Games these days are increasingly demanding on hardware, but before you run to the store, you want to find out if this or that work of game developers will work without upgrading the hardware? So, first of all, you need to check the system requirements; this method is time-tested and does not give any failures, unlike various tests.

Minimum system requirements for GTA 5

CPU	Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs) @ 2.5GHz
RAM
Video card	NVIDIA 9800 GT 1GB / AMD HD 4870 1GB
Sound card	100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD	minimum 65GB of free space

Minimum software set:

• Operating system: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 64 Bit Service Pack 2 (works stably on Vista GTA 5 if an Nvidia video adapter is installed)
• DirectX version: DX 10,DX 10.1,DX 11.
• For a comfortable game, you can install drivers that video card manufacturers released specifically for the release of the PC version of GTA 5: GEFORCE GAME READY DRIVER FOR GRAND THEFT AUTO V.
• We also highly recommend installing Microsoft Visual C++.

CPU	Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
RAM
Video card	NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB
Sound card	100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD	minimum 65GB of free space

If you still don’t have the time or desire, and perhaps even information about the hardware, which is far from uncommon nowadays, then it is possible to test your computer for compatibility with the game online.

Nvidia graphics adapter test

First of all, I would like to consider the online test that is provided by Nvidia on its official website at http://www.geforce.com/games-applications/pc-games/grand-theft-auto-v/gpu-analyzer . Although the test is provided by Nvidia, you can check compatibility even if you have AMD. So, the main thing to remember is that you won't be able to check compatibility in the Google Chrome browser because they have stopped supporting NPAPI for Java applets. In simple terms, the verification process requires a Java module, which does not work in Chrome. You can use another browser - for example, Internet Explorer or Opera.

If the Java package is not installed, then after clicking Check Now, you will be prompted to download the latest version of this module from the official website of the developer.

After downloading and installing Java, you will be able to check the compatibility of the GPU with the game. Therefore, again follow the link provided above and click CHECK NOW. If the video card is weak, you will see a message similar to what is shown in the picture.

If everything is in order, the frame will be green and the view will be as follows:

However, testing only the graphics card does not provide comprehensive answers, so if the graphics card is suitable, then you can move on to the next test.

Can You Run It?

A very common test that operates on the website http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri?itemId=12455. After the transition, you need to click on the “Can you run it?” button.

In the pop-up window that appears, there are two options to choose from:

• View Requirements – if you choose this method, you will be shown the system requirements and there will be no test. The same requirements are presented in the table above.
• Desktop App - as is clear from the description and name, the user is invited to download a small application weighing 5 megabytes, which will help to find out the characteristics of your hardware. Select this item and click Start.

The program automatically starts scanning the system, all you have to do is wait without taking any action. Once the scan is complete, you will be redirected to a site with the results. Depending on the hardware, the results will be different, however, the report is comprehensive. These were the results on my laptop:

From these red signs it is immediately clear that it does not meet the system requirements of the game, however, the main points are described below, exactly how much and what needs to be added for the game to start:

And if your PC or part of its components is compatible with the game, then instead of a crossed out circle, you will see a checkmark:

You can also choose whether to compare PCs with minimum system requirements or with recommended ones. This is done by switching tabs on the results page:

Test on Steam

In addition to other tests, it is possible to check the PC for compatibility with the game via Steam, although reviews of such testing are not the most flattering, for the following reason - the necessary accuracy is not achieved: sometimes it can be shown that the PC is suitable with a 256 megabyte video card. However, if other methods are not suitable for some reason, do the following:

1. Launch Steam.
2. Press the key combination WIN (the button that opens the start menu) and R on the keyboard.
3. In the window that appears, paste the following: steam://checksysreqs/271590.

Rockstar Games seems to have learned from the mistakes of the past: if the game Grand Theft Auto 4 seemed like a clumsy console port, especially for AMD video cards, now it simply “flies” on high-end video cards. We just showed all this in ours. Even on the latest mainstream graphics cards, such as the AMD Radeon R9 280X or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, GTA V runs without much stuttering.

