CIV 5 makes the whole computer shut off! help

[adam.carr]

dont laugh, but i finally decided to get this game. my partner has been trying to get this to work. it runs fine for like 5 minutes then randomly the whole computer turns off! every darn time! i cant even think its overheating in 5 minutes, and he said he updated all direct x stuff... im SO just wanting to play this game... ugh! someone super smart, please help... oh, he also said the computer meets requirements..

[wallsta]

That happens to me about once a year. Your computer does run a lot hotter with a game playing that when a game is not playing, especially the graphics card. In my case, the fix is always to vacuum up all the accumulated dust. That might not be your problem, but, yes, it can overheat in a matter of seconds after starting a game if it is close to the edge. Most computers slam down to a power off state when that happens.

[Staryn]

Turn on Vsync in the options and see if that helps.

[Twelvefield]

Also try playing in Strategic Mode, as that uses far less intensive graphics.

[Alrik]

Well after 5 mins I'd go with the overheating theory as well. But there is the overloaded RAM as well, does much the same thing. Civ 5 uses a ridicuous amount of memory, so if you're not on a beefed up 64 bit computer, then CIv 5 should be the only thing you're running on it.
I'm on a 32 bit machine and they can only use 3 point something gigs of RAM and starting up civ uses half of that or so and as the game progresses you'll end up playing it pretty close. So as the ones before me stated, looking into graphic options might be the way to go if you're short on memory.

[spacedebrismark]

I'm having a similar problem. Normally I can play for hours at a time. It used to heat up my laptop but I've got an external cooler added and Civ V only warms the PC slightly. My resting temp is usually about 60-65C. With Civ running it usually goes up to about 70C or so. So no overheating. I frequently play Star Trek online and it warms my laptop up to 75C with no problems. Since the last steam update (two or three days ago) I have not been able to play Civ. I can load the game play between 10 and 20 turns (usually 10 minutes or so) then the video shuts down. I can still hear the game, and the computer seems like it is still working but no video. I even connected an external monitor to see if it was a problem with my screen. Nothing. I have to hard reboot the computer. Now I have tried this with both the built in monitor and the external monitor with the same results. I even stressed the computer by running Star Trek full blast with the external cooler off and took the temp up to 85C for nearly a hour with no problems. Turn the cooler back on and run 10 minutes of Civ, get a temp of 68C (1 minute before shutdown) and Crash, there goes the video again.

I have tried turning Vsync on and off, AA on and off, graphics everything from high to low, multiple different resolutions, nothing makes a difference. About the only thing I havent tried yet is un-installing and re-installing Civ. Which I'm gonna try next. But if anyone has any other ideas I'd like to hear them.

[s0ckl0rd]

get an electric cooling pad to put under your cpu also clear the dust

[Tasi]

Are you playing on a desktop or laptop? If on a desktop, if you know anything about building a computer, you might check to see if your processor cooling fan is adequate to cool what you have. I encountered this on a system in the past, not while playing civ, but in general. The person who built the machine didn't use any thermal paste between the processor and cooling fan, which didn't help with the cooling like it should have. A couple things to check.

Are you only having this problem while playing civ or does it happen at other times too? If so, how long does it take to shut down? What else are you playing/doing when it does shutdown? Is the ambient temp in the room it's in hot? Do you have ample airflow in and around the computer itself?

[spacedebrismark]

I'm on a laptop. I am using a laptop cooler. (base with fans). Temp in room is about 70F. No one keeps a cleaner computer. I clean the dust out at least once a week, most of the time more often. Temp is not an issue here. Like I said, normal op temp for my laptop is less than 65c, With Civ running and the cooler working, the temp goes up to around 70C. Yesterday, crash happened at 68C, nowhere near critical temp. Civ and steam are the only programs (ran in offline mode with no internet access and even turned off AntiVirus. It only happens with Civ V. I ran Star Trek Online, ran the temp all the way up to 85C for over an hour with no issues. turned off STO and cooled the computer back to normal temp, started Civ V and less than 10 minutes later lost the video signal completly.

So I uninstalled Civ and reinstalled. Started a new game. I played this morning for about an hour (57 turns). Thought I had it whipped. Went to a couple of appts and then came back again. Loaded my saved game and it crashed the video in less than 5 minutes.

However, I think I noticed something. The last few days, when trying to play, I reloaded my last "auto save". So I kept playing the same 10-15 turns. When I look back it seems that the game kept crashing between turns 60-70. This afternoon, the last crash was at turn 61. Maybe there is a glitch in the game with something to do with that timeperiod. Something to do with the era or something. This evening I'm gonna set aside a couple of hours and try starting a new game and see if I can get past that point.

[Tasi]

I wouldn't think that civ would be doing anything that would cut power to the machine. Check something tonight, run on JUST battery power and compare how long it take STO and Civ to each run down the battery over say a 30 minute period. I have a feeling that civ is putting more stress on your power supply, even though your temp doesn't get as hot, and could be causing issues with a underpowered power block or a failing one. Failing power supplies tend to do some very wierd things to a machine.

[spacedebrismark]

the OP I think had a problem with the power, but in my case I dont loose power. I also dont have a battery. I run AC only. But my computer continues to work. I still hear the game in the background. the only thing that quits is the video signal.

I tried several games this evening. One game lasted 3 turns (less than 2 minutes), one game made it to turn 97. So I can eliminate the turn 60-70 thing.

I talked to a friend who is really into computers and he suggested that it may be my video card even tho STO doesnt affect it the same way as Civ. He says that it may be that Civ relies on the GPU to process the game where as STO runs its game processing more though ram. So even tho STO seems to work the computer harder, it may not be as hard on the video card as Civ. I dont know how to check that as my HW monitor doesnt show my GPU temp, only the CPU temp. Unforturnatly I cant just swap out video cards on my laptop like I would on a desktop. I guess its time to bust out the desktop and get it all set up again so I can enjoy the game.

[spacedebrismark]

I found the issue and it turns out it is a heat issue after all. I found a Hardware monitor that will show GPU and CPU. While my cpu only went up about 5C between resting and running Civ, the GPU was another story altogether. My GPU went from 40C at rest to 60C by the time Civ finished the opening scene. After 10 turns my GPU was all the way up to 79C. When it hit 80C it shut down.

So to the OP adam, 5 minutes is more than enough time or civ to overheat the GPU (video card) even if it doesnt overheat the computer itself.

I'm gonna have to pull my laptop apart and check the HS on the GPU and see if it needs any attention and if there is anything I can do to help reduce the temp.

[fRo$cH]

I had the problem that my computer shut down after 1 hour playing Civ5. I installed EVGA Precision X and I used the FAN CURVE to adjust the Fan Speed at High temperature.
PROBLEM SOLVED

I hope that helps somebody out there

[FamFam]

Im having this problem too. Brand new computer, easily makes specs, nothing else much running and still once in a while it shuts off.

Core i7 4770k @ 3.5ghz
16gb ram
64-bit win 7

As I said, a brand new machine with nothing much running.

Even shuts down if its just idle in the background.