Performance testing. Grand Theft Auto V. Graphics. Settings Guide. Performance testing of Gta 5 config for weak PCs

Judging by the first trailer, the system requirements of GTA 5 promise to be very serious. And finally, the developers announced OFFICIAL system requirements that are published on their website. Everything that differs from them is rumors and fakes!

GTA 5 official system requirements :

GTA Online on PC will support the game on 30 players. Online will be available immediately with the release of GTA 5, GTA Online Heists will also be available.

On PC there will be a higher level of detail running on 1080p and 60 fps with 4K resolution. Will support systems with up to three monitors, as well as NVIDIA 3D Vision.
GTA V for PC includes a new editor that gives players a complete set of tools to edit and publish gameplay videos directly to Social Club and YouTube.

Minimum requirements:

• OS: Windows 8.1, 8, 7, Vista 64 bit (NVIDIA video cards are recommended for Vista)
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 cores) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 cores) @ 2.5GHz
• RAM: 4 GB
• Video card: NVIDIA 9800 GT 1 GB / AMD HD 4870 1 GB (version no lower than DX 10, 10.1, 11)
• Sound card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
• Disk space: 65 GB
• DVD drive

• OS: Windows 8.1, 8, 7 64 bit
• CPU: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 cores) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 cores)
• RAM: 8 GB
• Video card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2 GB / AMD HD7870 2 GB
• Sound card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
• Disk space: 65 GB
• DVD drive

Pay attention to the requirements for 4 cores! It is possible that owners of processors with fewer cores will not be able to run the game (or rather, they will be able to, but with the help of a separate program). That's how it was with the game Far Cry 4, which we will talk about below, owners of 2-core processors had to download Dual Core Fix to launch the game, without it the game simply froze with a black screen.

Testing GTA 5 on different computers

Will the game work for you?

Will it work for me??? To be honest, I don’t want to personally explain to everyone whether GTA 5 will work for them. There is an easier way: install Far Cry 4. If it runs at maximum settings, there is nothing to worry about; if at minimum settings there are lags, then in GTA 5 the lags will be even stronger.

• OS: also 64-bit versions of Windows 8.1, 8, 7
• CPU. For Intel processors you need more power, for AMD the requirements are the same. Intel® Core i5-2400S 2.5 GHz (i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ) or AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz
• RAM: also 8 GB.
• DirectX: For FarCry 4 only version 11, for GTA 5 - DX 10, 10.1, 11
• Video card. The graphics requirements for GTA 5 are lower. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2 GB (NVIDIA GTX 660) or AMD Radeon R9 290X (AMD HD7870)

PS4 Specifications

Recently, the Internet is full of different options for system requirements. There are even cases where the requirements for GTA 5 were taken almost according to the maximum possible computer configurations. Judge for yourself what income the publishers will have if the GTA5 game is not bought by everyone because of weak hardware. There were others who published the requirements for GTA5, where only 25 GB were allocated for the game, although the PS4 takes about 50 GB, but in fact it turned out that it was necessary 65 GB. And nothing, fakes were actively spread.

If you judge the quality of graphics based on the version for xbox 360 And PS 3, then the GTA 5 game could easily run on computers that were 5 years old. But with the release of the GTA 5 trailer on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, it became clear that the requirements will be much higher (the maximum requirements will not be lower than the hardware on PS4 Xbox One, their characteristics are listed below).

• CPU: 8-core x86-64 AMD Jaguar processor - 1.6-2.75 GHz
• RAM: GDDR5 8 GB (5500 MHz)
• GPU: Integrated, approximate equivalent of Radeon HD7850/7870

Characteristics of the PS4 version of GTA 5.

• Resolution 1920x1080, 30 FPS, double buffering.
• 2xMSAA (2x anti-aliasing).
• Increased size and bump maps textures.
• HDAO.
• Tesselation.
• Reduced the delay when switching a character from single player to GTA Online.
• The number of pedestrians and vehicles on the roads has increased.
• Best quality game videos.
• The best quality music on the radio.

Compared to the xbox 360 and PS3 version, you can notice the following improvements, which increase hardware requirements:

• Improved waves, water ripples, water in the rain and when cars pass.
• More grass and bushes will appear.
• Improvements to various structures. Smoking chimneys and workers will be added for enterprises.
• More traffic on the roads.
• The interior of the cars has been significantly improved.
• Increased draw distance and shadow range.
• Improved textures.

Max Payne 3 System Requirements

With the release of Max Payne 3, more information was added for comparison. Graphically, the PC version on powerful computers looks more beautiful than on consoles. The resolution in Max is scalable, you can even display it on 6 monitors. In addition, Max Payne 3 supports DirectX 11 and, therefore, has Tessellation, Hull, Gather4, Domain Shaders, Stream Output, FXAA, Geometry Shaders. But the developers promise that even owners of old cars will be able to play Max Payne 3.

Minimum Requirements

OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
CPU: Intel Dual Core 2.4 GHz or AMD Dual Core 2.6 GHz
Memory: 2GB
Video card: AMD Radeon HD 3400 512MB RAM or NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 512MB RAM

OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
CPU: Intel Dual Core 3GHz or AMD equivalent
Memory: 3GB
Video card: AMD Radeon HD 4870 512MB RAM or NVIDIA GeForce 450 512MB RAM
The result: 30 FPS with a resolution of 1920×1080

OS: Windows 7/Vista (32 or 64 bit)
CPU: Intel i7 Quad Core 2.8GHz or AMD equivalent
Memory: 3GB
Video card: AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB RAM or NVIDIA GeForce 480 1GB RAM
The result: 60 FPS with a resolution of 1920x1080

Highest tested

OS: Windows 7/Vista (64 bit)
CPU: AMD FX8150 8 Core x 3.6 GHz or Intel i7 3930K 6 Core x 3.06 GHz
Memory: 16 GB
Video card: AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB RAM or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB RAM

Building a PC for GTA 5

This parameter adjusts various special post-processing effects in the game, such as: glow (bloom, bloom), speed effect (motion blur), sun glare and flare, depth of field (DoF), simulated HDR on some surfaces, sun rays (God Rays), haze (heat, air distortion), volumetric smoke, fog and wind effects. As you can see, quite an impressive list. It’s worth saying right away that some of the listed effects, namely “depth of field” and “speed effect (motion blur)” are only available with the “Very high” value. the parameter under discussion. At values ​​lower they will not be available. It is quite problematic to show the entire range of changeable effects using screenshots, since they are mostly random in nature, but still some can be observed constantly. For example, glow (bloom) and fog (in appropriate weather conditions). To show you the changes in these effects, check out our interactive comparison:

As you can see, the lower the setting value, the less dense the fog looks and the glow of the sky decreases, plus the sun's rays lose quality. To show you some pretty interesting effects, like sun flare and flare, we made another comparison:

In this comparison, only two settings were presented, since the effects shown in the screenshots occur only at the “Very High” values. and "Highest degree". They are absent for other settings.

This setting reduces performance quite significantly on the High and Very High settings. Sometimes, the difference between individual values ​​reaches 10-15 FPS (according to numerous reviews from Western players) on medium and weak machines. At the "High" value, a fairly wide range of special effects is preserved, but FPS does not decrease significantly. The difference in FPS can vary quite a lot depending on video card models (on top models the difference is reduced), but nevertheless, you can see the generalized values ​​below.

high
FPS difference: on top-end machines the influence of the parameter will be average or low, but on average and relatively weak computers the spread can be much greater.

Motion Blur Level

Customization to everyone's personal preference. Whoever likes it. Only available when set to "Very High." parameter " Setting up special effects". Adjusts the degree of the "speed effect", better known as Motion Blur. The more the scale is filled, the more the surrounding world will blur when moving at high speeds. The optimal value for the option is 50% or lower (again, as you like).

