Hello,

I have had GTA 4 for a while now and it has always ran with low FPS and it hasn't bothered me that much.... until now because I cant record gameplay without my FPS count dropping drasticly. I figured I need to increase the rescouces that the game uses on the settings menu, but I cant find a way to do that. Then I tried to find a way to increase my dedicated graphics memory, still no luck. I dont know what I should do? I know it should have nothing to do with my graphics card because it has a lot of memory and its not my RAM either because I have a lot of it. Here are my current specs. You will have to view the attached image since I have no idea how to insert an image from my computer. Hope someone can help me. Thanks.

Have you tried making the commandline.txt settings method to try to allow the game to use more resources? If not, try it out. The commandline options are good even for me when I'm running it on a high-end PC, as it actually optimizes the game better than just using the graphics settings in the game's menu. Make a new text file called "commandline.txt" in your game's root directory and copy/paste the following lines in it exactly as shown:

-novblank

-norestrictions

-frameLimit: 0

-availablevidmem: 2.0

-percentvidmem: 100

-fullspecaudio

-noprecache

-nomemrestrict

Hope this helps!

Edited May 20, 201213 yr by Raggio

Have you tried making the commandline.txt settings method to try to allow the game to use more resources? If not, try it out. The commandline options are good even for me when I'm running it on a high-end PC, as it actually optimizes the game better than just using the graphics settings in the game's menu. Make a new text file called "commandline.txt" in your game's root directory and copy/paste the following lines in it exactly as shown:

-novblank

-norestrictions

-frameLimit: 0

-availablevidmem: 2.0

-percentvidmem: 100

-fullspecaudio

-noprecache

-nomemrestrict

Hope this helps!

I have partialy tried that. Except i used windowed, nomemrestrict, and I cant remember what else I used, but I still got low fps, even in windowed, but I'll try the things you said and post what happened.

the only other thing to do is try upgrading your graphics card

@ Raggio: I tried what you said, but it didn't help at all. My FPS count was still the same.

@ Asuna: That's the thing, I prefer not to because I really shouldn't have to. I have 4GB of RAM and 2036MB of graphics memory. That should be enough to run the game smoothly, but why I cannot run it smoothly, I have absolutly no clue.

its more the type of memory it's using... I had a DDR2 with card while the computer ran DDR3, just saying in my experience, that swapping out my outdated card for a ddr3 card, and GTA runs nicely for me. not saying you got to..but keep it an option

@ Raggio: I tried what you said, but it didn't help at all. My FPS count was still the same.

@ Asuna: That's the thing, I prefer not to because I really shouldn't have to. I have 4GB of RAM and 2036MB of graphics memory. That should be enough to run the game smoothly, but why I cannot run it smoothly, I have absolutly no clue.

No, the game does not take advantage of the total system graphics memory available. I have 16GB DDR3 with 1.5GB GDDR5 on the GPU, not to mention 16GB of page files (Windows virtual memory), totaling up to about 33GB of total system memory for programs to use. However, GTA IV is a very poorly ported game, and it only uses the total available dedicated graphics memory, which in my case is 1.5GB and in your case is 512MB. So I would say that your graphics card is the limiting factor here, with not enough memory to load the textures. Since you say you are running in windowed mode, I assume that you are also running with the lowest settings? Also, try to add this one more line to the commandline.txt file to see if it helps:

-safemode

Not sure if it'll work for you, but most likely you'll need to upgrade your graphics card if you want to run GTA IV with mods smoothly.

Edited May 20, 201213 yr by Raggio

No, the game does not take advantage of the total system graphics memory available. I have 16GB DDR3 with 1.5GB GDDR5 on the GPU, not to mention 16GB of page files (Windows virtual memory), totaling up to about 33GB of total system memory for programs to use. However, GTA IV is a very poorly ported game, and it only uses the total available dedicated graphics memory, which in my case is 1.5GB and in your case is 512MB. So I would say that your graphics card is the limiting factor here, with not enough memory to load the textures. Since you say you are running in windowed mode, I assume that you are also running with the lowest settings? Also, try to add this one more line to the commandline.txt file to see if it helps:

-safemode

Not sure if it'll work for you, but most likely you'll need to upgrade your graphics card if you want to run GTA IV with mods smoothly.

