How can i increase the fps and graphic quality of game gta 4 without modifying t

hello
my specs are
2gb ram
500gb hdd
nvidia geforce 8400gs 512mb
vista home basic sp1 32bit
core 2 duo pro. 2.8ghz

how can i increase the fps and graphic quality of game gta 4 without modifying the hardware to run it more smoother

From everything I have heard, that game has poor coding--and does not really run well on any machine. They should be making updates for it, which will help performance (just like Crysis Warhead runs better than the original Crysis).

It is not likely you will be able to increase graphic quality & FPS at the same time on a new game that is rather demanding of the system.

I would go to www.guru3d.com and be sure you are running the latest drivers you can for your video card.

Else, you can try lowering your in-game resolution and be sure to select lower filtering and turn of anti-aliasing (if it is on). You will probably get better fps and the cost of lesser graphics.

If you were to upgrade hardware, I would say get a newer video card (9500GT is around 50 bucks I believe.. http://www.newegg.com/Store/Catego [...] eo-Devices )

That link will take you to newegg's video card selection, you can find one in your budget--which will help video performance the most.

You may also want to consider doubling your memory..since you haven't been specific with what memory you are running all I can do is recommend you to the newegg memory selection http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCat [...] top-Memory

Hope some of this helps!

Remember, newest drivers for best performance (in most cases).

+1 for investing in a new GPU if you can afford it. The 8400gs just isn't up to snuff w/GTA 4. As dirtdiver said it just wasn't ported all that well and needs a rather 'beefy' system to run well. Try lowering the draw distance if you can? That might help too. Not sure I've got it for PS 3 and don't plan on dealing with the headache that appears to be the pc version.