Modern generation consoles display the game in 1080p resolution with a frame rate of 30 fps; in complex and dynamic scenes, the frame rate can drop significantly, but on the mentioned video cards you will get twice as much fps. In addition, Rockstar Games has announced support for 4K, but for such a resolution you will need a very powerful system, as you can see in. A resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels at normal speed remains the lot of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X video card. However, such a video card will cost 1,115 euros. The closest competitor is the AMD Radeon R9 295X2 with two GPUs for 43.3 thousand rubles (700 euros) produces 55 frames per second. To play GTA V acceptably, in our opinion, a frame rate of 35 to 40 fps is required. A comfortable game starts at 50 fps.

But not every gamer has a brand new video card from AMD or NVIDIA in their system; even last year’s high-end models are not cheap today. Many users are content with video cards that are several generations behind. For this reason, we are back again to test the GTA V game, but this time we will evaluate the performance on video cards for the mass market and on video cards of previous generations. The result can be called encouraging: an upgrade is not always required.

Great graphics settings options

But the reason is not that the video cards are fast enough. The game has many settings that allow you to optimize the PC version of GTA V for the performance of your system. The graphics settings menu has options that affect not only picture quality, but also performance. You can adjust water quality, texture size, shader quality, grass and particle detail, tessellation, reflections, and post-processing effects. Depending on the level of detail and image enhancement modes, GTA V at 2,560 x 1,600 pixels on high-end systems runs from 25 to approximately 150 fps - higher frame rates are possible as the resolution or level of detail is reduced.

If we turn up the detail level to the maximum and set the maximum AA and AF values, then at a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 video card in our configuration gives less than 25 fps, which can hardly be called an acceptable level. At a medium level of detail at the same resolution, the frame rate increases to approximately 60 fps. With low detail levels and no AA/AF we can achieve almost 150fps. With the same settings on the AMD Radeon R9 290X video card, we get from 20 to 140 fps, that is, a little less.

This range of graphics settings allows you to get acceptable performance on almost any video card!

Grand Theft Auto 5

2.560 x 1.600

149.1 XX

140.1 XX

65.4 XX

59.2 XX

24.5 XX

Frames per second

More is better

Visibility range has a fairly significant impact on performance. Compared to the version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the developers have doubled the range. If you turn the additional graphics settings to maximum, you can see for kilometers into the distance. Many objects at a great distance are displayed as outlines or even quite detailed models. If you're having performance issues, it makes sense to reduce your viewing range - but you won't lose much since you'll still be spending most of the game in downtown Los Santos.

In GTA V we got a significant visibility range

Additional graphics settings can eat up available video memory and cost a significant portion of performance. The approximate level of memory consumption shows that the game adapts well to the settings. In any case, depending on the video card used, additional graphics settings can be bypassed altogether. You can easily overdrive the graphics quality settings for your video card, making it impossible to play. For example, increased visibility range eats up a lot of performance. If you turn the slider here to the maximum, then objects will be visible with a very large viewing radius. Judging by our experience, it only makes sense to take this step with modern high-end video cards. In any case, you will spend most of your time in Los Santos.

"Ladders" on the edges of objects are a thing of the past

If you've played GTA V on a console, you're probably familiar with the "ladder" effect of the RAGE engine - this is especially true for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Without enabling AA/AF, this negative effect is also noticeable on PC, so we recommend adding at least a minimal smoothing. FXAA in GTA V will cost a very small performance penalty, but the results will be only slightly better. The combination of MSAA and FXAA performs much better. Depending on the video card, quadruple MSAA and FXAA results in a performance drop of 40-60 percent. A higher level of smoothing does not make much sense. Visually you get a small gain, but the drop in performance is very significant. MSAA with reflections, it seems to us, can also be safely ignored.

There are significant differences between the minimum and maximum anti-aliasing levels, which are visible in the screenshots below. Pay attention to the fence, the roof of the first house and skyscrapers in the distance - everything is displayed more clearly and accurately, but the level of anti-aliasing is especially noticeable in motion. So it's better to find a balance between the level of anti-aliasing and performance.

