Graphics issues in Civ V. Haven't got a clue what the problem is.

[Ben Slowen]

Hey everyone. I'm having an issue with Civ V on my PC. I'm not much of a PC gamer at all. In fact, Civ V is really the only semi-modern game I have, and I just recently got a graphics card to get the best performance out of it that I could. So, as you can see, I know basically nothing about graphics cards and what to do to troubleshoot graphical issues.

It's best to just show you what I'm seeing, rather than try to explain it:

In the short clip, linked below, the borders of the civilizations get all jittery, and flicker whenever the camera pans around. It also happens to any of the highlighted units.

http://youtu.be/BlPQZzCJ8XU

Additionally, there are these strange blocky shadows and discolorations that pop up everywhere. Attached are a couple of stills of this.

#1

#2

I've tried two different graphics cards (a 6870, and a R9 270). I've tried both slots on the Motherboard. I've tried all of the visual in-game settings, from the lowest everything to the highest everything. I have also tried uninstalling, and then re-installing the game. The problem is always the same. The drivers on both GPUs were updated before I even tested the game, so I don't think that can be an issue.

Here's the tricky thing: when I remove the graphics card, and run the game off of the integrated graphics, these problems don't appear at all. (However I am forced to play the game under minimum settings).

So I have no idea how to isolate where the issue is coming from or how to fix it. Is it the Mobo? Is it both graphics cards? The game itself?

If someone could direct me, I'd really appreciate it.

(PC Components - Z68 mobo, i5 2500K (sandybridge) cpu, 750W psu, 8gb 1333 RAM. PC is hooked up to a 32" 720P TV).

 

[SeismicAltop]

I seriously doubt this is a hardware problem. Try lowering the texture quality, and if that does not work, go with trial and error. Change settings one by one until it goes away. If it never goes away, re-install the game.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Can't really see much in the video. These issues continue in the same areas for more than 5 sec or are they just when you first go to a screen? Even I get a little bit of lag loading on screen textures sometimes. They usually go away after I look at a particular area of the map for the first time.

I wonder if its the TV that is the problem. I could see vsync or something being funny with the television. Try turning it on and off. Civ 5 uses a lot of advanced textures that some other games don't really use. Maybe try manually setting the TV to 1366x768 and see what happens?