GTA 5 final acquired a serious graphics and gameplay improve for consoles, oooh, 1,000,000 years in the past—or a minimum of it feels prefer it at this level. Nevertheless, the PC model of GTA 5 Enhanced lastly launched on March 4, and I have been busy efficiency testing it with two graphics playing cards you may really personal from the just-departed era, the RTX 4070 and RX 7800 XT.
Two performant, mid-range playing cards, confronted with the duty of working a close to 12-year-old sport with a bunch of recent graphical upgrades sprinkled on high—together with ray traced shadows and reflections, upgraded ambient occlusion and world illumination, and the addition of some DLSS 3 and FSR 3 upscaling assist to maintain these body charges easy.
For current GTA 5 house owners, the Enhanced version replace comes as a separate itemizing in your Steam library, Epic Video games account, or goodness forbid, the Rockstar Video games Launcher.
It is a 92 GB set up, and gamers are actually greeted with an entire host of latest graphics presets within the settings menu: Most RT, Very Excessive RT and Excessive RT.
To maintain issues easy, I’ve elected to check the shiny and enhanced, err, Enhanced version at 1440p on every of those settings utilizing the in-game benchmarking software, along with some actual world testing (learn: driving round with my head out of the window inflicting carnage wherever I’m going).
It is a troublesome job, however somebody’s received to do it. Anyway, cruising across the streets of Los Santos, banging into site visitors and infrequently inflicting the odd pedestrian incident reveals each some fascinating efficiency quirks and a few moderately fairly scenes, so let’s get began.
Check PC specs Picture high quality Earlier than I get into the figures, let’s check out a fast picture high quality comparability. It is fairly apparent from the get go how a lot of a dramatic change has been made to GTA 5 with the addition of some fancy ray traced lighting, from a lot deeper, extra lifelike shadows to reflections bouncing off of vehicles as they careen previous one another on the freeway.
Nevertheless, whereas the lighting is far upgraded, one factor that hasn’t modified is GTA 5’s propensity to damage a photograph shoot. I tried to dam off a road to be able to create a repeatable surroundings for some comparability pictures and, properly, this occurred:
Picture 1 of 4
(Picture credit score: Rockstar)
(Picture credit score: Rockstar)
(Picture credit score: Rockstar)
(Picture credit score: Rockstar)
Nonetheless, I could not have captured extra automobile reflections if I attempted, so let’s roll with it. Most RT provides essentially the most dramatic end result right here—with deep shadows, super-shiny reflections, and a typically much-enhanced look. Take note of the trunk lid of the automobile instantly in entrance of Franklin, and you will see marked variations between ray traced reflections relying on the settings.
Nevertheless, what is not really easy to point out in screenshots is ray tracing-induced noise. Most RT introduces a good quantity of it, significantly in movement, which might result in the perimeters of shiny automobile roofs wanting speckled as you drive at pace. You’ll be able to see somewhat little bit of it on the roof of the gray automobile behind Franklin within the Most RT display, which seems barely smoother at Very Excessive RT.
In actual fact, I might say Very Excessive RT is nicer-looking typically, producing a way more pleasing impact in movement. Extra on that later.
(Picture credit score: Rockstar)
What’s additionally price noting is the Very Excessive, non-ray traced setting nonetheless appears to be like fairly darn good. Whereas reflections inevitably change into flat and lifeless, in case your specific machine slows to a crawl with ray tracing enabled, I nonetheless suppose you are going to be happy with the picture high quality general.
Each the non-ray traced Very Excessive setting and RT Excessive drop down the worldwide illumination high quality, nevertheless, as evidenced by the church within the background within the comparability above.
That being mentioned, in the event you can allow ray tracing at any setting with out tanking efficiency, then I might advise it. You will seemingly be spending a lot of your time in Los Santos rushing across the streets in a shiny automobile, and ray tracing actually does add one thing to the expertise—to not point out these deep shadows casting ambient streaks throughout the roads because the faux-Californian solar units.
Benchmarks To the numbers, Batman. Each the RTX 4070 and the RX 7800 XT are greatest suited to 1440p, so that is the decision I’ve caught with—and Cross 4 of the benchmarking software is essentially the most reflective of precise gameplay, beginning you off in a fighter jet cruising over Los Santos earlier than seamlessly zooming in to a automobile chase, ending with a spectacular crash right into a gasoline tanker in the midst of a busy road.
I’ve elected to not add the minimal body charges into the graphs right here, as each playing cards reported a 10-12 fps minimal at each setting. This seems to be a quirk of the benchmark, as there was no noticeable stuttering in each the scene itself and in precise gameplay.