Smoothing: maximum (left), minimum (right)

Grand Theft Auto 5

2.560 x 1.600, Maximum

54.7 XX

52.2XX

35.9XX

Test stand, testing methodology

Energy-saving CPU technologies are disabled in all tests. In the NVIDIA driver settings, the CPU is selected as the processor for PhysX calculations. In AMD settings, the Tesselation setting is moved from AMD Optimized to Use application settings.

Frame rates were recorded using the built-in GTA 5 benchmark. Testing was carried out at resolutions of 1920 × 1080, 2560 × 1440 and 3840 × 2160 in three graphics quality modes. The most gentle mode includes minimal quality settings, with a few exceptions that have little effect on performance (for example, anisotropic filtering is enabled). In High Quality mode, detail settings are set to maximum, but the Extended Graphics section is left at its default values, and full-screen anti-aliasing is disabled. In the “ultra-high quality” mode, the settings in the Extended Graphics section are set to maximum and MSAA 4x anti-aliasing is enabled.

Graphics quality
	Low	High	Ultra-high
FXAA	Off	Off	Off
MSAA	Off	Off	X4
Vsync	Off	Off	Off
Population Density	100%	100%	100%
Population Variety	100%	100%	100%
Distance Scaling	100%	100%	100%
Texture Quality	Normal	Very High	Very High
Shader Quality	Normal	Very High	Very High
Shadow Quality	Normal	Very High	Very High
Reflection Quality	Normal	Ultra	Ultra
Reflection MSAA	Off	Very High	Very High
Water Quality	Normal	Very High	Very High
Particles Quality	Normal	Very High	Very High
Grass Quality	Normal	Ultra	Ultra
Soft Shadows	Sharp	Softest	Softest
Post FX	Normal	Ultra	Ultra
Motion Blur Strength	0%	0%	0%
In-Game Depth Of Field Effects	Normal	Very High	Very High
Anisotropic Filtering	X16	X16	X16
Ambient Occlusion	Normal	Very High	Very High
Tessellation	Normal	Very High	Very High
Long Shadows	Off	Off	On
High Resolution Shadows	Off	Off	On
High Detail Streaming While Flying	Off	Off	On
Extended Distance Scaling	0%	0%	100%
Extended Shadows Distance	0%	0%	100%

⇡ Test participants

The testing presents the results of the following video adapters.

• AMD Radeon R9 290X (1000/5000 MHz, 4 GB), Uber Mode;
• AMD Radeon R9 270 (925/5600 MHz, 2 GB);
• AMD Radeon R7 250X (1000/4500 MHz, 2 GB);
• AMD Radeon R7 250 (1050/4600 MHz, 2 GB);
• AMD Radeon R7 240 (780/4500 MHz, 2 GB);

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (1058/5000 MHz, 1 GB);
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 (810/1800 MHz, 1 GB).

⇡ Test results

Tests with different image settings were run in such a sequence as to identify a) maximum resolution, b) maximum graphics settings, which provide either 60 FPS and higher, or at least 30 FPS.

Each chart shows graphics cards that achieve at least 30 FPS at the appropriate settings, but are unable to deliver 60 FPS or more at higher resolutions with the same graphics quality. In other words, each diagram represents a list of video adapters that, in GTA V with the appropriate settings, either a) do not allow increasing the resolution while maintaining the minimum acceptable frame rate; b) they cope well enough that there is no point in reducing the resolution.

Low graphics quality

• The entry ticket to the world of GTA V from AMD adapters is the Radeon R7 240 - the slowest “red” video card among the test participants.
• At the time of testing, we did not have NVIDIA adapters from the 700 line younger than the GeForce GTX 750 Ti, so we took the GeForce GT 630 with GDDR3 memory as the lower reference point. He was unable to reach the required 30 FPS, and since the GeForce GTX 730 (or rather, one of its versions) is built on the same GPU, it will not cope with the task. But the GeForce GTX 740, judging by its characteristics, is quite suitable for the role of the most affordable NVIDIA video card for playing GTA V.
• The GTX 650 and R7 250 are approaching the 60 FPS border, and the GTX 750 Ti and R7 250X are already reaching this level.

