Conclusion

GTA V is finally here! And it's awesome. Rockstar spent plenty of time refining the PC settings for gamers to provide a clear visual benefit over the console version. I am also happy to report that controls are responsive, and there is no weird mouse acceleration. However, I recommend a gamepad for the best driving experience, especially in competition races; everything else plays just fine with a keyboard and mouse.

In terms of hardware requirements, the game feels well optimized, with NVIDIA graphics having a clear edge. In our testing, we see the GeForce Titan X beat AMD's R9 295X2 in all resolutions except for 4K. Single GPU 4K is also possible with the Titan X, but I'd recommend a GTX 970 SLI setup for that because it is not only faster but also more cost-effective. Thanks to the wide range of graphics option, any half-decent card can play GTA V. Both vendors have released optimized graphics drivers for the game. In-game, AMD users get to enjoy a shadow mode called "CHS". NVIDIA users will be able to use PCSS Shadows, TXAA, and MFAA.

A first person mode has also been added, which I barely find useful. A field of view slider is available in the settings, but the range is too limited to make it usable, especially on larger monitors.

So if you haven't played the console version yet, give the PC version a spin.