Performance Impact: absent

Depth of field effect

If you like the background blur effect in the game when you move on a vehicle or use the sight on a weapon, then enable this option. We remind you that, like Motion Blur (the degree of motion blur), this effect is only available at “Very High” values. and "Highest degree" of the "Special Effects Settings" parameter.
Objectively, using this effect helps to focus on certain objects or scenes during gameplay. Configure the option at your discretion without fear of losing performance. To see the effect that turning on depth of field has, use this interactive comparison:

Performance Impact: absent

FPS difference: 1-2 FPS between "Off" values and "on" respectively.

Anisotropic filtering

This technology is known to everyone and is used wherever possible. Allows you to maintain the sharpness of textures when looking at the latter from different angles in relation to the player. For example, if you are looking straight ahead, the texture of the road to your side near the edges of the monitor will not blur, but will remain clear. To better understand the mechanism of action of this option specifically in GTA 5, use our interactive comparison:

It is worth noting that using this technology inside a game may not fully process surfaces, so we recommend that you enable anisotropic filtering through your video card driver to obtain even greater clarity and sharpness of textures at any angles and on any textures.

Performance Impact: absent(actually there is, but too insignificant)

FPS difference: 1-2 FPS between "Off" values and "16x" respectively.

AO Shading

Or Ambient Occlusion. To many, this technology will be better known as SSAO, although this is only one of its options, it is the one used in the game. This technology, in my opinion, can significantly transform any game and give an incredible level of authenticity to game scenes if all other aspects, such as lighting and detailing, are done at the proper level. The technology works as follows: at the junction of two objects (for example, a wall and floor), where a direct stream of light cannot enter and where a shadow generated by the game engine cannot appear, global shading technology creates this very shadow. Thus, various objects that are complex in detail come to life, since even the smallest curves begin to cast a shadow and the reliability of the object or scene increases dramatically. This technology does not create real shadows, which would greatly load the system; it creates fixed shadows at the joints, which disappear when illuminated by a dynamic light source (for example, car headlights or a flashlight on a weapon). There are several types of this technology, characterized by more thoughtful behavior and quality of shading. GTA 5, as already mentioned, uses one of the simplest variations, but this does not prevent it from significantly transforming the picture. To understand the difference in the quality of game scenes when using this option, use the interactive comparison:

Many Western players complained that this option simply does not work at any value. Of course, a way out was found, so if you find yourself in such a situation, follow these steps:

1. Set the required setting value "AO Shading"(High recommended)
2. Save your changes
3. Parameter "Setting special effects" change to "Standard"
4. Save your changes
5. Parameter "Setting special effects" return to the value that was set before making changes in step 3.
6. Save your changes.

In the opinion of the author of this guide, this parameter should be enabled in any case, since it has virtually no effect on performance, but provides amazing quality of game scenes, especially in Blaine County, where the technology creates shadows for grass and stones. It looks very cool, I guarantee it.

Performance Impact: low
FPS difference: 2-4 FPS between "Off" values and "High" respectively.

Tessellation

This option is available only with DirectX 11. The technology creates additional geometric details for objects, making them more voluminous and smoother. In GTA 5, this technology mainly affects trees, some urban objects such as cables and wires, water surfaces and stones. During normal play, the differences when using this option are not as noticeable, but can still provide a slightly greater gaming experience. This setting has a fairly low impact on performance. To show the effect of using this technology, we offer you an interactive comparison, where the objects of comparison are beautiful palm trees:

There are only two comparison screenshots in the comparison, since the difference between the other settings is barely noticeable.

Performance Impact: low
FPS difference: 3-4 FPS between "Off" values and "Very high." respectively.

Advanced Picture Settings

Long Shadows

When this option is activated, the game shadows will become more “complete” in the sense that they will be cast completely from the object, i.e. from the lowest point to the highest point of the game model. If it’s not entirely clear, imagine a lamppost 2500 mm (2.5 meters) high. When the option is disabled " Long Shadows"The shadow cast by the pillar will have a size of ~2000 mm, from the bottom of the pillar to the upper limit of 2000 mm. When this option is enabled, the shadow will be cast to the full 2500 mm of the height of the mercury column. Also, when the discussed parameter is enabled, shadows will be cast at a greater distance from the source than if the option was turned off. Of course, the pillar is taken simply as a convenient example, and turning off the option of long shadows will in no case “cut off” its height and, as a result, you will not see an inferior shadow from the pillar. The option acts very selectively and in mainly affects vegetation. All these changes in the length of shadows can be seen especially well during dawn and sunset, since you know from the school course (if you took lessons) that depending on the angle of incidence of light on an object, the length of the shadow cast by the object changes. During normal daytime hours, changing this option may not be as noticeable and it will take some effort to see the difference in the length of the shadows. Based on this, you can say that the setting is turned on and off at your own discretion. If you don't mind sacrificing a couple of frames per second for the sake of more spectacular shadows at sunrises and sunsets, then enable this option. If every frame counts, turn off the option. So that you can clearly see the differences when using the discussed parameter, we offer an interactive comparison with screenshots taken during sunset:

Performance Impact: low
FPS difference: 2-3 FPS between "Off" values and "On" respectively.

High definition shadows

Logical continuation of the parameter " ". Adds even greater resolution to shadow maps, as a result of which their quality becomes as high as possible (provided that the parent parameter Shadow Quality is set to the maximum value). Changes when enabling this option are best seen when the parameter is set to "Sharp". ". When using other methods of shadow softening, you will see virtually no difference in the final result. The setting does not impact performance as much, but nevertheless, if you do not own a top-end computer and use shadow softening algorithms, such as proprietary NVIDIA PCSS or AMD CHS , then this option will not have a strong meaning for you and it is better to leave it turned off. To compare the output quality of shadows when using the discussed setting, you are welcome to our interactive comparison ("Soft Shadows" is set to "Sharp"):

Performance Impact: average
FPS difference: 5-7 FPS between "Off" values and "On" respectively.

Loading more detailed textures during flight

Translators from 1C also did their best to translate this option. In the original this parameter is called " High Detail Streaming While Flying", which means loading not more detailed textures, but objects. Yes, exactly objects, which means that during the flight more detailed objects of the game world will be drawn. This is especially true for various billboards, large bushes on the ground, roofs of houses, fences and all sorts of fences, and so on. In a word, everything that especially catches the eye during flight and creates the overall pattern of the terrain, making it more alive with a quick glance, which is generally possible during the flight. The detail of the surface is quite transformed, and at the same time, performance. remains at a comfortable level, therefore, it is recommended to enable this setting. However, the option is still more subjective in nature and you should configure it only at your own discretion. Next, as always, an interactive comparison is presented to your attention:

Performance Impact: low
FPS difference: 3-5 FPS between "Off" values and "On" respectively.

Increased loading distance for more detailed objects

The setting is a child of the " " parameter and logically continues its effect, but, unlike its parent, has a much greater impact on the quality of graphics and performance. If changes in the Focus Scale parameter were practically not noticeable at a quick glance at the overall game landscape, then with a change in the child parameter the situation is completely different. The setting is presented in the form of a scale and starting from the smallest values ​​​​of its filling, you will notice more and more obvious and incredible effects of the parameter on the quality of detail of objects at long distances. This is especially noticeable in the landscapes of Blaine County, where a huge number of objects are located, which noticeably increase in detail as the value of the parameter under discussion increases. Among all the parameters, this one has the greatest impact on performance by all criteria, since it can significantly reduce FPS and at the same time “eat up” a very significant amount of video memory, therefore, this setting is more suitable for owners of top-end computers with a large amount of video memory. Below is an interactive comparison that can help you track changes in detail in the background:

Performance Impact: high(consumes a lot of video memory)

FPS difference:

Shadow length

Finally, the last parameter from the rather impressive list that we have discussed will be the setting responsible for the distance at which shadows will be drawn without loss of quality as a result of reducing the size of the shadow map. In the original, the parameter is called " Extended Shadow Distance"(hello, translators from 1C!). In its meaning, the option is close to the settings that regulate the distance of drawing objects, only here shadows act as objects. The more the setting scale is filled, the greater the distance from the player the shadows will retain their original detail, specified by the parameters responsible for the quality of shadows. The option does not impact performance as much, but nevertheless, it is intended more for top-configured systems than for average and, especially, weak machines. Further, as always, you can familiarize yourself with. An interactive comparison demonstrating the effect of the setting on in-game shadows:

Performance Impact: low
FPS difference: 3-5 FPS between the values ​​"0%" and "100%" respectively.

