GTA IV - Quad or Core i7 needed!

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Originally Posted by JohnZS

R* have never released more than 1 patch for ANY of their games. GTA3, Vice City, San Andreas all just got 1 patch which addressed issues during the launch or in last minute testing after the game was marked final.

Sadly Vice City and GTA3 were littered with bugs which were reproducible, at the time I reported the issue to take2games, who then forwarded it on to R*

R* contacted me and I produced several screen shots and dxlogs for them.

They admitted that I had found bugs, thanked me for my time and apologised for any loss of game satisfaction from the bugs and said that they would take on board my findings for "future games" so they are not developed with the same bugs.

I asked about a patch but they said they had moved on....(to what was San Andreas at the time).

How crap is that?

Going full circle when Half-Life was released I had a problem with a slight bug, reported it to Sierra who forwarded it onto vALVE. I then got an e-mail FROM vALVE with a link to a beta patch which resolved my issue (this patch was then later released as the 1.0.0.6 patch for Half-Life).

vALVE and even Epic back in the day looked after those who purchased their games etc, just look at the amount of patches and free content Unreal Tournament (the original) got!

Sadly R* just don't bother with us PC gamers. However I would very very very much liked to be proven wrong and see R* address the performance related bugs and tone down the RockStar Antisocial club.

Gosh
It smacks of bad programming (GTA IV), take a look at the source engine, you CAN enable upto 8 threads at a time (via console commands) and I have no problems with 4 threads on my QX9650.
Bioshock can also use 4 threads via a .Ini tweak, I believe World in Conflict Demo also uses multithreads...NONE of these games have the same problems as GTA IV. Yet GTA IV isn't ground breaking, it might sound controversial but I think even Crysis looks better...and that game is about a year old now.

They need (or should have as it is probably too far gone now..) to optimise and fine tune their engine for the PC platform.

John

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John,
you sound like a real purist PC Gamer. Take that as a compliment. PM for some info. I have a few sims and games that are actually pretty good, and deve'd specifficly for PC...NO ports. There are still a bunch out there for those that apprciate them. I only mess with titles that don't come pre-equipped with rootkits, invasive DRM or other such Viruses. Anything that does does not even exist to me. I don't wanna get this thread farther off topic so PM me.

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Originally Posted by AbelJemka

:up:

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eh, sorry.. missed the first one being a response lol.

Anyone running this game with an E6600 @ 3.2-3.4 ish?

Specs in sig, I'm worried I won't be able to run it as well.


Anybody have a similar setup that could post their results, or tell me what to expect?

Thanks!

I beat GTA 4 2 days ago, with only %64 done :). Alot more side stuff to do and get, but the game gets a bit repetitive. It's like your a hitman %95 of the time, it's always the same type of :banana::banana::banana::banana:. Took me 20 hours to beat the game, i might do it with the different choices for different replay ability.

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Originally Posted by Lord AnthraX

Anyone running this game with an E6600 @ 3.2-3.4 ish?

Specs in sig, I'm worried I won't be able to run it as well.


Anybody have a similar setup that could post their results, or tell me what to expect?

Thanks!

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E6600@3.36, 6gb, HD4870, Vista64. 39.02fps@benchmark.
Running on the streets, gameplay runs@20~25fps

Best summation of GTA IV on the PC

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Originally Posted by Chad Boga

Best summation of GTA IV on the PC

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Hahah :rofl: Priceless

Well I was given GTA IV for a Christmas present. And......I'm enjoying the actual game when it works, but it was a right old pain in the backside these were the problems I encountered.

1) During Install I was prompted to Create a "RockStar Social Club account"

2) I then had to register for some Games for Windows Live account which was pretty difficult to setup as I was confused because the site seemed like I was creating an X-Box Live account.

3) The game then wanted to update to the latest version... so I let it do this...

4) I started the game but was then greeted by an erratic camera the view kept pointing down and the menus kept pointing down. I then went to Rockstar's website were it says (and I quote).

