GTA4 on a Laptop

[miocene]

I have a copy of GTA4 that I bought ages ago and ran it on my slightly dated desktop with this hardware:

Intel Core2 Duo 6400 (2.13GHz)
Nvidia 7900GS 256Mb
2GB DDR2 RAM

The performance was pretty poor but just about playable.

I have recently bought a new laptop with these specs:

Intel Core i3 M350 (2.27GHz)
Nvidia 310m Graphics (512MB)
2GB DDR3 RAM (Easily upgradable to 4GB)

How will this game run on my new laptop? Will it be significantly better than my old desktop? Probably worth a RAM upgrade if I do I reckon but I don't want to install it if it's gonna run like crap.

 

[venjhammet]

There is a possibility it will run like crap but with increase ram plus an update patch it might run decently. I have an old pc with core2duo 2.4ghz 6gb ram and a 9600GSO playable at 34fps average. But not that great.

 

[55Range]

Definitely need a ram upgrade, as for your cpu/gpu they will not be playing on high settings, but playable ..

 

[jerreece]

A RAM upgrade would be a great idea, considering you likely have Windows 7 on a laptop using a Core i3.

The nVidia 310m Graphics isn't horrible, but 512MB of VRAM is going to limit you a LOT with GTA4. That game is notorious for wanting larges amounts of graphics RAM. Ultimately, with 512MB of ram you'll be forced to leave graphic settings at low (which is where your video card would run them anyhow).

Also, I do believe GTA4 likes fast, multicore processors as well. You have a relatively slow dual-core.

 

[Ijack]

If you've got the laptop and you've got the game then there's an easy way to find out....

 

[jerreece]

Honestly, a better video card in your desktop would do you half way decent! Your biggest problem on the desktop is the fact that your GPU is only 256MB of RAM, which is beyond outdated.

Granted the CPU in your laptop is faster than your desktop.

However, you could put a better GPU, more RAM, and a faster CPU in your desktop fairly easily.

 

[geniusender]

hello miocene,
Desktop:
GTA 4 is really a bad coded game so it requires a damn high-end PC for its smooth gameplay.
Buddy in your desktop Computer.
GPU is the main problem.Its very old and is really poor in terms of gaming.
If u will upgrade with a good GPU then there will a prominent performance boost in GTA 4.
Also along with GPU u should update to latest patch i.e: 1.0.7.Then there will be no problem if u paly it on Low or Medium Settings.
............................................
Laptop:
On Laptop u are going to have nearly similar performance as with your desktop.
But it will be better than that of Desktop.
Best Of Luck.

 

[miocene]

I actually have upgraded my GPU on my desktop since but haven't tested it yet as I'm often away from home. My new card is an ATi HD 5670 1GB GDDR5 that I got a few months ago.
I think it's a good card but I still think my desktop's cpu is the main limiting factor. I have MW2 installed on it and it runs on medium settings but loading times are bad and the game is often quite choppy for the first few minutes.

 

[miocene]

I basically want to be able to game a bit away from home

 

[55Range]

still 5670 isnt a high performing card, also, mw 2 cannot be compared to gta 4 in terms of requirements..

 

[55Range]

On the laptop, you will be able to play, a i said before- No worries, you will only have to decrease a bit the settings.

 

[geniusender]

Buddy your new graphic card is far more better than the old one but it is still a mid-range card in terms of gaming.
Although now u will be able to play all the games but not on full settings.
U will be able to play on low or medium settings.
You have good CPU but not very much good.
Conclusion:
U will be able to play all the games with this new graphic card but on low or medium settings.
Best Of Luck.

 

[waspzz]

I was able to play GTA IV in my laptop Samsung r439
We have an identical specs:
i3 350M 2.26ghz
2G RAM ddr3
ATI Mobility 5145

On low settings, the game runs ok..Playable but not as smooth as in my desktop..I still enjoyed playing it if im not at home..

 

[asheesh1_2000]

Don't mind saying me that but first of all you have a i3 laptop on top of that you want to play a game like GTA IV.

Well, probably an i3 with 3 GB RAM and .5 GB VRAM (considering DDR5), it will surely run at every graphic setting at low but then it is just like breathing but not living as you can probably upgrade everything but processor as GTA IV is the most resource intensive game presently in the world and needs minimum a full dedicated QUAD to be actually called as PLAYING.

My personal opinion is that leave GTA IV and look for other games which will run quite OK on your laptop.