• The GTX 650 and R7 250 are enough to keep the average FPS from dropping below 30 at WQHD resolution.
• The GTX 750 Ti is the only NVIDIA card in the "around 60 FPS and above" category on this chart. The rest of the positions at the top belong to AMD, starting with the R7 260X.

High quality graphics

• Radeon R7 260X and GeForce GTX 760 are the weakest cards suitable for playing GTA V with high settings and Full HD resolution. Moreover, the GTX 760 is, of course, much faster than the R7 260X.
• The GTX 770 and, with a stretch, the R9 280 allow you to play at 60 frames per second.

• WQHD mode with such graphics quality is already a serious test for mid-range gaming video cards. The game includes top accelerators, including such monsters as GeForce GTX TITAN X and Radeon R9 295X2.
• The Radeon R9 270 and GeForce GTX 760 meet the minimum performance criteria, while the R9 290X and either the GeForce GTX 780 Ti or GTX 970 are required to achieve frame rates of 60 FPS.

Ultra high quality graphics

• Ultra-high settings in Full HD mode are easier for test participants than just high settings at a resolution of 3840 × 2160. Even the GTX 770 and R9 280 provide the minimum acceptable frame rate.
• But only the GeForce GTX TITAN X and Radeon R9 295X2, which are equivalent in performance in this test, are capable of 60 FPS.

⇡ Conclusions

GTA V is, although not the heaviest game of recent years, but still a very, very demanding project in terms of GPU computing power at high graphics settings. A resolution of 1920 × 1080 with full-screen anti-aliasing and maximum detail is more or less playable on a GeForce GTX 770 and AMD Radeon R9 280, or even better to have a GTX 980 or even a TITAN X or Radeon R9 295X2. The last three are suitable even for a resolution of 2560 × 1440.

Without full-screen anti-aliasing and some additional options that eat up performance and VRAM space, owners of the GeForce GTX 770 and AMD Radeon R9 280X can count on comfortable gaming at 1920 × 1080. For 2560 × 1440, it is advisable to have something no worse than the GTX 780 Ti or Radeon R9 290X. And a resolution of 3840 × 2160 again requires a TITAN X or Radeon R9 295X2.

At low graphics settings, GTA V looks unsightly, but is accessible to owners of very weak computers. Even a GeForce GTX 740 or Radeon R7 240 will allow you to play at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 with an acceptable frame rate, and on a GTX 650 or R7 250 the game already runs quite smoothly.

This article uses screenshots from geforce.com.

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 many 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 quality of the picture. 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 bench:

• 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 do not pay attention to this, 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, with 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.

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.

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.

Before purchasing, almost everyone thought about whether their computer could handle it or whether it was worth postponing the purchase for future hardware. We will try to tell in this article all the subtleties and points about this.

I’ll answer the question right away will gta 5 work? or not - will do. The game has been so optimized that even laptops from 2007 can run it. But the question arises: will the graphics be playable? It’s quite possible to play at low settings and with poor rendering; there’s no talk of a comfortable game here.

Let's move on to tips for testing your PC for performance for GTA 5:

1) First, you can try installing a pirated version of the game and see how it behaves on your computer. Please note that in any case, a licensed copy will perform several times faster and better than unlicensed content.

2) Try and set all graphics to maximum. If the game works correctly, then GTA 5 will run on medium or minimum settings - you don’t have to worry.

3) VERY IMPORTANT ADVICE!. If I still convinced you to buy gta 5, then do it in Steam. Because on Steam, if the game does not work correctly, you can ask for a refund, but if you purchased the game on the sites, then there will definitely not be a refund there!

4) Owners of an Nvidia video card can close this article right now and go buy the game, and owners of an AMD video card - I advise you to think several times about buying the game.

5) The list will be supplemented, and if you learned something new from this article, then subscribe to us on social networks and leave a positive comment..