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Support for DirectInput devices is currently limited.

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It turns out the ONLY joypad which will work with this game is the X-Box joypad! To get the game to work I had to disable my Joypad in device manager and then reload the game.

5) Started to play the game, it plays ok 57fps in the benchmark at reasonable settings however I keep getting the odd random crashes to the desktop (no pattern or reason behind the crashes).

FSAA is badly needed as there are so many jagglies. You can reduce some of the Jagglies by pressing "P" on your keyboard (this applies some sort of soft post processing filter)

Sometimes the game randomly crashes with an error saying I have ran out of VRAM. This game DOES eat VRAM so I have my draw distance set to 34.

System specs.

QX9650 @ 3.4Ghz (400x8.5)
4GB OCZ DDR3 1600Mhz
BFG GTX 280 OCX
P5E3
Vista Ultimate 64 with SP1
X-Fi Fatal1ty

I sent Rockstar support an e-mail about the issues I experienced and also politely asking them to patch the game so it was not required to be signed into Windows Live to actually play the game as it is only needed for multiplayer.

This game plays like a poorly coded port and what stinks the most is that Direct Input devices are not supported yet X-Input (the X-Box joypad) is FULLY supported (even the force feedback feature).

X-Box to PC port? I think so...

Fingers crossed Rockstar DO more than their usual 1 patch....

John

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Originally Posted by JohnZS

Hahah :rofl: Priceless

Well I was given GTA IV for a Christmas present. And......I'm enjoying the actual game when it works, but it was a right old pain in the backside these were the problems I encountered.

1) During Install I was prompted to Create a "RockStar Social Club account"

2) I then had to register for some Games for Windows Live account which was pretty difficult to setup as I was confused because the site seemed like I was creating an X-Box Live account.

3) The game then wanted to update to the latest version... so I let it do this...

4) I started the game but was then greeted by an erratic camera the view kept pointing down and the menus kept pointing down. I then went to Rockstar's website were it says (and I quote).



It turns out the ONLY joypad which will work with this game is the X-Box joypad! To get the game to work I had to disable my Joypad in device manager and then reload the game.

5) Started to play the game, it plays ok 57fps in the benchmark at reasonable settings however I keep getting the odd random crashes to the desktop (no pattern or reason behind the crashes).

FSAA is badly needed as there are so many jagglies. You can reduce some of the Jagglies by pressing "P" on your keyboard (this applies some sort of soft post processing filter)

Sometimes the game randomly crashes with an error saying I have ran out of VRAM. This game DOES eat VRAM so I have my draw distance set to 34.

System specs.

QX9650 @ 3.4Ghz (400x8.5)
4GB OCZ DDR3 1600Mhz
BFG GTX 280 OCX
P5E3
Vista Ultimate 64 with SP1
X-Fi Fatal1ty

I sent Rockstar support an e-mail about the issues I experienced and also politely asking them to patch the game so it was not required to be signed into Windows Live to actually play the game as it is only needed for multiplayer.

This game plays like a poorly coded port and what stinks the most is that Direct Input devices are not supported yet X-Input (the X-Box joypad) is FULLY supported (even the force feedback feature).

X-Box to PC port? I think so...

Fingers crossed Rockstar DO more than their usual 1 patch....

John

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ive got a gtx260-216 and couldnt even get the game to run you need 8gb ram run this thing :up:

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Originally Posted by dan7777

ive got a gtx260-216 and couldnt even get the game to run you need 8gb ram run this thing :up:

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That's brutal, what happens? does your game lock up or crash and freeze?
I think VRAM is our limiting factor it appears the way the game uses textures is inefficient.

