5 Tips for Playing GTA V Smoothly on a Low-Spec PC

Have a computer low-spec but want to play GTA V?

You are not alone.

The fact is that there are millions of computers and laptops with low specifications that are not technically qualified to play games open-world made by Rockstar.

Instead of upgrading hardware hardware, you can do a number of proven methods boost the performance of GTA V especially for non-gaming computers.

NOTES: The following tips are intended for computers that have reached the minimum GTA V specifications.

#1 Take advantage of the NVIDIA GeForce Experience

NVIDIA GeForce Experience is a program that lets you choose the most optimal graphics settings based on your computer’s hardware capabilities.

That way, players can enjoy the highest graphics while maintaining frame rate most stable. This program is available free of charge for both NVIDIA, AMD and Intel graphics card users. Not only GTA V, there are various other popular games that are supported by GeForce Experience.

Download NVIDIA GeForce Experience

#2 Always use Razer Cortex when playing GTA V

Razer Cortex is mandatory software before you play games. Basically, Razer Cortex functions to “turn off” a number of background programs so that computer performance can be maximized in games only.

This program is very useful for those of you who have little RAM or often experience lag when playing games. The Razer Cortex is also equipped with an option to display frame rate during the game.

Download Razer Cortex

#3 Make sure the computer stays cool

Modern computers will automatically do so throttles or reduce the workload due to overheating. This is useful for preventing hardware damage.

Make sure your computer has good air circulation and is diligently cleaned of dust. Add a fan or cooling pad for laptops is also very helpful in preventing a significant increase in temperature.

I’ve also written an article about 9 tips so you don’t get hot quickly when playing heavy games.

#4 Activate Ultimate Performance in Windows 10

Windows 10 is equipped with an “Ultimate Performance” feature that simply elevates hardware performance to its maximum potential. This practice will indeed make the computer more powerful, but with the consequence that power consumption becomes more wasteful.

Because this section is rather long, I have provided an article how to enable Ultimate Performance in Windows 10.

Oh yeah, these tips are only for desktop computers, huh. For laptops and notebooks is not recommended.

#5 Defrag HDD or Optimize SSD

Computer users with hard disk drives (HDD) should always be defragment regularly. That way, the game loading process becomes faster and even avoids minor problems such as lag, missing textures, or even crashes.

Meanwhile, on an SSD, you only need to optimize (Windows 10 automatically understands and will not defrag the SSD).

Here are a few screenshots GTA V which I set to the lowest level. You could say it’s quite satisfying (tap/click to enlarge).