Like wading through 3 feet of thick mud

Just some standard ideas:

Have you tried getting a newer version of DirectX?
Is there any other (heavy) graphics using process running?
Have some other video card laying around to test?
DirectX compatible sound card/chip?
Latest card drivers?

There sure are more things to check - you could start with these though.

You could disable ClearType font smoothing.

More RAM could never hurt. I have a 2.8G Pentium D, 2G ram, and GeForce6600. Game runs without any problems.

Wow... I am running it on a 1.6 GHz machine with 1 Gig of Ram with no problems except perhaps slower turn processing after turn 100 but I am used to that after years of Birth of the Federation...
Glyn (Zaphod) Evans

http://minipainting-guild.net
http://metalcommandocanada.tk

Metal is Forever

When I search for for 'nvidia 4600 128' on Google, I get a half million matches to wade through, so more details would be handy.

Exactly 'what' kind of video card?
Is it something like GeForce Ti 4600?

Which video card maker actually 'made' the video card?
Many companies use the nvidia chipsets in their graphics cards, such as PNY, VisonTek, eVGA, etc.

With presently limited info, I have narrowed the search down to the older Geforce Ti 4600, which was apparently made back in 2002, maybe 4 years before SE V came out.
That's an old card.
Is that the right 'type' of card?
Have you noticed any similar troubles on other games that require 3D graphics?
I have to also ask if your video card drivers are up to date.

Other questions for trouble shooting.

What OS are you using?
XP, Vista, or other?

Any troubles noticed with sound or music?

I agreee with alb22 on asking if you have any other programs that are graphics intensive running while you try to play SE V.
Although, I am curious, do you have any other resource intensive programs in general running at the times you tried to play SE V?

I had this problem once, try going into settings, then display adapter and changing it around till it works. I no longer have this problem since my new comp has a nvidia 6300+9200+8600 and 2 gigs of dedicated vid ram and 5 more gigs of regular.

BTW i had this problem with my old 5600 so its not surprising to hear that a 4000 series couldnt run it.

It would also help if you run a DXdiag, and check for missing or malfunctioning drivers and devices.

Start ---> Run Type "dxdiag" and click OK

Run all the tests including the video and audio tests.

All pages should have No problems noted in the message box.

I eventually got to the point where I shut off all possible applications before starting SEV, along with some of the suggestions already mentioned here regarding settings. The game runs fine when it's not competing with anything else for processor time. Turn execution time, on those rare occasions when I play single player, does not bother me...with complexity and depth comes the cost of more complex, time consuming AI.

It does not strike me as an efficiently coded program for various reasons, but the game's so darn much fun that I have found my self willing to overlook this in order to play it these past two years. Multiplayer (PBW) absolutely rocks, provided one is aware of the game's combat system idiosyncrasies.

lol you must have the worst computer ever built.

I have a 3 year old laptop, no graphics card, very little ram, bad processor and it still manages to run the game...

How old is your computer??

Congrats. May still want to have it checked out so your processes don't keep dragging you down.

Do you have Vista?

And what do you mean by "I found anything beyond the system screen so slow"?

On my computer it's the system screen that is slow when there are too many ships selected at once, other screens are fine.

In raw power, your computer should be fast enough to run this game at max settings with no slowdowns. It's the varous compatibility issues that can pose a problem.

Which is why I'll never upgrade...