Is there any way to boost performance?

[Maelstrom09]

Hi

 

I have the game running on the following computer:

 

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 running at 3GHz (1MB L2 cache, 800 MT/s FSB)

2GB DDR2 PC6400 memory (theres about 1.6GB free when I'm on the desktop with nothing else running)

Radeon HD 3850 256MB

Windows XP 32-bit

1440x900 being my usual gaming resolution

 

And these are the settings I'm using in-game:

 

Video mode: 1280x1024 (60Hz)

Aspect ratio: auto

Texture quality: medium

Reflection resolution: low

Water quality: medium

Shadow quality: low

Texture filter quality: medium

View distance: 17

Detail distance: 10

Vehicle density: 17

Shadow density: 0

Definition: off

VSync: off

 

Now I can run the game, and it runs betwen 20-30FPS mainly whilst driving and on foot. But the graphics look kinda awful. The shadows are all fuzzy and look like there is something wrong with them, I get building textures that don't load at all even when I'm standing next to them, yet other buildings next to them have loaded textures straight away, and I get lots of pop-in, like, stuff will just pop into view when I get close to it. All of these problems kinda ruin the immersion for me and I don't remember the Xbox 360 version looking this bad even though I have read lots of articles about the game saying the settings I am on now are pretty much equal to or a bit better than the console version. Also, the lack of AA makes it look even worse (even though I know trying to run AA with my set up would kill it totally).

 

Now, is there any way to make the game look or perform better at all? Is there any 'definitive' tweak guide to get the game set up to the most optimal level and playability for my system? As at the moment, while it is playable, it looks pretty bad to be honest and thats kinda runing my interest to play it.

 

Thanks for your help.

Edited December 26, 2009 by Maelstrom09

[Jigglyass]

Your hardware is weaker than what Xbox have in terms of cumpute power. You should be playing on low textures and there is not much you can do to improve performance beside updating the drives and striping down the OS.

[Hydro_PT]

There are lots of tweaks out there, but none of them is perfect. You need to try some of them and see which ones work better. I suggest using some commandlines and installing Environment Mod. The game will look much better and you don't get a drop in the framerate (at least I didn't).

 

So my suggestions for the settings would be:

 

1. Raise the texture filter quality to HIGHEST. This will give you much better textures and it doesn't hurt your framerate.

 

2. Turn shadows OFF. Shadows in GTA IV only look good if you set them to maximum quality (and even then, they're not the best shadows around).

 

3. Increase view distance to 30 and detail distance to 100. This will prevent some of the pop-up you have.

 

4. Maybe raise the texture quality to HIGH. This will give you nice textures, but it will cost you some FPS. It might also increase the texture pop-up. Try for yourself and see what's best.

 

PS: I forgot to say something, but JigglyAss' post made me remember it. Your computer isn't that great for GTA IV, so don't expect super nice graphics.

[juscal]

Hi

 

I have the game running on the following computer:

 

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 running at 3GHz (1MB L2 cache, 800 MT/s FSB)

2GB DDR2 PC6400 memory (theres about 1.6GB free when I'm on the desktop with nothing else running)

Radeon HD 3850 256MB

Windows XP 32-bit

1440x900 being my usual gaming resolution

 

And these are the settings I'm using in-game:

 

Video mode: 1280x1024 (60Hz)

Aspect ratio: auto

Texture quality: medium

Reflection resolution: low

Water quality: medium

Shadow quality: low

Texture filter quality: medium

View distance: 17

Detail distance: 10

Vehicle density: 17

Shadow density: 0

Definition: off

VSync: off

 

Now I can run the game, and it runs betwen 20-30FPS mainly whilst driving and on foot. But the graphics look kinda awful. The shadows are all fuzzy and look like there is something wrong with them, I get building textures that don't load at all even when I'm standing next to them, yet other buildings next to them have loaded textures straight away, and I get lots of pop-in, like, stuff will just pop into view when I get close to it. All of these problems kinda ruin the immersion for me and I don't remember the Xbox 360 version looking this bad even though I have read lots of articles about the game saying the settings I am on now are pretty much equal to or a bit better than the console version. Also, the lack of AA makes it look even worse (even though I know trying to run AA with my set up would kill it totally).

 

Now, is there any way to make the game look or perform better at all? Is there any 'definitive' tweak guide to get the game set up to the most optimal level and playability for my system? As at the moment, while it is playable, it looks pretty bad to be honest and thats kinda runing my interest to play it.

 

Thanks for your help.

I think you'll find that on that computer, 20 - 30 FPS is as best as you're going to get, unfortunately.

[Maelstrom09]

Hi

 

Thanks for the fast responses.

 

The thing is, it says that the console versions both run at around 20-30FPS, which is also what I'm running it at on my PC, yet on the PC it feels a lot more sluggish and laggy than on the console version.

 

Also, do shadows detract from the game at all? Like, am I missing out if the shadows aren't turned on?

 

Thanks again.

