GTA V PC release Monday: what you'll need to get started
The release of Grand Theft Auto 5 for PC is almost over. We'll have a full review for you sometime later next week, but before then you might want to dive in on the details coming before the game becomes available. Availability begins on Monday at 12:01 AM – if you're lucky – and it'll be ready and willing to run at 4K if you've got the gear. Whether you plan on dropping in early with a pre-order or order on Monday, or you're planning on waiting for full-fledged reviews, here's what you're going to need.
Hardware
There are several different ways you might play GTA:V, and one of them is with a massive 4K-resolution monitor. If you're all about that, you're going to need more than your everyday home-bound PC.
60FPS 4K
• NVIDIA: SLI setup, at least two high-end NVIDIA cards, NVIDIA GTX 760 or higher, 3GB of VRAM or higher.
or
• AMD: Crossfire setup, at least two high-end AMD cards, AMD HD 7870 or higher, 3GB of VRAM or higher.
30FPS 4K
• Single NVIDIA GTX 760 with 2GB of VRAM
or
• Single AMD HD 7870 with 2GB of VRAM
We've also seen standard and recommended setups from Rockstar shared earlier this year – as follows:
Minimum Specs
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 64 Bit Service Pack 2* (*NVIDIA video card recommended if running Vista OS)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs) @ 2.5GHz
Memory: 4GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 9800 GT 1GB / AMD HD 4870 1GB (DX 10, 10.1, 11)
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
Recommended Specs
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
Memory: 8GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
Experience
The visual experience on a PC is going to be vastly different from what you'll get on a console. Rockstar didn't take this long to produce the game for PCs for nothing. One way you're going to be able to see the difference now – before release – is to imagine this change and amp it up by however powerful your PC is:
Everything the console editions have had released in the past several months will be released to PC almost immediately.
You'll probably want to start with the basics – which will be the same stuff as you've seen back in 2013, when Grand Theft Auto V was first launched.
This game also launches with GTA:Online – so don't expect to get out of jumping in with friends inside the first week.
Try a heist to get yourself prepared for...well... probably getting shot in the head multiple times.
Where?
You can probably pick up a physical disk version of the game in your local gaming shop inside the week, but the first place you'll be able to get it is through Steam.
Valve's Steam gaming network will allow you to download and play the game on your Windows PC as early as your computer can download it – starting at 12:01 AM on Monday or pre-loaded if you've chosen to pre-order the game.
Jump in and we'll see you there!