Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum CPU is listed as an Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz or an AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHz. By today's standards that is a very old entry-level processor; in our tier mapping it sits at the very bottom of the scale. The minimum GPU is a 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 or ATI X1900, which are from a much older generation. In our comparison that roughly corresponds to an integrated chip such as the Intel HD Graphics 4000. The minimum RAM is 1.5GB and the listed storage is 22GB. An SSD is not required.
The publisher did not list a recommended configuration, so there is no official higher reference point. In practice this means the game will start on hardware that meets the minimum, but how smooth it feels cannot be read directly from the official figures.
Our internal reference points for the minimum are an Athlon 64 X2 6000+ for the CPU and an Intel HD Graphics 4000 for the GPU, while the recommended-level CPU reference is a Core 2 Quad Q6600. Any mainstream graphics card or processor from recent years is well above the official minimum and will run the game without trouble.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build suits players who want to replay the game on a tight budget and do not need high graphics quality. Suitable GPUs are the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, Intel Arc A380, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB, GTX 1650 Super, GTX 1660 and RTX 3050 6GB. For the CPU, choose from the Ryzen 3 3100, Core i3-10100F, Ryzen 3 3300X, Ryzen 5 4500, Ryzen 5 3500X or Core i5-10400F. Plan for at least 16GB of RAM. This tier already leaves a comfortable margin above the official minimum.
The mainstream build is for players who want steady play at medium settings while still keeping newer games in mind. It includes the cards above plus the GTX 1660 Super and RTX 3050 8GB, and the CPU list adds the Core i5-10400 and Ryzen 5 3600. Again, 16GB of RAM gives the system room when background programs are running.
The high-end build is aimed at players who want maximum settings at higher resolutions. GPU options include the RX 9070 XT, RTX 5070 Ti, RX 7900 XTX, RTX 5080, RTX 4090 and RTX 5090, and CPU options include the Ryzen 9 9950X, Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Core i9-13900K, Core i9-14900K, Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 7 9800X3D. This tier is far beyond the official requirements, so for this game alone it is overkill, but it makes sense if you also play more demanding titles. 32GB of RAM is recommended here.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In this kind of open-world game, the settings that usually cost the most are global effects such as shadows, volumetric lighting and fog, along with the density of pedestrians and traffic. Shadow quality and view distance are often the two most expensive options because both require large amounts of geometry and lighting work. If your graphics card has limited video memory, lowering these two first usually gives the most noticeable improvement.
Reflections and ambient occlusion add a lot of visual quality but are not always worth the performance cost. Texture quality and anti-aliasing are generally better value to keep, because textures mainly consume VRAM capacity rather than raw computing power.
Upscaling technologies such as DLSS, FSR and XeSS work by rendering at a lower internal resolution and reconstructing the image to your target resolution. If the game supports one of them, enabling it can reduce the load on the graphics card with only a modest loss in image quality. Whether this game offers any of them is not specified in our data, so check the in-game options.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop graphics cards often share names with desktop parts, such as an RTX 4060, but the laptop versions usually have lower power limits and weaker cooling, so real performance can be noticeably lower. When buying, check the manufacturer's stated TGP, and make sure fans and temperatures stay normal during play. Running on mains power with the performance power profile enabled lets the GPU draw more of its rated power.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally use integrated graphics, and their performance depends on the power settings and cooling of the device. This game's official requirements are not demanding, but handheld graphics still sit at an entry level, so start at a lower resolution with low to medium settings and adjust from there. We do not have verification data for the Steam Deck, so we cannot give any compatibility rating; the advice here is general.
Storage and memory
For memory, the official minimum is only 1.5GB, a figure set for very old systems. In practice, 16GB is a sensible target, and you should confirm that the system runs in dual-channel mode, since dual-channel gives higher memory bandwidth that helps the CPU and GPU work together. If you keep several browsers or background programs open, 32GB gives more headroom during play.
The game needs 22GB of storage. An SSD is not officially required, but it noticeably shortens loading and the pauses when moving between areas, which is especially noticeable in the big city. A hard drive will run the game but loads much more slowly. Keep some extra free space as well so that updates and mods can be installed without running into a full drive.