Advice needed: Buying a CivIV Computer

[Willem]

Originally posted by Baldyr
Would it memory management improve a lot if I were to upgrade to XP Pro – and would it make any real difference in regard to ?

No, XP Pro won't make any difference. It's the architecture, not the OS itself. Windows XP, and Civ 4, are 32 bit applications. That fact alone places certain limitations on memory use. Even switching to Vista 64 won't even help Civ4, it's never going to be able to use any more than 2 gig of RAM.

As long you good people don't have any objections (with the Albatron Graphic Card in particular?) I'm gonna put in the order shortly.

It's certainly good enough for Civ 4. More high end games like Neverwinter Nights 2 might force some compromises, depending on your screen resolution. But it's easily good enough for Civ.

Is there any good way to reset memory without actually exiting Windows?

None that I know of.

Is there an easy way to stop all non-essential processes working in the background while playing? (I don't need to run any other applications at the same time, or even to be connected to the Net or LAN.) Anti-Virus and my Internet Connection needs to be disabled manually, but is there any way to restart Windows without these features automatically reset? (I'm thinking about saving my game and restarting the PC in order to restart the game and carry on playing right away.)

You really don't have to worry about. That's the advantage of having a dula-core. Civ can run on one core and Windows and all the other processes can run on the other one. Your new machine will have more than enough power to run everything at the same time. You won't have turn off anything.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Baldyr
The vendor dude did claim however that XP Pro was a 64 bit Operating System and therefore could use all the 4GB of Memory.

XP Pro is not necessarily a 64 bit OS, there's also a 32 bit version.

[Baldyr]

Ok, here's a update. I revisited all the posts in this thread and decided to order a cheaper "off-the-shelf" PC instead of the one I mentioned earlier:

- ATI HD3850 512MB GDDR3
- AMD Athlon64 X2 5600+
- ASUS Motherboard with AMD 780G Hybrid CrossFireX chipset
- 2x1GB DDR-2 Memory

I suppose I can always buy more Memory if I think I need it. And I will be using XP Home Edition on this computer as well.

Now I'm hoping I don't end up being one of the unlucky few (?) who can only play for 20 min at the time...

I won't be installing any other applications than Anti-Virus on this PC prior to testing out in the long haul. Only after I know the game works proper will I add what I need for other purposes.

First order of business, after installing Anti-Virus, should be hooking up with Windows Update. Are there any updates I shouldn't install or really don't need?

Secondly I think I should make sure all cards have the latest drivers and firmware and what not, right? What about BIOS and possibly other hardware?

Thirdly I might wanna disable any bullcrap that XP might be up to behind the scenes, i.e. ****e I really don't need anyway. Is there an easy and comprehensible way to test out one's system and get an evaluation on performance?

Only then should I install BTS and the latest patch(es) and give the game a go. Does it make any sense to install mods at this stage since bugs might be an issue with the mod and not the game itself? (I would like to give RFC a try since it's on the heavier side and thus might be able to size up my new hardware better than just a regular game.)

Anti-Virus will be inactive and my Internet Connection disabled when I play. Hopefully it will all work according to plan. Otherwise I might just have to spend my holiday meeting new and interesting people, experience real life and grow as a human being. Horrible thought, I know.

To be continued...

[snoopy369]

You should be able to play civ on that computer fine. I'd install Civ BEFORE any antivirus; antivirus is actually one of the worst culprits for causing issues

[Solver]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Now, XP Pro 64 is a bit different... I wouldn't get that, as there were driver problems, and I doubt they're all resolved. Solver might know that better, though (Solver, don't you have x64 XP?)

I have 64-bit Linux I've stuck with 32 bits for my XP installation because of the wide range of compatibility issues.

[Krill]

Linux

[Solver]

Chemists

[Krill]

Students

[chuckdelicious]

War mongering on a new pc

[Willem]

Originally posted by Baldyr
Thirdly I might wanna disable any bullcrap that XP might be up to behind the scenes, i.e. ****e I really don't need anyway.

As I mentioned, if you have a dual-core you don't really need to worry about what's running in the background. Civ will use one of the cores and there'll be plenty left over on the other one for the rest of your stuff. Just update with whatever's available and don't worry about it. I have an X2 6000, which is just slighty more powerful than what you're getting and I have no problems playing on slightly larger than huge maps with 12 civs. Unless you're planning on going crazy with map sizes and number of civs you'll be fine.

And as for the memory leak, I can play for hours before I start running into problems. Though I do have 4 gig of RAM. However, if it is a video RAM thing and not physical RAM your 512 meg will keep you playing for a long time. Once it starts to slow down on you, it's probably time to take a break anyway. And if it does turn out to be a physical RAM issue you can always buy more, as you mentioned.

[zulu9812]

I would recommend at least 2GB of RAM. I'm currently playing with 3GB, and I usually play on gigantic maps with 24 civs.

[Unimatrix11]

Whatever You end buying and doing, Your first session will be the best-prepared single-player game - ever!

I, too, tend to kind of a perfectionist when i set up a new comp. I actually run my own cut-down customized version of XP Pro. There is a tool out there, that leads you have a much better control of what windows components you want to have installed (you need to make a new Win-CD for that). I forgot the name tho. Something like PSLite ? Well, ´...Lite´ anyways, IIRC.

AV-Programs- i dont trust any commercial AVs. I mean in whose interest are viruses, anyways ? So my philosophy is: By not paying any money for AV (i use non-commercial AV), i do my best, to not have any Vs come out.

[Blaupanzer]

Unimatrix exhibits a side effect of playing the AI all the time: paranoia. No one can program AI that plots near as well as we gamers think it does. After awhile we begin to think it indirectly controls where we settle, what we build, etc. Then we move to real life and say that background manipulation is everywhere. Selected behaviors are made illegal to justify hiring more police; certain viruses are released to sell AV software, etc. Oh dear!
"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"

[Jaybe]

That's viral marketing for you!

[iluvc2oh6]

Mine works fine...

1 GB RAM
Intel 4 2.8 ghz
Radeon 9250
Windows XP

I play Large Maps
11 Civs

The only prob I ever had, some of the leaderheads look funky sometimes.