What graphics card to buy for best performance

[dr.whiz]

im gonna have to buy a new graphics card to be able to play GTA IV. so for people that have played the game successfully (or unsuccessfully for that matter), it would be good to get some suggestions to what graphics card to get to best suit an already existing setup.

 

i also realized this topic can be useful for others as well with different setups but with an insufficient graphics card, so hopefully this can become some sort of hands-on topic to what graphics card to buy for your specific processor, motherboard, ram etc to get the most out of the game.

 

the setup im gonna be using to play the game is the following:

 

Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5600+ 2.80 GHz

RAM: 4GB

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate, 32-bit

 

Note: i'm only going to be playing this game, so i only care about the performance for this game.

 

[procrastinateking]

I'd suggest looking into an 8800gt or 9800gt.

 

While I've been getting pretty good performance out of my ati card, it seems like the nvidia cards have fewer issues with gta iv. The cards mentioned above would bee a good match for your processor (anything more might leave you CPU-bound) and more powerful cards could likely cause some issues if you don't have a studly power supply.

[micheal687]

im gonna have to buy a new graphics card to be able to play GTA IV. so for people that have played the game successfully (or unsuccessfully for that matter), it would be good to get some suggestions to what graphics card to get to best suit an already existing setup.

 

i also realized this topic can be useful for others as well with different setups but with an insufficient graphics card, so hopefully this can become some sort of hands-on topic to what graphics card to buy for your specific processor, motherboard, ram etc to get the most out of the game.

 

the setup im gonna be using to play the game is the following:

 

Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5600+ 2.80 GHz

RAM: 4GB

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate, 32-bit

 

Note: i'm only going to be playing this game, so i only care about the performance for this game.

go for 9800 gtx its better than even the hd 4850 r 4850

[dr.whiz]

thanks for the tips. i have been leaning towards the nvidia 8800's or 9800's since my psu is only 520.

 

what ive been wondering about those cards though is the following:

 

most happy nvidia players on here seem to be running it on the 8800GTS, will the 9800GT 1GB be better or worse?

 

from where i live i can get either the 9800GT 1GB or the 9800GTX 512MB for roughly the same price. which one would be better? the game obviously wants a lot of memory.

 

edit: i guess i can get Gigabyte GeForce 9800 GTX+ 1024MB GDDR3 / PCI-E / SLI / 2xDVI / TV-OUT for the same price as the others i mentioned above. so i guess the question is, is this the way to go and will it outperform the 8800 GTS on gta?

Edited December 4, 2008 by dr.whiz

[Chevyboy]

im gonna have to buy a new graphics card to be able to play GTA IV. so for people that have played the game successfully (or unsuccessfully for that matter), it would be good to get some suggestions to what graphics card to get to best suit an already existing setup.

 

i also realized this topic can be useful for others as well with different setups but with an insufficient graphics card, so hopefully this can become some sort of hands-on topic to what graphics card to buy for your specific processor, motherboard, ram etc to get the most out of the game.

 

the setup im gonna be using to play the game is the following:

 

Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5600+ 2.80 GHz

RAM: 4GB

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate, 32-bit

 

Note: i'm only going to be playing this game, so i only care about the performance for this game.

go for 9800 gtx its better than even the hd 4850 r 4850

Not by a long shot it isn't. Sorry you are very misinformed.

[Zorgus]

good luck, you'll need x2 9800 gtx's in SLi mode... and even then it'll look sh*t..

[dr.whiz]

good luck, you'll need x2 9800 gtx's in SLi mode... and even then it'll look sh*t..

how is that possible when most people on this forum that have had positive graphics experience and are not running new gen hardware have had the nvidia 8800 GTS?

[adri1456]

Looks like this game is CPU intensive, because on my 2nd screen while playing, my CPU's graph is on a line at 100%.

 

But getting the 9800 is a start.

[dr.whiz]

so 9800GTX 1GB instead of the 8800GTX is a go? still a bit worried since i haven't seen that many people on here running it on 9800GTX succesfully whereas any version of the 8800 seem to be outperforming most things in the same price range.

