Cheap computer that will handle Civ4?

[lange17]

I'd like to buy my father a computer for Christmas that will play Civ4, but I quit my job last year to go back to school and thus my budget is fairly limited. Can anyone offer advice on the least expensive way to get him playing? He has essentially no other requirements outside of basic internet access. I see the min and recommended requirements on the official page, but I'm looking for advice as to which of those recommended requirements are worth the extra money to meet, and any advice as to what the best way to meet them is (Dell, some other brand, etc.) I probably don't have the know-how or time to piece something together myself, so I'd prefer something I can order in one piece. Any help would be much appreciated.

[John-SJ]

CIV requirements aren't all that great.

I am playing quite happily on a 2.5Ghz Pentium-4 with 512Mb of ram and an NVidia FX5500 video card. The one thing I would recommend is going with 1Gb of ram.

Sure, you can spend a lot more for only a little better performance, but you don't realy need it IMO.

Oh, my system is a Dell, for what it's worth.

[lange17]

Thanks, that's about what I was guessing/hoping.

Let me also, specifically ask: is essentially any 128MB video card going to get the job done?

[jbp26]

Originally posted by lange17
Thanks, that's about what I was guessing/hoping.

Let me also, specifically ask: is essentially any 128MB video card going to get the job done?

on my old system at least, i found the video card to be one of the biggest determinants in game performance. i jacked the RAM up to 4gbs and didnt really make a difference, but a new video card sure did.

[Maquiladora]

The GeForce FX 5200 128mb certainly doesnt get the job done on all settings. I can only play on small maps late into the game, higher and things slow way down. All on low details of course.

After the minimums, this is probably the last place you want to try and save money.

[John-SJ]

BTW, my FX5500 has 256Mb of memory.

At todays prices, I believe you can get an NVidia 6000 series card for around $100, with 256Mb this should be adequate. As others have said though, don't skrimp on the video, if you can afford better, GREAT!

[Willem]

Originally posted by lange17
Thanks, that's about what I was guessing/hoping.

Let me also, specifically ask: is essentially any 128MB video card going to get the job done?

Don't go with 128, get 256. Civ can be a drain on your video card, especially if you're playing on a Huge map, so you're better off putting a little more into that. Get the best card you can afford.

[alms66]

I'd recommend Systemax brand rather than Dell, HP or Compaq. It's a good quality system for a fairly low price. I have two and don't have any problems with either.

[Blake]

A cheap computer certainly can handle CIV, a slow computer certainly can't . I think it really depends on how cheaply you can build a fast computer...

For video card I happen to use a GF 6600GT 128MB, that's now at the lower end of the price spectrum and I'd say that's about where you want to aim. I'm not sure about 128mb vs 256mb here, if you can get 256 for not much more it'd be good future-proofing.

I think you do want 1024MB ram, but that's no big deal since ram is cheap.

I'd say get a bottom of the range CPU (games aren't really CPU-limited anymore), 1024MB ram, any harddrive and the best video card you can afford.

My advice on how to get it is obviously do it yourself, or get a company to do-it-yourself for you - there are many small companies selling PC parts and for a small fee (~$25) many will assemble and test the system (ensure it boots, at least).
This tends to be much cheaper than getting brand-name PC, but not always. One of the most expensive components will be the windows license, if you have a spare copy of windows lying around then it makes the "DIY" solution much cheaper.

I don't know specifics for who or where to go, I only know that for New Zealand - where there are like a hundred small PC hardware companies. I don't know about USA, but I'm sure someone can offer you advice.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by jbp26
on my old system at least, i found the video card to be one of the biggest determinants in game performance. i jacked the RAM up to 4gbs and didnt really make a difference, but a new video card sure did.

1GB of RAM is generally the the best price/performance ratio for most tasks, and 2GB of RAM is the point where more won't help you at all. (I always go with 2GB because I fill up 1 too easily, but for most 1GB is great).

[Aro]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


1GB of RAM is generally the the best price/performance ratio for most tasks, and 2GB of RAM is the point where more won't help you at all. (I always go with 2GB because I fill up 1 too easily, but for most 1GB is great).

Windows XP has some difficult to manage more than 2.5 GB of RAM. Unless you are using the 64 bit version of the OS.
Btw, I don't know if CivIV runs well in the 64 bit version...

[foudres]

Okay i have what you would call a very high end computer (at least compare to the cheap one you want to buy)

A64X2 4200+ overclocked to 2.53Ghz
2GB RAM
Radeon X1900XT 512 MB

Before changing it's computer one of my mate had a laptop with a 2.4 Ghz P4, Radeon 9000 mobility, and 512 MB of RAM.
He after upgraded to 1.25GB of RAM.


First observation :

On my side i noticed that even my comp is supposed to be really powerfull i still have low-medium performance in the end game if graphics are set to high... It not the graphic card fault has if i play in 640x480 or 2048x1536 with 4X AA my number of FPS is exactly the same... But if increase my processor frequency by 10% i see a 10% increase in FPS...

Many game are today completely GPU limited and ofen a very fast GPU will be enough for any decent processor. For CIV4 it's the exact oposite. You just need an average GPU for CIV4, but if your processor is slow you will really feel it.

Second observation :

My mate could not really play CIV4 with it's laptop because of the lack of memory. After a while the game begin to strugle no matter what you do and begin to need like 10-20s to react to human order (like go into a city screen or leave it). When he upgraded he was able to play the game just fine.

CIV4 does require more than 512MB to play without problem. Go for 1GB.


Conclusion :

So you absolutely need 1GB. Any 3D card that is dedicated and in the 100$ price range or more would be more than enough as CIV4 do not care about high end graphic card. Just avoid the lowest end :

- integrated graphic card that comes with the motherboard
- very low end GPU like 6200 X300/X1300.

In fact something like a

X1600/ G7600 is enough and it's about 70-130€ depending of the specific version memory and exact model.

But CIV4 card do care about a fast processor. Going dual core will not help but having a fast processor can surely help. Any processor should allow you to play without major problem trough. Just avoid celeron or sempron.

A good A64/core 2 duo should be just fine... An A64 3000+ or a P4 3Ghz is enough (A64 are more powerfull and cheaper for low end computer). You should be able to found this at arround 80$.

So choose the differents part of your computer and with 400$ (without screen or softwares) you should be done.


Please notice that thoses advises are for playing CIV4 in good condition... Not playing Oblivion or game like that where graphic card is the more important factor to performance.

[jbp26]

Originally posted by foudres

But CIV4 card do care about a fast processor. Going dual core will not help but having a fast processor can surely help. Any processor should allow you to play without major problem trough. Just avoid celeron or sempron.

my old machine was 2.5ghz, the new one is 3.2ghz dual core.. the difference is amazing. certainly this is overkill and you can get away with less.

[foudres]

Originally posted by jbp26


my old machine was 2.5ghz, the new one is 3.2ghz dual core.. the difference is amazing. certainly this is overkill and you can get away with less.

What were the exact processors ?

If it's a P4/A64 vs core 2 duo it's logical it's amazing... It's not the 2 core that help but the speed of one core in core 2 duo is really amazing.

The problem we face here is he need a CHEAP computer... A high end core 2 duo do not feat into a cheap computer !

[jbp26]

cheap is a relative term.

my impression was that pretty much any dual core would greatly increase game performance, since they are designed for multithreaded processes, which a game like civ4 almost certainly employs. theres an interesting article on ign about Galactic Civs II and how dual/quad cores can utilize its AI much better, and infact scale the intelligence of the AI to the power of your computers processor.