What laptop should I get for Civ 5?

[stealth_nsk]

They run some games well and there are high end mobile chips too, but in the $600 range of laptops you're more likely to end up with crap.

I'd not recommend $600 laptop for gaming anyway.

 

[tokala]

Just make sure none of these terms appear in the description of its graphics capabilities:

• Integrated
  [*] Mobile
  [*] M (trailing M in a chipset name)
• Intel

So you are advising people who are looking for a notebook not to buy a notebook?
ALL notebook GPUs will have a m(obile) or mobility somewhere in the designation.
It is true, though, that a mobile GPU will be notably inferior to a desktop GPU with the same designation, but thats the price you have to pay for the computer being mobile.

 

[dannythefool]

So you are advising people who are looking for a notebook not to buy a notebook?

Well.. if I have to be honest... if you are looking for something that can play recent games for $600 then the only sound advice I have is don't buy a laptop.

ALL notebook GPUs will have a m(obile) or mobility somewhere in the designation.

Thanks! I forgot to mention "Mobility" for ATi (oops, now AMD) chips.

But you're right, they seem to have snuck in Ms or similar everywhere now... some years ago there used to be a distinct difference between mobile/mobility/m/xpress/go and so on.

Anyway. Don't buy a laptop for $600 and expect to play a new game on it.

 

[chaotoroboto]

Well.. if I have to be honest... if you are looking for something that can play recent games for $600 then the only sound advice I have is don't buy a laptop.

It depends on the gaming you want to do. Someone who lives for fps games is going to play on a desktop for several valid reasons other than the video card framerate. There's a large amount of ergonomic concerns with hardcore action gaming that laptops simply can't address.

But someone who just wants to pick up WoW, SC2, Civ 5, the Sims? They're going to be in great shape with a well-chosen $600 or $700 laptop. I've listed out several good choices in another thread, I've pointed some out in this thread or one like it, and while none of them are going to run Crysis on high or GTA4 on high, they're all going to get you by for a year or two, while running quiet, cold, and portable.

I think "Gaming Laptops" are like unicorns, but I've been doing all of my gaming on laptops for almost a decade now, and I wouldn't go back.

 

[B-29 Bomber]

I think what everyone's missing here is that Civ 5 is not the only reason I'm getting a laptop, my fault. I may be able to increase it another 50 if I can convince my parents.

 

[chaotoroboto]

Well, check the thread I posted. I'm on my phone so I can't easily go find it. The low cost one's listed are all going to handle Civ 5 or comparable games well, and any other tasks besides maybe videoediting with no problem.

 

[B-29 Bomber]

Here's the deal: Civ V will run on laptops.

While it will scale well graphically on more impressive computers, the minimum specs should provide everything except for some of the flashier graphics. The dual-core is likely a requirement more for the AI programming than for graphics abilities. Otherwise, all of the specifications are REALLY LOW. A recent graphics card, a recent chip, default levels of RAM.

When I recommended a radeon 5650, my point was that it's going to be a graphics card that will handle ALMOST (but not quite) ALL of the graphics that 5 can through at it. It will scale well and run similar games at decent levels of performance, and it's available in computers that cost less that $700.

As an aside, who wants a computer that they can't take with them? Desktops were great in the 90's, but nowadays...

Anyway, B29, I wouldn't be worried about any new, $600+ laptop being able to run Civ 5. I'd make sure I was a fan of the physical build quality, the keyboard layout, and size/layout, but the specs will carry you fine. If I was worried about anything, I'd be extremely iffy on buying a new computer with only 2 gigs of RAM. Acer has good looking, well spec'ed notebooks in a variety of screen sizes running the radeon 5650 for $650 and up on newegg.

EDIT: $600? Can you squeeze it up to $650? If so, then this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115796

If not, then one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115848
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114909
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114937

I like Acers better than other computers at the same price, they always have the best price/performance ratio and decent build quality. Asus and Sony have the best build quality, but you pay for it with lower-end chips and a higher price tag.

Some people in my classes have Toshiba's, they're not real impressive but those two models are well spec'ed for the price.

Thanks for the info! really was helpful. Also I like the sig! I just found out my parents will pay 50 extra, cheers!

 

[civ_king]

Well.. if I have to be honest... if you are looking for something that can play recent games for $600 then the only sound advice I have is don't buy a laptop.



Thanks! I forgot to mention "Mobility" for ATi (oops, now AMD) chips.

But you're right, they seem to have snuck in Ms or similar everywhere now... some years ago there used to be a distinct difference between mobile/mobility/m/xpress/go and so on.

Anyway. Don't buy a laptop for $600 and expect to play a new game on it.

