Video card broke, can I play GTA IV?

[DanielSUN]

Ok... First, I'm not native English, so I don't really speak properly sometimes.

So... I really like GTA IV. I bought it, then I installed it. I did the missions, they were really fun. But, after a while, my PC started behaving wrong. Sometimes, when I opened it (my laptop), there was a black screen and all what I could do was to restart the laptop. Then, it didn't open at all. I went to the place where I bought it. They said that the video card broke, and they replaced it. Now I'm afraid to play GTA IV (I didin't play it from months...), because my video card broke...

Can I play GTA IV again?

My system requirements:

Laptop, Packard Bell Easynote TJ61

Processor: AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core QL-65 2.10 GHz

RAM: 2.00 GB (1.75 GB usable)

GPU: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics

32 bit

 

I am asking because I don't really know if GTA IV broke my video card...

[BlackListedB]

I have the freely found Acer Extensa 5420, AMD dual core model like your specs, though at the 5620 model, the Extensa series switches to an Intel based chipset, everything on it is the same however, it can use an MXM II graphics card on each version.

 

I also bought an HP 8510P laptop as well, there are plenty around built for business use, it offers a better resolution, MXM 2 built in and HDMI output, but it has a slow SD card reader compared to the multi card version used on Acer models, likely due to a faster bus, also the Acer models using discrete graphics should look just as good, but mine is integrated to the chipset, though still ATI based on their ownership coming from AMD. Though your computer maker is no longer in business, you do appear to support MXM possibly, and dual core at least on the low end. The HD2xxx ATIs are from the year 2007, just so you know, they've already been supplanted with a good number of full model range cards from both nVidia and ATI. ATI is supporting both of the new gaming consoles, so consider nVidia for all future PC cards, currently they might tend to offer better PC gaming, and in the same situation, a PC betters any tablet or laptop in existence. 

 

The laptop you have might be a higher version of the stock HP Compaq 8510P based on it's HD2600 ATI graphics with only 256MB dedicated RAM, but the theory holds a better GFX card could mate to it, BIOS is a major issue though.

 

I'd say look for an upgrade from what you have, and MXM is still a good bet if you go to III or higher, since they're larger and handle more voltage demands, not to mention the heat that GPUs give off!

 

MXM2 tops out with a 9600 as I posted some time ago, or 8600GT. I wound up buying one that doesn't work. There's an eBay seller offering repairs on MXM cards for only about $50, so it's worth consideration if you want to send them your card! I'm mulling it over actually given my contact with them and they said if they can't fix it, you're only out shipping, IIRC, they won't charge but they do recycle them for parts I believe. They list repeatedly on eBay but I believe they ARE in the UK. I think it's reasonable price listed as an auction starting bid, but they will repair them for what they're asking, so just look for those auctions under card repair and ask the person via eBay about your situation so they know what issues you have

Edited December 30, 2013 by BlackListedB

[BlackListedB]

Let us know what you get further, you could always test functionality, I bought my own copy of GTA4 for PC, but still haven't got around to making sure it works, I used my sister's husbands' copy to initially install the game to various HDDs, then there's the copy issue that Rockstar mitigates through a system of retracting existing installs and allowing you to migrate to another system (HDD storage of needed data and run the game off of that system instead. This system doesn't exclude other users, ie the used market for key example.