Will it run on my computer?

[David Squires]

According to the specs listed for Civ 5, my graphics card won't handle the game. However, I've played the demo a couple times (100 turns, small map) and it handled it OK. Will the size of the map or the length of the game affect my graphic card's ability to run Civ 5? ie, if I can run small maps, standard turns with no issues through 100 turns, will I be able to run a huge map, epic turns, for an entire game? I'd love to surprise my boy with the game, but only if we can play our huge, epic games in Civ 5 like we used to do in Civ IV. Thanks for your help.

David

 

[The_J]

Would be good to know the specs .

But in general: Probably not. Games on huge maps are already a problem for computers, which match the recommended specificatons, so a PC which is below them...

 

[David Squires]

Would be good to know the specs .

But in general: Probably not. Games on huge maps are already a problem for computers, which match the recommended specificatons, so a PC which is below them...

I guess that would help.

Windows 7
AMD Athlon II XA 645 Quad Core processor
NVidia GeForce 6150SE (I think this is what will kill me)
1 TB HD
4GB DDR3 Memory

I think that about covers it.

Thanks again for your help.

David

 

[The_J]

Let's say it in this way: I don't think anybody else here has run the game yet on such a weak non-integrated graphics card. I'm honestly surprised that this even works at all.
...er...I don't think there's even the slightest chance that this PC will be able to handle a huge map.

 

[cain3456]

Not so fast, J.


------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/8/2009, 00:05:09

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.lh_sp2rtm.090410-1830)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: EMACHINES
System Model: T5230
BIOS: )Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+ (2 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 894MB RAM
Page File: 1346MB used, 872MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03D0&SUBSYS_60261509&REV_A2
Display Memory: 313 MB
Dedicated Memory: 122 MB
Shared Memory: 191 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic Non-PnP Monitor
Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Driver Version: 7.15.0011.7813 (English)
DDI Version: 10
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 9/18/2008 00:55:00, 5963776 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4090-11CF-3C68-2D4002C2CA35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x03D0
SubSys ID: 0x60261509
Revision ID: 0x00A2
Revision ID: 0x00A2


So go ahead and try it. Larger maps will be a problem, but standard and down should be ok. Of course you'll need to run graphics on minimum, but some of us would rather play the game than look at pretty pictures.

 

[timtofly]

To add to that, they have been "tweaking" the game since then, but until he can play the game the way he wants to, know one will know if it works for him or not.

He already knows the game works, that is the biggest hurdle. There are graphics choices that will allow the game to play without all the bells and whistles.

He may be presently surprised that it works well, or slightly annoyed that he waisted x amount of money on a game that is currently "slow" but one day when he gets a new computer, it will work great. Hopefully he gets another chance at steam to get it very cheap like they do off and on.

 

[The_J]

Not so fast, J.
[...]

okay, you're the first one.
(-> good to know )

 

[David Squires]

Thanks guys! Good to know that the game runs on Standard for you. Honestly I was surprised the demo ran at all for me let alone so well.

Tim, you hit the nail on the head. Graphics are really not that important to me. Much, much more concerned with gameplay. Speed isn't that important either. I don't mind waiting a bit for other players turns to finish. I would be bummed if I could get toward the end of the game and it crashed repeatedly and I couldn't finish the game. Looks like I won't know for sure until I try it.

J, you've been very helpful. Yeah, the graphics card sucks, but I'm having difficulty finding one that I know will work in my machine. From what I understand, the graphics card needs to be low profile (I think that's the term) and I have a pretty weak power supply. My wife will probably sign off on upgrading the graphics card if I could figure out one that would work, but getting the to sign off on both is going to be a battle.

Thanks, guys!

 

[timtofly]

When Nvidea brought out the GT 430, it had as an advertisement that it was designed for CivV. The 6150SE N 430 must have been an earlier chipset identical. I realize that the 430 numbering scheme may or may not have anything to do with it.

I have always assumed that if the command to "launch" the game via commands sent to the GPU were not recognized by the GPU, the computer either does nothing, crashes, or eventually sends back an OS system error. Most people just complain that the computer does nothing. I realize that is not very technical (due to specs) troubleshooting, but more of a trial by error way of doing things.

Personnally I just kept putting the video cards I had laying around, until I got one to "work". It was only after these failed in others games, I then went out and purchased a new card. I happened to see the 430, and it was on sale so I bought it. Later my son said that his Roblox was now laggy. Not sure why Roblox would work fine with an older GPU instead of a newer one though.

I thought I was scraping the bottom of the barrel with my Nvidea Geforce Go 7600, but Cain3456 and David Squires has me beat. Based on the experiences I have had, it seems that the video card may not be the main bottleneck when it comes to turn times though. If the graphics are acceptable at the beginning of a game and even in the demo, it is not the graphics that change in the end game. It is the amount of resources being processed. Even turning off animated actions, even if the AI has all the resources, it still bogs down the game, and that has nothing to do with showing the graphics on the UI.

You are welcome

 

[David Squires]

Tim,

My graphics are set as low as they can go I think although there are still animations for the battles (which I could care less about). On the demo I the wait for other players turns is 1-30 seconds depending of it there are battles going on that I'm aware of. Perfectly acceptable for me.

When my wife gets back from vacation (or she resolves the issue with the hotel double charging her), I think I'll purchase the game and see how it runs. If I can run it on Std maps at least, I'll be happy. And perhaps I can upgrade my graphics card at a later time.