GTA 4 Help

[Jesterarts]

Hey guys...

For the first time in a LONG time I did the right thing and bought a game.

it was GTA 4...

Other than I got farily frustrated with the endless updates and registration I had to go through... now I'm frustrated at how cr@p it runs!

Now I understand I only have a e6600 processor... but I'm trying to run it on medium and low setting and it runs like a dog!

Which annoys me since I run games like COD4 COD5 Crysis, Crysis Warehead and GRID racer all maxed out and they run smooooooth!

I have a e6600 which is a bit old but then i have a 9800gtx+ 512mb and 4gb of RAM.

I downloaded the patch which I will install tonight and see if that helps but after reading a few posts here and there apparently it does sweet bugger all?

WTF? Anyone have any luck getting this game running smooth or smooth-er?

One post mentioned rolling back my video card drivers to 181.20.

Thanks.

PS, anyone know how to configure how slow the camera rotates to follow the character?

Driving it so annoying... i turn a corner and I'm looking at the side of the car! It's a 3 hand affair at the moment... 2 hands for driving... and a third for moving the camera with the mouse!

Grrr!

[mavro]

man I am getting old !
dont understand anything you wrote...

[mcrow5]

to run gta4 nicely your gonna need to get a quad core processor. gta4 is THE most cpu intensive game out there at the moment, and people who have changed from a fast dual core to a slower quad core have seen huge improvements. also, your graphics card isnt the best, people who have a 4870 or gtx260 still cant play gta4 on max settings.

[Jesterarts]

Ok... so basically... GTA is just another f@rk up when port to PC.

Just so annoying... like... say COD4 and 5... sensational graphics... not much worse than the GTA graphics...

And I play them maxed out while GTA I can barely sorta play on minimum settings...

Ok, thanks anyway guys... looks like I will have to upgrade to a QUAD at some point soon...

[TVR-190]

ya its a resource hog.

they must have had so many returns of gta4 cause most people cant run it. i can play it at 12fps best

with:512mb geforce 8600m gs, 4gb ram, core 2 duo 1.88

[Jesterarts]

Yeah... I got it from GAME so no returns on PC games...

Just have to update the PC and claim it on tax... Cause I do some work from home...

[mcrow5]

they must have had so many returns of gta4 cause most people cant run it. i can play it at 12fps best

with:512mb geforce 8600m gs, 4gb ram, core 2 duo 1.88

no wonder your getting a crap fps, cpu is mediocre at best and really slow for games), and your graphics card is pretty bad if you play games.

if you do wanna upgrade, then get an e5200, and a second hand 8800gt, 9800gtx+. you'll notice a significant increase in performance.

[bezz]

no wonder your getting a crap fps, cpu is mediocre at best and really slow for games), and your graphics card is pretty bad if you play games.

if you do wanna upgrade, then get an e5200, and a second hand 8800gt, 9800gtx+. you'll notice a significant increase in performance.

It would prob be a bit hard for him to upgrade it, those look like laptop specs to me!

[TVR-190]

It would prob be a bit hard for him to upgrade it, those look like laptop specs to me!

that is correct

[danja]

Console gaming FTW

$600 on hardware which is guaranteed to last you at least 3 years without running new games like a dog.

[camstatic]

i7 920, 6gb ddr3, gtx260+, runs silky smooth!

If you want to see decent fps in this game, you need a quadcore, the gpu doesn't matter so much, as long as it's above about the 8800x mark.

[mcrow5]

that is correct

lol, yeh laptops are a bit hard to upgrade.

[Jesterarts]

i7 920, 6gb ddr3, gtx260+, runs silky smooth!

If you want to see decent fps in this game, you need a quadcore, the gpu doesn't matter so much, as long as it's above about the 8800x mark.

STFU you son of a biatch...

Yeah... going to need to look into a quad some time in august when my bonus comes through.

Till then, I've found that if I turns shadows off I average about 30fps which drops now and then driving...

But very playable... so it'll do!

