GTA V Enhanced: Reviving the Look of the Iconic 12-Year-Old Game

Rockstar Games has unveiled the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto V PC update, officially named GTA V Enhanced. This significant update is more than just a patch; it constitutes a full-fledged version upgrade. Players can observe this distinction in their Steam or Epic Games Store libraries, where the previous iteration is now tagged as GTA V Legacy. The new version necessitates more robust system specifications, highlighting its upgraded capabilities.

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Processor: 64-bit OS required
Operating System: Windows 10 (with the latest service pack)
Processor: Intel Core i7-4770 or AMD FX-9590
RAM: 8 GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (4GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon RX 6400 (4GB VRAM)
Storage: 105 GB available disk space
Sound Card: DirectX 10 compatible
Notes: SSD required; compatible audio systems needed for Windows Spatial Sound

Recommended Requirements

Processor: 64-bit OS required
Operating System: Windows 11
Processor: Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: 16 GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (8GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT (8GB VRAM)
Storage: 105 GB available disk space
Sound Card: Windows Spatial Sound compatible; a solution that includes Dolby Atmos support is required for a full Dolby Atmos experience
Notes: SSD with DirectStorage capability necessary

Players should verify that their configurations align with these requirements. It’s crucial to note that progress from the Legacy version can only be transferred once. While players can continue their adventures in GTA V Legacy, they cannot revert their data back to this version. This limitation applies to both Story Mode and GTA Online, affecting characters, in-game currency (GTA$), progression, statistics, vehicles, properties, weapons, clothing, and player-created jobs.

New Features in GTA V Enhanced

Let’s delve into the key enhancements introduced in GTA V Enhanced:

Support for ray tracing, including advanced reflections and shadows, alongside PC-exclusive features like global illumination and ambient occlusion.
Upscaling technology compatibility with AMD FSR 1 and 3 as well as NVIDIA DLSS 3.
Significantly reduced load times through DirectStorage support.
Enhanced 3D audio capabilities, with Dolby Atmos support for compatible systems, and improved clarity in speech, cinematics, and music.
Integration of the DualSense controller’s Adaptive Triggers feature, allowing players to experience realistic sensations for directional damage, environmental effects, and more.
General performance optimizations throughout the game.

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However, it’s worth mentioning that the High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) display support is still absent, which is disappointing in 2025. The NVIDIA app currently does not acknowledge the new version, hindering users from implementing the latest DLSS 4 transformer models. Thankfully, Rockstar has included built-in support for DLAA, which players can select directly from within the game.

Players can customize each ray tracing option, including shadows, reflections, global illumination, and ambient occlusion, turning each setting up to Ultra. There’s also a new parameter known as Scene BVH Quality, which can be maximized to Very High. In personal testing on a rig with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor and GeForce RTX 5090 Founder’s Edition graphics card, I was able to enhance all settings to the peak, including High-Resolution Shadows and Extended Shadows Distance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cMF8tgUvrA

GTA V Enhanced 4K DLAA RT Maxed Gameplay – RTX 5090, 9800X3D (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cMF8tgUvrA)

Upon diving into the game, the visual advancements from the original version of GTA V were vividly apparent. The most striking improvements included ray-traced global illumination and reflections, elevating the game’s graphical fidelity to remarkable heights. Despite these enhancements, upon closer inspection, players might still notice that some models and textures originate from an older game. Modding could enhance these aspects, though this may only apply to single-player gameplay, especially now that Rockstar has introduced the kernel-level anti-cheat software BattlEye to mitigate cheating in GTA Online.

GTA V Enhanced undoubtedly represents the pinnacle of the game’s graphical capabilities. On the specified gaming rig, the title operated fluidly, achieving an average of 123 frames per second during a 20-minute free-roaming session, even without the anticipated Frame Generation feature. Rockstar has suggested that future updates will include support for NVIDIA DLSS Multi Frame Generation, which could potentially elevate performance further. I am particularly interested in stabilizing the 1% and 0.1% low frame rates for a smoother user experience.

The GTA V Enhanced experience is timed perfectly to rekindle interest in the game, especially with the unveiling of GTA VI on the horizon. It offers encouraging signs for the forthcoming PC version of the sequel, which rumors suggest could arrive as early as early 2026. The implementation of modern features such as ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, Dolby Atmos, and support for the DualSense controller marks a commendable shift in Rockstar’s approach, especially given the long wait for this ‘Next-Gen’ upgrade compared to console rollouts.

Despite these improvements, there remain challenges. Regardless of whether players purchased the game on Steam or the Epic Games Store, accessing the Rockstar Games Launcher is a must, which can complicate the DLSS integration, as any modifications to the DLSS file can be overwritten by the launcher. Fortunately, a mod exists on Nexus Mods that automates the restoration of the modified DLSS file each time the game launches, returning it to the original upon exiting. These frustrations are common among PC gamers, and Rockstar would do well to heed these issues for the upcoming GTA VI.

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