please help with memory problem

[Berchtold]

My Civ 4 game isnt running very smoothly on my computer. It Takes a while to start the game itself but it seems to work fine during the ancient and classical ages. When I hit medevil though my computer cant seem to handle it anymore and slows down considerably. I play on normal maps( anything bigger my computer has even more trouble with) I also have the graphics set to low everything.

So my question is would getting more memory for my computer make the game run smoothly from start to finish.

I have a pentium 4 2.0 processer, 256MB RAM, ATI Radeon 256MB video card. Would getting more memory be what would help my computer the most? I dont know very much about computers so please help.

Any help would be greatly apperciated.

[Harrier UK]

Re: please help with memory problem

Originally posted by Berchtold
My Civ 4 game isnt running very smoothly on my computer.

256MB RAM,

Would getting more memory be what would help my computer the most? I dont know very much about computers so please help.

Any help would be greatly apperciated.

Yes, more RAM is the cheapest and best solution to your problem.

I had 512MB when I first bought Civ4 and just about coped.

I now have 1.5GB and can run high res. graphics on all but huge maps (late game - you start to get Memory allocation errors when saving {a problem Firaxis seem to refuse to acknowledge exists} - unfortunate as it effects a lot of very good mods that are available.)

So get more RAM. your CPU speed and graphics memory is better than mine - so you should be OK.

[MightyTiny]

Re: please help with memory problem

256 MB nowadays is clearly too little - the absolute minimum would be half a gig, I think. I have 1 GB, and have considered buying another half a GB, once I recover from having already spent way too much money on upgrading my computer already (just recently I've bought a 22" wide screen monitor, a dual core processor + a zalman fan, and a new graphics card... and now it looks like my power source needs urgent upgrading, and I might need a case fan too... ).

[Willem]

Yes, 256 is way too little for a computer system. Windows XP uses up most of that on it's own, leaving any application to rely on virtual memory to run. You should have at least 1 gig in order to play the game.

As for your video card, 256 Ram doesn't really mean very much in itself. You could have 512, but if the processor itself sucks, then you're not going to get very good performance. You should also mention what type of Radeon it is.

[Addled Platypus]

1 gig ram is a good thing

it helps in other issues too, not just games

[Berchtold]

My graphics card is a radeon 9550.

Do you think i could play huge maps with low graphics settings with 512MB or even 1 GB?

Thanks for all your help.

[Harrier UK]

The answer is yes and no.

Yes you can play for about 600 or so turns ( 1 Gig.) - with no problem.

No becasuse after 600+ turns or so (sorry I do not know the correct number - never wrote it down) - you start to get Memory Allocation Errors when the game tries to save (auto or manual). Nothing bto do with your system - just the game.

So you have to reload the game and start from the last save.

This is a problem on huge maps that Firaxis refuse to acknowledge. This is strange, because usually they are so good at fixing problems reported by players. But this one has been there from the start.

[SebP]

Well, curious, i never had any memory allocation errors and i have 1gig on the notebook and only intel graphics.

I do not usually play huge because they are terribly slow in the endgame (midgame even, really), but i have finished at least 3 huge marathon speed games.

Then again you might have been talking about epic speed. I do not play into the 2000s so i wouldn't know

[Harrier UK]

It is a problem with a lot of mods that play on huge earth maps. Maybe it is OK on normal Civ4/Warlords huge maps - I don't know.

I play Total Realism/Visa etc. and it always occurs late game. Not every save, but usually within an hour of playing.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Berchtold
My graphics card is a radeon 9550.

Do you think i could play huge maps with low graphics settings with 512MB or even 1 GB?

Thanks for all your help.

Not with a 9550, it's a pretty crappy card these days. I had one myself when I first got the game and Large was the best I could manage. It sounds like you need to do some serious upgrading of your system.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Harrier UK
This is a problem on huge maps that Firaxis refuse to acknowledge.

It's not really that big of a problem. It takes hours before you start noticing the lag so it's about time to take a break anyway. And even then it's not that bad, just a bit of sluggishness.

[Berchtold]

had one myself when I first got the game and Large was the best I could manage


When you say that do mean you could play large maps without much delay and lag because when its starts to delay it makes the game not fun for me.

IM thinking im only going to get 256 more Ram (its cheaper) because i really only want to play normal maps with out lag and itd be great to play large also but huge maps would just take too much upgrading.

[Harrier UK]

Originally posted by Willem


It's not really that big of a problem. It takes hours before you start noticing the lag so it's about time to take a break anyway. And even then it's not that bad, just a bit of sluggishness.

I was refering to the Memory Allocation Failures when saving the game - not any slowdown. When the MAF happens you have to reload the game from the previous save, the current save being corrupted.

But as you say - I take a break anyway. But you may have lost a lot of play time - depending on when you last saved.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Berchtold
When you say that do mean you could play large maps without much delay and lag because when its starts to delay it makes the game not fun for me.

No, even on large maps I was getting lag towards the end of the game, and I couldn't use the grid. If I did, the game would crash. The 9550 is barely able to handle even that map size, forget about ever playing on Huge.

IM thinking im only going to get 256 more Ram (its cheaper) because i really only want to play normal maps with out lag and itd be great to play large also but huge maps would just take too much upgrading.

Yes you could spend as little money as possible to get by on this game. But the next game that comes along may not run at all on your system. You're better off putting a little bit of money into it and doing some upgrading. Or buying a whole new system.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Harrier UK


I was refering to the Memory Allocation Failures when saving the game - not any slowdown. When the MAF happens you have to reload the game from the previous save, the current save being corrupted.

But as you say - I take a break anyway. But you may have lost a lot of play time - depending on when you last saved.

I've played many games of Civ 4 and I have never had this happen to me. I've also spent alot of time on these boards and this is the first time I've ever heard of what you're describing. So it seems the problem isn't as widespread as you suggest.