New computer for SC4

[TekindusT 3,809]

I'm changing my 11-year-old computer this Christmas, and I have some doubts regarding the new computer specs. I've read many times that users usually have problems with multiple core processors. Still I don't know if it's going to be dual or quad core, anyways, is there anything I should have in mind when running the game?

Suming up, what do I have to do to make the game run smoothly in a brand new computer with year 2011 specs?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The number of cores is immaterial. The game only uses one core. However, be prepared for many more CTDs. New fast machines seem to provoke them more frequently. Get used to using the internal save often (CTRL+s) Currently the windows exe runs well on either Windows (7) or Linux (with wine). Some members have tried it with wine on OS/X (MAC), but I have no feel for that.

You should have at least 2GB of RAM, but more is also nice. My rule of thumb is 2 GB per core. If you are going to have several cores you might as well be able to run stuff without a lot of paging. I have a dual core machine with 4GB.

Get as much storage as you can afford and any graphics system you like. Just remember that SC4 cannot use any advanced graphics options so they should all be set to "application selected".

A modern machine should come equipped for a 16:9 monitor and supporting graphics for HD. It should also support VGA.

Try and keep your old external peripherals. Normally a new machine comes bundled with a keyboard and a mouse, but I kept my scanner, monitor and printer. I recently upgraded my monitor to a 24" 16:9 and have not regretted it.

Good luck, and good hunting.

Here is a link to my machine details if you are interested.

[andrianid 0]

I am running SC4 on a Dell XPS machine, 2.33ghz dual core processor, NVIDIA dual video with 512mb ram and 4gb system ram on a performance RAID HDD config. I am using Windows Vista.

The game DOES NOT CRASH at all, cities load quickly, and the fastest game speed works amazing without much pause/lag.

i was playing on a Mac laptop, dual core, 2gb ram and it was very frustrating. I think the better video card, extra ram, and RAIDed HDD's account for the great performance I am achieving.

I am running SC4 on a Dell XPS machine, 2.33ghz dual core processor, NVIDIA dual video with 512mb ram and 4gb system ram on a performance RAID HDD config. I am using Windows Vista.

The game DOES NOT CRASH at all, cities load quickly, and the fastest game speed works amazing without much pause/lag.

i was playing on a Mac laptop, dual core, 2gb ram and it was very frustrating. I think the better video card, extra ram, and RAIDed HDD's account for the great performance I am achieving.