 

Edit: Ignore the above to be honest. I've been playing it for the past hour and the graphics are pretty good, I would say about on par with the console versions except I turned the shadows off completely because they looked awful on anything but the highest setting and the lack of AA makes the graphics look a bit worse due to jaggies everywhere. I'm getting between 20-40FPS and it's very playable now, the sluggishness is just the game itself I think as I remember it took a while to get used to when I played it on the Xbox 360 and I've not played it in over a year now. So yeah, I'm basically playing the console version of the game. One problem I do have though, when I go to shops, or say, Roman's Taxi depot, the garage on the side of it, and the doorways to shops and other buildings, have a big block of colour in the way, and I walk through it into the shop/building, but it looks like some sort of graphical bug in the game. Like, a solid but walkthrough wall of flat colour in front of the entrance. Has anyone else experienced this? And if so, is there any fix for it? Not gamebreaking as such but I would like to sort it out if possible.

Edited December 26, 2009 by Maelstrom09

[viometrix]

what can you do for better performance? 2 choices.

 

1. get a new system

 

2. upgrade your processor to a quad core, get 2 more gb ram, get a new video card, see option 1.

 

all the tweaks in the world may give you some help, but if you want to run smooth and enjoy the full potential of this game, see option 1.

[Hydro_PT]

One problem I do have though, when I go to shops, or say, Roman's Taxi depot, the garage on the side of it, and the doorways to shops and other buildings, have a big block of colour in the way, and I walk through it into the shop/building, but it looks like some sort of graphical bug in the game. Like, a solid but walkthrough wall of flat colour in front of the entrance. Has anyone else experienced this? And if so, is there any fix for it? Not gamebreaking as such but I would like to sort it out if possible.

Yeah, that's what happens when you're running above the recommended settings for your hardware. For example, if I set textures to HIGH, I get that once in a while, especially if I look back quickly while going on a car, or when entering a building likes Roman's taxi depot. Nothing that bothers me, it's kinda rare to happen.

 

If you can live with that, fine. If it really bothers you, reduce the settings for a lower quality. Or save some money and buy a new rig to play this game perfectly, as viometrix said.

[Lioshenka]

You need more RAM and better graphics card (app 120 quid). Or you can get completely new computer for 500 quid, including monitor and peripherals. Then you would be able to play it on better settings.

 

I would recommend Novatech, bought a barebone machine from them for my friend 2 weeks ago and worked smoothly.

[Maelstrom09]

I've got it running at about the same quality as the console versions now except I have turned off shadows completely as they look awful at anything other than the highest setting and they are a big drain on performance (at least so I have heard). The lack of anti-aliasing makes the graphics quality look worse than it actually is though, as the jaggies everywhere make the rest of the graphics look quite rubbish. I'm running it between 20-30FPS(which is apparently the same FPS at which the console versions run) and it's very playable, I haven't had any problems with it so far except texture issues, where textures just turn into a blank colour/wall of colour which is quite annoying but not gamebreaking. I can live with it at the settings I am currently using, I don't think spending £300-£400 to play one game is justifiable really, considering it will still probably look quite bad due to the lack of AA, even with everything set at the highest graphics settings.

 

Anyway, thanks for all of the responses and help.

Edited December 28, 2009 by Maelstrom09

[physx20]

i will tell you some tips how to boost performance (10-15 fps depending on your configuration)

 

first of it is bad you have 256mb of vram, people with 512mb are struggling.

 

1. keep view distance to 0 and max out your detail distance as view distance consumes vram/

2. Contig dosent do anything unless you havent defragment your hardrive for about 1 month or more.

3. Open visual settinng.dat make rainparticle 4096 (same as ps3 version) and make motion-blur. UGT tweak (make 25fps feel smooth)

4. install amd fusion utility, it boost some fps

5. turn shadow density to 0, it is cause major fps drops in night time.

6. overclock your card using riva turner. it gain 5+fps for me

7. open your graphic utility, and enable performance mode.

8. overclock your cpu, i o.c to 3ghz it makes game very smooth.

 

overall it gain 10-15fps for me. originally my fps was 24 and now it is 47 bcuz of tweakzz

[Lioshenka]

Oh yeah, make sure the temperature of your CPU doesn't go above 60 Celsius. Mine was on 88, because the fan wasn't fit in properly. Good push gained me about 50 FPS extra (I used to have 10 on average).

[Hydro_PT]

Mine was on 88, because the fan wasn't fit in properly.

You know you're lucky to still have that CPU, don't you?

 

Everytime I clean my PC I check and double check all connections and fans/coolers before turning it on. I want to clean it, not burn it.

[Lioshenka]

Mine was on 88, because the fan wasn't fit in properly.

You know you're lucky to still have that CPU, don't you?

 

Everytime I clean my PC I check and double check all connections and fans/coolers before turning it on. I want to clean it, not burn it.

I know, I am surprised! Worked at that temperature for two years with no major problems. Guess, Intel makes good chips