Check the memory consumption of GTA V to understand its impact.
Check the memory consumption of GTA V to understand its impact.
Starting the game causes my GTX 760 to use a lot of VRAM, and adjusting settings doesn’t seem to help much. Initially I could run it on high settings with my GTX 750, but friends with newer cards use less than 2GB even on max. GTA seems to prefer newer graphics, which is why I’m constantly lowering my settings over time.
The VRAM capacity remains stable. Have you switched from a 7 or 8 to Windows 10? Are there any applications running alongside GTA V? Running a scan with Avast and Malwarebytes might reveal (though unlikely) that a virus is draining your GPU power.
At full capacity it consumes nearly 6GB of RAM with the card. Your friend likely doesn’t have max settings and only uses about 2GB of RAM.
The VRAM usage display in GTA V isn't always accurate. My reading shows around 2270MB, but during gameplay it's typically between 1800-1900MB. I'm using a 2GB EVGA GTX 950, and I'm not sure if I'm hitting the highest possible settings. At 1080p, I generally run smoothly except for advanced graphics options, though a 2GB card handles it without issues (see reply). Here are the settings listed for your reference. Spoiler alert: Ambient Occlusion, Anisotropic Filtering, Distance Scaling, Extended Shadows, FXAA, Grass Quality, Streaming, DoF effects, and more. I don’t know if GTA V prefers newer cards or not. Regarding adjustments, how often did your usage change? Were there any driver updates, game patches, or other modifications before this started?
The adjustments weren't something I paid much attention to, but I observed the frame rate dropping steadily even when lowering the settings. I suspect an outdated driver might be the cause, as updating it appeared to resolve the problem. It still consumes the same VRAM, but now the GPU is functioning more actively rather than idling at a low clock speed with half load. The variation remains noticeable, though the transition feels smoother now compared to before, reaching a stable 45FPS instead of the previous 25.
Well, it's good to hear the problem is mostly resolved (no need to worry about idle clock or load in your first message). Regarding VRAM, the main concerns are likely related to modding and certain game features. People often face problems when online lobbies spawn excessive content, which can spike performance or cause crashes. If you're playing single-player mods, try turning them off to see if it helps. Another point is that GTA V tries to use as much VRAM as possible, which might explain why you can run on higher settings with a 2GB card. However, your system is using more VRAM than available. For FPS drops, using the Self.fm radio station can be problematic—Rockstar hasn't fixed this issue yet. If you're using EVGA's PrecisionX 16, the in-game overlay often causes frame drops, especially around 10-20 FPS. You might want to disable it or play music through a separate player. If you're stuck, check the game settings and disable options like MSAA or other performance tweaks. Generally, improving shader quality can help, but starting with shadows is better since they're less noticeable than blocky textures.