Considering GTA IV for PC, what are the essential mods/fixes?

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Arg Clin

Senior member
Oct 24, 2010
416
0
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Don't Max everything, lol. Use a XFire profile if you haven't already.
I'm still finding it hard to believe that xfired 6870'es shouldn't be enough to run GTA IV @ 1600x1050@max. I mean the graphics are hardly that amazing. o_O

Xfire profile should be in the lastest catalyst drivers?

Anyone else been having trouble with GTA IV in a config similar to mine, and how did you solve it? (without resorting to reducing the graphics quality level)
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
I'm still finding it hard to believe that xfired 6870'es shouldn't be enough to run GTA IV @ 1600x1050@max. I mean the graphics are hardly that amazing. o_O

Xfire profile should be in the lastest catalyst drivers?

Anyone else been having trouble with GTA IV in a config similar to mine, and how did you solve it? (without resorting to reducing the graphics quality level)

I'd check the Steam forum.
 

Mr. President

Member
Feb 6, 2011
124
2
81
I'm still finding it hard to believe that xfired 6870'es shouldn't be enough to run GTA IV @ 1600x1050@max. I mean the graphics are hardly that amazing. o_O

Xfire profile should be in the lastest catalyst drivers?

Anyone else been having trouble with GTA IV in a config similar to mine, and how did you solve it? (without resorting to reducing the graphics quality level)

The problem isn't your computer as much as DirectX. As you increase the view distances then you also increase the number of objects that the game has to draw. That, in turn, drives up the number of draw calls your computer has to make and is horrifically CPU intensive under DirectX compared to the consoles. I keep the view distances relatively low on my 2500K for that very reason and can generally maintain ~60fps at 1080p on a HD6850.

I have also read that GTA4 is a game that benefits from having more than 4gb of RAM. GTA4 uses more than 1gb video RAM when maxed out (which I assume is more than is on your graphics card) and can supposedly use the additional pool. Unlike a game like Crysis, most of the game scenery isn't repeated content so that increasing the view distance also increases the memory needs.

Finally, the HD6800-series just plain doesn't like to run with shadowing on full. Night shadows kill performance and dropping the regular shadows from maximum to medium netted me probably 15-20 fps.

So you need to reduce the graphics quality level ;)
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
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Yeah I wouldn't even bother using mouse and keyboard for the shooting sections. The game was designed for consoles so it plays best with a controller.

Shooting is way better with mouse and keyboard. You can easily score headshots. If you try shooting with the controller, the auto aim usually aims for the body. You waste a lot of ammo.
 

Arg Clin

Senior member
Oct 24, 2010
416
0
76
So you need to reduce the graphics quality level ;)

No then I need to upgrade :D Seriously thanks for the explanation, as unsatisfying as it may be :\ Reducing shadows a bit a keeping everything else on max did help out a lot.

Oh well it's playable, but obviously not optimized for PC. One more reason for me to hate consoles :D
 

Cheesetogo

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2005
3,824
10
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Just installed GTA IV on ky rig (PhII X4 965 w/ 2x CrossfireX 6870'es) and it runs like crap! Can't even max out everything, which makes GTA IV the first game to actually kill my rig. Mind you I'm only gaming at 1600x1050.

Am I doing something totally wrong or is this simply a console port spawn in hell?

Turn shadows on Medium. Make sure you are fully patched. I've run this game at 2560x1600 on a GTX 280, at max settings on a previous patch. (I did get about 25-30 FPS).
 
I'm considering buying both this and Episodes from Liberty City when the computer I'm building is fully completed. Everyone recommends to me the ENB mods.
I'll see when I finally have the Radeon HD6950 unlocked to 6970 and the 1080p monitor. Oh I already have a 360 wired controller. I'll let everyone know how well or shit the game runs in September or October.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
Turn shadows on Medium. Make sure you are fully patched. I've run this game at 2560x1600 on a GTX 280, at max settings on a previous patch. (I did get about 25-30 FPS).

Yeah but you were playing it The Way It's Meant to be Played.