The Best Processor To Play Sc4?

[littlewhitebutterfly 18]

I currently have an AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5400, with 2.81GHz and 1.75Gb RAM.

I'm not so discontent with the loading and saving times, but the problem is that it constantly gets overheated, turning off dead without notice. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt=">. No need to say it's quite unnerving.

Any advice?

[erbush 8]

I currently have an AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5400, with 2.81GHz and 1.75Gb RAM.

I'm not so discontent with the loading and saving times, but the problem is that it constantly gets overheated, turning off dead without notice. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt=">. No need to say it's quite unnerving.

Any advice?

The more power each processing core has the hotter it will run.. Meaning a 1 core CPU with 2.81GHz will run hotter than a 6 core with each core running at 1.6GHz .. So if your problem is with cooling you can upgrade to a more powerful CPU with less processing power per core or you can upgrade your cooling units in your computer case. Taking the side of the case off can work if you want to be cheap but it lets in lots of dust and what not. You can also get a better CPU cooling unit. Preferable one with heat pipes and a fan.. not simply a fan alone. Cooler Master makes some really top of the line CPU coolers as well as Cases..

Adding a CPU cooler may solve your issue, but you can also download free SpeedFan to check your CPU, HDD, Memory, and GPU Temps.. make sure it's your CPU before you spend any money on anything. if you are having overheating issues you can individually control the speed of the fans with that program. You may be able to overcome your problem with that.. which will also save you money, lol.

[Haljackey 17,354]

Simcity 4 is an old game. It can only use one processor core to my knowledge as processors only had 1 core when the game came out. I think the pentium 4 was brand new back then.

Thus, it's not quantity, it's quality. The faster your CPU core(s) is/are, the better. For example having 1 core at 3ghz is better for SC4 than having 4 cores at 2.5ghz.

Hope this helps!

[Vern 29]

First thing I would do is to open up your case and blow it out. If it has any case filters then clean those, too. Blow out any dust that may have accumulated in your heat sink. Then like Erbush said get Speedfan and monitor your temps. Check BIOS to let you know what temp autoshut of is set at. You will probably need to get a good aftermarket HSF (Heat Sink Fan). They are worth it. Also, are you overclocking or running stock? If the former then you definitely need an aftermarket HSF. Part of the equation is what the ambient temp is.

EDIT: Just read the Moose's post so disregard this if it is a laptop.

  Edited April 8, 2011 by Vern  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Get a desktop and run it in a room with proper ventilation. Laptops are a disaster for processor intensive programs such as this. Laptops are designed for programs like browsers that mostly just hurry up and wait.

The faster the processor, the hotter. You need good ventilation, so you could also consider a laptop cooler. Those time cases don't have enough air plenum to properly dissipate all the heat.

  Edited April 8, 2011 by A Nonny Moose  

[littlewhitebutterfly 18]

Hey, thank you all for your advice!

In fact mine is not a laptop, and I frequently blow off any dust that accumulates inside. I also always keep the case open. CoreTemp tells me that just for opening a large city, temperatures of the cores jumps to 70°C or so. Before it shuts down automatically, the temperature hits even 110°C or more.

I'll definitely download Speedfan, and more advice is always welcome, thank you!

[Paulobergonci 673]

well, i use a core I3 and the game runs very well,dont forget to get at least 4GB of RAM, it will help a lot too.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Hey, thank you all for your advice!

In fact mine is not a laptop, and I frequently blow off any dust that accumulates inside. I also always keep the case open. CoreTemp tells me that just for opening a large city, temperatures of the cores jumps to 70°C or so. Before it shuts down automatically, the temperature hits even 110°C or more.

I'll definitely download Speedfan, and more advice is always welcome, thank you!

Why do you leave your case open? The case is designed to provide a proper plenum for your cooling fans and heat sinks. The only requirement is that you have good ambient air around the box. What kind of air circulation do you have in the room? It sounds more like you have some kind of HVAC problems. Are you living under the stairs?

[erbush 8]

Hey, thank you all for your advice!

In fact mine is not a laptop, and I frequently blow off any dust that accumulates inside. I also always keep the case open. CoreTemp tells me that just for opening a large city, temperatures of the cores jumps to 70°C or so. Before it shuts down automatically, the temperature hits even 110°C or more.

I'll definitely download Speedfan, and more advice is always welcome, thank you!

Why do you leave your case open? The case is designed to provide a proper plenum for your cooling fans and heat sinks. The only requirement is that you have good ambient air around the box. What kind of air circulation do you have in the room? It sounds more like you have some kind of HVAC problems. Are you living under the stairs?

Older cases don't provide the proper ventilation required. I remember my friend having a case for a computer that was 12 years old. He had a lot of cooling issues with it. Taking the side off and allowing the surrounding air in more helped a lot. But as has been stated.. it's not something you want to do. If you are broke and it works, yay! if it doesn't or if you can afford better.. then do something better, lol.

Also, 110 is 230 Fahrenheit so that's really too hot obviously..

[Vern 29]

Hey, thank you all for your advice!

