# GTA 4 graphics card



## data101 (Apr 7, 2008)

I bought GTA 4 for the PC. Everyone told me that you would need a monster PC to play it. Turns out it was true. With all of the graphics settings all the way down, I still get an annoying amount of lag (estimated at about 15 FPS) and who really wants to play GTA 4 all pixelated and ugly?

I am currently running two ATI Radeon X1600 PRO PCI-E 512MB DDR video cards.

What would I need to play this game at about medium graphics. ( I don't want to go too overboard in spending).

Thanks.


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## psam3 (Jan 14, 2008)

You can get a 4850 for 154.99$ now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131125


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## upgrader_padawan (Nov 19, 2008)

Hi data,

While no expert I am myself, I looked up the system requirements and they are the following for GTA IV:

*System Requirements*



*OS:* Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / Windows XP - Service Pack 3
*Processor:* Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHz
*Memory:* 1.5GB Vista / 1GB XP
*Graphics:* 256MB Nvidia 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900
*DirectX Version:* DirectX 9.0c Compliant Card
*Hard Drive:* 16GB of Hard Disc Space
*Sound Card:* 5.1 Channel Audio Card


From what I can see your processor is below system requirements to run the game: you have a dual core 2.0, which is less than the min requirements of 2.4 Ghz.

Your video cards are also of a lesser model than the one required. However, since they are a pair, that is more gpu power so you might be ok. One way to check is to go to http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest and select GTA IV and see if you pass the requirements.

Hope I helped in some way :}


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## data101 (Apr 7, 2008)

Thank you. Both of your posts have been very helpful.

I have a follow up question:

The POWERCOLOR AX4850 says that the bus type is PCI-E 2.0. I know that I have PCI-E but I do not know if it is 1 or 2. Also, if I have 1.0 can it still run a 2.0 graphics card?

Thanks.


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

Keep in mind that the PS3 / XBox360 have 3DGraphic abilities equal to the GF7900 and X1900 (respectfully). A PC is using more resources than a pure game console and considering the age of these cards/consoles - they are LOW-END video cards by todays standards.

Your X1600Pro isn't even HALF the graphic power of a X1900... But todays graphics cards are dirty cheap. An $80 ATI 3850~3870 card or $110 4830/GF9800 card will do wonders... A single one of those cards is easily 3-4x faster than your current card(s).

The PCIe 1.x vs 2.0 is a non issue.

You should look at upgrading from the AMD X2 3800 to something a bit more powerful if the video card still isn't doing enough. You may want to check out the X2 5400, 2.8Ghz - its about $75. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103235


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## chrisskb (Dec 6, 2008)

Im runing amd phenom x4 at 2.31 , 4gb ram, windows vista and gforce 8800 gt , and i gotta keep all the draw setings to 0 or it lags teribly even on the lowest video settings, now i play on highest video settings and everthing else on the lowest and it plays ok but when cops start chasing all the lag comes back. I thought i had a kick *** computer till i played this game


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

Turn down details a bit, lower res... 

Hmmm... 8800GT is more powerful than my current card.... not good.

But then again, I'm not looking to play/buy this game since they (Take2) is using SecureROM rootkit with GTA4. They can include my not buying their game. Either thou I buy games with minimal pirate protection. UT3 can with a CD-KY. Don't need the disc in the drive. Previous SecureRom7 games have been cracked and available for download BEFORE the games shipped. These include BioShock (I was about to buy this), Spore and now Crysis Warfare.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Note that the requirements posted above are not even the "recommended" which call for a 2.4Ghz Intel Quad Core or 2.1 Ghz AMD Phenom X3 processor and a 512MB Geforce 8600GT or Radeon 3870.

Also note that a soon to be released patch for the game is going to address some of the bugs and performance issues found as are already planned and in beta testing drivers from both ATI and NVidia to improve performance in the works which is good news for many users.


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## matthew0155 (Jan 14, 2008)

it is impossible to play this game to make it look nice... dont even try.
it is poor coding in the game, they made it to run off "tomorrows video cards"
i cant figure out why they made it so that it runs like crap for pretty much everyone, instead of making it work well for everyone.


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## scoby50 (Dec 22, 2008)

I have just bought GTA 4 and i can barely play it on my PC.
I knew that i would have to change my graphics card but which one?
I hestitate between ATI 4850 and Nvidia 9800. (Budget +/- 150 )
I have read that the 4850 can get very hot, also not sure which is the best for me, based on my PC. 
Any advice would be appreciated.

My Specs: 
Asus P5B
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4
3Gb DDR2 800
Twintech 7900GS 256
XP SP 3


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Get the best you can afford, the rest of your PC is quite good.

According to this, NVidia cards seem to be a better choice for GTA IV: http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...idia_graphics_cards/?article_id=670889&page=2

And your CPU is in the middle of the pack of the higher processors so thats good: http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,..._with_13_processors/?article_id=669595&page=2


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## scoby50 (Dec 22, 2008)

Thank you for the advice, hopefully will be able to get a good deal during the sales in a few days.


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