Part two:

Alternative graphics settings methods and optimal graphics settings

This part of the section will look at various ways in which you can improve the quality of your graphics without losing performance, and in some cases, even improving it. A kind of rating of the “gluttony” of the settings will be given, based on which you will be able to find out which graphic settings should be changed first if you are not satisfied with the current performance of the game. Also, instructions will be given on how to automate the process of setting up a game for the lazy using special software from NVIDIA.

It is worth noting that all the methods and methods discussed below were created and written for video card owners NVIDIA GeForce therefore, if you own equipment from AMD, you will need to follow all instructions in the program AMD Catalyst Control Center similar to how it happens in the program NVIDIA Control Panel. These programs are similar in principle, so it will be easy for you to adapt the instructions to suit you. Go!

Rating of graphics settings by impact on performance

What is the first thing you do when you launch a game and start playing and find noticeably low performance, or, more simply put, “slowdown”? Of course, you start getting hysterical, go to the graphics settings menu and start lowering them. The question is, which settings will you lower first? Many users try to act logically and based on their experience in setting up other games and try to guess which settings can kill performance the most and which ones should be changed first. This is probably the most correct and competent approach to setting up the game, since by simply downgrading everyone and everything you may win a fairly large increase in performance, but you will still return to manually setting each parameter, because no one wants to look at terrible graphics , right? Although, of course, there are exceptions to this rule in pursuit of the mythical maximum FPS to the detriment of the graphics part.

So that you don’t torment yourself over which setting to lower first in order to win more FPS or what to do if the game slows down, we have prepared for you the so-called rating of graphic settings according to their impact on performance, based on the impact each individual setting for FPS and the amount of video memory.

To begin with, I advise you to familiarize yourself with which parameters are the most “gluttonous” in relation to the video memory of your video adapter (click on the picture to enlarge):

Based on these values, you can find out for yourself which of the settings should be lowered in order to “fit within” the amount of video memory that you have, or simply in order to minimize the use of the latter, since, as before, the amount of video memory used can significantly exceed the available one, but the smaller the difference between these values, the less likely it is that “freezes” will occur.

Next, I present to your attention the same rating of parameters that was mentioned at the beginning.
All parameters are presented in descending order, that is: first come the most “gluttonous” and demanding settings, and then, descending, there are parameters that have practically no effect on performance.

Parameters that have a high impact on performance are highlighted in red.
orange - medium, green - low, respectively.

You can get detailed information about each parameter from the list by simply clicking on the line with its name. This action will take you to the corresponding heading from the first part of this section of the guide. Let me remind you that most parameters have an interactive comparison in case you cannot decide whether to lower the values ​​of a particular parameter, not knowing exactly how it will affect the graphical component.

Alternative method to enable FXAA anti-aliasing

As already mentioned in the title, MSAA anti-aliasing provides excellent picture quality, but significantly reduces performance (1st place in the "gluttony" rating). In turn, anti-aliasing based on the FXAA algorithm gives excellent performance, but is terrible in its in-game implementation. That is why it was decided to resort to another method of enabling anti-aliasing - programmatically, through the 3D driver settings for the video card.

How to do this step by step:

One-click optimization with GeForce Experience

Relatively recently, a powerful tool for optimizing game settings called GeForce Experience was born from the bowels of NVIDIA. This program contains specially created profiles for more than 250 games and allows you to select the optimal settings for the game based on the performance of your computer in just one click! In addition, the program can automatically check for driver updates for your video adapter and various NVIDIA software.

This is an excellent solution for those players who do not want to bother with a long game setup, but want to immediately start playing the game. You can choose between high performance or maximum quality, and the program will automatically select the necessary settings profiles, which are constantly updated through a special “cloud”.

You can download the program from the official NVIDIA website, or install it along with the driver for the video card. After installation and the first launch, the program will automatically check for updates for the video adapter driver and download the necessary game profiles, after which it will scan your system for games. Upon completion, the found games will be shown on the left side of the program window.

Next, you will only need to select a game from the list (in our case it is Grand Theft Auto 5) and on the right side of the window click on the green button "Optimize". The program will set the optimal settings for the game and save them. If you want to determine for yourself what you need - high performance or excellent graphics, then click on key icon next to the button "Optimize" and with the help slider set the required ratio between quality and productivity.

DSR technology in GTA 5

Dynamic super resolution allows you to calculate images in games at a higher resolution,
and then scale the resulting result to the resolution of your monitor, providing graphics in
4K on HD screen. The technology works great in GTA 5 and allows you to get the highest quality picture possible, even if you don't have a monitor for ultra-high resolutions like 4K.
With the inclusion of DSR technology, graphics improve in everything: textures become clearer, the need for anti-aliasing disappears due to the fact that now game models are displayed in ultra-high resolution, all vegetation looks more detailed and clear, the quality of game effects in general improves, the detail of distant plans is significantly transformed in Game.

This technology is intended for users who have top-end computer configurations with the latest generation video cards marked GTX.

DSR is activated and configured in the 3D driver settings. If the system is connected to a suitable monitor, you can select a multiplier relative to the display's native resolution. It causes the games to display the appropriate settings that can be selected. NVIDIA has implemented a special filter that allows fractional scaling without losing image quality.

DSR support in the driver will be available for monitors with the following resolutions:

• 2560 x 1600
• 2560 x 1440
• 1920 x 1080

That is, 4K monitors will no longer have this option. So NVIDIA itself thought through which native resolutions DSR makes sense and which it does not. In any case, downsampling to a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels is hardly reasonable today, since video cards simply do not have the appropriate resources to render at higher resolutions.

You can enable this technology by selecting the lines in the list of application parameters
"DSR - Factors" And " DSR - Smothness" and setting them to the desired values.

"DSR - Smothness" allows you to adjust the level of operation of the Gaussian filter, that is, the level of smoothing (blur). The adjustment will be useful if you want to achieve optimal picture quality. Each gamer reacts to the anti-aliasing level differently, and the optimal DSR level also differs between games. Therefore, this setting makes sense to use if you plan to play with active dynamic super resolution. We recommend a value of about 30% as the most optimal.
We also recommend taking a look at our little interactive comparison when using DSR.

Performance issues Grand Theft Auto 5 on a personal computer? Have you already tried all the most popular methods for solving problems, but still haven’t achieved any results? In that case, you have come to the right place! In this article we will tell you about various little-known tricks that will help you squeeze out GTA 5 maximum!

Attention! Before using the tips below, be sure to back up the files you change and make sure you understand what you're doing. Remember, the editors of our site are not responsible for possible problems caused by user errors!

Before moving directly to the tips, you need to check whether your computer meets the system requirements of the project, and they, by the way, are extremely high:

• OS: Windows 7 SP1/8.1/10 (x64 only);
• CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.1 GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 945 @ 3.0 GHz;
• RAM: 8 GB;
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660Ti 2 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7870 2 GB or better;
• DirectX version: 11;
• HDD: 45 GB.

The recommended system requirements are significantly higher in terms of requirements for all computer components:

• OS: Windows 10 (x64 only);
• CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 3.5 GHz | AMD FX 9550 @ 4.7 GHz;
• RAM: 16 GB;
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 3.5+0.5 GB | AMD Radeon HD RX 480 4 GB;
• DirectX version: 12;
• HDD: 55 GB.

If your hardware meets the minimum requirements, then you've done half the job. Now you can move on to the problem solving stage.

