300 mhz

August 29, 2001, 03:48

Sorry but I don't understand any of this technical stuff. I know that my computer has a Pentium 2. Is this enough?

August 29, 2001, 03:52

Sorry but I don't understand any of this technical stuff. I know that my computer has a Pentium 2. Is this enough?

iannac · August 29, 2001, 05:50

Will civ3 not run on a machine with less than a 300mhz processor?, i currently have only 233. Will civ3 not run or will it just run slowly/badly?

BeBro · August 29, 2001, 06:25

Hm, perhaps it will run, but slow as hell...

OneFootInTheGrave · August 29, 2001, 06:30

Ok you are in the US... and you need perhaps 200 USD to upgrade your motherboard/processor/ram to get to 800mhz... that is the best way to go and it will keep you playing for the next two years. this is a good excuse to upgrade.

korn469 · August 29, 2001, 07:54

iannac

it all depends on your system...first you didn't specify if your 233 cpu was a pentium 1 or a pentium 2 or something else altogether...also your ram will have an effect

but depending on your system it migh just be better to upgrade like OneFootInTheGrave suggested

on outpost.com a brand new emachines computer without a monitor is 399.95 after rebate (474.95 before the rebate) and on outpost.com you don't have to pay sales tax and shipping is very reasonable there is also a amd combo that has 800Mhz Duron, Gigabyte motherboard 128MB SDRAM ATX mid tower case for 265.85...so all you'd need to provide would be an OS, HD, videocard, mouse/keyboard and monitor, and since you have a computer you most likely have all of those things
emachines computer
duron combo

but if you just want to upgrade your mb and cpu then checkout www.pricewatch.com

i can point you in the right direction once you your parts...it's actually pretty easy to put your own computer together, i built one for my brother

M. le Comte · August 29, 2001, 08:24

I'm wondering to whether I should upgrade my PC.

I own a K6-2 350 MHz, so Civ 3 should be OK, but I'm used to not trusting the "minimal" requistes, that keep being under-estimated (I don't know if it's the right word, I just hope you understand me).

Urban Ranger · August 29, 2001, 08:31

If your system doesn't mean the lowest requirement in CPU speed, the game should run, albeit slower. Adding more RAM helps. SDRAM is dirt cheap here these days so I have maxed out all my boxes on 256MB DIMMs.

I have no idea why I did that, either

Provost Harrison · August 29, 2001, 08:31

I reckon you should be fine if you have plenty of memory...

Paul L · August 29, 2001, 09:24

The game will probably run fine having enough RAM and a nice videocard. But it would've been nice if you we're able to try with a DEMO

I also have a PII 233 now. I'm gonna upgrade later this year, lots of game ask for a PII 300 as the minimum today.

easy · August 29, 2001, 09:55

I think you should buy a new PC now and I think it's good time to buy a new PC since the price is so cheap.
I don't recommend you to upgrade only CPU, MB and try to reuse your old video card, harddisk unless you have upgraded them recently. An old harddisk will slow down your system speed greatly and a bad video card will also slow down the graphics display. I don't really mind about sound card though, I can't hear the difference.
Another good news for people who is still using tiny monitors. There is 19" Compaq P900 Trinitron monitor with 3 years warranty onsale for only $279! I think it's a terrific price. Here is the link:
http://www.comark.com/site/L4.cfm?it..._rate=13.79655

Master Marcus · August 29, 2001, 10:05

Generally you need 2.5 to 3 times the minimal requirements to run the maximum textures of a game, and in the case of Civ3 that means the 3D leaders animations and the crowded combat scenes. So for an optimal playing, you need a PIII 800+32 MB videocard+256 RAM. I'm pretty sure that below aPIII 500, you'll need to tone down a bit some options.

iannac · August 29, 2001, 10:21

thanks for the replies. I recently updated the harddrive to a 20GB one, but i have no idea right now what the video card is. (i'm at work, pc's at home) But it wont run Age of Sail II, saying i need more direct draw memory, or something like that. IF i were to get a new pc, what kind of video card would you people suggest? or should any pc i buy now (in the $800 -1000 range) include a quality one?

