Thanks Guys!

Rik was right the only thing I really want to do with this computer is play all of the CIV Titles. I don't play or plan on playing anthing else on it. Other than that I do e-mail and some minor graphics work on it. I would however like it to kick the bejeesus out of the game though.

The computer I was looking at had
AMD 3200 processor
1 gig ram
120gig hd (do not know the type)
Nvidia 128 MB 6600
DVD
CD rw
4.5" floppy (isn't that cute)
The Motherboard was an ASUS but not sure of the model

This info is helpful

I am a complete dolt when it comes to computer so any and all help is appreciated. Just use small words :D

AMD 3200 ?? -> If you want to go lower than a 3500 (which for cIV is doable, just not bejeesus) better get a 3000. The 3200 is quality-price ratio not good. The 3500 really has an excellent prive-quality ratio. The 3000 has an ok price-quality ratio, but the 3200 is too expensive for what it gives you.

The Mobo I recommended, Asus A8N-E is a very limited motherboard, but strong on exactly the elements that cIV uses and rather cheap. And being an Asus, it is good quality, not crap.

The Nvidia is the manufacturer of the Geforce card, so the "Nvidia 128 MB 6600" = "Geforce 128 MB 6600". ;)

Grah: does cIV support dualcore? I don't know if it does.

Rik, Why wouldn't it support dual core? My work computer has duel Xeon 2.8Ghz chips and my impression is that the dual processor thing should be transparent.

@ Mistfit, I'd lobby for a 5.25 floppy drive for nastaglia sake. :)

@Rik: I have no idea if CIV supports dual-core. The MB in that Monarch unit is the A8N-SLI, so I was just commenting that it could support the X2 series chips. Could be a useful upgrade for the future, but for now, the 3500 is probably best. I was just giving Mistfit a MFR that I had experience with, that gets very good reviews from customers, is not a big name (thus can be upgraded easily), and has very good quality enforcement. He can also configure it to match your recommendations so he knows he's getting good performance. There's a lot of computer MFR's on the net, many are probably cheaper, and not all of them have good quality.