Upgrading Your FFH2 Machine

[Sarisin]

I had a couple of private messages asking me the same question, so I thought I would respond in a thread so others could read and chime in if they want.

No one has complained in this forum more than me in the past about the late-game times between turns. It really made it hard for me to finish games and impossible to play on Huge maps or Marathon speed.

Well, no more because I upgraded my computer.

I went from the following specs:

Athlon 3000 to Intel Duo Core (sorry, I don't have the Hhz at the moment, but it is the best available here in Thailand where I purchased my machine)

nVidia 6600 256mb graphics card to ATI 3600 512mb

2gb RAM to 4gb RAM

That was about it. Also, I went from XP to Vista. As far as the game goes (I have other issues with Vista) I don't see any problems or improvement. I did shut off the UAC.

So, for me anyway, my FFH2 gaming improved immensely by just upgrading my computer.

PS. I am playing my first game on a Huge map with 18 civs and, except for a few CTDs (I'm trying the fix Kael posted in the bugs thread), it is moving along nicely. The upgrade has made this possible for me.

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

dude, come on. a pc is expensive and if you tell me about how fast it plays now, the chances of me buying a new one ( and ending up poooooor ) increase way too much

 

[Pyr0mancer]

You don't even need to buy a new machine. Just upgrading the RAM alone can lead to significant performance increases, and RAM is dirt cheap. Shop around, just make sure you're getting the right type for your computer. Edge has some pretty good deals, if I recall correctly.

Oh and if money is an issue, don't buy top-of-the-line stuff. It'll be both obsolete and about half the price if you wait a few months. Processor speed usually isn't an issue nowadays, and quite frankly hasn't been for years. The main bottlenecks have almost always been RAM and graphics card capability. Since late-game slowdowns in Civ4 usually are caused by the AI being slow rather than graphics bottlenecks (unless you've got burning sands over half your map), RAM becomes the most important factor.

Finally... don't upgrade an existing XP computer to Vista. It's just not worth the cost and hassle. The only major differences I can tell are that Vista is shinier and even more of a resource hog. And of course the various fun issues with UAC and such. Of course, if you buy a new machine you don't really have a choice.

 

[Sarisin]

dude, come on. a pc is expensive and if you tell me about how fast it plays now, the chances of me buying a new one ( and ending up poooooor ) increase way too much

No way am I telling you that if you want to enjoy your FFH2 experience more you need to go out and spring for a new machine.

As I said, I had several PMs asking me the same question about my upgrade so I decided to put the answer in a thread. I thought others might have some interest.

I can assure you that I did not buy this computer JUST for FFH2 - although that was one reason. My old machine was a little over 3 years old and starting to give me some hiccups and problems. Here in Thailand it is often easier (and more cost-effective) to just buy the whole deal rather than fiddling around with the various component upgrades. I can assure you that RAM is a bit more expensive here and mail-order/online purchasing is not an option as the mail system (incoming and outgoing) is terrible.

And, yes, it did come with Vista so I am suffering through the learning pains of that OS.

 

[Kael]

You can also play on smaller maps to speed things up (I've seen Sarisin's maps, and he likes big games).

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

problem is, I already have 4 gigs but my machine is 32-bit so it uses just 3 gigs :\ and the processor, although kinda new ( core2 duo @1.66 ) isn't the best around. oh, and the graphics card sucks badly ( geforce 7300 turbocache ) , but that's not much of an issue really. it still plays kinda smooth if I don't overdo the map size and the number of civs, but huge map with 27 civs ( FFH+FF+SOP ) is so much fun that I'd REALLY like to be able to play it. right now, it gets kinda unplayable when I reach the midgame, the long wait between turns is a killer for me. and I'm playing quick instead than normal for that exact matter btw, so that yes, I have to wait a while between turns, but each turn is more meaningful and it does have Vista preinstalled, unfortunately. I'd like to downgrade to XP, but can't be bothered to do that right now tbh, don't want to look around for compatible drivers, hope they work and, if they do, reinstall everything I have on it from scratch.

all in all, I'm obviously not whining cuz I can play on huge maps with default number of civs and still have lots of fun, and I do realize that there are people out there that haveto cope with standard size or smaller, so I will be grateful about what I have now

 

[snarko]

And, yes, it did come with Vista so I am suffering through the learning pains of that OS.

By using the software, you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the
software. Instead, return it to the retailer for a refund or credit. If you cannot obtain a refund
there, contact Microsoft or the Microsoft affiliate serving your country for information about Microsoft’s
refund policies. See www.microsoft.com/worldwide. In the United States and Canada, call (800)
MICROSOFT or see www.microsoft.com/info/nareturns.htm.

I guess it's too late if you're already using it, but just because retailers won't sell you any other OS doesn't mean you have to use it - or for that matter pay for it. Then again I don't know what the refund policy of MS is where you are.

 

[MiKa523]

You can also play on smaller maps to speed things up (I've seen Sarisin's maps, and he likes big games).

The problem is that smaller maps are boring, especially after plenty of games. For instance, you need to conquer less cities to become so powerful in relation to the other civs that you've already won the game, before the fancy "high-tech" stuff comes into play.
Wildlands and the Barbarian Threat aren't really enjoyable either, because they run out of space to spawn a lot sooner.

You either play with only a few AIs, which results in less religious "alliances" and kills the mood, because you won't experience all the facets the game has to offer,
or you add more AIs, which gives every civ room for like 2 more possible cities and moreover causes the early religions to spread to everyone.


Anyway, thanks for the thread, Sarisin.
Since I've already upgraded my RAM to 3GB, which didn't help much regarding FfH2's slow mid-/endgame I guess it's probably my CPU.

 

[wicshade]

I have found that if I turn off unnecessary background programs through task manager that my games will run better. I have also found it beneficial to turn off Mcafee (anti-spyware software).

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

yeah, turning off your antivirus when playing is pretty much rule number 1. I've found that turning off windows defender on Vista does make a difference too. besides, nobody needs that crap anyway

 

[Sarisin]

I guess it's too late if you're already using it, but just because retailers won't sell you any other OS doesn't mean you have to use it - or for that matter pay for it. Then again I don't know what the refund policy of MS is where you are.

A refund for ANYTHING in Thailand is pretty much a fantasy dream. It just never happens.

Thanks for your comments, though!

 

[Sto]

Upgrading memory and graphic card doesn't help that much once you have about than 2 Go/512 Mo. But the processor is very important. You should check calculation performances with integer management. For an example a pentium with have about 20% speed up on integer calculation compare to AMD or Athlon specialized on scientific calculations. The difference to manage graphics and generate maps is more than noticeable when i play with a friend that have a better computer but not a pentium.

Tcho !

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