[psx2p]

this comes from the ultimate guide that's stuck to the forums, i noticed that if you double you multiplier the game will use ll the on board ram on your GPU as well as system ram,

don't use this if your already maxing out your system ram and your Vram.
(i have 4 gigs system RAM and 512mb VRAM gta does not use all my system ram, so i use the left over system ram for Vram)

the code for the command is: -availablevidmem (multiplier)

if you were to put: -availablevidmem 2.0
that would double you VRAM

for example lets say i have a 512mb card, i want to make gta think i have 1024Mb i would use the code: -availablevidmem 2.0

the multiplier 2.0 will double the ram, 3.0 will triple it and so on and so forth.

doing this also thrashes your HD's like crazy, as you have taken away system ram so it doubles up on caching

my friend has done this and he is able to play high textures at 1440 x 900

this beats using the no restrictions command because this actually allows more VRAM,


ONE last quick tip: i found that setting the GTA4 process in task manager to high priority seems to make the game run a bit smoother, not any FPS gain but more constant.
O and also overclocking. that makes a difference, my CPU is OC'd to 3.4Ghz and i gain average of 5-7FPS
i figure any advice is helpfull.

HERE ar my PC SPECS:

SYSTEM SPECS
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+ @ 3.1Ghz / OverClocked to 3.4Ghz
Motherboard: Foxconn M6 OC eddition
RAM: 4 gigs transcend @ 800mhz
GPU: ASUS HD 3650, 512MB
OC'd GPU speeds: Core @ 830Mhz, MEM @ 920Mhz (max 950) effective.
OS: vista ultimate 64 bit


EDIT:heres the Poll to this thread


http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=386954

THANKS: i would like to thank thales100 for all the support being provided to other users, im not on alot to answer questions, so thank you.

This post has been edited by psx2p on Thursday, Dec 25 2008, 03:23

[Stigern]

Is it possible to let it use RAM for VRAM?

[psx2p]

QUOTE (Stigern @ Dec 21 2008, 22:45)

Is it possible to let it use RAM for VRAM?

it is indeed, i can tell you for a fact that it works on vista.
XP or windows 7 pre beta (for all the pirates and developers) im not sure.
perhaps someone with either of those can try it and post.

[Cildaten]

Nice f**king post.
As my fps doesnt bother me much, I tried what you mentioned anyways and I gained an extra 7FPS adding the command line availablevidmem 2.0 and setting priority to high.
Props to you.

[robbiekhan]

Hi there,

I tried this and whilst it does indeed work it still will cause crashes randomly in the manner of:



My GFX card has 896MB of RAM and using the flag noted in the OP GTA4 saw my system ram as 1745MB and with View DIstance set to 50 was using 1137MB of that. I drove around for a minute before getting the above error!

Think I'll stick to dropped view distance until the bugs are fixed properly in the next patch

I have 8GB RAM btw.

[ThatsCool]

Its working on Xp SP3 32 Bit too!
Thank you very much now i have 2-3 more fps!!

[Vicetopia]

If enabling this makes your hard drive start reading like crazy, then it's not actually using your memory is it?!


Unless you're running out of mem, which happens anyway with or without this tweak.

[psx2p]

QUOTE (robbiekhan @ Dec 21 2008, 23:06)

Hi there, I tried this and whilst it does indeed work it still will cause crashes randomly in the manner of: My GFX card has 896MB of RAM and using the flag noted in the OP GTA4 saw my system ram as 1745MB and with View DIstance set to 50 was using 1137MB of that. I drove around for a minute before getting the above error! Think I'll stick to dropped view distance until the bugs are fixed properly in the next patch I have 8GB RAM btw.

hmm i haven't seen that error, if i do ill try and work with it and see what i can do,

in my Processes GTA4 runs in 32 bit mode for some reason, i was wondering if your does to,

the process says: GTAIV.exe *32

wondering if this is just me.

