[TheAn0nym0usMan]

Hello, I'm new here and I recently bought a new laptop with the following specs:
Intel Core i5-430m @ 2,27 Ghz, turboboost 2,53 Ghz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 1GB VRAM
4 GB DDR3 RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium
Then I bought GTA SA, I thought that with these specs I could put the settings on max as I can run GTA IV on medium settings @ 40FPS. But it turns out I couldn't. As soon as I put FX Quality on medium or higher the game starts to lagg everytime there are shadows, grass, smoke and even clouds. Using FX Quality Low, resolution 1600*900, Draw Distance max and AA 3 i get 80 to 100 FPS. But with those shadows I only get 10-20 with extreme stuttering. I've searched over a year about this problem and I have only found a few similar problems without any solutions. I've tried almost anything they have suggested and finally I've overclocked my videocard to 700/900. Now I reach in these shadows 20-30 FPS but I still get extreme stutter. I know I could put FX Quality to low but I've spend 750€ to buy this laptop so I'd like to see some shadows
I don't have any mods and I play with the original DVD.
This topic is sort of my last hope about this problem. So any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by TheAn0nym0usMan on Tuesday, Jul 17 2012, 12:50

[miromiro]

Hmm, have you tried removing the gta_sa.set file located in the San Andreas User Files folder? What about trying to run the game in Windows 98 compatibility mode, or any other compatibility mode?
Besides, go to "Options > Display setup > Advanced > Resolution" change from 1024x768x16 to 1024x768x32.

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

I've tried those things but none of them worked
Even putting the settings to lowest didn't work.

[miromiro]

Do you have any mods installed? Have you tried re-installing the game? Try also running the game as Administrator.

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

Re-installing the game didn't work. I only use SAMP but the problem also occurs in singleplayer and in MTA. Administrator also doesn't work.
Also when I'm driving in smoke or shadows my GPU usage goes up to 100% even when overclocked.

[miromiro]

Hmm, tried turning off Anti-Aliasing? What about the Frame Limiter?

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

Turning AA off makes my FPS go a little higher maybe 4-5 FPS. I tried turning Frame Limiter off but it didn't help so I capped my FPS at 40 FPS, 50FPS but it makes the lagg even worse.

[miromiro]

This could be a video driver related issue. Have you tried updating your video driver? Hmm, what about trying this?

1) Right Click on "My Computer"
2) Click on "Properties"
3) Then Click on "Advanced Settings"
4) Under Performance, on the visual tab click on "Adjust for Best Performance"
5) Click OK.

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

My drivers are updated. I use the drivers from my manufacturers website. For the "Adjust for best performance", I've also tried that one but it still didn't work

[miromiro]

Tried increasing / decreasing the draw distance?

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

Just tried it, but still lagg.

[miromiro]

Try playing in 16bit. I suggest you looking around this topic, you might find some helpful post.

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

Playing in 16-bit helps but that's because it sets FX Quality to low even when it's on High or Very High. Thanks for the link, I'll go search in that topic.

EDIT: I may have found a solution in that link suggesting my Hard Drive is too slow. So I was wondering if i could run GTA SA from a external Hard Drvie connected with USB?

This post has been edited by TheAn0nym0usMan on Tuesday, Jul 17 2012, 14:26

[miromiro]

Umm, so I suppose it works well now? Do you still have any issues?

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

I'm still testing because 16-bit has really strange colors xD. I'll try to run GTA from an external Hard Drive.

EDIT: I've tested it on my external Hard Drive but it didn't work . Ill guess I have to keep searching.

This post has been edited by TheAn0nym0usMan on Tuesday, Jul 17 2012, 14:37

[miromiro]

Have you tried turning on / off the Anti-Aliasing / Frame Limiter after playing in 16-bit? What about this?

1) Right Click on "My Computer"
2) Click on "Properties"
3) Then Click on "Advanced Settings"
4) Under Performance, on the visual tab click on "Adjust for Best Performance"
5) Click OK.

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

With AA off, Framelimiter off and resolution 1600*900*16 i get a constant 100 FPS but the shadows are gone. If I play with these settings than I could revert back to my old ATI 9600 which didn't have the stuttering

EDIT: You may be right about this being a video driver issue. I tried to run GTA SA on the same laptop but instead of using windows I used Ubuntu. The game ran much slower but the stuttering from shadows was gone. Also I've noticed I could see the sun flare effect which no ATI videocard has on Windows Vista or 7.
So if anyone has an idea about this problem please post it . I've been trying to find a solution for over 4 years now as I've had the same problem on a desktop with an ATI HD 3450.

This post has been edited by TheAn0nym0usMan on Wednesday, Jul 18 2012, 13:37

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

Sorry for the double post but I've been looking around and I've found that it's also possible it could be a problem with my hard drive or RAM. I've also had some problems with this hard drive before. And according to the windows index my hard drive and RAM have lower points comparing to the other parts of my laptop. If this is a hard drive problem not transfering data fast enough then a USB connected external hard drive should fix it, right?

[Th3MaN1]

You could scan the hard drive itself with CheckDrive.Also you could scan for viruses,I recommend using AVG Antivirus.It's pretty good.If none of that worked,you can still try defragmenting.For this you don't really need a program,since every windows has a built-in defragmenter,but if you really want to download one,then you can try with Defraggler.

[TheAn0nym0usMan]

Thanks for replying I'm going to test it with checkdrive and I'll post the results.

EDIT: According to CheckDrive my hard drive doesn't have any errors. But if my hard drive is too slow then it could explain why I also get stutter while flying in an airplane and why I have stutter in games like GTA IV when using a higher view distance than 1. I've also found someone with the same processor, videocard and the same amount of RAM and he doesn't have such stutter like I have.

This post has been edited by TheAn0nym0usMan on Wednesday, Jul 18 2012, 15:28