Ok. I heard that there are ways that you can increase your dedicated graphics memory without getting a new card. I saw a picture somewhere, it was in a forum where someone managed to set up their computer so almost all of their PC's total graphics memory was dedicated graphics memory. Is it possible and how can I do it with my computer?

Ok. I heard that there are ways that you can increase your dedicated graphics memory without getting a new card. I saw a picture somewhere, it was in a forum where someone managed to set up their computer so almost all of their PC's total graphics memory was dedicated graphics memory. Is it possible and how can I do it with my computer?

As far as I know, there is no way to change your dedicated graphics memory without upgrading your graphics card. This term basically means "the amount of memory on your GPU," so you'll have to physically change your hardware to change that amount. There is nothing you can do in Windows and in the BIOS to change this either, as it is a property of the hardware, not any software. As you can plainly see in your own screenshot, your total graphics memory is bigger than your dedicated graphics memory, which means that the GPU is already borrowing memory from the system RAM. Even if you can add more memory to the dedicated graphics memory via software (which I still don't think exists), that still will do you no good. Why? Because, as I've said before, GTA IV only uses memory that's physically on your GPU—so adding more memory through software from your RAM, page files, etc. will end up futile. This may not be the case with other games, and maybe for those, somehow adding more dedicated graphics via software works (and I'm not even sure if such a method exists), but this is not the case with GTA IV.

You or someone else are welcome to correct me if I'm wrong. I've never seen anyone add more dedicated graphics memory via software, only via changing his/her GPU. If you can show me that screenshot and the method that you are talking about, then that'll be something sweet to see. But I just did a quick Google search for what you are describing, and I got negative results...

Edited May 21, 201213 yr by Raggio

As far as I know, there is no way to change your dedicated graphics memory without upgrading your graphics card. This term basically means "the amount of memory on your GPU," so you'll have to physically change your hardware to change that amount. There is nothing you can do in Windows and in the BIOS to change this either, as it is a property of the hardware, not any software. As you can plainly see in your own screenshot, your total graphics memory is bigger than your dedicated graphics memory, which means that the GPU is already borrowing memory from the system RAM. Even if you can add more memory to the dedicated graphics memory via software (which I still don't think exists), that still will do you no good. Why? Because, as I've said before, GTA IV only uses memory that's physically on your GPU—so adding more memory through software from your RAM, page files, etc. will end up futile. This may not be the case with other games, and maybe for those, somehow adding more dedicated graphics via software works (and I'm not even sure if such a method exists), but this is not the case with GTA IV.

You or someone else are welcome to correct me if I'm wrong. I've never seen anyone add more dedicated graphics memory via software, only via changing his/her GPU. If you can show me that screenshot and the method that you are talking about, then that'll be something sweet to see. But I just did a quick Google search for what you are describing, and I got negative results...

Ok. I decided I'll give in and get a new graphics card. But I want to know if there are any decent, cheap ones that I can get that have a lot of memory. And it has to be small because my computer is a laptop and it is only so big so I would like it if the graphics card is similar in size to my current one. Look back at my first post for my PC's specs.

Whilst recording, set the location to another drive as it usually only means that you lose a small FPS count.

Ok. I decided I'll give in and get a new graphics card. But I want to know if there are any decent, cheap ones that I can get that have a lot of memory. And it has to be small because my computer is a laptop and it is only so big so I would like it if the graphics card is similar in size to my current one. Look back at my first post for my PC's specs.

I'm terribly sorry, but I don't recommend any kind of gaming on a laptop. You can easily upgrade, troubleshoot, etc. desktops, but the opposite is true for laptops. Furthermore, the upgrades you can make to a laptop are extremely limited—not to mention much more expensive—when compared to upgrading desktops. Hence, if you want to run GTA IV relatively well with loads of mods and things like that (or any other graphics intensive game, for that matter), I'd seriously consider getting a desktop instead. Therefore, I can unfortunately only recommend desktop parts, not laptop parts, as I solely build, OC, and troubleshoot desktops.

