GTA IV - Quad or Core i7 needed!

[JohnZS]

Best summation of GTA IV on the PC

Hahah 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).

Support for DirectInput devices is currently limited.

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

[dan7777]

Hahah 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

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

[JohnZS]

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

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

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

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

[Starscream]

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

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.

[grimREEFER]

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.

[AgentGOD]

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

[DementeD]

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..

[AgentGOD]

Wobbly camera = you pirated the game.

[DementeD]

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

[JohnZS]

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.

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

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

John

[HostileReality]

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

[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

[dan7777]

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

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.

[carepolice]

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

Umm...
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

[patrickadizzle]

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

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

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.

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.

[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

[patrickadizzle]

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

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.

[JohnZS]

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