In fact mine is not a laptop, and I frequently blow off any dust that accumulates inside. I also always keep the case open. CoreTemp tells me that just for opening a large city, temperatures of the cores jumps to 70°C or so. Before it shuts down automatically, the temperature hits even 110°C or more.

I'll definitely download Speedfan, and more advice is always welcome, thank you!

If you have CoreTemp you won't need SpeedFan. Some people prefer one over the other. Are you using the stock cooler or aftermarket? If running aftermarket, did you apply the proper amount of thermal compound?

Also, try heading over to the OCN for more tips regarding your particular proc and setup.

[Jazzmaster 716]

If you need a new processor for other things, go ahead and buy one, but I actually upgraded my RAM on this old machine but a few months ago. I had two 512 mb sticks and replaced one with a Kingston 2 GB (DDR2, btw). The game used to take 20 minutes to load + 20 for another city, now it doesn't even take ten minutes, and the processor only gets hot once, as before it would get very hot even loading a blank city tile.

Hope my two cents is of any use to you.

[Mister Giggles 310]

I currently have an AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5400, with 2.81GHz and 1.75Gb RAM.

I'm not so discontent with the loading and saving times, but the problem is that it constantly gets overheated, turning off dead without notice. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt=">. No need to say it's quite unnerving.

Any advice?

Seems to me you have a problem with heat more than speed. Blow out your case, leave the case open, getting a roomier case, etc. As for speed, a modern dual core should do you fine. Dual core, because then one core can dedicate itself to the game, while the other core does other computer things.

[erbush 8]

I currently have an AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5400, with 2.81GHz and 1.75Gb RAM.

I'm not so discontent with the loading and saving times, but the problem is that it constantly gets overheated, turning off dead without notice. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt=">. No need to say it's quite unnerving.

Any advice?

Seems to me you have a problem with heat more than speed. Blow out your case, leave the case open, getting a roomier case, etc. As for speed, a modern dual core should do you fine. Dual core, because then one core can dedicate itself to the game, while the other core does other computer things.

Speaking of that.. If you set affinity to "1" for Sim City, Windows will run off the first core and Sim City will have all of the 2nd core dedicated to itself, Core "1" as the first core is actually core "0"

[Mister Giggles 310]

I currently have an AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5400, with 2.81GHz and 1.75Gb RAM.

I'm not so discontent with the loading and saving times, but the problem is that it constantly gets overheated, turning off dead without notice. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt=">. No need to say it's quite unnerving.

Any advice?

Seems to me you have a problem with heat more than speed. Blow out your case, leave the case open, getting a roomier case, etc. As for speed, a modern dual core should do you fine. Dual core, because then one core can dedicate itself to the game, while the other core does other computer things.

Speaking of that.. If you set affinity to "1" for Sim City, Windows will run off the first core and Sim City will have all of the 2nd core dedicated to itself, Core "1" as the first core is actually core "0"

And here's how one does that:

1: Find your SC4.exe. It's generally in C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps IF you're using 64-bit Vista OR 7, C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps IF you're using 32-bit Vista OR 7. Right click, click on Create Shortcut. A shortcut will appear in the same folder as the .exe. Right click on the shortcut, select Properties. In the Target box, add the following to the beginning of the line that's there:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C START "Sim City 4" /high /affinity 1

Thus you'll end up with a Target that looks like this:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C START "Sim City 4" /high /affinity 1 "C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe"

OR

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C START "Sim City 4" /high /affinity 1 "C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe"

Click apply, bam. SC4 will use only one core from now on. There's the added bonus of the game being more stable - SC4 doesn't really like multi-core processors.

  Edited April 18, 2011 by Mister Giggles  

[littlewhitebutterfly 18]

Yours are really great suggestions, thank you so much! I'll definitely set affinity to "1" and upgrade my RAM.

@Vern: I run aftermarket and did apply a good amount of thermal compound last year. Do I need to apply more every once in a while?

@Nonny Moose: when I was leaving the case closed, the processor would get hot ever faster. That's why I leave it open.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Yours are really great suggestions, thank you so much! I'll definitely set affinity to "1" and upgrade my RAM.

@Vern: I run aftermarket and did apply a good amount of thermal compound last year. Do I need to apply more every once in a while?

@Nonny Moose: when I was leaving the case closed, the processor would get hot ever faster. That's why I leave it open.

In that case, you might consider adding an external fan similar to the 12-volt ones you find in automobiles, and direct it into the case. You might also consider a better case with more plenum and multiple fans.

The thing Simcity 4 needs most is memory. The more the merrier. I have 4 GB, and I have seen a big city use most of it. I'm running Linux with multiple desktops so I can run the system monitor in an other instance of the desktop and see what is happening.

  Edited April 9, 2011 by A Nonny Moose  

[NYCisBig... 13]

I currently have an AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5400, with 2.81GHz and 1.75Gb RAM.

I'm not so discontent with the loading and saving times, but the problem is that it constantly gets overheated, turning off dead without notice. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt=">. No need to say it's quite unnerving.

Any advice?