[Psycold]

this is nothing new, I am one of a few people who have been messing with this setting above 1 rather than below, for a week or so, I have mine set at 1.45

[thales100]

Definetely works, thanks a lot. Now im able to maxed all settings at 1680 x 1050, using a GTX 280 and a 1.5 multiplier.

[Vicetopia]

1680x1050 is a 16:10 AR.
Don't leave it on Auto.

[camdean]

I tried this but I still get the RESC10 crashes and 'out of video memory' crashes.

[SFkilla]

This is a very simple and very good tweak for users who have minimum 4GB of memory and a GPU with 512M
My system is:
AMD X2 +6000
4GB DDR800
ATI HD2900XT 512
WIN VISTA 64bit
I play on 1400x1050

I applied the commandline -availablevidmem 2.0, which gave me 1002MB available in the graphic settings of the game.
I then changed my settings from MEDIUM / HIGH ---> HIGH / HIGH
I left all my other settings the same.

Results:
The game looks incredible graphically (really a difference compared to medium, you need to try to see it)
I gained a smoother framerate with around 5fps increase overall. i still can't believe it.

So finally thank you very much for this simple tweak.
I think rockstar should give this option for those who have minimum 4GB of ram onboard.

[robbiekhan]

Yeah it runs in 32bit mode because it's a 32bit executable The only game I know of that is 64bit is FarCry 64bit edition!

The out of vid mem error is strange since i have 8GB RAM with over 4GB free as you can see in the screenshot, only 4GB is being used! so I think the shortcut flag is an experimental feature not properly implementing using system ram.

My HDD usage didn't go up at all either.

[thales100]

QUOTE (SFkilla @ Dec 21 2008, 23:44)

Results: The game looks incredible graphically (really a difference compared to medium, you need to try to see it) I gained a smoother framerate with around 5fps increase overall. i still can't believe it. So finally thank you very much for this simple tweak. I think rockstar should give this option for those who have minimum 4GB of ram onboard.

Ditto.

[flyer2359]

got about a 1fps gain lol

[Nugget9]

QUOTE (SFkilla @ Dec 21 2008, 23:44)

This is a very simple and very good tweak for users who have minimum 4GB of memory and a GPU with 512M My system is: AMD X2 +6000 4GB DDR800 ATI HD2900XT 512 WIN VISTA 64bit I play on 1400x1050 I applied the commandline -availablevidmem 2.0, which gave me 1002MB available in the graphic settings of the game. I then changed my settings from MEDIUM / HIGH ---> HIGH / HIGH I left all my other settings the same. Results: The game looks incredible graphically (really a difference compared to medium, you need to try to see it) I gained a smoother framerate with around 5fps increase overall. i still can't believe it. So finally thank you very much for this simple tweak. I think rockstar should give this option for those who have minimum 4GB of ram onboard.

Will this be able to work with 3GB of RAM?
It is DDR2/667.

[psx2p]

QUOTE (robbiekhan @ Dec 21 2008, 23:44)

Yeah it runs in 32bit mode because it's a 32bit executable The only game I know of that is 64bit is FarCry 64bit edition! The out of vid mem error is strange since i have 8GB RAM with over 4GB free as you can see in the screenshot, only 4GB is being used! so I think the shortcut flag is an experimental feature not properly implementing using system ram. My HDD usage didn't go up at all either.

its crazy how they advertise "enhanced for 64bit" when it... o nvm lol but yea i would cram more ram in my PC if i could my board only supports 4 gigs, bummer i know..

(in theory a 64bit buss should run twice as good as a 32 bit buss)
but thats not the case. id liek to see a fully functional 64 bit exe for GTA in the near future

[thales100]

At 1680 x 1050 i lost like 10 FPS at outside areas after increasing vision distance from 40 to 100, but still it runs smooth at 32 FPS minimum to 60+ FPS inside buildings.

[psx2p]

QUOTE (Nugget9 @ Dec 21 2008, 23:55)

Will this be able to work with 3GB of RAM? It is DDR2/667.

this will work on any amoutn of RAM, but it will cut back the available system ram thats why its suggested to use on systems with higher ram,

my freind has 3 gigs and he uses it so yes it will work