Want to play GTA IV @ 1920x1080, what to upgrade from 8800 GTX?

[Throckmorton]

A trashcan.. to throw the game into. Worst $50 I ever spent

 

[toyota]

A trashcan.. to throw the game into. Worst $50 I ever spent

for $7.49 its fine...

 

[Obsoleet]

Haha.. I got it for $7 too. I think this one of those games where you can't have enough power.. but a SSD probably helps a lot just like in WoW and other bloatware.

 

[ShawnD1]

Haha.. I got it for $7 too. I think this one of those games where you can't have enough power.. but a SSD probably helps a lot just like in WoW and other bloatware.

The load time isn't a big deal. Once the game is loaded, it's loaded. Bad frame rate is what ruins the experience. Randomly deleting my save games when it decides to update itself makes the game virtually unplayable.

 

[dledtm]

Quad core. I have my e6600 at 3.6ghz and gta4 runs like ass with a 5870. I also looked in afterburner and it was only ever making the gpu usage go to about 75% max.

omg even with that OC that blows for not running GT4 adequately. What settings are you putting the game at?

 

[ShawnD1]

omg even with that OC that blows for not running GT4 adequately. What settings are you putting the game at?

I have a stock E6600 and the game works somewhat good if you turn the draw distance down. World of Warcraft is the exact same (draw distance = bad!)

 

[toyota]

I have a stock E6600 and the game works somewhat good if you turn the draw distance down. World of Warcraft is the exact same (draw distance = bad!)

are you talking about view or detail distance? I know view distance is just mainly up to how much vram you have. I also think the detail distance is just gpu dependent too.

EDIT: well after looking in the game those settings do affect cpu performance too.

 

[AzN]

Make sure to use this mod with GTA4.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...-way-Update-More-shots-and-HD-video/Practice/

You can use AA, softshadow, and bunch of graphic enhancements.

I basically get all the eyecandy for free except AA. You need a powerful GPU and CPU for AA.

Quad makes the most difference in this game so yeah get that instead of another video card.

 

[EarthwormJim]

How high of settings are you trying to do here? As long as my video RAM usage was below 512mb my 8800gt was perfectly smooth in GTA IV (FPS never dipped below 30 unless an area was loading).

It's not exactly a graphically demanding game, it just uses up a lot of video RAM at higher settings.

Is your CPU overclocked at all? If not, that's probably what's holding you back not your 8800gtx.

 

[T2k]

It's one of the shittiest console ports ever - forget running it fine, no system will do it.

Get at least a 5770 - it's a close match for your 8800GTX in terms of texturing, memory bandwidth etc but you gain a far superior AA/AF filtering and full DX11 support. In games it's probably faster thanks to its faster clocks and superior architecture.
Of course, the best bet - price/performance/longevity - is a 5850/5870 if you can afford it.

 

[RockinZ28]

omg even with that OC that blows for not running GT4 adequately. What settings are you putting the game at?

1920x1200, everything set to the high setting and the sliders in the middle or a little above, record video off. I mean it is playable, but I am more picky with my frames, especially when every other game is butter smooth with the exception of Crysis maxed. I know I couldn't stand playing it on a console designed to run at 30fps, and have low image quality to boot.

I tried the popular mods with AA and stuff, but they made the game unstable and only marginally improved fps. Would crash every 5 minutes.

Like the game a lot though, planning to have an i7 920/930 system in a month or two, so hopefully it will be much better.

 

[olmer]

No.

Works fine (at max settings 1600x1200) on my Q6600/8800GTX 3.2/Ultra speeds so either

-get better cpu (money well spent) or

-shelf the game and wait for spring gcards price war – there is really nothing justifiable v4m-wise at your gaming resolution to spend money on, unless it is a limited launch/crazy promo/overstock offer of some sort. Any power-related saving over your 8800GTX would come in play only after a good few years of use anyway.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Did you guys forget to read the box?

It recommends at the very least a Phenom X3 @2.1ghz to a Q6600. You need a triple core to fully enjoy the game. No matter how overclocked a dual core can be, you NEED multicore for this game.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Did you guys forget to read the box?

It recommends at the very least a Phenom X3 @2.1ghz to a Q6600. You need a triple core to fully enjoy the game. No matter how overclocked a dual core can be, you NEED multicore for this game.

Got it.

I'm going to meet up with my friend and get his Q9450. That will hold me over for awhile until I'm ready to upgrade to i7