Will my laptop run it well?

[sportsfreaklgg]

Hey guys I have a dell laptop, here are the specs:

Processor: intel(R) core(TM) 2 duo CPU T7100 @ 1.80GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz

Memory: 1038MB RAM

Name: Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family
Approx total memory: 358 MB

I know it can run the game, I just want to get a good idea of if it can run it so I can get at least a decent experience. I'm not expecting the flashiest graphics, but anything decent with a good framerate.

[snoopy369]

That won't play it all that well, it might run it fine, might not.

1GB ram: mediocre
The graphics card will be the problem. Framerate isn't relevant in Civ4, as it's not an FPS and doesn't have frequent refreshes; but it will probably run slowly on that (especially since that graphics memory is presumably shared memory). I think it would be a crapshoot to be honest; if you can try the demo first, see if it runs okay; but stick in general to smaller maps and shorter games.

[Solver]

1GB RAM is fine. Civ4 doesn't need more except for some big custom maps. The biggest built-in size will be taxing but decent. But the graphics card is definitely a problem, it will definitely make the game choppy enough as more stuff gets onscreen.

The demo isn't a very good approximation of the performance, either. It uses some old code, in particular for memory management, and runs worse (as far as memory and video performance go) than the actual game.

[sportsfreaklgg]

thanks for the responses so far.

One thing I would also like to add, I run on Vista. Does that change anything?

[Solver]

It will sure make memory a bigger problem. Vista uses a lot, then 1GB would not be very good for larger maps.

[TriMiro]

With the video settings to minimum it might run. I have seen Civ IV work well on GF5900 so it will probably work. The biggest problem would be the shared memory. Shared memory sucks in general. I would never use shared memory on Desktop and for laptops it is OK only if you do not consider playing games.

1GB of RAM - ~200MB video memory is approximately 800MB. It would be enough for XP, but AFAIK Vista requires 500 - 1000MB just to run. So the game would barely run (if at all).

I would recommend to you to switch to XP in general, for the time being it is the better windows (IMHO) and since XP takes less resources most application would run better (faster) on it.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Solver
1GB RAM is fine.

I gig is not enough if you want to play on Huge maps. Looking at my Task Manager one time after I quit to desktop, Civ4.exe was using up a little over a gig towards the late game. It especially isn't enough if you're running Vista. I've seen it use 900 meg while just sitting on my desktop and running Task Manager.

[snoopy369]

1GB ram is not fine, sir It is enough for most users to play on most map sizes. Nearly all users will have trouble with 1GB on huge maps, and many users report difficulties further.

Beyond that, the fact that it is shared GRAM+RAM combined means it's not really 1GB...

[sportsfreaklgg]

Ok, so it's seeming like it won't be able to run it very well. Or at least not well enough to be able to justify purchasing the game. The laptop is actually my friends, I already have the game for my desktop. I have been looking around these forums and they seem to be really helpful not just for technical support but also for strategy/tactics for newcomers. So I'll think i'll stick around this place for a while. So at least some benefit came from this. Thanks.

[snoopy369]

You could always test it out... it certainly could run the game, at least under certain restrictions. A lot depends on what you're willing to live with, timewise...

[mkorin]

I always play on a laptop and don't have any problems. Granted, my specs are a lot higher than yours, but it worked when I had an older laptop also.

Mike

[joncnunn]

Re: Will my laptop run it well?

Well it's bound to run a whole lot better than my aprox 4 year old notebook. I have periodic graphic driver crashes on mine even on the lowest settings.

Originally posted by sportsfreaklgg
Hey guys I have a dell laptop, here are the specs:

Processor: intel(R) core(TM) 2 duo CPU T7100 @ 1.80GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz

Memory: 1038MB RAM

Name: Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family
Approx total memory: 358 MB

I know it can run the game, I just want to get a good idea of if it can run it so I can get at least a decent experience. I'm not expecting the flashiest graphics, but anything decent with a good framerate.

[Zealot]

Originally posted by sportsfreaklgg
Ok, so it's seeming like it won't be able to run it very well. Or at least not well enough to be able to justify purchasing the game. The laptop is actually my friends, I already have the game for my desktop. I have been looking around these forums and they seem to be really helpful not just for technical support but also for strategy/tactics for newcomers. So I'll think i'll stick around this place for a while. So at least some benefit came from this. Thanks.

Lets put it this way: if you are planning on buying your friend's laptop for yourself, then you may not be doing a good business if you're a big player. But if you only want to know if your friend would enjoy the game with that laptop, I honestly think he will. Not as much as on a good machine, but he will nevertheless. Because the machine could have been worse.

It's a shame it has Vista though, it's using up a lot of useful resources for nothing.

[Guest]

Hi,
I've been trying to start up civ4 with a somewhat underpowered laptop (256 ram when 512 is rec). It starts out ok, playing a nice tune, but the music never stops. Will this ever work or should I find something better to do on a rainy Sunday?

Rgds,

drv