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Everything You Need to Know About Playing GTA V at 60fps on Your PC

Everything You Need to Know About Playing GTA V at 60fps on Your PC

By NDTV Correspondent | Updated: 17 April 2015 15:04 IST

The PC release of GTA V could be one of the most eagerly anticipated gaming events of the past few years. Rockstar Games' franchise has been out for a while on current- and previous-gen consoles, but PC loyalists have had to wait. It turns out the wait was worth it, and our early impressions are that GTA V not only looks stunning but is loads of fun to play.

Physical copies will be available on April 17 while those who bought the game digitally can already play it. In case you're wondering whether your desktop or laptop PC will be able to run GTA V, we have all the answers. If you fear that your experience won't be quite up to par and are considering an upgrade, we'll help you get the best bang for your buck as well.

Will it work on my PC?
Rockstar published its minimum spec a while ago, and so we know the game will at least be playable using many older PCs. You need a quad-core CPU, and even Intel's venerable Core 2 Quad Q6600 or AMD's Phenom 9850 will do, if there's 4GB of system RAM. Video cards with GPUs as old as the GeForce 9800GT or AMD's Radeon HD4870 are listed as the minimum spec. These GPUs were pretty high-end when new, so lower-tier cards of newer generations should provide somewhat equivalent experiences. That said, as a general rule, newer GPUs which are lower in the hierarchy have some advantages over older but more powerful ones.

Don't expect to play at the target speed of 60fps with anything close to high quality settings unless your hardware is generally less than three years old. The recommended Intel and AMD CPUs are the Core i5-3470 and AMD FX-8350 respectively, while the recommended GPUs are Nvidia's GTX 660 and AMD's HD7870. 8GB RAM is recommended. Higher is of course better.

No matter what your hardware spec, you'll need 65GB of free hard drive space (and expect that requirement to rise over time). You'll also want a DVD drive since downloading this game could take days, and will not be kind to your monthly data cap.

If you find that GTA V is lagging despite your PC meeting the requirements, there are a couple of things to check. First of all, make sure all your drivers are up to date, especially the ones for your graphics card. Both AMD and Nvidia have released new drivers with optimisations for GTA V. After that, check that the resolution and quality settings are appropriate for your hardware. The presets might not always give you the best possible experience, so start with everything low and then keep pushing things higher until you reach a balance you're comfortable with.

Antialiasing, anisotropic filtering and soft shadows are the settings that will have the greatest effects on graphics performance. GTA V also has separate controls for population variety and density, grass quality, water and reflections, If your graphics card has less than 4GB of dedicated RAM, turn the texture quality down as well. Finally, check what software is running in the background using the Windows Task Manager and quit anything that isn't necessary in order to free up resources.

What about laptops?
A lot of people will want to play GTA V on their laptops, and unfortunately that might not work out very well. The majority of laptops sold in India, even recently manufactured ones, have specifications that are far too low. Even if you're lucky enough to have a quad-core CPU, integrated graphics simply will not cut it and budget laptops rarely have discrete GPUs. Compounding that issue, a low-resolution 1366x768-pixel screen won't give you much enjoyment. If you do have a relatively modern laptop with the right specifications, you should be able to run GTA V at between 30 and 60fps with low quality settings.

Don't even try running GTA V on an ultraportable thin-and-light laptop, convertible 2-in-1 or tablet. These devices are optimised for low performance and long battery life, not high-end gaming. Even the most modern such products will not be worth playing on.

The build

Component	Model	Price (Rs.)
CPU	Intel Core i5-4400	12,400
Motherboard	Gigabyte H97M-D3H	7000
Graphics card	MSI Twin Frozr Radeon R9-285	21,000
RAM	2x 4GB kit, any brand	4,800
SSD	128GB Plextor M6S	4,200
Hard drive	WD Green 1TB	3,500
Power supply	Antec VP500	2,500
Cabinet	Antec VSK4000	1,800
Optical drive	DVD-RW, any brand	1,200
Total		58,400

Options
Monitor	Dell E2214H	8,100
Keyboard/Mouse	Microsoft Desktop 600 Combo	950
OS	Windows 8.1 64-bit	5,500

All prices are approximate and will vary from city to city.

