Stable 60fps 1080p config + Weird Quality Trick

[CrisFormed]

This is my most stable 60fps config (doesn't crash) for cards around the 960 sector. If your card is comparable or close or better (check here), A 660 or better is comparable. This is a good starting point for you if you want quality and 60fps at the same time. If your card is better, push it up a bit higher. If it's lacking, lower something, just one thing, til you find what helps. Put a setting back to where it was if it didn't, at least til you find the big problem setting for you.

 

This is a 60fps config for 2gb vram so it is conservative, but there have been no real sacrifices. Just no MSAA can be used, you're sure to lose FPS unless you lower the resolution. Which has great benefits to msaa performance and in some ways 720p looks better and does 60fps 4xmsaa, but you will lose the Very High texture quality to quick mipping out on most surfaces and lose fidelity in details if you go lower than 1080p, so, just use FXAA for 1080p and very high textures (@60fps), and I have a weird ass trick that I cannot explain that helps with that.

 

NOTE: If your screen resolution is BELOW 1080p and you are NOT using any DSR/downscaling methods, do NOT use veryhigh textures because you literally cannot see them anyway (anyone here with 1080p monitor can compare high textures to what they see at ANYTHING below 1080p to confirm. You will be able to zoom closer and reveal them, but then you are so close they are ugly at that point anyhow - save self some vram and don't use VH textures without 1080p minimum and even that is a bit crunchy and only "just makes it" to show them in most situations)

 

The system used is middle of the road but current gpu;

 

gtx960

i5-4590

8gb

 

Put this config pasted into yours (documents -> rockstar -> gtav -> settings xml in notepad), only replace the Graphics section:

  <graphics>    <Tessellation value="3" />    <LodScale value="0.800000" />    <PedLodBias value="0.000000" />    <VehicleLodBias value="0.000000" />    <ShadowQuality value="2" />    <ReflectionQuality value="1" />    <ReflectionMSAA value="0" />    <SSAO value="0" />    <AnisotropicFiltering value="16" />    <MSAA value="0" />    <MSAAFragments value="0" />    <MSAAQuality value="0" />    <TextureQuality value="2" />    <ParticleQuality value="1" />    <WaterQuality value="2" />    <GrassQuality value="1" />    <ShaderQuality value="2" />    <Shadow_SoftShadows value="0" />    <UltraShadows_Enabled value="false" />    <Shadow_ParticleShadows value="false" />    <Shadow_Distance value="1.000000" />    <Shadow_LongShadows value="true" />    <Shadow_SplitZStart value="0.930000" />    <Shadow_SplitZEnd value="0.890000" />    <Shadow_aircraftExpWeight value="0.990000" />    <Shadow_DisableScreenSizeCheck value="false" />    <Reflection_MipBlur value="true" />    <FXAA_Enabled value="false" />    <TXAA_Enabled value="false" />    <Lighting_FogVolumes value="false" />    <Shader_SSA value="true" />    <DX_Version value="2" />    <CityDensity value="0.000000" />    <PedVarietyMultiplier value="0.000000" />    <VehicleVarietyMultiplier value="0.000000" />    <PostFX value="3" />    <DoF value="true" />    <HdStreamingInFlight value="true" />    <MaxLodScale value="0.000000" />    <MotionBlurStrength value="0.500000" />  </graphics>

Notice that FXAA is set to FALSE.

 

Now the weird sh*t:

 

Start the game, and with NO aa on (but as nvidia 9xx user, I have mfaa enabled but it only works when msaa is enabled afaik), load into the game. Go somewhere particularly jagged, with trees and stuff in LS or something - now put on MSAAx4. Look how pretty. Now turn off MSAAx4 to get back your FPS, and now look, it's not so jaggy as it was before we turned on MSAA?! But now it's off? Why is it still nicer? Turn on FXAA to finish the look, I actually can't tell much difference with or without FXAA at that point after doing the MSAA on/off thing. I don't know why it works.

 

I have MFAA enabled in the nVidia panel. Maybe something stays on about it that makes it prettier. Or maybe the game's Bokeh Adaptive DoF effect gets affected and changes somehowwhen it senses MSAA was enabled, but doesn't "go back to sh*tty" after you turn off MSAA, but it looks better. Still some aliasing, mostly the horizontals like roof edges, but not near as bad as before the msaa on/off. You can really notice the light poles are smoother, even without FXAA, than they were before ramping up MSAA and ramping it back to off. Try it, tell me if you notice it too.

 

You can enable SSAO, I notice there is AO whether I enable or disable it, and I don't like it enabled. It shouldn't impact performance much either way.

 

Motion blur: Full on for 30fps users is a must. 60fps no more than 0.5 or else you really get too much. 120hz players, if such exists playing 120hz, turn it off unless frames are being split 60/60 for 3d, then turn it to 0.5.

Edited May 4, 2015 by CrisFormed