This, a better rule of thumb is if the number is four digits, then the third digit tells you the quality, you want the third digit to be a 7, 8 or 9

It depends on the gaming you want to do. Someone who lives for fps games is going to play on a desktop for several valid reasons other than the video card framerate. There's a large amount of ergonomic concerns with hardcore action gaming that laptops simply can't address.

But someone who just wants to pick up WoW, SC2, Civ 5, the Sims? They're going to be in great shape with a well-chosen $600 or $700 laptop. I've listed out several good choices in another thread, I've pointed some out in this thread or one like it, and while none of them are going to run Crysis on high or GTA4 on high, they're all going to get you by for a year or two, while running quiet, cold, and portable.

I think "Gaming Laptops" are like unicorns, but I've been doing all of my gaming on laptops for almost a decade now, and I wouldn't go back.

WoW came out in 2004, SC2 requires a weak CPU and a weak GPU for recommended specs, the Sims 3 (newest one) requires weak everything... So yeah, those three will likely run great on a $600 laptop! OTOH Civ V's recommended specs can't be met in an affordable laptop

 

[B-29 Bomber]

Here's the 700 dollar question: Does Civ 5 have more than one install? There are some computer programs that limit the number of installs you can do. Most of the ones I've heard of were virus protection programs. Also did civ 4 do this?

 

[civ_king]

Here's the 700 dollar question: Does Civ 5 have more than one install? There are some computer programs that limit the number of installs you can do. Most of the ones I've heard of were virus protection programs. Also did civ 4 do this?

Civ V has unlimited installs, however you can only play one copy at a time

 

[chaotoroboto]

Here's the 700 dollar question: Does Civ 5 have more than one install? There are some computer programs that limit the number of installs you can do. Most of the ones I've heard of were virus protection programs. Also did civ 4 do this?

Civ V has unlimited installs, however you can only play one copy at a time

This is not exactly a 700 dollar question, and that's not really an accurate answer. 2KGreg went to a lot of trouble to do a Steam FAQ for the CFC and 2k forums back in like July, and it's stickied at the top of this forum.

http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=944015#post944015

Note that, with the flip of one software toggle in Steam, you can play multiple instances of Civ 5 at one time. This includes LAN multiplayer.

 

[RiverWarlord]

Any idea as to which would be better for Civ? Both are $600 and 15.6 inch screens.


Toshiba
1.6 GHz AMD Phenom II P920 quad-core processor
4 GB DDR3 memory
ATI Radeon HD 4250 graphics card


or


Acer
AMD Turion II Dual-Core P520(2.3GHz)
4GB Memory DDR3
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650

Thanks, this thread has been very useful.

 

[civ_king]

Acer and stop doing same post in two different threads!

 

[B-29 Bomber]

This is not exactly a 700 dollar question, and that's not really an accurate answer. 2KGreg went to a lot of trouble to do a Steam FAQ for the CFC and 2k forums back in like July, and it's stickied at the top of this forum.

http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=944015#post944015

Note that, with the flip of one software toggle in Steam, you can play multiple instances of Civ 5 at one time. This includes LAN multiplayer.

yes it is. I will need to spend at least 700 dollars on a laptop and civ 5.

 

[paulelowey]

I just booted Civ5 up today on my MacBook running Bootcamp. This laptop IS NOT a beefy powerhouse at all (I really use it for office stuff and that's it) - however it ran AWESOME I have to say. Sure, the video settings had to be quite low - but if you're ok with that, than a $1000 Apple could do the trick perfectly for you.

 

[B-29 Bomber]

I just booted Civ5 up today on my MacBook running Bootcamp. This laptop IS NOT a beefy powerhouse at all (I really use it for office stuff and that's it) - however it ran AWESOME I have to say. Sure, the video settings had to be quite low - but if you're ok with that, than a $1000 Apple could do the trick perfectly for you.

Have you been reading this WHOLE thread!?! A $1,000 is at least 200 to 300 dollars over my UPPER limit so no way and if I have to mess with the laptop just to get civ 5 then I'd rather have a PC.

 

[player1 fanatic]

If anybody is interested, i tried Civ5 on laptop with 3470 mobility radeon, and it was decent enough for Low DX9 settings on 1280x800. Frame rate is around 10-15fps in late game (20+ for leaders), but this is not shooter, so it's playable enough.


P.S.
It's ASUS X59SR.

 

[enchanter100]

My laptop is a m3200 and it's decent. everything on low but it's definitely playable.

 

[B-29 Bomber]

Now because of the product key Activation will I be able to install it on my laptop AND
desktop?

 

[The_J]

Civ is tied to your steam account, not to anything else.
You can install Civ5 on every computer you want to, how often you want to.