Help me design ultimate SC4 PC system

[marybono 0]

I'm totally completely absolutely and irrevocably disgusted with SC 2013 to the point after I paid my $80 and played for a few hours I just threw it in the back of my closet never to be dug out again. That's one nice dinner with the wife I donated to EA in exchange for a big pile of poop. Thanks, EA. I hope to celebrate your landing in bankruptcy court soon.

 

Now on the positive side. I want to go back to SC4 which I haven't played in many years. However, I'm running a hexocore i7 3930K which is kind of like taking an F1 Ferrari onto a skateboard track. So what I want to do is to configure a SINGLE CORE completely separate PC to do NOTHING but run SC4. Here are my questions:

 

1. For the CPU, something along the lines of a Athlon 64 3800+ or 4000+. I'm sure I can find the mobo somewhere for it. Any better single core CPU suggestions?
2. 1 or 2 GB RAM enough?
3. Do I need an optical drive or can I buy SC4 online and download it so that I can install it directly?
4. Is there an easy way to have the single core PC be connected to my main 27" monitor without plugging and unplugging? I figure that even though I only have one HDMI port in the monitor, there has to be a switch box available where I can switch between the PC systems. So if I was gonna play, I would turn off my main system, turn on my SC4 system and run it on the same monitor.
5. The monitor runs 1920x1080. I understand that SC4 does support that resolution. Do I need to apply any patches?
6. I can run any OS, so XP SP3 ok?
7. I want STRICTLY unlimited, unfettered city building. Don't want disasters, limited money, etc. I have the list of the cheatcodes and the plugin URL, etc. Any suggestions on setting up the game so that I can just build and build and build without distractions?
8. Anything else I should know?

 

Thanks in advance for all the help!

[lhrob 213]

I'm totally completely absolutely and irrevocably disgusted with SC 2013 to the point after I paid my $80 and played for a few hours I just threw it in the back of my closet never to be dug out again. That's one nice dinner with the wife I donated to EA in exchange for a big pile of poop. Thanks, EA. I hope to celebrate your landing in bankruptcy court soon.

 

Now on the positive side. I want to go back to SC4 which I haven't played in many years. However, I'm running a hexocore i7 3930K which is kind of like taking an F1 Ferrari onto a skateboard track. So what I want to do is to configure a SINGLE CORE completely separate PC to do NOTHING but run SC4. Here are my questions:

 

1. For the CPU, something along the lines of a Athlon 64 3800+ or 4000+. I'm sure I can find the mobo somewhere for it. Any better single core CPU suggestions?
2. 1 or 2 GB RAM enough?
3. Do I need an optical drive or can I buy SC4 online and download it so that I can install it directly?
4. Is there an easy way to have the single core PC be connected to my main 27" monitor without plugging and unplugging? I figure that even though I only have one HDMI port in the monitor, there has to be a switch box available where I can switch between the PC systems. So if I was gonna play, I would turn off my main system, turn on my SC4 system and run it on the same monitor.
5. The monitor runs 1920x1080. I understand that SC4 does support that resolution. Do I need to apply any patches?
6. I can run any OS, so XP SP3 ok?
7. I want STRICTLY unlimited, unfettered city building. Don't want disasters, limited money, etc. I have the list of the cheatcodes and the plugin URL, etc. Any suggestions on setting up the game so that I can just build and build and build without distractions?
8. Anything else I should know?

 

Thanks in advance for all the help!

 

Hmmm.  Welcome to Simtropolis...?  I can appreciate your opening rant here...I don't blame you.  I imagine what was really going through your head was   and    So I applaud you for keeping it PG-rated. 

 

I'll try to answer some of your questions.

 

1.)  I don't know, unfortunately.  I'm not familiar with either one of those CPUs, but I'm sure someone else will be able to tackle that question for you.  Even if you wanted to play the game on your current multi-core system, there's a parameter that can be added to the Target Command Line in the game's desktop icon properties which would restrict the game to only one core.

2.)  Definitely go with 2GB...preferably more if you can, but 2GB should suffice.

3.)  You can download the fully patched game from Gamersgate, Steam, or Amazon.  No need for an optical drive.

4.)  Yes, there are switches you can buy which allow you to toggle your monitor's input from one source to another.

5.)  No...there are no patches necessary.  You would just need to add a parameter to your Target Command Line in the game's desktop icon properties.  We can tell you how to do that.

6.)  Yes, the game runs on XP-SP3, although I've read that people have better luck running it in SP2 compatibility mode.  You'd have to try it to see if there are any issues, but I'm sure it would be fine with SP3 as well.

7.)  Yes, but too lengthy and detailed for this particular post right now.  Please feel free to start an entirely new thread devoted to that one specific topic.

8.)  Lots of stuff.  But in the same manner as my answer to #7, it's too much to go into in just one post.  

[Haljackey 17,241]

Remember that SC4 was designed for the Pentium 4 processor: A vastly powerful single-core CPU at the time. SC4 doesn't care how many cores you have but the power of the cores themselves. For example SC4 would run better on a 3GHZ dual core CUP compared to a 2.5GHZ quad core.

