• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Civilization IV needs to play better!

Azurik

Azurik

Platinum Member
The system I play Civilization IV on is:

AMD XP 3200XP (2.06ghz)
512MB Dual Channel DDR
160GB HD
ATI AIW 7500, 64MB

Obviously, the biggest bottleneck is the video card. I need to find a relatively inexpensive video card that will give the biggest bang for the buck. Looking to spend anywhere from $0-$175 😉

Any ATI recommendations?
 
Originally posted by: Azurik
What about the ATI 9550 128MB AGP card? Retail is around $130?
Click to expand...

That's too much money for that card. I'd recomment either one of these:
6600gt
6800
x800
 
If youre going to spend 130, I suggest you get a 6600gt. They will smack the pants off of a 9550 in my opinion. MSI and XFX have these cards at newegg for around 155/145 for AGP. I would say go with the 6600gt. 8 pixel pipelines vs 4 with the radeon and 500mhz with the GT vs 250mhz with the radeon. Also the memory is a heck of a lot faster. 1000mhz vs 400mhz. 6600gt for 20 dollars more.
 
Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: Azurik
What about the ATI 9550 128MB AGP card? Retail is around $130?
Click to expand...

That's too much money for that card. I'd recomment either one of these:
6600gt
6800
x800
Click to expand...

Munky, do you have a specific brand in mind at all? I do not know much about video cards and Best Buy has a ton of options for those searches.
 
Originally posted by: Azurik
Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: Azurik
What about the ATI 9550 128MB AGP card? Retail is around $130?
Click to expand...

That's too much money for that card. I'd recomment either one of these:
6600gt
6800
x800
Click to expand...

Munky, do you have a specific brand in mind at all? I do not know much about video cards and Best Buy has a ton of options for those searches.
Click to expand...

I've had a EVGA and XFX 6600GT, both worked great.
 
ATI 9550 is much, much slower than a 6600GT, possibly less than half as fast. It's a 4 pipeline card, 6600gt is an 8 pipeline card with a faster clockrate, faster memory and a better feature set. AGP versions go for $140-$150. You could also grab a 9800 pro 128mb for $135, I'd expect the 6600gt to be faster in just about everything except maybe source engine games. There are a lot of very, very good deals from nvidia and ATI around $200 on the PCIe side which would give you double the performance of either a 6600gt or a 9800 pro, unfortunately you won't see them on the AGP side, ever.
 
Originally posted by: Azurik
Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: Azurik
What about the ATI 9550 128MB AGP card? Retail is around $130?
Click to expand...

That's too much money for that card. I'd recomment either one of these:
6600gt
6800
x800
Click to expand...

Munky, do you have a specific brand in mind at all? I do not know much about video cards and Best Buy has a ton of options for those searches.
Click to expand...

I usually dont look at the brand when buying a card, the basic card is the same across all brands. Some of the more reputable brands are Evga, BFG, Sapphire, but I usually just get whichever brand sells a particular card for the lowest price.

Also, I would not buy it from BestBuy because you can get the same cards cheaper at online retailers like newegg, monarchcomputer, zipzoomfly... the list goes on.

Evga 6600gt agp - $150
even has a $20 rebate

 
Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: Azurik
Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: Azurik
What about the ATI 9550 128MB AGP card? Retail is around $130?
Click to expand...

That's too much money for that card. I'd recomment either one of these:
6600gt
6800
x800
Click to expand...

Munky, do you have a specific brand in mind at all? I do not know much about video cards and Best Buy has a ton of options for those searches.
Click to expand...

I usually dont look at the brand when buying a card, the basic card is the same across all brands. Some of the more reputable brands are Evga, BFG, Sapphire, but I usually just get whichever brand sells a particular card for the lowest price.

Also, I would not buy it from BestBuy because you can get the same cards cheaper at online retailers like newegg, monarchcomputer, zipzoomfly... the list goes on.

Evga 6600gt agp - $150
even has a $20 rebate
Click to expand...

Best Buy actually had a killer clearance sale on their AGP cards a few months back. X800XL's for $250 then a $30 rebate on top of that. At one point, they were selling X800XL for PCI-E for that price and similar rebate while the 'egg was still charging an arm and a leg ($300). Even better for me, a friend of mine is a manager, almost got me a X1800XL for $320, but I got 4x 7800GT's instead. 🙂

I personally like MonarchComputer more than Newegg. They take twice/three times as long to ship, but they don't charge tax, which adds to $10-$30 cheaper than Newegg, sometimes.
 
I just got Civ4 this past weekend and it's very smooth on my 6800GT (overclocked to 420/1140) at 1280x1024 with the highest graphics settings. That card is about twice as fast (maybe a little more with the OC) as a 6600GT, but I think it would still play well on a 6600GT, especially if you are playing at a lower resolution like 1024x768.

If you can swing it, the 6800GS is a steal at $209. It's roughly comparable to a 6800GT - it only has 12 pipes instead of 16 like the GT, but it runs at a faster clock speed to make up for it. And you get the 256bit memory interface on the 6800 instead of the 128bit on the 6600. That makes a big difference on stuff like antialiasing and shading. So if you can spare a little more, that card will last you for another year or two, but if you can't then the 6600GT is still a pretty good deal since you can get them for $130 now.

EDIT - one more thing, I noticed Civ4 is more processor intensive than a lot of games. It keeps both cores of my X2 very busy when running.
 
this will be perfect. if you are gonna pay $150 for a 6600gt, might as well get this. it is much faster stock and can get even faster with some work.
 
The guy has an AGP system...quit recommending the 6800GS 😛

I'd recommend a 6600GT or a plain 6800 if you can find one...
 
Firstly, don't get them from B&M retailers like BestBuy. Get them online, you'll find prices are half as much. As for the card, I'd recommend a 6600GT 128MB AGP for $130 with MIR from Newegg. If you're looking for something with a little more oomph, get a Connect3D x800GTO, and then soft-mod it and overclock it to x800XT speeds. As for the 6800GS, its too new for me to comment on it. 6800GT is still a bit pricey, but if you can get a used one from FS/FT it also does extremely well.

Norm
 
6600GT plays fine on 1280/1024 w/o eyecandy for me. Def the best bang/buck for you in terms of price. Heck, I'd even say that you could get away with a 9800Pro or X700 non pro and still have decent framrates

*disclaimer there have been known problems with civ 4 and ATI cards
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top