Properly, darn. The RX 7800 XT is often a great match for the RTX 4070, and sometimes beats it by a substantial efficiency margin in lots of video games at 1440p. Its ray tracing efficiency is hobbled compared to the Nvidia card, nevertheless, and that is introduced into sharp reduction right here. That being mentioned, it is price noting that even with ray tracing disabled, the RTX 4070 maintains an 11 fps lead over its AMD competitors.
One factor turns into very clear in each the native and upscaled outcomes—Most RT is sort of the efficiency hog
If I used to be to hazard a guess, I might say both the sport or Nvidia’s drivers have been keenly optimised right here, because the AMD card lags behind significantly. I ran the RX 7800 XT’s numbers a number of occasions with contemporary driver installs in an try to troubleshoot points, however nope, it is merely not a patch on the RTX 4070 on this specific sport.
Nonetheless, each playing cards handle to remain approach above the magic 60 fps marker at high settings in essentially the most demanding benchmark go with out upscaling assist.
Translating this to actual world testing, nevertheless, yields completely different outcomes. I seen the AMD card skilled the odd drop into the mid 50 fps vary at Most RT native in sure scenes, whereas the RTX 4070 stoutly refused to go beneath 60. Chalk up one other ray tracing win for Nvidia, I suppose.
Enabling FSR 3 at High quality for the AMD card ends in a 20 fps bounce at Most RT, with pretty vital good points all through the remainder of the settings, too. DLSS 3.7 additionally offers a comparable increase for the RTX 4070, and each upscalers ship minimal high quality losses mixed with an honest bounce in frames.
One factor turns into very clear in each the native and upscaled outcomes, nevertheless—Most RT is sort of the efficiency hog. Whereas each playing cards are able to easy body charges with GTA 5 Enhanced set to the very tippity-top, when mixed with the additional noise launched by the max setting and the minimal visible high quality variations between Most RT and Very Excessive RT, I do know the place I will be preserving my settings for the remainder of my playthough.
(Picture credit score: Future)
I additionally tried to check the sport on the Asus ROG Ally X, nevertheless it flat out refused to supply a benchmark choice for something utilizing an iGPU. Nevertheless, some real-world testing revealed crunchy, sub 30-fps efficiency with any type of ray tracing enabled.
Set it to Very Excessive with ray tracing off, nevertheless, and it ranges between 40 to 70 fps with ease. Principally, neglect ray tracing on the go, as the sport nonetheless appears to be like sensible at 1080p Very Excessive settings with every little thing working easily.
Greatest settings In my view, the Most RT preset merely is not price it on both of the playing cards I’ve examined right here. Whereas the RTX 4070 can preserve round 100-110 fps on common at this setting with upscaling on or off, the 35 fps buffer it good points from dropping right down to Very Excessive RT means you by no means have to observe the body fee as you benefit from the sport. And for the RX 7800 XT? It means these sub 60 fps drops utterly disappear.
Greater than that, each of those mid-range, now-last-generation playing cards are very able to delivering an outstanding expertise with the offered presets, a lot in order that I do not suppose there’s a lot worth in spending an excessive amount of time within the settings menu. I performed round with the shadows, textures and extra to see if I may discover an apparent candidate for performance-sapping choices, however the good points produced from fiddling round with particular person settings are marginal at greatest.
(Picture credit score: Rockstar)
It is also price noting that GTA 5’s gameworld is remarkably assorted, and it is merely not doable to check out each single space to seek out sub-optimal efficiency. Franklin’s again yard, for instance, resulted in vital drops in body fee seemingly attributable to a dense construct up of fencing and vegetation.
In consequence, I might hazard a guess there are different elements of this huge world that can trigger comparable dips, though comparable areas I examined did not seem to endure fairly so badly.
Nonetheless, sticking to Very Excessive RT on each playing cards ensures that any body fee drops have a major buffer zone to play with, resulting in not only a easy expertise, however barely smoother picture high quality in comparison with Most, too.
It is pleasing to see that GTA 5 Enhanced can ship ray traced lighting at excessive body charges on now last-generation {hardware}, so these of us with mid-range machines can neglect fiddling round with the settings and get on with the enterprise of inflicting some beautifully-lit havoc.
In any case, that is what GTA 5 has all the time been greatest at—and the Enhanced version has served as a private reminder at simply what a improbable sport it’s, even all these years later. So, For those who want me this weekend, you will discover me in Los Santos—watching reflections and inflicting site visitors accidents wherever I’m going. I might keep house, if I used to be you.
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