GTA IV on M1530

I'm running this on 2GB RAM,everything set to low, and is averaging about 20FPS.

Would adding more RAM help? I know it improves loading time, but would it say, allow the GPU to use up the extra RAM since the one dedicated for the GPU is so low?

 

I don't think it would from a graphics card utilising extra shared memory point of view, but it certainly would from a windows point of view.

On mine just running gta and vista uses ~3 gigs of ram.

I still have some left over, but the graphics card doesn't seem to utilise it (doesn't show up in the graphics settings)
Its made more apparent If I try to run at say 1200p (just to see what its like) I'd expect a slideshow, but I don't get that, its more a case of it not being able to render all the distant stuff, which I would think is due to it not having sufficient memory - proving that it doesn't utilise system ram.

Anyway according to quite a few different sources the 8600 isn't capable of allocating anything over 256mb anyway, so having extra system ram at its disposal won't really help it.

 

Actually the speed of your HDD affects loading times.

 

I was of the opinion that more RAM could improve load times as GTA IV would have as much RAM as it needs to run the game since, based on what I read and yomamasfavourite said, that GTA and Vista uses up to 3GB of RAM

 

After reading all these posts I was scared to even install it... but it runs just fine on medium textures and some traffic density (15). Resolution is 800x600 but what can I say... Im happy that I can play it at all.

Benchmarking gives 28fps.

 

yomamasfavourite, does your m1530 gpu overheat and start lagging from time to time while playing gta4 or crysis or other similar game?

 

Not really, it usually only hits high sixties when i'm stressing the hell out of it, its never gone above that regardless of what I do with it.

As regards games being laggy - I suppose thats more to do with settings, isn't it? I usually only run games at resolutions and graphics settings that it can handle, like I'd rather not play a game, or I'd rather play it in lowest settings than play a game at decent settings and have stuttering.

Stuttering or lag would just kill the enjoyment factor for me. Though this laptop seems to hold its weight pretty well and is quite capable of handling decent frame rates and settings in pretty demanding games.

 

Mine m1530 overheats always. Idle temp. - 62-70, while playing - 84 - 90. I expect this to be hardware problem and Dell will fix it. Also I have T9500 processor so it would also increase the performance. Maybe, you use something for cooling gpu? I know overheating in this laptop is a common problem.

 

Now after using 180.70 drivers (XP SP3) I ran benchmark and got 20.31FPS on 1440x900/medium/high/37/24, what do u think about this result?

 

I have the exact same problem as you tomykas666, GTA IV runs on my XPS 1530 for a minute or so it's all fine and very playable, then it becomes a slideshow heavy stutter for like 30 seconds then back to normal for one minute and it goes on like this.. ing frustrating pardon my french.....

but I think this is some kind of software conflict or whatever because only a few people seem to have it, so we should make a comparison between our systems what software we use, what antivirus and driver versions etc....

So here's mine, Bios A09
Nvidia 180.84
Antivirus: AVG Free
****load of programs =P Hamachi, Msn, Skype running also using rocketdock but canceling none of these seem to help.

Latest chipset drivers etc, ah well whatever lets hope someone finds out whats wrong

 

First thing I'd say is cancel as many programs and processes as possible, this game is incredibly cpu power hungry, so the more things you have going on the less cpu processing power that can be utilised by the game.

I usually use smart close - ends up with out about 40 processes as opposed to the 70 odd ones I usually have going.

 

No I found the issue now.
The game starts stuttering ALWAYS on exactly 84C, I used speefan to check it. So after some searching around I find out that the card (8600M GT) automatically downclocks it's cores at 84C, some kind of security thing.................... great =P

 

orly?... my 8400M GS (M1330) never downclocks (to what i can notice) even when it hits 100degC

 

Well maybe not the card itself but the drivers or bios of xps 1530, hmmz )= but well I suppose it's not healthy for the card to run over 85C either way but it suucks I want to play gta without that lag, it runs smooth as butter up until that point!

 

84 degrees?

There's been lots of people with 8600's hitting much higher temps than that (obviously not a good thing)
without getting downclocking. it must be something partiular to the graphics bios version you have or something like that.

If the downclocking continues I'd get on to Dell and give them an earful about replacing the card.

 

Hello youamasfavourite

I am able to run GTA 4 in my Dell XPS M1530 with good frame rates but there is a strange problem i am experiencing. My problem is that i am unable to change the resolution of GTA 4. In the game there is no option for 1280*800. I am only getting an option of 800*600. A little help to this issue will really be appreciated.


Cheers

 

Working crack?
But if you have it working - Why would you need a crack?

FYI talking about cracks and the like on these forums will prob end up in deleted posts and or a banning, so just beware.

In order to change the ingame resolutions and settings

Open notepad (application in start menu)
copy this

-nomemrestrict -norestrictions -novblank -percentvidmem 100 -DX10 /high

directly as is into notepad.
Save it as

commandline.txt

Save it in

-> C (where c is your hardrive)
---> program files
-----> Rockstar games
-------> Grand Theft Auto 4

Then run the game, you should now be able to edit the graphics settings all you want, though that doesn't mean your laptop will actually be capable of running the settings.