However, other members here are more than welcome to help you out and give you insight on upgrading your laptop. I have zero experience dealing with laptops, and try to avoid them whenever possible for heavy duty computing and gaming.

Edited May 21, 201213 yr by Raggio

laptop!? well there's your problem....you are probably heating up intensely and affecting your GPU

I'm terribly sorry, but I don't recommend any kind of gaming on a laptop. You can easily upgrade, troubleshoot, etc. desktops, but the opposite is true for laptops. Furthermore, the upgrades you can make to a laptop are extremely limited—not to mention much more expensive—when compared to upgrading desktops. Hence, if you want to run GTA IV relatively well with loads of mods and things like that (or any other graphics intensive game, for that matter), I'd seriously consider getting a desktop instead. Therefore, I can unfortunately only recommend desktop parts, not laptop parts, as I solely build, OC, and troubleshoot desktops.

However, other members here are more than welcome to help you out and give you insight on upgrading your laptop. I have zero experience dealing with laptops, and try to avoid them whenever possible for heavy duty computing and gaming.

If I could, I would have gotten a better laptop more suited for gaming but my laptop was a birthday gift from my parents and I had no choice in the matter. And I do not have the money, and the space for a desktop. I would at least like some good sugestions for some things I can do to increase my FPS.

laptop!? well there's your problem....you are probably heating up intensely and affecting your GPU

No. There is nothing wrong with my GPU heating up a lot. My laptop stays fairly cool. It does get a little bit warm but heat isn't an issue because my fan is running all the time. I might see about investing in something to keep it cooler, since you said something about it. It could probably help. Thanks for that. +1 for you!

Whilst recording, set the location to another drive as it usually only means that you lose a small FPS count.

That, is not possible since I only have one hard drive and I'm sure a USB Mini Drive probably won't work.

Edited May 22, 201213 yr by bucky16

I would at least like some good sugestions for some things I can do to increase my FPS.

Well, like I've said and like you've tried, lowering your graphics settings is all you basically can do to increase your FPS, next to not running any mods on GTA IV. I don't know why the commandline.txt file didn't do anything for you, as it helped me. Before using it, I got around 60 FPS all the time, but now with it, I got GTA IV to use more of my GPU's dedicated graphics memory and can play around 80 FPS all the time. That's why I suggested it in the first place, because you can set for GTA IV to use more of your available VRAM than it actually uses, and I've checked this to be true using my EVGA Precision GPU monitoring tool.

General suggestions would include not running any other programs in the background, making sure that your graphics card settings are all set to performance rather than to quality, and turning off power saving features that might be preventing your computer from utilizing certain features. I know not too many people do this when they get their computer...I had to help most of my friends optimize their laptops and desktops for gaming simply because they left all the CPU, GPU, and Windows settings that relate to performance at the default factory/stock settings, which are usually set to power saving and low performance.

And I do not have the money, and the space for a desktop.

Other than that, unfortunately, there's not much you can do if you cannot get a desktop. I don't think buying a cooler will help with anything, since that only keeps temps down, which you say are already pretty low. The cooler isn't going to boost your performance or anything—only new hardware will do that. You can try looking at NVIDIA's mobile GPUs I guess, since I've always used NVIDIA's GPUs (especially ones made by EVGA) and had no problems with them, in contrast to ATI, which always gave me trouble with terrible software and drivers, not to mention terrible support.

Edited May 22, 201213 yr by Raggio

Well, like I've said and like you've tried, lowering your graphics settings is all you basically can do to increase your FPS, next to not running any mods on GTA IV. I don't know why the commandline.txt file didn't do anything for you, as it helped me. Before using it, I got around 60 FPS all the time, but now with it, I got GTA IV to use more of my GPU's dedicated graphics memory and can play around 80 FPS all the time. That's why I suggested it in the first place, because you can set for GTA IV to use more of your available VRAM than it actually uses, and I've checked this to be true using my EVGA Precision GPU monitoring tool.