-Getting a CPU with 3+ GHZ is recommended. The more powerful the core the better.

 

You want at least 4 GB of dedicated RAM for SC4... So maybe 6GB total. Do a google search for '4GB Patch' and run this program on the SC4 EXE file. It will enable SC4 to use up to 4GB rather than 2GB.

 

You can buy a digital version of SC4 or use a program to run SC4 from your hard drive (that's what I do). I also strongly recommend running SC4 on a SSD.

 

SC4 can be run in a windowed or windowed fullscreen mode so it can be used on dual monitor setups without any problems.

 

I run SC4 in 1080p. Just an edit to the shortcut code is all you need to enable custom resolutions. Once you go above 1080p you will notice graphical problems. For example I used to run SC4 on my 1920x1200 monitor and noticed glitches in region view.

 

SC4 runs fine on my Windows 7 professional 64 bit system. I think it also will run perfectly on Windows 8.

 

For sandbox play, you can turn disasters off. I use a mod that starts cities off with 100 million simoleans so I don't have a problem. There are plenty of other mods to inject you with cash.

 

What else should you know? Get a SSD, download the 4GB Patch. If you have graphics issues due to a video card problem you can run SC4 in a older directx drive.Know that SC4 will have finicky PC demands and you may experience FPS issues for no apparent reason. Its just something you have to deal with but it's a relatively minor issue compared to SC13 .

 

Anyways hope this helped!

 

---

 

EDIT: in late 2010, I bought a PC specifically for running SC4 optimally. These are my specs:

 

-120GB SSD
-2TB HDD
-12GB RAM
-GTX 470 GPU
-i7 950 CPU
-1920x1080 Primary
-1920x1200 Secondary
-700W Power Supply
-X85 Motherboard

 

My shortcut:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -Intro:off -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32 -CPUPriority:high -d:DirectX -CPUCount:8 -w

  Edited March 29, 2013 by Haljackey  

[bcnurse247 33]

I second the motion for the NVIDIA GeForce video card. I had an ATI on a previous system and I didn't prefer it with SC4. NVIDIA performed better.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

<snip>Here are my questions:

 

1. For the CPU, something along the lines of a Athlon 64 3800+ or 4000+. I'm sure I can find the mobo somewhere for it. Any better single core CPU suggestions?
2. 1 or 2 GB RAM enough?
3. Do I need an optical drive or can I buy SC4 online and download it so that I can install it directly?
4. Is there an easy way to have the single core PC be connected to my main 27" monitor without plugging and unplugging? I figure that even though I only have one HDMI port in the monitor, there has to be a switch box available where I can switch between the PC systems. So if I was gonna play, I would turn off my main system, turn on my SC4 system and run it on the same monitor.
5. The monitor runs 1920x1080. I understand that SC4 does support that resolution. Do I need to apply any patches?
6. I can run any OS, so XP SP3 ok?
7. I want STRICTLY unlimited, unfettered city building. Don't want disasters, limited money, etc. I have the list of the cheatcodes and the plugin URL, etc. Any suggestions on setting up the game so that I can just build and build and build without distractions?
8. Anything else I should know?

 

Thanks in advance for all the help!

You can set your game to only use a single processor by using the -CPUcount:1 option in your short-cut target line that you use to start the game.  Open the shortcut by right clicking on it, add the option to the command line after one space (after the final quote).  Click Apply.  This tells the processor scheduler to schedule the program only on a single processor core.  It doesn't matter what your remaining cores do.

 

It's a 32-bit program and is quite happy in any memory over 2GB, but can only access something over 3GB.

 

Purchase a digital download from Amazon or GamersGate.  You get version 1,1,641 - fully patched and ready to go.  No disks required.  Keep the install folder and save it somewhere.  There is no limit on re-installs.

 

To use your HDMI monitor at, say, 1080p all you need is yet another command line option set. 

 

To wit:  -CustomResolution:enabled -rhhhxvvvx32 where

 

hhh is the horizontal resolution of your monitor in pixels

vvv is the vertical resolution.  If vvv > 1199 you may run into a rendering bug, it is harmless.

 

Here is my command line as an example:

 

"C:/Program Files/Maxis/SimCity 4 Deluxe/Apps/SimCity 4.exe"  -intro:off -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32 -d:software -f -CPUcount:1

 

It is a Linux command line, but the only difference is the slashes.  It says turn off the stupid movie; set up for my 1920 x 1080 screen with 32 bit colour depth; run in software resolution (I have a GPU support problem with my ATI/AMD chip); full screen; only use one of my two cores.

 

You can run any O/S with this from Microsoft from Windows 98 through and including Windows 8.  You can also run this using the Windows Executive (wine) under OS/X or Linux.  Wine runs like a .NET interpreter and is not an emulator but a JIT compiler.

