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For those with problems, you should check and try some of the fixes for the other problems people have encountered. Here is a short list of potential reasons for the problems you are running into.
1) The need for updated drivers, including AGP, PCI Express, Motherboard/chipset drivers, sound drivers(yes, sound can cause the crashing too).
2) Make sure that you install DirectX from the game CD/DVD, then uninstall and then re-install the video card and sound drivers. The DirectX install can sometimes break drivers for various reasons.
3) there is the unPAK issue that causes a crash for many people, mostly ATI but can also affect NVIDIA based cards. Check the ATI thread that it set to TOP in the Civ4-help forum.
4) Motherboard or Video card arn't getting enough power. Since Civ 4 is more intense on system resources than many older games, it's possible that the system needs more power than your current power supply is able to provide. Depending on video card for example, you may need a 400 watt or greater power supply for full stability in some systems. Newer processors(CPUs) draw a bit more power as well, and new video cards can draw a LOT of power. If the power supply can't handle the demand, you can get reboots or strange behavior.
Remember, just because your computer could handle older games easily doesn't mean it can handle the new games that are out today. In general, you will want your computer to be at least a Pentium 4 2.0GHz or above, or an Athlon 2000+ or above. A 2.8GHz Pentium 4 or an Athlon 64 will help a lot when it comes down to it, but don't neglect your video card, because it's often the key to running games well. A Geforce FX 5600 or above or Radeon 9600 pro or above are what I recomend. While games will run on slower cards, do you want something that is barely good enough?
For prices, a decent video card can be gotten for $200 or less(less than the price of four new games). A CPU/Processor that's good can be gotten for less. Motherboard should only cost around $100, give or take $40 depending on features if you don't need an amazing motherboard. You don't NEED to spend this much on parts, but in general, $200 for a video card has been the sweet spot for the best price/performance.
1) The need for updated drivers, including AGP, PCI Express, Motherboard/chipset drivers, sound drivers(yes, sound can cause the crashing too).
2) Make sure that you install DirectX from the game CD/DVD, then uninstall and then re-install the video card and sound drivers. The DirectX install can sometimes break drivers for various reasons.
3) there is the unPAK issue that causes a crash for many people, mostly ATI but can also affect NVIDIA based cards. Check the ATI thread that it set to TOP in the Civ4-help forum.
4) Motherboard or Video card arn't getting enough power. Since Civ 4 is more intense on system resources than many older games, it's possible that the system needs more power than your current power supply is able to provide. Depending on video card for example, you may need a 400 watt or greater power supply for full stability in some systems. Newer processors(CPUs) draw a bit more power as well, and new video cards can draw a LOT of power. If the power supply can't handle the demand, you can get reboots or strange behavior.
Remember, just because your computer could handle older games easily doesn't mean it can handle the new games that are out today. In general, you will want your computer to be at least a Pentium 4 2.0GHz or above, or an Athlon 2000+ or above. A 2.8GHz Pentium 4 or an Athlon 64 will help a lot when it comes down to it, but don't neglect your video card, because it's often the key to running games well. A Geforce FX 5600 or above or Radeon 9600 pro or above are what I recomend. While games will run on slower cards, do you want something that is barely good enough?
For prices, a decent video card can be gotten for $200 or less(less than the price of four new games). A CPU/Processor that's good can be gotten for less. Motherboard should only cost around $100, give or take $40 depending on features if you don't need an amazing motherboard. You don't NEED to spend this much on parts, but in general, $200 for a video card has been the sweet spot for the best price/performance.
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