Files, drivers and libraries

Before you start looking for your problem, you need to update your video card driver to the latest version:

A prerequisite for the successful functioning of any game is the availability of the latest drivers for all devices in the system. Download the utility Driver Updater to easily and quickly download the latest drivers and install them with one click:

• download Driver Updater and run the program;
• scan the system (usually it takes no more than five minutes);
• Update outdated drivers with one click.

It is possible that you will need to update supporting software such as DirectX, Microsoft .NET Framework, and Microsoft Visual C++: Helper DLLs:

• (Download )
• (Download )
• (Download )
• (Download )

If you have done all this and the problem remains, you can look for it in the list below.

Automatically set to process GTA 5 high priority

Improve productivity GTA 5 can be opened by opening the task manager and setting the process to " GTA 5 "high priority. Rockstar Social Club and GTALauncher, in turn, are best switched to low priority.

There are several ways to automate the above steps.

In order to use the first method, create a .txt file and write the following in it:

start steam://rungameid/271590
timeout 60
wmic process where name=”GTA5.exe” CALL setpriority “high priority”
wmic process where name=”gtavlauncher.exe” CALL setpriority “idle”
wmic process where name=”subprocess.exe” CALL setpriority “idle”

Then save this file with the .bat extension, and then launch the game from it. Priorities will automatically be set correctly immediately after the game loads.

The second method works with absolutely any PC version GTA 5. Create a .txt file and write the following in it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
“CpuPriorityClass”=dword:00000003
“CpuPriorityClass”=dword:00000005
“CpuPriorityClass”=dword:00000005

Then save this file with the extension .reg. After this, we recommend making a backup copy of your registry data. Then run the created file as an administrator and agree to add new files to the registry. After this you can play safely. The created .reg file does not need to be stored.

Installation location

The next paragraph is intended for those who have GTA 5 and Rockstar Social Club are installed on different partitions of the hard drive. Just move them to the same partition and performance should improve.

If you decide to move Rockstar Social Club, you will need to make one small change. First, you need to know where the files were originally located and where you want to move them. Let's say you want to move the Rockstar Games folder from “C:Program Files” to the “G” partition. This is just an example. The initial data may differ, but the algorithm of actions is always the same.

After you move the folder to a new location, write the following on the command line:

mklink /d “C:Program FilesRockstar Games” “G:Rockstar Games”

Then press Enter.

Note. It is best to run the Command Prompt as an administrator.

Setting up the swap file

GTA 5 requires a fairly large amount of RAM, so it won't hurt to increase the size of the page file.

To do this, you need to open the control panel, go to the “System” tab and select “Advanced system settings”. There you need to click on “Performance”. In the window that opens, select “Advanced”, and then go to the “Virtual Memory” tab, where we click “Change”.
Here you need to set the settings for the hard drive partition on which you installed GTA 5. The Initial Size value controls the amount of virtual memory the system recommends, while the Maximum Size value doubles the amount of virtual memory.

Adjusting these settings should resolve performance issues GTA 5 caused by the page file.

Problem with GeForce Experience

This tweak can help players using Nvidia's GeForce Experience technology. GeForce Experience can be connected to your stream via Nvidia Shield, even when you don't want to use it.

In order to solve the problem, open the “Start” menu and find the “Services” tab. Open it and disable "Nvidia Streamer Service". Make sure "Startup Type" is disabled.

For the changes to take effect, restart your computer.

Multi-channel memory architecture

If your PC has multiple RAM sticks, they should operate in dual-channel mode to ensure maximum performance. You will need to find the manual for your motherboard and make sure everything is connected and configured correctly.

Custom radio

It's sad, but adding your own radio tracks can slightly harm performance GTA 5. Just delete all MP3 files you added to the game yourself. This can help save a few frames per second.

MSAA and grass

If you have problems displaying vegetation, disable MSAA. This should eliminate them and increase overall productivity. In addition, you can try reducing the quality of the grass itself.

Crash when aiming from a car

If the game crashes when you try to aim from a vehicle, open the game settings, go to “Save and launch”, and then enable the “Landing Page” setting.

All these little tricks should help players with weak hardware slightly improve the performance of the PC version

The fifth serialized part of Grand Theft Auto, having successfully emptied the wallets of console players, came to personal computers after a long delay. A large open world and a trio of crazy bandit heroes await those who are ready to share their adventures. But today we will not talk about how GTA 5 can entertain the player, and not about the gameplay features. We will talk about performance and fine-tuning graphics parameters.

GTA V offers a diverse game world with completely different locations - business districts of the metropolis, slums, industrial complexes, mountain ranges, forests and deserts. Huge scale, great variety and detailed elaboration of the environment. You can enjoy some of the views in the lower screenshots in a resolution of 2560x1440.

The game pleases with good clear textures and relief surfaces, for which parallax mapping is actively used. Even ordinary lawns have a relief structure, rather than using the usual hand-drawn texture.

As a clear illustration of the work of parallax mapping, we present a screenshot, which at the same time clearly shows the operation of the effect of changing the depth of field, which is actively used in the game.

This lens effect blurs backgrounds, allowing for a more natural-looking overall panorama.

The time of day and weather in the game change. All objects cast regular soft shadows away from the sun. Cute sunrises and sunsets are complemented by rainbow effects.

The range of drawing objects is very high. By default, there is a clear change in detail clarity as you move away from the camera. When using additional settings, the effect is leveled out. This will be discussed in more detail below.

General physics of object interaction at a level traditional for such games. The environment is mostly static, but pillars and storefronts break. In story missions that involve big explosions, GTA 5 puts on a pretty good show with a lot of scraps. Control and physical model of car behavior are at the usual GTA level, without any complications. In particular, only very serious damage affects the behavior of the machine. Externally, the cars look great - they shine in the sun, reflecting all the surrounding buildings and lights on a smooth glossy surface.

The water surfaces look nice, but nothing more. In Watch Dogs, the water was more beautiful and more alive.

If we make a general comparison of graphics with Watch Dogs, we can feel the technological advantage of the Ubisoft game. But GTA V has a more meticulous attention to detail and more external variety.

The PC version of GTA 5 has a lot of graphic settings. Not all of them are understandable to the average player. The name of some does not always directly indicate the effect they have on the overall picture quality. Sometimes the very meaning of the settings is lost due to the loose translation of specific names. We will help you understand all their diversity. Let's see how individual parameters affect the image and how this affects performance. Based on the results, it will be possible to draw conclusions about which settings are most critical for performance, which ones have a big impact on visual beauty, and which ones don’t. Such information will be relevant for owners of mid-level and lower video cards. Based on our guide, it will be possible to select the optimal ratio of parameters, allowing you to increase productivity with minimal loss of picture quality.

Those who want to get the most out of the game will not be forgotten either. There will be a comparison of different anti-aliasing modes. Let's find out which of them are the most successful and which are the most resource-intensive. Let's study the impact of "additional image settings", which allow you to raise the graphics bar above the level that the game offers by default.

Test configurations

Main test stand:

• processor: Intel Core i7-3930K ([email protected] GHz, 12 MB);
• cooler: Thermalright Venomous X;
• motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Formula/Battlefield 3 (Intel X79 Express);
• memory: Kingston KHX2133C11D3K4/16GX (4x4 GB, DDR3-2133@1866 MHz, 10-11-10-28-1T);
• system disk: WD3200AAKS (320 GB, SATA II)
• power supply: Seasonic SS-750KM (750 W);
• monitor: ASUS PB278Q (2560x1440, 27″);

• GeForce driver: NVIDIA GeForce 350.12;
• driver for other Radeons: ATI Catalyst 15.4 beta.

This system was used to test the performance of different graphics modes.