 

You can never run this program on a modern, fast processor without an occasional crash to desktop.  Avoidance strategy is to take in-game saves (CTRL+s) any time you've arrived at a point where you don't want to do something over.  I usually do a save when I adjust the infrastructure (roads, water pipes, power lines) or if I build something with puzzle pieces.  You cannot expect continuous building, but I have had sessions of two to four hours using this protocol.  The internal save seems to garbage collect the program and reset the queues.

 

If you start a city on hard mode and give your treasury 500,000 Simoleons, you should be able to keep from going broke, but you can always update your treasury to a new balance.  The extra cheats .dll command moolah 500000 will set your treasury balance to 500,000.  This is a straight set, and can be used any time.

 

To get rid of the never to be sufficiently damned UDI balloons running around your city, turn UDI off.  Press F3.  Click on the last icon on this menu, then click the last icon on the sub-menu.  This is a toggle, and you can turn it back on if you wish.  Press F2 to get back to mayor mode.

 

To get a full list of cheats right click in the cheat box, and you will get a list of all cheats.  You must know the syntax of any cheat you invoke.

 

Run in Turtle.  Running in Cheetah is only for quick bursts to accomplish a task.  If you run in Cheetah all the time you may crash.  The program "gets tired".  Turtle also allows you time to enjoy the animation.  This is more than a city builder, and it should be enjoyed in a leisure manner and not rushed to some silly conclusion like 10,000,000 Sims.  Goals like this are things one grows out of.

 

Memento tuus ipsos est deus.  Remember you are the god of the game and not a mayor.  You can do any damned thing you please.

 

This is something like the three laws of thermodynamics:

 

You can't win,

You can't break even,

You can't get out of the game (except by going broke).

 

There is no way to "win".  The game is a giant exercise in problem solving based on problems you create yourself.  Enjoy!

 

[hr[

 

Post Scriptum:

 

Take it slow with custom content, and test each add in the game before you add more.

 

Best starting mod for this game is the Network Addon Mod (NAM).

  Edited March 30, 2013 by A Nonny Moose  

[Metalpuritan 160]

My PC is slightly under what Haljackey's is and runs the game just fine when I am running it right, which reminds me Nonny, I need to post a "thank you" to you in my thread I created about the game crashing repeatedly(it was my fault of course, it always is isn't it?).

 

I got a 460 iinstead of a 470 and the i5(and the proper mobo for it, it was cheap though, got it free with the i5) instead of the i7, and 8 gig ram instead of his 12, everything else is about the same including the SSD.

 

I could probably downgrade another level and likely wouldn't even notice a difference.  I could drop down to a core 2 duo, a gtx 280, and 4  or 6 gig RAM and would be just fine, like I said, probably wouldn't even notice a difference.  That is actually what I had 7 years ago when I first bought SimCity 4.  Had XP back then too.

[lhrob 213]

To get a full list of cheats right click in the cheat box, and you will get a list of all cheats.  You must know the syntax of any cheat you invoke.

 

Just to clarify this part of A Nonny Moose's post....

 

Right-clicking in the cheat box to bring up a list of cheat codes will only work if you have the installed.  Without it, you have to type in the code.  The "Moolah" cheat A Nonny Moose referred to is only available if you have that plugin installed.

[euverus 20]

A single core in a 3930K is actually much faster than the fastest single core CPU's like a Pentium 4 or an Athlon 64 FX. I had a Pentium 4 @ 3.2GHz, but SimCity 4 runs much better on my current PC with an i7 2600K. Here you can see, all CPU-s are clocked at 3GHz and using only one core, a Pentium 4 is still about 3 times slower.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Interesting, but I doubt it's much of a benchmark for simulations when all it did was some byte slinging.  Arguing over processor power with this game is just talking about where the knee of the exponential curve lies.  Faster CPUs simply delay the inevitable.  It is the nature of this kind of thing to eat the CPU and since it is single threaded other features, such as the graphics output rate, will suffer.

[marybono 0]

Thanks to all for some truly valuable input. I'm going to address the salient issues:

1) Yeah, what I really think about EA's evisceration of the SC franchise with 2013 couldn't be uttered on a public forum.
2) It seems like I could save myself a lot of trouble by just sticking with my current i7 3930 and just playing it on single CPU mode, or are there any real advantages to going to a completely different separate system with a single core CPU?
3) My video card on the hexacore is a GTX660 1.5GB and the system is running 32GB RAM and Win 7 Professional 64 SP1 with an SSD boot drive and a 2TB spinner data drive. Are there any incompatibilities I should be aware of in this configuration?

Thanks again!

[Turjan 1,048]

Yup, just use your current system, it should work fine if you use the start-up parameters the Moose posted above, with exception of the software rendering (you should use hardware rendering), and I don't see a reason for the -f (the game uses fullscreen by default). As you seem to have an Nvidia card, you are all set (even ATI works, just with a few minor annoyances).

[marybono 0]

That's great news, going to save the hassle and cost of setting up a separate PC and the HDMI 2way switch, etc. I'll definitely follow all of the great advice given here. Thanks again!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

No, with the command line options we've already discussed you should be just fine.  You need to train your left hand to press CTRL+s once in a while to get the game garbage collected and give yourself a check point.