Sabre2th · August 29, 2001, 10:30

I would imagine most new comps come with at least a 32 meg video card and probably 128 megs of RAM. The 32 meg card is fine, but I would recommend getting 256 megs of RAM and win2000 if you can.

Note: win2000 will run most games for win95/98, but not all.

Another Note: The GeForce2 32 mb is reasonable now and has good graphics. If that's an option, I would definately recommend it.

easy · August 29, 2001, 11:09

You can buy from DELL. I'll recommend Dimension 4100. They are using onboard graphics card on Dimension 2100, that's very bad. I don't think you need to buy Dimension 8100 either, it uses expensive P4 and RDRAM. The Geforce2MX come with 4100 is definitely good enough for the game. I also think you should get 256MB RAM, but RAM is not cheap on DELL.
You may also buy parts and build your own. Then I'll using AMD TBird 1.2G, 256MB DDRAM, ATI Radeon, 40GB IBM GXP60.

easy · August 29, 2001, 18:45

As I said in my post before, there are much more to be considered besides CPU. Only a CPU won't be able to determine the system performance. P2 CPU clock ranges from 266MHZ to 500MHZ. If your system is 400MHZ and up, RAM, HD, video card are also well equipped, then I think you should be able to play the game without problem. If your CPU is the early stage 66MHZ FSB P2-266, 64MB RAM, 5GB HD, 2MB video ram or onboard graphics, then you may need to buy a new one.

Quote:

Originally posted by The Civ3 Site
Sorry but I don't understand any of this technical stuff. I know that my computer has a Pentium 2. Is this enough?

Col Bigspear · August 29, 2001, 21:01

Im using a PII 300 mmx. This used to be in my room, but the the motherboard packed in on the PI 200 mmx in the front room so my dads buying me a PIII 1.0ghz with a RIVA TNT2 vid card

Looks like I'll be set for the next.....oh 8 1/2 months maybe

AH the joys of being 16 and living at home

Sharpe · August 29, 2001, 21:25

My computer doesn't quite reach the civ III requirements it seems.

I have a PII 266 with 32 megs of RAM ... and it is one of those motherboards with the sound card built into the hardware, so that slows the system down even further.

I am seriously thinking of either upgrading my computer or buying a new one, but can't decide which is better.

If I upgrade , I can get a lot more RAM (512MB for a PIII 1000) than if I buy but would have to live with small monitor and hard drive (11 GBs)

I am worried about Win ME as a friend got it and couldn't run half of his games including Test of Time.

Any suggestions?

Nemo · August 29, 2001, 22:44

The Civ3 Site: it depends. Pentium II's range from 266Mhz to 450Mhz. Percent wise (if i did this right) you only have a 14.29% chance of having less than a pentium 300Mhz. Which would mean that you have an 85.71% chance of meeting the civIII specs

Nemo · August 29, 2001, 22:49

The CivIII Site: an after thought. assuming you have win 98 you can goto: start>programs>accessories>system tools>system information. on the right side of the screen it will show you clock speed in MHz next to 'processor'.

Executor · August 29, 2001, 23:57

Doesn't it normally show your CPU speed when you boot up?

Even if you don't meet the specs, you could try overclocking. If its an old computer, what do you have to lose? On mine, I can overclock my CPU and RAM just by going into the BIOS. Don't need to touch anything on the motherboard. I can also overclock my video card.

Urban Ranger · August 30, 2001, 01:17

Quote:

Originally posted by easy
An old harddisk will slow down your system speed greatly and a bad video card will also slow down the graphics display. I don't really mind about sound card though, I can't hear the difference.

Another good news for people who is still using tiny monitors. There is 19" Compaq P900 Trinitron monitor with 3 years warranty onsale for only $279! I think it's a terrific price.

It depends. HDDs rarely make a difference. So my movie starts a second or two later. No big loss. As for video card Civ 3 has a very low requirement. Almost any graphics card bought within the last 3 years will do fine.

Compaq produces lousy equipment these days. If it's a Trinitron it's likely to be a Sony OEM item. However Sony monitors tend to have minor problems that are irritating nevertheless. I recommend NEC or Mishibushi.