 

Thanks for the warning........actually i am unable to save the game......its asking me to go online which is very frustrating......

One more question....are you able to run this game in 1280*800 resolution since you have the same laptop

Thanks for your quick reply......

 

yeah it runs it no bother (well overclocked it does, haven't really tried it on stock speeds)

TBH I can't see any difference between 1024*768 and 1280*800 nor 800*600 really, they all look pretty much the same.

 

Yeah I have read about other people with the same card that also experiences the same thing. It's really a bummer because GTA IV lands and holds at around 86C, so I need to figure out how to gain -2 degrees to keep it on 84C or below lol crazy

 

Currently after a mobo and heatsink change, my 1530 is now at 65C CPU, 75C GPU and Memory max.. for an hour of play of this game.. Also bought a coolermaster notepal d1 fan to help and to make my laptop position inclined, rather than totally flat in a table...

but before the mobo and heatsink change, my temps were at 90C on CPU, 100C on GPU and Memory.. even with the coolermaster fan.

Video=NVIDIA 8600M GT 256MB
CPUs=T7250s

 

how is it running?

 

slow for my standards.. but playable coz its not like a slideshow.. i would not recommend it though.. i should have bought the ps3 version of this..

 

I used all graphic drivers released and none helped, also i renewed bios to a12, but it didnt helped. Only the idle temp decreases when i use lower sreen brightness. So i suppose this is hardware problem and after a week i'm going to take my laptop to service. the same problem playing other new games.

m1530, C2D T9500 2.6Ghz
4GB ram
8600m gt ddr3
250gb harddrive
vista 32bit

Now i'm using 7644 gpu drivers, nod32 smartsecurity

 

Well maybe there is some luck, lots of people with different hardware are now expriencing the same problem as we are, which leads me to believe that it has nothing todo with temperature in the computer but is actually a software bug related to GTA IV.

More information at http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?&act=ST&f=240&t=384205

 

It worked well till I got to the house, then good for 10 secs, laggy for 20 secs. with OC & without...

 

I can guarantee it's a heat issue - bought this game Dec. 02 and after a few days figured out the issues. I have since been upping the quality settings everyday with little to no issues. The fan intake needs about 3 inches of clearance from any surface and the game will run O.K. on all low settings. Add a table fan to the mix and you are golden, no more lag issues...unless there are 32 players in-game blowing up cars on the same street which will more than likely offer a crash anyhow because Rockstar made a Sh*tty port. I'm still testing even higher settings so I will get back to you guys and let you know.

Just know this - PUT A TABLE FAN ON THE LEFT SIDE AND YOUR DREAMS MAY COME TRUE lol - find me in-game with the same tag as here

 

Hey guys, I just registered in the forum. I have the exact same problem as spazefish, it is very frustrating. Did anybody find a solution? Please let me know! Thanks a lot!

 

Hey,

I got GTAIV a few weeks ago and its running fine on my XPS M1530 - I recently changed the stock thermal grease for some AC5 and the temperatures are hitting the high 60s after a good 30 minutes or so of playing.

Overall the port from the console version to the PC is abysmal. Hopefully Rockstar will bring a patch out soon to optimise it; just like they did with GTA III, San Andreas and Vice City...

You'd think they'd have learnt?

 

Hey Joe,
so you think it really is a thermal issue? I monitored my GPU temp and it hits 86-89 Celsius when I play GTA 4. Is that too high?

 

Anything over 80 Celsius is pretty worrying, especially for a laptop!

What resolution are you running it in?

 

Hello
On my m1530 I can smoothly run GTA 4 on 1024x768, settings set on low, traffic, view and distance detail both set on 25 and on average I get 19fps according to benchmarking tool, which in game is totally playable for me.
Running gta 4 on my LCD TV via HDMI for me looks sharper than the ps3 version and is surprisingly smooth : ) http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d17/zimsik/m1530_gta4_hdmi.jpg

 

Did anyone get the message that GTA 4 has stopped responding right after the opening company screens? Anyone know how to fix it?

 

In regards to the XPS M1530 fps dips in GTA 4, it is due to a CPU throttling problem. So make sure you install bios version A12, reformat your computer, and do not update the Intel chipset. I believe it is a problem with the driver update causing the CPU to run a lower clock speed at a lower temp, which would cause the low fps then high fps after the CPU has cooled down. It has nothing to do with the GPU overheating. This should fix the problem for anyone having trouble, at least it did for me.

 

What driver do u use??

swank

 

This game is extremely demanding and i don't advise you to play it on the m1530 the graphic card is too old. Event though it still can handle most new games. If you want to enjoy a beautiful game like that i advise you to buy either a precision m6400 or xps 1640 with a RGB LED screen. I tried playing the game on a sony vaio sr with 512 4570 led xbrite, which is a rip off but anyway i was running the game on 1024 by 600 and it ran pretty well 25-30 frames per second mostly.