General suggestions would include not running any other programs in the background, making sure that your graphics card settings are all set to performance rather than to quality, and turning off power saving features that might be preventing your computer from utilizing certain features. I know not too many people do this when they get their computer...I had to help most of my friends optimize their laptops and desktops for gaming simply because they left all the CPU, GPU, and Windows settings that relate to performance at the default factory/stock settings, which are usually set to power saving and low performance.

Other than that, unfortunately, there's not much you can do if you cannot get a desktop. I don't think buying a cooler will help with anything, since that only keeps temps down, which you say are already pretty low. The cooler isn't going to boost your performance or anything—only new hardware will do that. You can try looking at NVIDIA's mobile GPUs I guess, since I've always used NVIDIA's GPUs (especially ones made by EVGA) and had no problems with them, in contrast to ATI, which always gave me trouble with terrible software and drivers, not to mention terrible support.

Ok. I got to thinking that it acually does get a little too warm sometimes. And I guess I'll try the commandline.txt file again because i really didnt check thourally the first time i did that. Also, how do i get the game to use more VRAM again? I'll try these things tomarrow and I'll post what happens.

laptop!? well there's your problem....you are probably heating up intensely and affecting your GPU

I'm surprised someone didn't catch this sooner in the thread. Let me explain a couple of things to bucky16 and the rest of you:

The HP G series laptops are meant to be priced for general purpose computing. HP has three major series of laptops they sell to consumers; The Pavilion, the G series and Compaqs. Compaqs are the low end, designed for price and price alone. The G series laptops are an improvement, featuring better construction quality and sometimes better specs but let me make something clear to everyone in this thread real quick:

What he has is NOT dedicated graphics. He has a relatively new AMD "Fusion" processor, known as an APU, hence the name "A4". It is a dual core CPU at a very low clock frequency (should be somewhere around 1.6-2.0ghz at best) and has a partial GPU on the CPU die itself. It has a GPU clock but no actual dedicated memory (despite the way Windows reads it). It is still technically shared graphics. The 2GB you see is stolen from his 4GB of system RAM, utilizing "virtual memory". Virtual graphics memory is set to a percentage value based on what you have, and it has its limits. 2GB of GPU memory is overkill for anything at 1080p and under. You'd need huge ass textures to really take advantage of that kind of memory with today's games. Put simply, what he has is better than Intel integrated graphics, but still not a video card. Furthermore, he may actually be having a worse experience in games than some Intel integrated PCs. Because although he has a partial GPU on his processor, it's at a low clock frequency which will handicap it in some games, and even prevent him from playing others that require a better CPU. Also 4GB of RAM is spacious for most, but for a gaming PC it's a tight fit. GTA IV requires a lot of RAM, as does Windows 7 itself. So if you add in 2GB of memory being tied down for graphics, that is another source of additional slow down added to your gaming experience.

Here's an educational piece on your graphics solution:

http://www.notebookc.....<br /><br />To give you an example of how it handles games, here are a few excerpts:

Alan Wake:

Low: 12.2fps

High: 8fps

Skyrim:

Low: 21.8

Medium: 12.2fps

High: 8.9fps

Deus Ex: Human Revolution:

Low: 26fps

High: 16fps

Starcraft 2:

Low: 83

Medium: 20

High: 12

There isn't a single game playable among them except Starcraft at low settings, and that's because Blizzard games have game engines that scale for everyones PC's, crappy or not, they want people playing their games. This is a big reason why so many people have WoW. They can play it.

Anyway, disappointing as it may be, I hope that helped educate you. For you, recording is going to be a no-no until you get yourself a better computer.

Edited May 22, 201213 yr by unr3al

Ok. I got to thinking that it acually does get a little too warm sometimes.

If the GPU is warm, that's normal, since it's supposed to be quite warmer than the rest of the components. Mine is about 20°C warmer than the rest of my computer. Just make sure that nothing in your laptop is going over 75°C; that's the warning temperature in my book, and your parts may start to have permanent damage.

And I guess I'll try the commandline.txt file again because i really didnt check thourally the first time i did that. Also, how do i get the game to use more VRAM again? I'll try these things tomarrow and I'll post what happens.