For processor tests, an additional test bench with the following configuration was used:

• processor No. 1: Intel Pentium G3258 (3.2 GHz nominal, 3 MB);
• processor No. 2: Intel Core i7-4770K (3.5 GHz nominal, 8 MB);
• motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary (Intel Z97);
• memory: GoodRAM GY1600D364L10/16GDC (2x8 GB, 1600 MHz, 10-10-10-28-2T);
• system disk: ADATA SX900 256 GB (256 GB, SATA 6 Gbit/s);
• power supply: Chieftec CTG-750C (750 W);
• monitor: LG 23MP75HM-P (1920x1080, 23″);

• operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64;
• GeForce driver: NVIDIA GeForce 350.12.

Testing methodology

Testing was carried out using the built-in benchmark, which includes five test scenes. The average fps for each scene was taken into account and the final average was calculated. To reduce the error, four benchmark runs were performed. Please note that test results are not displayed in the game; all data is stored at c:\Users\Username\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\Benchmarks as a text file.

The logs also record the minimum fps for each test scene. But these values ​​are too unstable and differ with each new run. Moreover, even in the case of real “lags” noticeable to the naked eye, these values ​​differed little from the minimum fps on cards that produced a smooth picture. We ended up using Fraps for additional monitoring. And the minimum fps on the graphs is the average minimum value based on the results of each of the four runs of the benchmark, recorded by the program.

When considering the impact of settings on performance, one video card will be used - a non-reference GeForce GTX 760 2GB with frequencies at the level of standard versions. The testing procedure is as follows: take the configuration of maximum graphics settings without anti-aliasing at a resolution of 1920x1080, change one of the parameters, test performance at different quality levels of this parameter, and provide comparative visual materials demonstrating the difference in picture quality. Then all parameters are again set to the initial maximum value, and another parameter is changed with the corresponding tests.

Actively ignores restrictions, which allows you to use the most difficult parameters. All tests were carried out in DirectX 11 rendering mode, since this API has long been the main one even for budget graphics solutions. But the game also supports DirectX 10.1 and DirectX 10.

The order of studying individual parameters corresponds to their order in the game menu. An exception is made for shadow settings, of which there are several, and they are interconnected to a certain extent. After considering the main graphics parameters, we will move on to the additional ones, where we will step-by-step include all the points together.

The next stage of the article is comparative tests of different AMD and NVIDIA video cards with high graphics quality. At the end there will be testing of processor dependence using Intel CPUs of different price categories.

Antialiasing Modes

The game supports FXAA and MSAA anti-aliasing. Users of GeForce video cards also have access to TXAA anti-aliasing. The latter is activated after enabling MSAA in the settings as an additional option. Urban surroundings and industrial landscapes are always replete with straight lines, so that the stepped edges of objects are clearly visible here. The stepped outlines of the car against the background of the light road surface are no less visible. So you can’t do without antialiasing. You can evaluate the effect of activating different anti-aliasing methods in comparison with the mode without anti-aliasing in the lower screenshots.

The color saturation of the car in the foreground changes slightly due to the subtle fog effect. We don’t pay attention to this, we carefully study the surrounding objects and elements. For greater clarity, let’s compare identical fragments of each screenshot.

I would immediately like to note the good quality of FXAA, which is not the case in all games. The worst effect of smoothing “steps” at the boundaries of objects is obtained by MSAA in 2x mode, which is quite expected. Switching multisampling to 4x mode improves the picture. Moving to TXAA provides even smoother edges. And from this point of view, this mode is the most effective. But with it, the overall picture becomes a little blurry, and the clarity of details is lost. Compare the road surface, grass and tiles in large screenshots - the difference is most clearly visible in these elements. The relief texture of grass with TXAA is completely lost. FXAA gives a clearer picture.

MSAA 4x provides the best balance between edge smoothing and clarity. Note the crane and neighboring house in the background. With MSAA they are clearer, even the inscription on the poster shows through, which is not at all visible with FXAA.

Let us also note that the game has an interesting “MSAA for reflections” parameter. It is logical to assume that it affects the smoothing of the edges of reflections, which are most often visible on the surface of cars. In practice, we did not detect any difference in reflections with and without MSAA 4x. Perhaps we are talking about reflections on other surfaces. It is possible that the effect of this smoothing itself is weakly expressed.

It's time to take a look at how all these modes affect performance. Experienced video card - GeForce GTX 760.

Activating FXAA relative to the mode without anti-aliasing gives a drop in fps of only 4%. Enabling MSAA 2x relative to the mode without anti-aliasing on the test card gives a performance drop of 21% at the minimum setting and up to 30% at the average game frame rate. Switching to MSAA 4x gives a 16% reduction compared to the simpler multisampling mode. TXAA 4x is heavier by another 3-4%. If we additionally enable an anti-aliasing mode for reflections of similar quality to MSAA 4x, then we get a frame rate at the same level as the TXAA mode, which is 46-57% lower than the initial level without AA.

FXAA gives a good visual effect and minimal impact on performance. MSAA is slightly better in terms of clarity, but the performance penalty is significant. Such a serious decrease in fps may also be due to insufficient memory. Even without anti-aliasing, the game shows that around 2.5 GB will be used at 1920x1080 resolution.

Population

Three points are related to the density of people on the city streets. These are Population Density, Population Variety and Distance Scaling. Each has its own scale with 10 gradations. The first two points are quite obvious - they regulate the number of people on the streets and the use of various models for them. Distance Scaling probably sets the distance at which they appear. We gradually reduced all parameters from maximum to half (we will count this as 100% and 50%). Based on the results of several minutes of playing in different modes, we can state a minimal difference in the number of people on the streets. Presumably this also affects the traffic density on the roads. You don’t notice any of this unless you deliberately concentrate on a given task.

Below left is a screenshot of the mode when all parameters are at maximum. On the right is an image of a similar location with all three parameters reduced to 50%.

We did not lower these parameters to zero, since even changing from 100% to 50% did not give any significant difference in the frame rate, which is clearly visible in the bottom graph.

Reducing “population” and “diversity” has no effect. Changing the distance leads to a slight increase in fps. The result is expected, because a weak adjustment of population density will not affect the load on the GPU. This is more relevant for the central processor. Reducing these parameters can have a positive effect on weak CPUs. On more or less modern systems, you can immediately set them to maximum.

Texture quality

It's time to experiment with Texture Quality. As noted above, at Ultra quality in Full HD without anti-aliasing, the game already consumes up to 2.5 GB of video memory. It's logical to assume that 2GB graphics cards might experience problems because of this. And reducing the quality of textures for ordinary users will seem like the most obvious solution to improve performance. But is it? Let's figure it out now.

First, let's compare the image quality at the highest, high and standard texture levels.

Texture Quality Very High

Texture Quality High

Texture Quality Normal

There are not differences in everything. The first screenshots show a gradual decrease in the clarity of environmental elements - patterns on the carpet and sofa, paintings on the wall, a slight change in the texture of jeans. In the second scene, the difference in the quality of the textures of the sidewalks and the road surface is striking.

The impact of texture quality on overall performance is minimal. When switching from maximum to high it is almost not noticeable. Switching to standard mode gives a ridiculous gain of a couple of percent, and this despite the fact that in this mode, video memory consumption finally drops below the 2 GB level. So texture quality can be set to the highest level even on average video cards.

Shader quality

Next up is the Shader Quality parameter. Three levels - from standard to very high. In theory, using simpler shaders should have a dramatic effect on the quality of all surfaces

Texture Shader Very High

Texture Shader High

Texture Shader Normal

In fact, changing this parameter only affects the surface of the earth. When reduced from maximum to high, the effect of embossed surfaces becomes weaker. In normal mode, the ground and grass completely lose volume - everything is flat. And even the clarity of surfaces decreases sharply, as if the quality of textures is reduced.

The difference between Very High and High is less than 3%. Switching to the simplest mode gives a noticeable increase in performance, at a level of 12-14% relative to High. Moreover, for the first time we see an increase in the minimum fps when a specific graphics parameter is reduced. Therefore, it is quite critical to overall performance. But the image quality suffers greatly from the minimum level of shaders. It only makes sense to use a standard shader level on very weak video cards.

