GPU Upgrade

[jdcrispe95]

Hey guys, I was thinking about upgrading to a HD5770 to make GTA IV and GTA EFLC a lot smoother, i currently play on the minumum settings GTA and EFLC allows and im wondering what settings will be available for me to play at smoothly when i get a HD5770?

 

[jdcrispe95]

bump

 

[cmndr_andi]

To be honest, GTA4 and the add-ons are heavily CPU-limited, so even if you get a HD 5770 the performance boost may not be as big as you would imagine. Therefore if you want to see a big improvement in the game then I would strongly suggest investing in a new CPU (and then overclocking it as well). You can get a Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 stepping) for around £70 second-hand these days - this will overclock well and provide a massive speed boost in GTA 4.

Also, instead of going for a HD 5770, I would suggest the much more powerful HD 5830 for £90 - your PSU can certainly handle it. This chart shows how it compares to a HD 5770.

Also, if you can stretch the extra £18 to get a HD 5850 for £108 then the performance jump is impressive (have a look at this chart comparing it to a HD 5830).

 

[jdcrispe95]

To be honest, GTA4 and the add-ons are heavily CPU-limited, so even if you get a HD 5770 the performance boost may not be as big as you would imagine. Therefore if you want to see a big improvement in the game then I would strongly suggest investing in a new CPU (and then overclocking it as well). You can get a Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 stepping) for around £70 second-hand these days - this will overclock well and provide a massive speed boost in GTA 4.

Also, instead of going for a HD 5770, I would suggest the much more powerful HD 5830 for £90 - your PSU can certainly handle it. This chart shows how it compares to a HD 5770.

Also, if you can stretch the extra £18 to get a HD 5850 for £108 then the performance jump is impressive (have a look at this chart comparing it to a HD 5830).

ahh okay thanks mate, so do you think i will still be stuck on 800x600 due to my CPU?

 

[cmndr_andi]

ahh okay thanks mate, so do you think i will still be stuck on 800x600 due to my CPU?

No, the load on your CPU will be pretty constant no matter the resolution, it is just that Dual core CPUs don't work too well with GTA4 as the game basically requires at least a triple core to run tolerably (it is the way the game has been coded). With a quad core CPU upgrade you will be able to raise your framerate at all resolutions and turn up some of the CPU-dependent settings higher and maintain playable framerates. That said, even with a Core 2 Quad you will need to overclock it as far as you can as this game eats up extra CPU power (even going from a 4GHz Q9550 to 4GHz i7 920 yields big performance increases) - in this regard it really isn't a normal or representative PC game.

As for resolutions, the more powerful graphics card will really help here. I would strongly recommend going for the HD 5850 for £108 if you can. It's a lot of graphics card for the money and MUCH faster than a HD 5770 for not much more money (have a look at this direct comparison).

 

[jdcrispe95]

No, the load on your CPU will be pretty constant no matter the resolution, it is just that Dual core CPUs don't work too well with GTA4 as the game basically requires at least a triple core to run tolerably (it is the way the game has been coded). With a quad core CPU upgrade you will be able to raise your framerate at all resolutions and turn up some of the CPU-dependent settings higher and maintain playable framerates. That said, even with a Core 2 Quad you will need to overclock it as far as you can as this game eats up extra CPU power (even going from a 4GHz Q9550 to 4GHz i7 920 yields big performance increases) - in this regard it really isn't a normal or representative PC game.

As for resolutions, the more powerful graphics card will really help here. I would strongly recommend going for the HD 5850 for £108 if you can. It's a lot of graphics card for the money and MUCH faster than a HD 5770 for not much more money (have a look at this direct comparison).

Okay i will DEFINATLY be on the lookout for a HD 5830 or a HD5850, the only thing im concerned about though is that my CPU will be limiting my GPU on most/all games?

 

[cmndr_andi]

Okay i will DEFINATLY be on the lookout for a HD 5830 or a HD5850, the only thing im concerned about though is that my CPU will be limiting my GPU on most/all games?

In some games (certainly GTA4) your CPU will be a bottleneck, however with a Core 2 Duo clocked at 3.6GHz this bottleneck should usually occur at high (and very playable) framerates.

In many other modern games a core 2 duo of this speed is plenty fast enough and your graphics card (even a 5850) will be the limiting factor - again with everything very playable and looking nice.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Okay i will DEFINATLY be on the lookout for a HD 5830 or a HD5850, the only thing im concerned about though is that my CPU will be limiting my GPU on most/all games?

In some games (certainly GTA4) your CPU will be a bottleneck, however with a Core 2 Duo (or pentium dual core - basically the same thing) clocked at 3.6GHz this bottleneck should usually occur at high (and very playable) framerates.

In many other modern games a core 2 duo of this speed is plenty fast enough and your graphics card (even a 5850) will be the limiting factor - again with everything very playable and looking nice.

 

[jdcrispe95]

In some games (certainly GTA4) your CPU will be a bottleneck, however with a Core 2 Duo (or pentium dual core - basically the same thing) clocked at 3.6GHz this bottleneck should usually occur at high (and very playable) framerates.

In many other modern games a core 2 duo of this speed is plenty fast enough and your graphics card (even a 5850) will be the limiting factor - again with everything very playable and looking nice.

my HD5570 is brilliant, im gaming at 1920x1200 no problem! except GTA IV which laggs (17FPS) but i can play it at 1400x1050 no problem