[Goon]

do the grpahics test in the game options benchmark or something like that, ive heard gta4 runs better on its own harddrive casue its so huge..

lol i bet the rego pissed u off it took me 2 days to relise you had to join windlows live with social club via socail club then login to live to play online.

both copys i have of my pcs run fine with med graphics, you jut gotta change settings to see whats best.. but as i said above having its own HD might help.. im keen to try it oneday soon when i get another external drive..

[Jesterarts]

Yeah the registration was annoying as hell...

I already have 3 HHD's im my computer so I'm not getting another one just for this... lol...

One HHD is just OS and admin style programs and applications, HHD number 2 is basically CS4 Suite and Games.... nothing else and this is where GTA is found and the thrid HHD is just saved files...

I've found some hack that will run GTA at the res I want but trick it into only running reflections and shadows, etc at a lower resolution... also trick it into thinking I have less memory in my gfx card so tightens up and uses resources more intelligently...

I will give that a bash tonight and post if it didn't work... will not post if it works as i will be playing...

[ruggj]

turn your multisampling down, should improve fps, only difference is that the images wont be as sharp. you will find this in your graphics card properties. There is usually 2 ways to change multisampling, graphics card properties and the actual game properties, the game properties take priority of the graphics card properties when it comes to multisampling, so make sure its not up to high.

[ruggj]

oh and if you do decide to go quad core, make sure you have your motherboard has a fast fsb, otherwise upgrading your cpu wont make much difference. Get the fastest ram for your technology, say if you have ddr2 go 1066mhz ram.

Basically you can get a new processor, but it wont make much of a difference if other parts of your pc are still bottlenecking it.

and another thing, most games dont use more than 2 cores, so make sure you get a quad with the same clock speed as your old cpu or better, otherwise other games that only use 2 cores, are going to run worse than they did before you upgraded your cpu.

Hope all this helps

[Jesterarts]

^^^ Yeah... would be looking at a q6600 so still running @ 2.4Ghz.

The GTA multi sampling setting are weird... can't control AA directly...

So i think i will just force the card to go 2x for GTA 4... so how it goes...

Going to have a fiddle tonight... as i said... its very playable with shadows just plain turned off... just it takes away from the effect a bit...

Thanks for the input guys...

[ruggj]

honestly i have a q6600 and i hate it lol. its too slow. if i had the money id have an i7 lol, but this will have to do for a few years.

[Jesterarts]

Yeah... I'm aiming for "minimum satisfactory result" not so much as "state of the art solution"...

Can't even start to justify a i7...

[Goon]

youll probley find playing online in free mode seasion alot of tools cheat, just a warining... it might kill ur fun, so pick another mode in online where it cant happen..

[50LTRv8]

I played it though just fine on my e6600 (other than it overheating my vid card), although it is a tad overclocked.

[Jesterarts]

Haven't had a chance to try online mode yet... because my broadband has been taken back to 56kb... too much downloading... its' amazing how quickly 90gb is used up...

50LTRv8

Yeah... I'm running everything stock...

Didn't manage to get that tweek I was talking about working as it should...

Have to have more of a fiddle...

I did get a cracked version of the launch.exe so it doesn't run that securom or whatever... that gave me a few fps...

It's mainly the driving that causes issue... it runs good... but it just doesn't feel smooth... it's not chugging... just... doesn't feel right...

[camstatic]

Jesterarts: Another thing you'll have to keep in mind is most quad core designed motherboards have 8pin cpu power instead of 4, so budget for a decent power supply as well. I recommend the Corsair HX620 for the sweet spot in price vs. performance.

The i7 920, the 6gb of elixir, and EX58-DS4 motherboard set me back $1111 in a bundle in January, maybe spend your ruddbux on an upgrade?

[cdtoaster]

have you been updating your gfx drivers and shiz? i've completed the game and played around lots in my spare time and ever had any of the long load time or running slow issues people mention.
im running E8200 stock, 8800GT OC, 4GB 800mhz ddr2 ram, vista 64bit and gta iv version 1.0 (or whatever un patched release is) running it at 1680x1050 medium textures high render quality