Reflection quality

This parameter (Reflection Quality) affects all reflective surfaces - cars, shop windows, windows, etc. Four quality levels. You can evaluate their influence on the overall picture in the lower screenshots. We remind you that the remaining graphics parameters are at the maximum level without anti-aliasing. Half of the screenshots are in 1920x1080 resolution, half in 2560x1440.

Reflection Ultra

Reflection Very High

Reflection High

Reflection Normal

In the first scene, we pay attention to the surface of the cars and the display case. As Reflection Quality decreases, reflections gradually lose clarity and become more blurry. And at the standard level (Normal) they actually disappear, there are only reflections and frosted glass windows. At the same time, even the advertising banner on the left side of the frame looks different - the iridescent gloss effect of the inscriptions is lost. In the night scene, everything is similar - the reflections of the lights on the surface of the cars lose their shape, and then disappear altogether.

It should be noted that highly detailed reflections fully correspond to real objects in the environment. This is not Watch Dodgs, when the windows of buildings reflected not the opposite side of the street, but some kind of image that was standard for everyone.

Reflections also have a significant impact on performance. The most dramatic effect is the decrease in quality from the highest level to very high - an increase in fps at the level of 8-11%. Moreover, again there is an increase in the minimum fps, which is the most critical. There is a small difference in frame rate between the standard level and the high level, but the image is completely different. So we do not recommend lowering this parameter to a minimum.

Water quality

Everything is quite obvious. Changing Water Quality affects the display of water. Three quality levels, which can be assessed in the lower screenshots.

Water Very High

Water High

Water Normal

The difference between the maximum and average levels is difficult to notice. But the standard mode is radically different - the detailing of waves is simpler, there are fewer reflections and glare.

Higher water quality regimes do not affect the overall performance in any way. Enabling the simplest mode for displaying it allows you to win up to 3%.

Particle quality

Parameter that regulates the number of particles. The original is called Particles Quality. Its influence is quite obvious, but there are not enough particles in the game, except for sparks and fragments during collisions or explosions. There are no wind-driven leaves or newspapers in GTA 5. So it is not easy to notice the difference between the maximum particle level and the minimum.

Here we will do without comparative screenshots. And even in testing we will limit ourselves to extreme values ​​- a very high level and a standard one.

Minimal difference. So it makes sense to reduce this parameter only on very weak systems.

Grass quality

The Grass Quality parameter affects the display of grass. Four discrete values ​​- from standard level to ultra. For comparison, we combined fragments of the same frame from the built-in gaming benchmark into one image.

Lowering the grass quality by one value slightly affects its density. A further decrease is accompanied by the disappearance of shadows from ferns. In the easiest mode, large grass disappears. The parameter does not affect the density and quality of the bush in any way, nor does it affect moss and small grass, which is implemented using relief texturing technologies.

Significant impact on minimum fps. Therefore, the quality of the grass is very important for overall productivity. Switching from maximum quality to very high allows you to increase the minimum fps by 12%, the next decrease gives an increase of another 8%. Between the extreme quality settings (Ultra and Normal) there is a difference of 29% in the minimum parameter and 9% in the average game frame rate. Special effects and post-processing

Let's combine several parameters into one comparative test. In Russian translation, special effects are the Post FX parameter, which is responsible for the quality of post-processing. This applies to the Motion Blur effect and the Depth of Field effect. A faint lens effect like chromatic aberration is also noticeable. At the maximum level of post-effects, it is possible to manually set the Motion Blur intensity and activate/deactivate Depth of Field. In our tests we used Motion Blur at 50% intensity. Although in GTA it is not aggressive, so there will not be strong blurring of objects even at 100%.

The effect of changing the depth of field is used very actively. In a balanced position, it only slightly blurs the background.

The blur distance is gaze dependent and constantly changes, creating the effect of the gaze gradually adapting to focus on certain objects. With a sudden change of view, the depth of the focal length gradually changes from minimal to higher. If the camera is aimed at a close object, then a slight blur will hide objects at a medium distance, enhancing the effect of concentration. All this is implemented very realistically and without particularly aggressive blur, without creating discomfort in the game.

When reducing special effects from the highest level to high, the Depth of Field is automatically disabled. Reducing it to the minimum (standard) level does not allow Motion Blur to be enabled.

Testing was carried out at the maximum effect level with Motion Blur at 50%. The next position is to lower the special effects by one point while completely disabling Motion Blur. The next drop by another point is accompanied by the obvious shutdown of Depth of Field. Next comes the minimum level of special effects.

Motion smearing has little impact on overall performance. But disabling DOF with a corresponding decrease in the overall level of post-effects gives a sharp jump in performance at the level of 14-22%. Given the widespread use of the depth of field effect, this impact on performance is quite expected.

Tessellation

There was also support for tessellation. During our acquaintance with the game, we noticed its influence only on trees and palm trees. And, most likely, the possibilities of tessellation in the game are limited to this.

Tessellation Very High

Tessellation High

Tessellation Normal

Tessellation Off

As the tessellation quality decreases, the palm trunk loses its complex geometric structure, becoming completely smooth without this mode. At the same time, the influence of tessellation on the geometry of the tree trunk located in the background is noticeable, although the effect is not so obvious. There is virtually no difference between highest and highest tessellation quality. Only with a very careful study of the screenshots can you notice the complication of the geometry in some areas.

In comparison testing, we skipped the high settings level.

No difference between different levels of tessellation. And even disabling it has little effect on the overall level of performance. So feel free to set this parameter to high or maximum level. Reducing tessellation makes sense on older DirectX 11 video cards, which are much weaker in processing tessellated surfaces than modern solutions.

Shadow quality

Let's move on to studying shadows. The Shadow Quality parameter affects the overall quality and detail of shadows.

Shadow Very High

Shadow High

Shadow Normal

As the parameter decreases, the detail of the shadows decreases and they become more blurred. In standard mode, their saturation is additionally lost, shadows from small details disappear completely (pay attention to the shadows of the armrests and the faint shadow at the edge of the pool).

Another important parameter for overall performance. Lowering it to high increases the minimum fps by 8%. Further reduction in shadow quality results in a smaller increase in frame rate.

With maximum shadow quality, you can increase the distance for loading detailed shadows in the additional graphic settings. When the quality decreases, this option is disabled. If the quality of the shadows is average, there is no point in chasing the effect of soft shadows. If the quality is low, you can refuse global shading.

Soft shadows

The game supports several levels of implementation of the soft shadow effect with the ability to use NVIDIA PCSS or AMD CHS technologies. This effect itself adds realism, because in diffuse sunlight the shadows do not have clear edges. In NVIDIA PCSS, shadows are calculated using even more complex algorithms, taking into account the distance of the shadow from its source. Therefore, for example, the upper part of the shadow from a column will be lighter than its lower part.

Soft Shadows NVIDIA PCSS

Soft Shadows AMD CHS

Soft Shadows Very High

Soft Shadows High

Soft Shadows

Soft Shadows Off

From the selected scene you can immediately see that the detail of the shadow changes as it moves away from the character. It is also noteworthy that the soft shadows of AMD CHS worked easily on the GeForce, although the slightly pronounced quadratic structure does not make this mode the best. With NVIDIA PCSS, shadows are softer and blurrier; a clear transition from a detailed shadow to a less detailed one is not noticeable. With the usual algorithm for processing soft shadows in the “softest possible” mode, the clarity is slightly higher compared to NVIDIA PCSS, and the effect of changing the detail of the shadow of a palm tree is also well smoothed out. As the softness level decreases, the difference in detail becomes more pronounced. When soft shadows are completely turned off, the shadow area on the wall crumbles into squares, and the overall feeling of a living shadow is completely lost. But notice that the quadratic structure clearly appears on the vertical surface. In a distant area of ​​shadow on the ground, which we observe from a high angle, this is almost not noticeable.

Based on the experience of past games, we know that with NVIDIA PCSS the overall shading pattern at long distances may change slightly. Let's see how this affects GTA.

