Just want to throw my data point into the pile.
I've got a P4 2.4 Ghz, 1 gig of ram, but only 64 MB integrated 8XXXX intel video. I downloaded the demo and got the black terrain.
So then my fiancee buys me the game for Christmas. She bought it kind of at the last minute, after I had been debating back and forth. Then she started hinting about how I should buy that video card I had been talking about. Well like any dense male, I didn't get the hint, so I had the game on Christmas, but no card.
But amazingly, the game ran fine, but slow, after hooking up the 1.52 patch. Couldn't get any movies to work right, and the leader heads eyes were a little scary, but it worked. Something tells me that this is the version they wanted to release, but were forced to release early. But from following the threads it looks like a ton of people were enjoying the game from the initial release so who can tell what's best. It seems if you pre-order you should get a bit of a discount for being a willing tester.

Anyway...
I went out and bought a Radeon 9250 256 MB (I know, I know, but it seems I've only got PCI slots.

) for $80 and the difference is amazing. Movies, map scrolling, globe view, everything looks great in Medium. I'm sure on a bigger map, I might need to turn it down to low again. We'll just have to see.
Oh, the game, was it worth it? Well I'll tell you one thing. The game is complicated as hell. There's so many decisions, so many more variables. But the governor automation (if you choose to use it), and shield overflow, really make the game a ton of fun. (Especially now with an improved Civilopedia.) Of course, I'll need to play about 500 more games before I can give an informed opinion.