Here's the thing. I already told you how to do this, and this is done in the commandline.txt method. I've marked in red the two settings that deal directly with the VRAM settings for GTA IV. If you set "-availablevidmem" to 2.0, that basically allows the game to use twice the amount of total RAM that it detects (i.e. the number that's displayed in the graphics menu). I've set it to that, and also made sure that the total graphics memory it is using with all the settings is below my available dedicated graphics memory, which is 1536MB (so in the game, my settings use up 1200-1300MB). I've found that if I go over 1300MB, my textures start disappearing, so I just left it below that—again, letting you know how unoptimized this game is, as it can't even use all of my dedicated graphics memory. (Or possibly other applications may also be using the VRAM as well, which is highly probable.)

-novblank

-norestrictions

-frameLimit: 0

-availablevidmem: 2.0

-percentvidmem: 100

-fullspecaudio

-noprecache

-nomemrestrict

Since you did not "thoroughly" go through with my instructions, I presume then that you still haven't tried adding "-safemode" to the commandline.txt file either? If not, try it, as some people have reported back that it helped them by forcing the game to use the lowest settings possible. If this still doesn't work, then upgrading your hardware is the only option you have if you want to get better performance.

I'm surprised someone didn't catch this sooner in the thread.

I knew that from looking at his specs, that this computer wasn't made to run games, and so did the OP. He mentioned that it was a gift, and so he's trying to make do with what he has. Without upgrading, I don't see his laptop being able to run mods and have smooth FPS. That's why I suggested to get a desktop instead, but he said he's tight on money right now. I am aware that some of the newer laptops have this advanced sharing of total memory system between the CPU, GPU, etc., which as you said, means that there isn't really any true "dedicated" memory, and the lower frequency of the CPU was already bad news. But as I said, I'm a desktop guy, not a laptop guy, so I don't really have much advice for laptop users.

Edited May 22, 201213 yr by Raggio

If the GPU is warm, that's normal, since it's supposed to be quite warmer than the rest of the components. Mine is about 20°C warmer than the rest of my computer. Just make sure that nothing in your laptop is going over 75°C; that's the warning temperature in my book, and your parts may start to have permanent damage.

Here's the thing. I already told you how to do this, and this is done in the commandline.txt method. I've marked in red the two settings that deal directly with the VRAM settings for GTA IV. If you set "-availablevidmem" to 2.0, that basically allows the game to use twice the amount of total RAM that it detects (i.e. the number that's displayed in the graphics menu). I've set it to that, and also made sure that the total graphics memory it is using with all the settings is below my available dedicated graphics memory, which is 1536MB (so in the game, my settings use up 1200-1300MB). I've found that if I go over 1300MB, my textures start disappearing, so I just left it below that—again, letting you know how unoptimized this game is, as it can't even use all of my dedicated graphics memory. (Or possibly other applications may also be using the VRAM as well, which is highly probable.)

Since you did not "thoroughly" go through with my instructions, I presume then that you still haven't tried adding "-safemode" to the commandline.txt file either? If not, try it, as some people have reported back that it helped them by forcing the game to use the lowest settings possible. If this still doesn't work, then upgrading your hardware is the only option you have if you want to get better performance.

I knew that from looking at his specs, that this computer wasn't made to run games, and so did the OP. He mentioned that it was a gift, and so he's trying to make do with what he has. Without upgrading, I don't see his laptop being able to run mods and have smooth FPS. That's why I suggested to get a desktop instead, but he said he's tight on money right now. I am aware that some of the newer laptops have this advanced sharing of total memory system between the CPU, GPU, etc., which as you said, means that there isn't really any true "dedicated" memory, and the lower frequency of the CPU was already bad news. But as I said, I'm a desktop guy, not a laptop guy, so I don't really have much advice for laptop users.

Ok. The good news is the FPS went up somewhat. :) but it is still low in certian places. Its ok for now. I guess I'll take it to Best Buy or some place like that and ask them about getting a new card. But thanks for yalls help anyway, even thought it is still a little slow, but it is slightly better. If you want, I can run a benchmark test and post the results of it on here.

You can't upgrade the graphics in a laptop. You're stuck with it until you get yourself a new one, brother.