Soft Shadows NVIDIA PCSS

Soft Shadows Very High

At a closer distance the shadow is softer. At an average distance, the shadow from a tree with PCSS is not so continuous; there are gaps in the crown - this is a plus. But the shadow from the roof of the house on the right is overgrown with a comb - this is a minus. With PCSS, the intensity of shading of distant trees decreases, their tops become lighter. That is, it looks different, but the overall impression depends on subjective impressions. Comparing performance will help you decide.

NVIDIA PCSS and AMD CHS are the most resource-intensive modes, which consume up to 7% of performance relative to the usual mode of the highest quality soft shadows. So it’s better to stick with this option and not worry about studying shadows under a magnifying glass. If you wish, you can try one of the methods from NVIDIA and AMD, maybe you like it better. Further reduction in the quality of soft shadows gives a meager performance increase.

AO Shading

The game allows you to use high quality Ambient Occlusion, in normal mode and without AO. It is difficult to take identical screenshots due to the need to restart the game to apply new settings. So there may be some deviations in camera position. But the overall impact of global shading can be assessed from illustrations like these. These screenshots are in 2560x1440 resolution to better see small details.

Ambient Occlusion High

Ambient Occlusion Normal

Ambient Occlusion Off

Global shading adds additional shadows and penumbraes, taking into account the influence of objects on each other. With Ambient Occlusion, light shadows appear at the junction of walls, where furniture touches the walls. The intensity of shadows in the area above the stove increases, and the lower part of the kitchen table also becomes slightly darker. Such details slightly enhance the overall sense of volume of the virtual world. It's a pity that there is no support for NVIDIA's HBAO+ mode, which has proven itself well in other games.

The impact on overall performance is weak. Switching between AO modes gives a difference of less than 4%. There's even less of a difference between turning AO off completely and the quality of that shading being poor.

Additional settings

The Advanced Graphics section is relevant for those who want to get more from the game than what is offered by default. Initially, all parameters in this section are disabled; you need to activate them manually. First, let's look at their purpose.

Long Shadows suddenly make shadows... longer. The only practical meaning that can be seen in this is more realistic shadows in the morning and evening, when the sun is low above the horizon. But this parameter does not radically change anything; during the day we did not notice any difference.

High Resolution Shadows is an important parameter that affects the detail of shadows. Didn't you like the palm tree shadow scattered into squares in the "soft shadows" section? Then let’s immediately activate this item!

Uploading more detailed textures during flight (High Detail Streaming While Fly) - increases the detail of visible objects when flying by air.

Extended Distance Scaling – adjusts LOD, allowing you to increase the distance of object detail. A very important parameter for improving overall perception. Adjustable using a scale from zero to maximum with 10 discrete gradations.

Shadows length (Extended Shadows Distance) - using the scale, you set the distance for loading detailed shadows. Increasing this parameter will improve the detail of shadows at medium distances and add new shadows from distant objects.

All these parameters are interconnected, since it is their combination that gives the most noticeable effect of visually improving the picture. Without enabling high-resolution shadows, there is little point in increasing the display distance of detailed shadows. Without increasing the last two parameters there will be no significant improvement in the image when activating High Detail Streaming While Fly. But if you turn everything on, the picture in flight is completely different.

For comparison, here are screenshots of the same scene with and without additional parameters.

With additional settings, shadows on distant trees immediately appear. There is a clear division into shaded and light zones near distant buildings. More details, to the point that without additional parameters, one of the buildings in the center of the frame loses its roof. There are more details in the farthest shot (we look at the skyscraper under construction on the left side). Some confusion is caused only by the comparison of the upper right corner. With additional settings, the shape of the trees on the slope becomes clearer, new bushes appear, but the grass effect disappears. Apart from this small omission, the first screenshot is better in every way.

In dynamics, the difference is visible no worse, if not better. Compare built-in benchmark videos with and without additional options at maximum quality. Pay special attention to the last airplane test. Without additional settings, a clear zone boundary is visible, only at the intersection of which shadows and new details appear. It gets to the point that even the power line wires are visible only after activating all the Advanced Graphics options.

Advanced Graphics Settings On

Advanced Graphics Settings Off

Everything is clear about the positive impact on graphics quality. Now let's study the impact of the considered parameters on performance. First, we will sequentially include the first three points. Then we will further increase the “shadow length” parameter to 50% and 100%, then we will further increase the loading distance of detailed objects.

Activating the first item does not affect overall performance. High-resolution shadows immediately reduce the frame rate by 30% in minimum fps with a difference of 8% in average fps. Loading detailed textures in flight, without adjusting the last parameters, has little effect on fps. Extended Shadows Distance reduces performance by several percent. But the reaction to increasing the loading distance of detailed objects is extremely critical. The minimum fps drops sharply by half, and noticeable stuttering begins in some test scenes. In this mode, the game already reports up to 3.3 GB of video memory reserved instead of 2.5 GB at the same resolution without additional settings.

As a compromise, you can set the detail distance of objects and shadows to half of the maximum (lower values ​​in the diagram). In this case, the overall performance will be higher. Relative to the initial settings mode, this gives a performance drop of 56/21% (min/avg fps).

Video card performance comparison

Let's move on to comparing different graphics accelerators in Grand Theft Auto 5. First, a group of video adapters from AMD and NVIDIA will be tested at maximum quality settings without activating additional settings options.

First comparison with MSAA 4x anti-aliasing in Full HD.

The close results of the GeForce GTX 770 with 2 GB and the Radeon R9 280X with 3 GB on board are immediately striking. And this is in a mode that requires more than 3 GB of video memory. On the GeForce GTX 980, the peak memory load reached 3400 MB, while the Radeon R9 290X was 100 MB less. The reference GeForce GTX 780 is slightly inferior to the Radeon R9 290 in Uber mode. The performance of the GeForce GTX 780 Ti is 1-4% higher than that of AMD's flagship, and the GeForce GTX 980 is another 9-10% faster. The GeForce GTX 760 and GeForce GTX 960 have the lowest scores, but in this test they do not have direct competition from AMD.

Now let's see how our participants cope with the higher resolution of 2560x1440. Based on the top results, it is clear that the younger representatives will not be able to cope with this mode with MSAA, so we will test them with FXAA.

Overall results are better than lower resolutions with MSAA. The Radeon R9 280X appears to have a slight advantage over the GeForce GTX 770. The new GeForce GTX 960 is slightly ahead of the GeForce GTX 760, but both will need overclocking to provide a comfortable level of performance.

Now let's look at the performance of the senior participants in high resolution with multisampling.

GeForce GTX 780 Ti and GeForce GTX 980 are more powerful than Radeon R9 290X. Taking into account the minimum fps below 30 frames, to achieve a comfortable level you will need to overclock or reduce the quality of anti-aliasing. The leader NVIDIA uses up to 3.5 GB of video memory, while the AMD representatives use slightly less memory.

The most pleasant picture is ensured by activating all the additional settings. But will the participants cope with such a difficult regime? Let's find out now. Select Full HD resolution, set FXAA and turn on additional parameters to maximum. We exclude younger participants from comparison due to obviously low results.

Even the Radeon R9 280X has good average frame rates, but very serious drops in minimum fps. In the red camp, only the Radeon R9 290X achieves results close to a comfortable level. But the ideal option would be the GeForce GTX 980, which is 6% better than the leader AMD in terms of the minimum parameter, and in terms of average game frame rates it is more productive by an impressive 29%. Peak video memory load is at 3370-3330 MB.

Let's use MSAA.

Productivity drops seriously. Even the GeForce GTX 980 drops to 25 fps in minimum fps, but maintains a very high average frame rate. The GeForce GTX 780 Ti beats the Radeon R9 290X in terms of average fps, but loses one frame in terms of the minimum. Memory loading reaches 3600 MB.

Let's try to switch to a resolution of 2560x1440, but with a more gentle anti-aliasing mode.

