What specs do I REALLY need

[furtigan]

I haven't played Civ in over a year or more, since my video card died and I found that my system was unable to handle the really big maps and interesting mods. But the new expansion looks interesting, and I'd like to find out what I need to really run some of the biggest maps without lag time.

My current setup is a

AMD 2800 2 GB CPU,
768 MB of RAM,
52x CD-ROM,
Win XP

If I upgrade to 2 GB of RAM, will that be all I need, or is that CPU not really gonna cut it? (Defining "cut it" as "no more than 3 secs lag time while running 32 civs on the biggest possible map at AD 1900")

 

[Ireavus]

Well, you didn't post what your video card was...Ive got an AMD Sempron 2800+ overclocked a lot mind you, but I have no problem running the biggest maps. If I were you, I would grab some extra ram (so you have 2 gigs), and perhaps a video card? Post what video card you have now.

Hope this helps!

 

[GVBN]

I'd say get at least the following
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM: 2GB
GPU: Geforce 7300GT

 

[Ireavus]

Depending on how much money your looking to spend on upgrades, a 3800+ is a good choice, although, If your just using your system for civ4 it might be a bit overkill. You can pick them up really cheaply now though, more speed can't hurt!

~Ireavus

 

[furtigan]

Post what video card you have now.

Sorry if I wasn't clear; my video card died, so I have none. I already knew I had to replace that and add RAM; now I'm just deciding if I need a new CPU.

Thanks to all for the help.

 

[Ireavus]

If you want to play Civ4 at decent settings, with minimal lag, I'd just go for 2 gigs of ram, and something like a ATI Radeon 9800, or radeon X1600. The main thing is ram, so you can get away with a *cheaper* video card, but make sure you get one with 256mb of memory on it.

Good luck with your purchases =)

~Ireavus