 

im probably also gonna try and overclock my processor to 3.00 GHz. should get me some extra fps but will probably wait till i've seen how the game performs not overclocked.

[algenon_iii]

good luck, you'll need x2 9800 gtx's in SLi mode... and even then it'll look sh*t..

Except C* haven't implemented SLI support

[medfreak]

This game reminds me a lot of the PS2 emulators. It seems that it does not matter how powerful your graphics card is as long as it is an nvidia 8 series or better, but it works heavily on the CPU. That is exactly the characteristic of a poor port, because there is enormous potential on your graphics cards wasted, and instead it hampers the CPU. Since emulators have to function like a PS2, they have to rely heavily on the CPU like a console does. A port on the other hand should not do that, because you have a chance to re-write the code.

 

You see consoles do depend heavily on CPUs along with GPUs, but most good quality PC games depend far more on the advanced potential of GPUs. GTA IV is acting like it is still working on a Cell processor or a triple core Xbox 360 CPU.

Edited December 4, 2008 by medfreak

[JeddyH]

R* probably just made a xbox360 emulator and chucked in the GTA IV game files and checked if it ran

[mortuus]

Yea, since not even a nice x2 dual core cpu clocked at 3ghz seems to be enough i bet its a 100% 360 port since xbox has 3 cpu cores so no wonder all quad core owners are reporting very high cpu usage on all cores.

[NecroViolator]

YOU want the BEST/Fastest performance ???

 

Then BUY a QUADRO Card, the biggest you can get ahold of for maximum speed...

[dr.whiz]

YOU want the BEST/Fastest performance ???

 

Then BUY a QUADRO Card, the biggest you can get ahold of for maximum speed...

yeah i guess im more looking for something that would give me good performance on this game and still make it worth while as in not paying more than 250 since i won't be playing any other games.

 

still though, will the 9800GTX 1GB outperform the 8800GT/8800GTS/8800GTX 512 - 768 MB?

 

i know the 9800GTX is useless in the sense that GTA IV doesn't support SLI but i'm more thinking that

 

1. maybe some support will be added in the future

 

2. shouldn't the 1GB do some good compared to the 8800's 512 - 768MB?

[Zaphat]

GTA 4 is not GPU dependant at all. You can run maximum graphics (that is very high rendering) with a mid level card.

What counts is the CPU, which is mainly reponsible for the detail settings.

So with a fast CPU and a mid card will take you further than a mid-CPU with high level graphcards.

[alansabout]

I did have a few small problems with this to start with just getting it to run at first but it all seems to be Ok for the moment i have run a benchmark and this is what I got

Statistics

Average FPS: 32.02

Duration: 37.57 sec

CPU Usage: 49%

System memory usage: 73%

Video memory usage: 97%

 

Graphics Settings

Video Mode: 1920 x 1200 (60 Hz)

Texture Quality: High

Render Quality: High

View Distance: 40

Detail Distance: 38

 

Hardware

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Service Pack 3

Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280

Video Driver version: 180.48

Audio Adapter: SB X-Fi Audio [CF00]

Intel Pentium III Xeon processor

 

so for the moment I am quite pleased.

Edited December 4, 2008 by alansabout

[alansabout]

Correction

Statistics

Average FPS: 32.02

Duration: 37.57 sec

CPU Usage: 49%

System memory usage: 73%

Video memory usage: 97%

 

Graphics Settings

Video Mode: 1920 x 1200 (60 Hz)

Texture Quality: High

Render Quality: High

View Distance: 40

Detail Distance: 38

 

Hardware

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Service Pack 3

Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280

Video Driver version: 180.48

Audio Adapter: SB X-Fi Audio [CF00]

Intel core 2 quad [email protected]

[crackdawg]

Get a Geforce 6600(sorry, I gotta keep making fun of all the people who said I didn't know what I was talking about.)

 

I've got it to run on a GF 7900 and a single core 2Ghz sempron with playable quality, but it requires software tuning. The system only had 768MB of physical DDR2 RAM.

 

The Shader Model is the true dictator, but it's too technical for the average consumer. R* could just say SM 3.0.

