The game is light by modern standards
GTA V came out years ago and is remarkably well optimized. It runs on decade-old office hardware while still being able to push a top-tier graphics card if you max out every slider.
Real-world performance
On a GTX 1060 paired with a Core i5, the game delivers a stable 60 FPS at 1080p on high settings. RTX 3060-class cards handle 1440p with maxed-out settings and a light graphics mod without issue.
The biggest bottleneck on older systems is RAM and storage type. 8 GB of RAM and an SSD noticeably improve comfort more than bumping your GPU up a single tier.
Settings for low-end PCs
These tweaks can return up to 40% of your performance with almost no visual downside.
- MSAA — turn off, keep FXAA.
- Reflection quality — normal, reflection MSAA — off.
- Soft shadows — 'softer' instead of 'softest'.
- Advanced graphics settings — turn off entirely.
- Resolution scale — 1.0, no supersampling.