I had GTA5 tucked away, waiting for the right time to play it. With GTA6 on the horizon, I decided it was time to dive into GTA5, especially after hearing about its recent graphics upgrade. Eager to see the visual enhancements, similar to those in The Witcher 3, I reinstalled it on Steam.
GTA5 Legacy vs. GTA5 Enhanced
Upon checking my Steam library, I found GTA5 Legacy and promptly installed it. However, the nearly 120GB download and the unexpected Rockstar Launcher installation made me realize how much the game had grown. The loading time was also significantly longer.
While the gameplay seemed familiar after the lengthy loading, I couldn’t discern any noticeable graphics improvements. So, I exited the game.
Then, I discovered GTA5 Enhanced in my Steam library and installed it as well. It turns out the update separated the game into GTA5 Legacy and GTA5 Enhanced, with the latter being the upgraded version.
GTA5 Enhanced was surprisingly lighter, under 100GB, and loaded much faster. But to my dismay, my game data was reset despite the Rockstar Launcher being the same. Apparently, I needed to upload my save data from GTA5 Legacy and download it in GTA5 Enhanced, indicating they operate separately.
GTA5 Enhanced Graphics Improvements
Despite my efforts, I couldn’t spot any significant graphics differences between GTA5 Legacy and Enhanced. After researching the update details, I realized the enhancements were mostly for high-end systems with CPUs and GPUs capable of handling ray tracing without frame drops.
The improvements likely focused on the game’s background, with minimal changes to character models.
Is GTA5 Enhanced Worth It on Ryzen 3600 & RTX 3050?
While a Ryzen 3600 and RTX 3050 aren’t top-tier gaming specs, they can still deliver a decent experience with some compromises.
Although I couldn’t fully enjoy the graphics upgrades, GTA5 Enhanced felt lighter than Legacy. Thanks to nVidia DLSS support, I didn’t experience any frame drops, even with some graphics options turned off. Overall, the Enhanced version felt smoother.
Now that I’ve installed it, I plan to finish GTA5 Enhanced. It’s impressive that Rockstar continues to support a 10-year-old game with such updates.
GTA5 Enhanced is often available for less than $17 on Steam sales, making it a great purchase for those who haven’t tried it yet.