This is taken from my benchmark

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Statistics
Average FPS: 57.59
Duration: 37.09 sec
CPU Usage: 68%
System memory usage: 67%
Video memory usage: 89%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1680 x 1050 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Render Quality: Highest
View Distance: 34
Detail Distance: 70

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Look at the huge VRAM usage (this is a 1GB card) 89% that is nigh on 900MB!
System memory useage is probably 3GB at least..
CPU usage is 68% which suggests is is only using 2/3 of the power my CPU can offer?
I remember a time when people used to say
"Can it run Crysis?"
Now they will say "Can it Run GTA IV"
John

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Originally Posted by JohnZS

time when people used to say
"Can it run Crysis?"
Now they will say "Can it Run GTA IV"
John

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Thats meant as a badge of shame for the developers. But i often have the feeling that companys are actualy proud of having a game that has unnecessary high requirements.

the term "poorly coded" has been a panacea in criticizing games that are hard on systems, but this really puts things into perspective.
i mean, this is really badly coded.

I'd say these results make it look like your PC is trying to emulate, say, a PS3.

yea i just installed and get crashes and the damn wobbly cam along with for some reason when i get into the car to drive it just goes forward like w is stuck and wont reverse....waste of time ..hope something is fixed..i did do the one update that i saw..which helped get into the game the first time..but after that it keeps crashing "fatal error game must close" or something...idk but this sucks..

Wobbly camera = you pirated the game.

^ seriously....what about the crashing before it gets anywhere?

Make you sure you remove any HID and devices drivers for any gamepads attached to your PC BEFORE removing them.

This is the Rockstar support.

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LOOK / SPIN / STUCK KEY ISSUES
With the latest Title Update, some users are experiencing a Look/Spin/"Stuck Key" issue that interferes with user input. The workaround, described below, will restore Keyboard/Mouse and XInput (360) controller functionality. Support for DirectInput devices is currently limited.

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.


To fix the issue:
Unplug any DirectInput controllers (gamepads, joysticks etc..)
A2) Reboot your computer
A3) Launch GTA IV
If the issue persists, the following instructions are provided as a guide to assist you in deleting the conflicting DirectInput drivers:
Exit game
Go to Start->Control Panel->System->Hardware Tab->Device Manager->Human Interface Devices
Locate drivers for devices
Delete drivers for devices
Launch GTA IV

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IMHO this game could perform at least 20% faster at least...I agree Starscream those developers should hang their heads in shame.

John

does the game work on ati cards now? i have 4870x2. will it work? i might get it

Sort of....things are a bit complicated for ATi owners, as usual NO CROSSFIRE! Oh and 1GB cards are supported pretty well but the 512MB dudes are having problems and can only play the game at low details...
I believe the textures take up too much memory as my card uses 93% of it's VRAM at times and 89% in typical circumstances...perhaps they do not use texture compression?
ATi users still have the odd z-flicker and texture problems but the game is playable (according to users on gtaforums), however as I said above only the 1GB VRAM cards will have any joy.
4870X2 is a very good graphics card but sadly the developers do not support either Crossfire or SLi, it would be nice if ATi released a driver to somehow sort this for you guys.....but I think it will require a patch maybe?
John

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Originally Posted by JohnZS

That's brutal, what happens? does your game lock up or crash and freeze?
I think VRAM is our limiting factor it appears the way the game uses textures is inefficient.

This is taken from my benchmark



Look at the huge VRAM usage (this is a 1GB card) 89% that is nigh on 900MB!
System memory useage is probably 3GB at least..
CPU usage is 68% which suggests is is only using 2/3 of the power my CPU can offer?
I remember a time when people used to say
"Can it run Crysis?"
Now they will say "Can it Run GTA IV"
John

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what happens is start screen comes up then it just freezes i am running windows 7 6801 so that might have sumut do with it my guess. ive upgraded to 8gb ram so no luck so must be windows 7 beta.

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Originally Posted by HostileReality

does the game work on ati cards now? i have 4870x2. will it work? i might get it

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Umm... :confused:
I didnt even know that there was some issues whit ati cards and this game?!