Urban Ranger · August 30, 2001, 01:24

Quote:

Originally posted by Sabre2th
I would imagine most new comps come with at least a 32 meg video card and probably 128 megs of RAM. The 32 meg card is fine, but I would recommend getting 256 megs of RAM and win2000 if you can.

Note: win2000 will run most games for win95/98, but not all.

No point in getting Windoze 2K. Not if all you do on the computer are games and other personal stuff. It's useful in a corporate or business environment, but not at home, not even home office really.

Urban Ranger · August 30, 2001, 01:29

Quote:

Originally posted by Col Bigspear
Im using a PII 300 mmx. This used to be in my room, but the the motherboard packed in on the PI 200 mmx in the front room so my dads buying me a PIII 1.0ghz with a RIVA TNT2 vid card

STOP!

The TNT2 is a shitty video card. It looks like your father is getting a packaged system and is getting gypped off. Check for things like the monitor, video card, speed of memory, etc. to see where the corners have been cut.

BeBro · August 30, 2001, 01:33

UR, I agree that Win2k is not really necessary if you are a gamer, however, my own system runs much better now under 2k, under ME the program I saw most was ScanDisk popping up after a chrash...

This happened not a single time after I uprgraded to 2k.

Sabre2th · August 30, 2001, 01:37

I disagree. New games support windows 2000. It's faster and much more reliable than any other version. 98 is old and ME just plain sucks. Win2000 is by far the best ever.

Urban Ranger · August 30, 2001, 01:40

Quote:

Originally posted by Sharpe
I am seriously thinking of either upgrading my computer or buying a new one, but can't decide which is better.

If I upgrade , I can get a lot more RAM (512MB for a PIII 1000) than if I buy but would have to live with small monitor and hard drive (11 GBs)

I am worried about Win ME as a friend got it and couldn't run half of his games including Test of Time.

Any suggestions?

Upgrade tends to be the more economic path. You get to pick and choose the parts you want, and you don't need to throw all your money away at the same time.

RAM: you don't need more than 256MB. Anymore is just a waste of money

CPU: I'd shop for a cutoff point in price. Let's say there's a huge difference between 850MHz and 900MHz, I'd go for that. I'll also compare the price between AMD and Intel, since it looks like you will need a new mobo so there's no restrictions in that area.

HDD: 11GB is a lot of storage. You really don't need more. Get a CD-R burner if you have a lot of data to offload.

Monitor: How big is "small?"

Operating System: Chuck Me and get 98 SE.

Urban Ranger · August 30, 2001, 01:45

Quote:

Originally posted by BeBro
UR, I agree that Win2k is not really necessary if you are a gamer, however, my own system runs much better now under 2k, under ME the program I saw most was ScanDisk popping up after a chrash...

This happened not a single time after I uprgraded to 2k.

That's a problem with Windoze Me. 98 SE is much better, esp if you apply Winlite 98 to remove silly parts from the OS. My Wintel box runs 98 SE and it usually doesn't crash more than once a day

The problems with 2K are:

- it's a resource hog
- $$$

Sabre2th · August 30, 2001, 01:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Operating System: Chuck Me and get 98 SE.

Have you ever used win2000 UR?

GET 2000

My computer sucked before. It crashed constantly and basically was crap. I upgraded from 98 to 2000 and have not had a single problem since.

OneFootInTheGrave · August 30, 2001, 07:57

upgrading is chaeper if you know what you buy.
A good walktrought can be found at http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/0...115/index.html
but there are others around the web if you look for them...

At the moment i would say that in UK (but i guess worldwide) the cheapest/ best is to bu a AMD duron 750/800 (£40) 256MB PC133 (£20) and a motherboard of your likeing but you can get a decent new one for 65 -70 £. in total 130£ and that should be enough until the next Civ game

dont but Intel at the moment since it is much worse price/preformance wise. AMD is just as stable . an one more thing if you but such processor you might have to upgrade your old Power supply unit ( a 300W is 15-20 £).

that should do it, and a 20GB HDD is 60£. I am not sure how much it is in canadian $ but it is surely chaepest it has ever been.