[dr.whiz]

okay hopefully someone can help me out with this trivial graphics card question,

 

i don't know the first thing about graphics cards but after doing some reading i have the following question,

 

the 9800GTX+ is 256 bit interface where as the 8800GTX has like 384 bit interface.

 

since the 8800GTX has 768MB of memory the 384 bit interface makes sense.

 

though, the new 9800GTX+ with 1GB of memory still only has 256 bit interface. does this pretty much mean that the extra 512 MB of memory are useless in practice cause of the 256 bit interface? i heard something about something being compressed in the 9800GTX+ therefor not needing more than 256 bit interface, but really what's up?

 

i would really appreciate any help on this since i just ordered a 9800GTX+ 1GB and need to know if i should cancel it.

[Chevyboy]

Get a Geforce 6600(sorry, I gotta keep making fun of all the people who said I didn't know what I was talking about.)

 

I've got it to run on a GF 7900 and a single core 2Ghz sempron with playable quality, but it requires software tuning. The system only had 768MB of physical DDR2 RAM.

 

The Shader Model is the true dictator, but it's too technical for the average consumer. R* could just say SM 3.0.

I'm glad you like to gloat (I'm not one who said you couldn't, nor am I one that cares... at all, in fact does anyone care what you do?) but your post was not at all helpful, so thank you for wasting precious thread space! *jokes, but seriously nobody cares.

 

To the OP, the 9800 series and 8800 series are very nice cards for the price these days, however I would stay away from duel processor on single card setups (often many games and drivers for that matter have issues running these cards to there potential)

 

If your going budget 8800 series is nice, if you don't mind spending more and play to play other games, the 260 *216 series is actually a decent card.

[Democrab]

okay hopefully someone can help me out with this trivial graphics card question,

 

i don't know the first thing about graphics cards but after doing some reading i have the following question,

 

the 9800GTX+ is 256 bit interface where as the 8800GTX has like 384 bit interface.

 

since the 8800GTX has 768MB of memory the 384 bit interface makes sense.

 

though, the new 9800GTX+ with 1GB of memory still only has 256 bit interface. does this pretty much mean that the extra 512 MB of memory are useless in practice cause of the 256 bit interface? i heard something about something being compressed in the 9800GTX+ therefor not needing more than 256 bit interface, but really what's up?

 

i would really appreciate any help on this since i just ordered a 9800GTX+ 1GB and need to know if i should cancel it.

Get the 8800GTX, the extra memory bandwidth REALLY helps it.

 

 

But I suggest to get a GTX 260 or something instead, much faster.

[dr.whiz]

To the OP, the 9800 series and 8800 series are very nice cards for the price these days, however I would stay away from duel processor on single card setups (often many games and drivers for that matter have issues running these cards to there potential)

 

If your going budget 8800 series is nice, if you don't mind spending more and play to play other games, the 260 *216 series is actually a decent card.

yeah don't get me wrong, the only reason i'm thinking about buying the 9800 GTX+ is cause we all know the 8800 and 9900 cards have been the most successful ones so far with this game overall, and since i really just care about this game it just made sense to pick one of those cards up. however i don't like the feeling of spending like 200 bucks on a card that's been out for over 2 years! thats why the 9800 GTX+ 1GB caught my attention cause it was released like a month ago.

 

and since the game uses a lot of vram, i just thought the 1GB was the way to go. but now i'm stuck with the 256-bit dilemma and not sure what to expect.

[Chevyboy]

To the OP, the 9800 series and 8800 series are very nice cards for the price these days, however I would stay away from duel processor on single card setups (often many games and drivers for that matter have issues running these cards to there potential)

 

If your going budget 8800 series is nice, if you don't mind spending more and play to play other games, the 260 *216 series is actually a decent card.

yeah don't get me wrong, the only reason i'm thinking about buying the 9800 GTX+ is cause we all know the 8800 and 9900 cards have been the most successful ones so far with this game overall, and since i really just care about this game it just made sense to pick one of those cards up. however i don't like the feeling of spending like 200 bucks on a card that's been out for over 2 years! thats why the 9800 GTX+ 1GB caught my attention cause it was released like a month ago.

 

and since the game uses a lot of vram, i just thought the 1GB was the way to go. but now i'm stuck with the 256-bit dilemma and not sure what to expect.

