GTA IV lagging

[Vukasin]

I have a problem, my GTA IV starts lagging after i play it for like.... 1-2hours, can you tell me what to do?


I have Intel Core 2 Duo  @ 2.33ghz @ 2.33ghz
Ram memory: 4gb (But only 3.25gb used, because i have 32bit system)
Graphic: Nvidia 8500GT 1gb


Can you tell me what to do, should i lower the graphics, and if i should how much should i lower?

[Norrage]

Current settings of your graphics?

[Vukasin]

I think everything is on medium. Also, ive just started up GTA IV. And it crashes after i open it, it happened yesterday too, but after opening GTA IV few times, it dissapeared. ALso, is there any way of installing Patch without reinstalling the game, because i dont have the CD. And can i play it with (not-bought) version?

[Caltson]

Try to lower your settings to the lowest and see if that fixes your issue.
Post ask-for-help topics in the Hardware/Software support section tough.

[hAWK.]

If the GPU I checked on Google is the same like yours it is normal to have lag. Although your card has 1GB memory it is 128bit with DDR2. Do you have any problems in single player?

:ps: For updating to 1.0.7.0 you have to just download and install the patch. You don't need to reinstall your game. Check the Installation Guide topic.

[Todor]

Does it do that when you start playing or just after you've played non-stop for about 2 hours?

If so it sounds like overheating to me. Clean your computer thoroughly from dust and make sure all fans are operational and blowing where and how they should be. Pay special attention to the graphics card's heatsink, please.

[Vukasin]

Does it do that when you start playing or just after you've played non-stop for about 2 hours?

If so it sounds like overheating to me. Clean your computer thoroughly from dust and make sure all fans are operational and blowing where and how they should be. Pay special attention to the graphics card's heatsink, please.

I dont really understand what that means, but i guess i should clean my computer from dust?

[Devin]

Yes he is basically saying your PC is probably over-heating. Try clean it and see how it does after about 2 hours of playing.

[hAWK.]

As your system is working intensive it is normal your compoments (CPU, GPU, HDD, RAM, in your case GPU) to increase their temperature. If they don't have enough air flow to cool them it's normal to overheat which can cause you the lag. You can also lubricate the fans with oil so as to increase their life and еfficiency.

[Senate]

Download CoreTemp or RealTemp and run it while you play, if your CPU is running hotter than 65c (with a stock clock) then you need to fix your cooling.

When the game starts lagging, have you tried quitting and restarting the game and/or shutting down the PC and restarting? Did that help? You may just have a memory leak that needs to be restarted every once in a while to reset.

But GTAIV is very demanding on hardware, CPU and GPU alike. I would try running at the lowest settings for a while and see how it goes, bumping them up incrementally until its where you can tolerate it.

[Alessandro]

That graphics is very low to be honest. Maybe just /q and reconnecting would be helpful but i doubt about it if there is a heat problem as we though it is.