Working fine here, one 512mb card is bottleneck but whatever. Bench gives 55FPS Whit 1650x1050 high/medium and around 40-50 those rest settings

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Originally Posted by JohnZS

Sort of....things are a bit complicated for ATi owners, as usual NO CROSSFIRE! Oh and 1GB cards are supported pretty well but the 512MB dudes are having problems and can only play the game at low details...
I believe the textures take up too much memory as my card uses 93% of it's VRAM at times and 89% in typical circumstances...perhaps they do not use texture compression?
ATi users still have the odd z-flicker and texture problems but the game is playable (according to users on gtaforums), however as I said above only the 1GB VRAM cards will have any joy.
4870X2 is a very good graphics card but sadly the developers do not support either Crossfire or SLi, it would be nice if ATi released a driver to somehow sort this for you guys.....but I think it will require a patch maybe?
John

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What?


This game comes crossfire ready and I have seen plenty of crossfire users.

1GB cards work well, and 512mb cars are not having problems, and run textures on medium. I run my textures on medium and it looks great :up:

My quad at 3.5, and 3870 provides very playable gameplay.

Medium Textures
Very High Rendering
In order of Graphics settings:
30
30
100
0

My fps only drops below 30 when it rains and I am driving a vehicle, other then that, when it's sunny, fps is almost always above 30~35.

all @ 1680x1050. Changing resolution has little to no effect on fps, this game like you all know is extremely CPU intense. An i7 at 4 GHz with 6GB of memory averages about 65 FPS, which is EXCELLENT. :up:

I reccommend this game if you have a quad +, or an 45nm Dual core above 4 GHz.

Also for everyone complaining about no patches, you have to realize the workers at rockstar have lives. It's the holiday season, wait a couple days after the 6th, and hopefully we get some word of a new patch of some sorts. I'm not defending them, I do believe this game needs a patch, but just give it time.


Also multiplayer is a blast, 18 person free mode is HILARIOUS, and it supports 32 players max.

I'm not sure if anyone is interested but this is a pretty cool video
Core i7 Extreme 965
GTX 280
2560*1200
Most things maxed out, runs between 20 and 40fps, give the video a watch.
Crossfire and SLi are not supported. He says (and users on GTAforums.com) say that Crossfire gets the same performance as a single GPU and SLi is pretty much the same to, this could be because the game is too CPU limited?
John

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Originally Posted by JohnZS

I'm not sure if anyone is interested but this is a pretty cool video
Core i7 Extreme 965
GTX 280
2560*1200
Most things maxed out, runs between 20 and 40fps, give the video a watch.
Crossfire and SLi are not supported. He says (and users on GTAforums.com) say that Crossfire gets the same performance as a single GPU and SLi is pretty much the same to, this could be because the game is too CPU limited?
John

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For starters, he wasn't running that game at max.

High Rendering, when there is a very high, and a highest.

Secondly, adding a few lines into a txt will allow him to increase detail distance from 33.

Resolution plays little to no factor in fps, 2560*1200 essentially gets similar fps to 1680*1050.

Game is just a downright CPU and memory hog.


On my system, I get 35 FPS during the benchmark, 99% percent video memory used, 89% Percent system memory used, and like 47% percent CPU usage.


Saw one users benchmark with 6GB of ram use up almost 3GB. Pretty insane.

True he was a bit n00bish not understanding what resources meant lol
I am not sure if it has been confirmed but Rockstar Toronto hinted a second patch could be on the way for GTA IV as he posted in a thread that they will continue to improve upon and support GTA IV.
Other uses have said that they feel the problems may lie with the cumbersome Windows Live! and RockStar Social club implimentation.
One thing is for sure the texture flickering (z-fighting) is starting to bug me, it's nowhere near as bad on nVidia cards as it is on HD48xx cards but it is there...
Not meaning to sound controversial or anything but I feel that Rockstar did not test the game rigorously before release...
BTW using upto 3GB of RAM IS Insane?!? surely the XBox and PS3 do not have that much horsepower?!?
John