The GeForce GTX 980 is still confidently in the lead. The predecessor GeForce GTX 780 Ti lags behind by 11-14%, and the Radeon R9 290X is weaker by 5-20%. Video memory loading up to 3.6 GB.

As a small addition, we offer a comparison of the “pensioners” represented by the GeForce GTX 580 and Radeon R9 6970. For clarity, let’s add the GeForce GTX 760 to them. Tests were carried out in a resolution of 1920x1080 at maximum graphics quality with anti-aliasing disabled. The second test mode involves an additional reduction in post-processing and completely disabling the depth of field effect. In both cases, all advanced settings options are disabled.

One could say that the old people are approximately at the same level. They have a negligible difference in minimum fps; GeForce GTX 580 wins only in average fps. But in reality, on the Radeon HD 6970 the image is jerky even in the simpler second mode, and this very noticeably spoils the experience. Although the GeForce GTX 580 does not demonstrate significant advantages in graphics, the game on this video adapter is much smoother and more comfortable.

Processor performance comparison

It's time to find out which processor can handle the game at an acceptable level of performance. During the fourth part, it was processor dependence that became the cornerstone for many players. It came to funny situations when owners of dual-core processors, who by default were doomed to unsatisfactorily low performance, had particularly heated debates about the required amount of video memory.

To get an idea of ​​the impact of processor potential on overall performance, we took several Intel models:

• Intel Pentium G3258 (3.2 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache) LGA1150;
• Intel Core i7-4770K (3.5 GHz @ Turbo 3.9 GHz, 8 MB L3 cache) LGA1150;
• Intel Core i7-3930K (3.2 GHz @ Turbo 3.8 GHz, 12 MB L3 cache) LGA2011.

The Core i7-4770K will be tested with different core configurations at the junior participant's frequency of 3.2 GHz. By bringing Pentium and Core to the same frequency and the same number of cores, it will be possible to identify the impact of the L3 cache on performance. Then the remaining cores and Hyper Threading will gradually be turned on, which will show the influence of these factors. A representative of another platform, Intel Core i7-3930K, was tested at a fixed frequency of 3.2 GHz and overclocked to 4.4 GHz. The Pentium G3258 was also tested for overclocking.

For all processors, a GeForce GTX 760 video card was used. The test mode assumes maximum settings for the main section of graphics settings without anti-aliasing, reducing the level of special effects to “high” and completely disabling the depth of field effect.

Based on the testing results, it is clear that two cores are catastrophically few. With a good level of average fps, terrible “brakes” are periodically observed, which is clearly visible from the level of minimum fps. Increasing the L3 cache gives a speedup of 5-7%, but does not solve the problem. Only activating Hyper Treading allows you to achieve an acceptable level of performance. Real four cores give an advantage of up to 34% compared to two cores with HT. With four cores, Hyper Treading no longer brings any benefit. The six cores of the Intel Core i7-3930K also do not provide any advantage. Overclocking top processors makes no sense, except when using the most powerful video cards. Overclocking a dual-core processor also does not bring much benefit, but for a different reason - increasing the frequency does not eliminate catastrophic fps drops.

conclusions

It's time to take stock. Let's start with lovers of visual beauty and owners of top configurations. If you want to get the most out of the game, be sure to activate the advanced graphics settings options. If this greatly impacts performance, try increasing the loading distance for detailed objects and shadows not to the maximum, but to smaller values. It is these parameters that most noticeably affect the final fps. Among the anti-aliasing modes, the best is MSAA, with which there is no loss of clarity of small details. But it is also the most resource-intensive. FXAA is the best option, providing good anti-aliasing quality with minimal performance losses.

To achieve better performance, you will first have to give up additional settings and anti-aliasing. Although we would recommend using FXAA even for those who have to lower the graphics quality a little. At the same time, you can experiment with detailed shadows from the additional settings. For example, get a good increase in fps by turning off the depth of field effect and slightly reducing the quality of reflections, trying to complement this by turning on detailed shadows and a slight increase in the distance of object detail. But you need to understand that such experiments require a video card more powerful than the GeForce GTX 760.

If we are talking about a low-power card, then along with reflections and post-effects, you can partially sacrifice the quality of the grass. If necessary, you can safely set many parameters one point below the maximum level. Often this is fraught with minimal losses in picture quality. All shadow settings can play an important role. As mentioned above, they are interconnected. If the goal is to achieve the highest possible fps, then in addition to seriously reducing the quality of shadows, you can sacrifice the effect of soft shadows and disable Ambient Occlusion. But completely reducing all shadow parameters will noticeably affect the image quality. It is also highly not recommended to reduce the quality of textures, shaders and reflections to a minimum - it has a serious impact on graphics. It makes sense to resort to this only on the weakest systems.

Among Intel processors, the minimum option for gaming is Core i3. You won't be able to play normally on dual-core models. The best option even for a mid-level video card is a full-fledged quad-core Core i5, which will not become a performance limiter.

The release of Grand Theft Auto 5 showed that computer game developers have truly broad capabilities to optimize their creations for different generations of computers. GTA 5 can easily be called the standard of high-quality optimization, thanks to which even those with very modest hardware were able to enjoy amazing gameplay.
The graphics fine-tuning options are truly amazing. By adjusting the values ​​and using the video card software, we can achieve good performance on almost any PC. Naturally, you are unlikely to be able to admire the beauties of the city of Los Santos, which the game engine is capable of producing, but there will be no problems with the gameplay.
Let's try to analyze in detail the process of optimizing GTA 5 on PC, taking into account all the options that are available in the graphics settings mode.

DirectX

The choice of DirectX version plays an important role in optimizing settings for weaker machines. In any case, if you do not have a top-end computer with a powerful video card, we recommend choosing DirectX version 10, since version 11 only opens up additional settings for image anti-aliasing and tessellation.

Screen resolution

Any gamer knows that resolution directly affects FPS. GTA 5 is no exception - the smaller, the better the performance. It is worth noting that lower resolution significantly degrades picture quality, so such emergency measures should be the last resort.

Ignore memory limit

This function is intended for fairly powerful video cards that do not have such a large amount of video memory. For example, GeForce GTX 660 with 2GB of memory. Enabling this option will allow the GPU to be fully loaded, ignoring the memory limit. For powerful video cards this function is useless; on weak ones it can slightly increase FPS.

Vertical Sync

If enabling this option does not greatly affect performance, it is better to leave it enabled. Vertical sync significantly increases picture quality, smoothes the image and removes various jitters and extraneous effects. Disabling it, in turn, can increase FPS.

Texture quality

If you have a video card with 2GB of video memory, then you should try setting this parameter to high values. If FPS drops significantly, switch to medium. The minimum quality does not affect performance so much, but it significantly degrades the image.

Shader quality

On most computers, you can safely set high quality shaders, since this option is not so demanding on hardware. It is especially important to set high-quality shaders if you have chosen medium quality textures - this will visually align the picture

Shadows, reflections, water

All these settings enhance the beauty of the environment, but you can do without them. Owners of modern computers should definitely turn it on. On weak PCs, disabling these options will help increase FPS.

Anti-aliasing FXAA, MSAA

FXAA – we definitely turn it on, as it has almost no effect on FPS, and the image becomes much nicer. The MSAA anti-aliasing option is not available on DirectX 10 and is very demanding on hardware, so we recommend not looking at it at all.

Soft shadows

A very interesting option. If problems arise with optimization, it is better to set the minimum value. The shadows will be angular and ugly. If the computer allows it, turn it up to maximum - nice smooth shadows improve the perception of the game.

Anisotropic filtering

An excellent option that will help even out textures if their quality is set to medium or low. We set it to maximum and reduce it if there are problems with FPS.

Additional settings

The advanced settings section offers advanced settings for top video cards. They do not greatly affect the image, so you can safely turn them off.
Overall, optimizing GTA 5 graphics is a fascinating undertaking. Try, experiment, use your imagination and connect the software of video card developers - the game will open up a lot of possibilities for you!

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