zakharov]

Does the difficulty level make a difference in how fast the game runs?

One reason why the difficulty level will slow the game down is because the AI will develop quicker at higher levels and so will have more units to move.

It could also be the case that your Chieftain game was fairly peaceful whilst the Warlord game had some major warfare, which would probably slow things down.

 

[Scuffer]

I guess I should do the motherboard thing, or perhaps just take it in to the local computer shop and let them do it. I will try all the advice, thanks again!

Putting RAM in is about the easiest thing to do on the internals. No need bother with the shop unless you have spare money you don't need.

Open it up, find the bit that looks like the one you bought, put it in an empty - the right way around (has notches so easy to tell), push it home, job done.

Thinking about it, it might be worth just opening it up to make sure you have a spare slot. It is possible you have 2*64Mb, which might fill the slots up.

 

[tR1cKy]

@gmaharriet: pentium 4 950mh?!?!?!? how is it possible? they started with 1.4 ghz some years ago... (btw, these old chips SUCKED, they were beaten by a 1 GHZ Athlon Thunderbird)

@Scuffer (Vega read): don't bet on it. It may not be so easy. In past years, i've seen lots of problems due to SDRAM memory sticks incompatible each other or with the MB. Different timings, different vendor, different internal controller... You risk to find yourself owning a useless memory stick.

 

[Scuffer]

Really? I must just have been always lucky then. Ignore me on that Vegas, but if you do go the shop route, make sure they buy the RAM, so it's their problem if it doesn't work. Or go cheap, ebay has 128Mb sticks for £3, or about $6.

 

[Greebley]

The biggest slowdown occurs when rails are built. The higher the difficulty the sooner the AI has rails and starts to build them. That is why you see much bigger slowdowns in the later game. I believe the slowdown is based on the number of squares connected by rails. With huge games this can be a lot of them.

 

[SJ Frank]

I find another thing that may slow down the game is route re-calculation. Whenever I do something that may cause the game re-calculate trade routes or unit path, like bombarding road or razing cities, the game takes a long time to respond. I also found that I can sort of fix that, by alt-tabing to another application, and make Civ run in the background. That seems to make the wait time much shorter.

 

[Vegasgustan]

Okay, so it is amazing what you can find out if you just go to the website of the manufacturer of the computer!

I went to Dell's site, ready to pull my hair out and then not so much. It was really simple and I found out the exact memory I need. How much it can take. How many slots it has. All that.

So here goes, it takes PC133 SDRAM Non-Parity Unbuffered. It goes up to 512MB and currently it has one 128MB in it. Thus, I guess I need to put another 128 or maybe a 256 in it and be done.

Any more thoughts or places to buy?

Thanks again!

 

[gmaharriet]

@gmaharriet: pentium 4 950mh?!?!?!? how is it possible? they started with 1.4 ghz some years ago... (btw, these old chips SUCKED, they were beaten by a 1 GHZ Athlon Thunderbird)

I don't know what I was thinking...maybe the computer before last??? I pulled out the original invoice and it's 1.8ghz. Thanks for catching that!!!

 

[gmaharriet]

One reason why the difficulty level will slow the game down is because the AI will develop quicker at higher levels and so will have more units to move.

It could also be the case that your Chieftain game was fairly peaceful whilst the Warlord game had some major warfare, which would probably slow things down.

Ooooh, yeah, the warfare. Yes, on Chieftain I'd play a religious civ, build lots and LOTS of culture, and just watch my borders expand until I had a cultural victory. Yikes!!! NOW, I'm having to learn how to fight. Imagine that!!!

 

[Turner]

Any more thoughts or places to buy?

I still say crucial.com is the best. Although www.newegg.com might have the same memory for a cheaper price. Kingston is good, too, IMO.

 

[Vegasgustan]

I still say crucial.com is the best. Although www.newegg.com might have the same memory for a cheaper price. Kingston is good, too, IMO.

Checked them all. The memory is surprisingly expensive. Crucial wants close to $80.00 bucks for a 256! It looks like no matter what I am looking at around $40.00 or so. I am going to check with this used computer shop to see how much it costs. At least I know that I can install it myself now. That is better.

Thanks!

 

[Turner]

Yeah, with memory that old, you're going to pay more.

 

[Sar]

HI gyes. I'd like to suggest to put down your records! I mean max time you were waiting over PC's while waiting your turn. For example my max time was 11 minutes. I had been sitting and looking and looking and looking and ... before all the workers finished their walking around.

 

[Vegasgustan]

Sar, you could start a new threa with that in mind. Perhaps a poll...

 

[Admiral8Q]

...I had been sitting and looking and looking and looking and ... before all the workers finished their walking around.

You can hold down Shift to cancel the animation of units. I do this when I get impatiant, like moving a stack of 40 units all at once.