Games have not ususally made good use of CPUs' multi-threading capabilities, but the minimum spec for GTA V is a quad-core processor. That means we can't go with a fast but low-end processor such as the Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition, which has been a budget build favourite for a while now. We would consider the Intel Core-i5 series to be the minimum advisable level to go for. The entry-level Core i5-4440 currently retails for around Rs. 12,400 and you can scale up if your budget allows it. The more expensive Core-i7 models won't make much of a difference to gaming.

Motherboards based on Intel's Z-series chipsets are the most versatile and are generally preferred by enthusiasts, but if you're not planning to overclock or tweak settings, the H-series will do just fine. Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock and MSI are generally the best brands to go for, with the former two making up the lion's share of the market. The Asus H97M-E and Gigabyte H97M-D3H are both good options, with the Gigabyte slightly less expensive.

RAM is unfortunately expensive at the moment, and though we'd like to go with 16GB, we'll have to make do with 8GB. DDR3-1600 is the highest speed officially supported by our chosen motherboard and processor, so there's no point spending on anything faster. Prices fluctuate daily, so choose the brand and series that makes the most sense for you. Gskill, Corsair, Kingston and Adata are amongst the more easily available brands in India. A dual-channel kit is recommended but not absolutely necessary.

The GPU is naturally the most important part of our build, and there is a bit of leeway here since GTA V seems to be able to scale to low-end cards, but won't look as great. We're targeting 60fps at 1920x1080 and we would like to play at reasonably high quality. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 has been our budget favourite since its launch earlier this year - specifically Asus' well-priced Strix GTX 960 model - but with only 2GB of RAM, we're sure to hit a wall. A 4GB version is due soon and should be priced around Rs. 1,000-2,000 higher, but it isn't here yet so we turn to the AMD Radeon R9-285. It will run hotter and louder than the GTX 960 and costs a bit more than we'd like, but it's the best value option right now.

Some might say an SSD would be a luxury, but we can't build a gaming PC of any budget without one in this day and age. We've chosen a 128GB drive which will be enough for Windows and one or two current-generation games. You can skip this if you really need to trim costs, since there will have to be a secondary hard drive anyway. If you're upgrading and have a hard drive already, take the opportunity to install your OS on a fresh SSD and you'll be blown away by the difference.

You'll need at minimum a 500W power supply unit from a reputed brand. If you're thinking of bumping up any of these specifications, go with 600W to be on the safe side. Antec, Corsair, Cooler Master and Seasonic are generally good bets. As far as the cabinet is concerned, personal taste is the deciding factor. We like the low price and understated design of the Antec VSK4000, but check your local markets to see what catches your eye.

We're sticking with 1080p as our resolution of choice, and we aren't looking for anything exotic. Dell's E2214H ticks all the right boxes and has a very reasonable price. You should always choose a keyboard and mouse that suits your personal style and grip. Basic sets from Microsoft and Logitech are available for Rs. 800 onwards, which you can take as a starting point. You'll also definitely want at least a DVD-RW drive - optical media might not be popular anymore, but buying GTA V on DVD will save you a massive download.

Depending on the climate where you live and the environment your PC will be placed in, you might want to consider one or two additional cooling fans. Our chosen cabinet has space for 140mm fans which are quieter than smaller 120mm and 80mm ones. If you find the cooling fan bundled with the processor too noisy, you could replace that with an aftermarket option from Cooler Master, Thermaltake or Antec. You might also want to invest in a UPS if power fluctuations are a frequent problem. Finally, don't forget to factor in the cost of a genuine copy of Windows unless you have a transferable license.

The total outlay will vary depending on whether you are building an entirely new PC or whether you are upgrading, and therefore wish to carry over older parts. A new CPU can benefit from a new motherboard and RAM will carry over as long as it's DDR3, but you might still want new modules to make sure you have a matching dual-channel kit. Hard drives and optical drives can simply be swapped out from an old PC to a new one. Monitors can outlast the rest of a PC by many years so you don't need a new one unless you're upgrading to a bigger size. If your budget is tight and you're buying only a new graphics card, make sure your existing power supply can handle the extra load.

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