Well if u were looking for speed i would recommend for a person who doesn't play as much as me would be an i5 intel processer with atleast 4 GB of DDR2 memory. Or if your a hadrcore gamer you can go for a i7 intel processer with 8 or 4 GB of DDR3. (Depends on your budget)

[littlewhitebutterfly 18]

About setting affinity to "1", looks like there's something wrong with the shortcut I just created. When I click on it, some window opens for half a second and then nothing happens. I'm not a computer geek, but did copy your line to the letter.

[AlexE95 0]

it runs a little warm but i use a pentium dual core. works fine for me.

[markNine 0]

@Vern: I run aftermarket and did apply a good amount of thermal compound last year. Do I need to apply more every once in a while?

How much thermal paste are you applying?

Your CPU should not be getting that hot.

You should be applying a very tiny amount of thermal paste and coating the top of the CPU with something like an old card.

There's plenty of guides online on how to properly do it.

I'd also make sure your heatsink is properly screwed/latched down. There should not be any wiggle room. That's also another contributing factor to high temperatures.

[littlewhitebutterfly 18]

About thermal paste, I had chance to have a technician put it for me almost one year ago, so the quantity should be fine. It worked miracles at the beginning, but now my system begins overheating and shutting down again. That's why I wonder whether one needs to apply the paste once a year or so.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

About thermal paste, I had chance to have a technician put it for me almost one year ago, so the quantity should be fine. It worked miracles at the beginning, but now my system begins overheating and shutting down again. That's why I wonder whether one needs to apply the paste once a year or so.

Doubt it. I'd look for another cause of overheating.

Are you running a very big city on cheetah mode? Try slowing down the simulation.

Also, try cleaning your fans and vacuuming out your case (carefully). There is nothing like accumulated dust as an insulator.

If this is a laptop, make sure there is good air all the way around the case.

[Mister Giggles 310]

About setting affinity to "1", looks like there's something wrong with the shortcut I just created. When I click on it, some window opens for half a second and then nothing happens. I'm not a computer geek, but did copy your line to the letter.

You used the correct line for your operating system, right?

[littlewhitebutterfly 18]

@ Mister Giggles:

Sure, I have XP so I used the second one.

[Mister Giggles 310]

Well damn, you're right. That command doesn't work on XP. Well derp. You can permanently set affinity in the .exe, but it requires a bit more effort. Alright:

1: Go to C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps OR C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps if you're using Windows XP x64. Make a copy of SimCity 4.exe . This will be your backup in the event you screw up.

2: Rename your original SimCity 4.exe to SimCity.exe. This is to eliminate the space. It's not technically needed, but I can't remember the character the following program uses for spaces.

2: Download the utility here: http://www.robpol86.com/index.php/ImageCFG

3: Unzip that little command line utility into the same directory as SimCity 4.exe.

4: Start Button -> Run.

5: Type "cmd.exe". Don't include the quotations on this or the following steps. Enter.

6: Type "cd C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps" OR "cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps" if you're using Windows XP x64. This is assuming you installed the game to the default directory. If not, reflect that fact here. Enter.

7: Type "imagecfg.exe -u SimCity.exe". Enter. It should spit out a couple lines of information informing you it's now set to use only one processor.

8: Type "imagecfg.exe -a 0x01 SimCity.exe". Enter. It should spit out a couple lines of information informing you that SC4 will now run only on the first processor of your computer. The 0x01 can be replaced with 0x02 if you'd prefer the second processor be used...

9: Rename SimCity.exe back to SimCity 4.exe. Play the game. It should be significantly more stable.

  Edited December 7, 2011 by Mister Giggles  

[littlewhitebutterfly 18]

Oh yesss! I can't believe it, but I actually managed to do that Affinity set, let's see how the game plays now.

In the remote eventuality I needed to use again both cores, how would I do that?

And hey, thank you so much for taking the time to teach me!

[kingdiz_55 12]

I also have a dual core AMD, except mine's 4400+ (2.31Ghz) I managed to fix my overheating problem buy getting the stock cooler from AMD's quad core family.

[zahrul3 472]

SC4 runs well on my 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo Vaio C15 and runs quite cool if a bit noisy. I don't think I actually used Affinity and multiple times, I multitasked SC4 with gMAX. It isn't just the processor, it might be other components. GHz has nothing to do with processor speed between 2 different architectures(Nehalem vs Core vs Phenom vs NetBurst).

CPU heat does coreallate with CPU usage, but the Athlon64 CPU itself produces a ton of heat, like most other 2004-2006 CPUs. Integrated GPUs shares memory to the point that 1.75GB is not enough. Try to disable some useless processes that eats CPU usage, like Windows Indexing Service(cisvc.exe) and Norton(duh?)

[Mister Giggles 310]

Oh yesss! I can't believe it, but I actually managed to do that Affinity set, let's see how the game plays now.

In the remote eventuality I needed to use again both cores, how would I do that?

And hey, thank you so much for taking the time to teach me!

You still have your SimCity 4.exe copy, right?

And, you're welcome.