It's so hit or miss right now. You could get 2 identical cards, plug them them both 1 at a time into the PC and have 1 perform well and 1 bomb out with GTA4.

 

I would really advise giving it a few more days or a week even to see if R* announces any patches or fixes of any sort. You'd kick yourself buying one now to find out they optimized it to run a less pricey card better

 

My old card was an 8800 series, loved it to death but it was time for something more powerful (I play several other games) so an 8800 still gets my vote if you decide not to wait

[dr.whiz]

To the OP, the 9800 series and 8800 series are very nice cards for the price these days, however I would stay away from duel processor on single card setups (often many games and drivers for that matter have issues running these cards to there potential)

 

If your going budget 8800 series is nice, if you don't mind spending more and play to play other games, the 260 *216 series is actually a decent card.

yeah don't get me wrong, the only reason i'm thinking about buying the 9800 GTX+ is cause we all know the 8800 and 9900 cards have been the most successful ones so far with this game overall, and since i really just care about this game it just made sense to pick one of those cards up. however i don't like the feeling of spending like 200 bucks on a card that's been out for over 2 years! thats why the 9800 GTX+ 1GB caught my attention cause it was released like a month ago.

 

and since the game uses a lot of vram, i just thought the 1GB was the way to go. but now i'm stuck with the 256-bit dilemma and not sure what to expect.

It's so hit or miss right now. You could get 2 identical cards, plug them them both 1 at a time into the PC and have 1 perform well and 1 bomb out with GTA4.

 

I would really advise giving it a few more days or a week even to see if R* announces any patches or fixes of any sort. You'd kick yourself buying one now to find out they optimized it to run a less pricey card better

 

My old card was an 8800 series, loved it to death but it was time for something more powerful (I play several other games) so an 8800 still gets my vote if you decide not to wait

okay i think i made up my mind. you're absolutely right that it's better to wait, but i've been hanging out at this forum for too long already without being able to play the game so i'm not sure i can wait any longer.

 

so yeah i realized a few things,

 

the 8800GTX is better than the 9800GTX+

the 8800GTX is also more expensive around here than the 9800GTX+

the benchmarks for people with the 9800GTX+ are pretty promising and look very similar to those of 8800GTX

 

therefore, getting the 9800GTX+ 1GB will in worst case scenario perform exactly like the one with only 512 MB so there shouldn't be too much at stake. so mostly cause it's cheaper than the 8800GTX i'll be getting the 9800GTX+ 1GB.

 

one last thought though. if a card with a 256 bit memory interface has one version of 512MB and one with 1024MB, will the 1024MB version actually be affected by the llimited 256 bit memory interface even when only using up to 512 MB of memory or will it perform identically to a 512MB version of the card?

 

either way, thank you for your help!!

[dr.whiz]

if anyone happens to see this maybe they can help me out.

 

got the Gigabit 9800GTX+ 1GB. however it only seems to have one 6-pin power connector, and when i plug that in to my psu nvidia complains of insuffficient power.

 

got the corsair hx520W psu so im guessing the psu can handle the card. however, since the card only has one power connector it's currently only connected to one 12V rail on the psu and the specs for the psu lists 3x 12V with max load 18A. so i'm guessing its not getting enough A. how the hell do you work around this??

 

any help appreciated, even though i realize this discussion took a turn from gta

[dr.whiz]

by the way the card needs 24A to operate. i'm surprised i haven't realized how to solve this yet after intensive googling. after all it must be common since many graphics cards nowadays ship with a 8pin connector and wahtever, and many of them need more than one rail to get enough amps. like i said, any help, pointers whatever would be greatly appreciated. i'm really only doing this so i can get the game running.

[Arkane78]

Apologies for the hijack...

 

I've got an ATI HD2900XT (512MB) card.

What would you guys recommend as an upgrade to this?

 

I'd prefer ATI, but I'm not an ATI-fanboi - I like to go with what I know.

 

I was thinking about the ATI HD4870 (1GB) card.

 

Any ideas?

 

Again - I apologise for the slight hijack.

 

Peace.

 

A78