Will it be possible to play ciV with a PCI video card?
- Thread starter jorissimo
- Start date
You might be able to, but I really don't recommend it.
If your motherboard only has PCI slots, I doubt you're using a processor with enough horsepower to run the game very well. Perhaps it's time for a major upgrade?
If your motherboard only has PCI slots, I doubt you're using a processor with enough horsepower to run the game very well. Perhaps it's time for a major upgrade?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...eactivatedMark=False&Order=PRICED&PageSize=20
The best you can do looks to be an GeForce 8400 GS. That barely makes minimum requirements for that card on AGP. But I warn you, it will be severely limited compared to an 8400 on AGP or PCIexpress.
The best you can do looks to be an GeForce 8400 GS. That barely makes minimum requirements for that card on AGP. But I warn you, it will be severely limited compared to an 8400 on AGP or PCIexpress.
Hustapha Thool
Warlord
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- Apr 30, 2003
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- 234
Can you even play Civ IV?
AMDs are great for gamers on a budget, like $100 quad cores??
Well, I guess I'll just have to buy a new computer. I just found a fantastic deal on the internet, just €279,- for a real powerhouse with a quadcore processor, 2 gigs of RAM expandable to 4 gigs, good integrated graphics and a PCIe slot. Thanks for your help!
Lillefix
I'm serious. You can.
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The bolded part is an oxymoron imo, but for 279 it sounds quite good.
CommanderZ
Warlord
That says everything you need to know.
Get out there and upgrade!
It shows that message to me to. And I don't have weak PC (GF M9650, C2D 2.5 GHZ, 4GB RAM). It just doesn't have some piece of key hardware (most likely the graphics card in my case, in OP's probably too) in its predefined performance tables, so it doesn't know what settings to use as default.
kozzer
Liberated Autocrat
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- Dec 8, 2005
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And it's got a PCIe slot, so a dedicated GPU can be installed if the stock setup isn't satisfactory. Though I imagine that if he's coming from the system he's describing, it should definitely be satisfactory.
Rhye
's and Fall creator
integrated graphics won't be that good
I know, but I can easily upgrade it with a video card.
tokala
Emperor
There are a 9500GT and a a 9400GT from Sparkle, what seem to be the fastest models available for PCI. And according to the customer comments at newegg, people are actually able to play games as of 2010 with the (slower) 9400GT. Good luck finding one of those at an etailer.
PCI has half the bandwith of PCIe 1.0 1x. This will obviously reduce the performance of the card compared to the standard PCIe 1.0/2.0 16x. Nevertheless, even much more powerful cards suffer only in some cases a drastic performance hit wenn running at PCIe 1x. The slower cards will be less affected by a reduced bandwith.
A "normal" 9500GT would be a bit faster than the "minimum" 7900Gs, a 9400GT a bit slower. The PCI versions would both be slower than the 7900gs, but still in the same league. So it will be probably playable at minmum settings.
And you would be probably dependent on the drivers provided by sparkle, as already the support for AGP cards by nVidia is abysmal.
Edit: too late ...
Danger Will Robinson! This is not always possible to do, especially with cheaper pre-built computers. My experience was with a refurbished HP machine for my wife. We replaced the video card, but the additional power requirements meant that it only would power on sometimes. Eventually we gave up and just used integrated video. I tried to replace the power supply, but that was riveted into the system. Eventually the PC died. Good riddance, though it was worth what we paid for it, which was not much.
Your plan might work for you, but make sure that your planned video card's power requirements are within the power output of the stock power supply. Over time, power supplies slowly lose their ability, so maybe stay within 75% of the rated value. Preferably, make sure the power supply is removable. You probably cannot verify all this on a cheap machine when buying online. Good luck.
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