How to reduce lag in GTA IV?

[emitza5ro]

Hello guys.

I own a steam copy of Grand Theft Auto IV and I am having issues optimizing it.

I searched all over the place for fixes and mods and all that kind of stuff,but it all doesn't seem to work for me.

Can someone help me with a graphic setting or a fix or something so I can run GTA IV at least decently?
My PC Specs:
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro x64
Processor: Intel® Core i7-4700HQ CPU 2.40GHz Quad Core
Memory: 8 GB RAM DDR3
Graphics Card: 4095 MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor with a 1920x1080 Resolution.
Storage: 931 GB Hitachi HDD

Also,maybe it helps.To be allowed to modify the GTA IV Graphic settings,I wrote the following text in the commandline.txt that I put in the GTA IV folder

-availablevidmem 1000.0
-norestriction
-nomemrestrict
-framelimit 0
Maybe I need to modify something here? I don't know..
Please help me find a fix.Thank you.

PS:I also downgraded it from 1.0.7.0 to 1.0.4.0

[The Rockstar Gamer 108]

Go to Settings.

Click on Graphics.

Go to the Shadow Level and Lower it.

(That's The Solution!)

[Red Hat]

Since you have the game on Steam, I'm not sure that commandline.txt would work.

 

Try this instead.

Go to your Steam Library --> Right click on GTA IV --> Click on Properties --> Click on Set Launch Options

Then copy/paste the following into the box.

-nomemrestrict -norestrictions -novblank -percentvidmem -availablevidmem 10

*You can edit them to your preference by the way.

 

Then click on OK.

 

Make sure you have the latest drivers for your GPU. You can download them from Nvidia's site.

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx

 

After all that, try fiddling around the in-game settings. That's the best way to find the perfect settings for your laptop.

 

[emitza5ro]

Thanks both of you.I will check out your solutions.

Also,did that downgrade to 1.0.4.0 affect something?I read somewhere that it would help with the performance.

[Red Hat]

Yes, 1.0.4.0 gives slightly better performance compared to 1.0.7.0. Well the results do vary among different computers so there could a major change in FPS or just a minor one.

[TWIST_OF_HATE]

Optimization of this game is a joke, so ... that is it ))

[VSVP]

Make sure your CPU percentage is as low as it can get, also adding commands to the command line can cause pop-ins and texture loss so try removing that, then moving all your game settings to the lowest, slowly adjust them. Can you tell me your average FPS?

[emitza5ro]

Make sure your CPU percentage is as low as it can get, also adding commands to the command line can cause pop-ins and texture loss so try removing that, then moving all your game settings to the lowest, slowly adjust them. Can you tell me your average FPS?

 

Without the commandline I can't modify the settings in-game,so I do not know what else is to be done about that

On the following settings:

Video Mode:1920x1080

Texture Quality/Reflection Resolution/Water Quality/Shadow Quality/Texture Filter Quality all switched to High,View Distance 30,Detail Distance 30,Vehicle Density 30,Shadow Density 5,Definition turned On and Vsync off I get on average below 40 FPS when It's daytime/45 FPS at night,but when I look at textures in the distance it usually drops around 35.

If I turn the shadows off I manage to get above 40 at all times I think,but never I have hit 50 FPS while playing,maybe only in the safehouse.

 

Edit: I don't really know why but the FPS isn't constant.Sometimes it runs well,sometimes it doesn't.Maybe it depends on the area that I am in.

Edited July 15, 2016 by emitza5ro

[VSVP]

Anywhere from 30 - 60fps is pretty normal. Try this for your commandline;

 

-norestrictions

-nomemrestrict

-noprecache

-reservedApp 0

[emitza5ro]

Thanks,will try

[emitza5ro]

Not much of a difference,but I have settled with the way the game plays.I'm so frustrated that in the past I have managed to get GTA IV to play smoothly,but I can't remember how.Thanks to everyone who replied to this topic!

[jpm1]

i don't know what is a 850M. just hope for you, it's a gaming card. what hits fps generally are high shadow quality value, high water quality value, and too high dept of field and details distance values. you should avoid the commandline performance values IMO. i tweaked them during months ,and i came to the conclusion the problem was hardware related. or your hardware is powerful enough, or you'll need to lower the options

[The John David]

Find and open the Start Task Manager, find GTAIV.exe, right-click for it, find and set priority to "Low" It will reduce a little lag while playing GTA IV.

Hope that works. If not, try Kevin's post there.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Jhan Dave