Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — a light title that runs on modest PCs: specs & FPS
2004 · Action · Rockstar North · ESRB Mature · Metacritic 93

Official system requirements
Publisher-published Minimum / Recommended values via RAWG, retrieved 2026-08-21. Real-world performance varies with drivers, resolution and your full build.
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Minimum: | Recommended: |
| Processor | OS: Microsoft® Windows® 2000/XP | Processor: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP Processor |
| Memory | Processor: 1Ghz Pentium III or AMD Athlon Processor | Memory: 384MB of RAM (the more the better!) |
| Graphics | Memory: 256MB of RAM | Graphics: 128MB (or greater) Video Card (Geforce 6 Series Recommended) |
| Storage | Graphics: 64MB Video Card (Geforce 3 or better) | Hard Drive: 4.7GB of free hard disk space (full install) |
| DirectX | Hard Drive: 3.6GB of free hard disk space (minimal install) | Sound Card: DirectX 9 compatible Sound Card (Sound Blaster Auidgy 2 Recommended) |
| Item 7 | Other Requirements: Software installations required including DirectX and Sony DADC SecuROM | — |
| Item 8 | Partner Requirements: Please check the terms of service of this site before purchasing this software. | — |
Multi-GPU FPS estimate
Estimated average FPS by GPU at 1080p / 1440p / 4K, derived from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas's demand tier (tier 2, Light (entry discrete GPU)) and published TechPowerUp-style relative-performance indices (RTX 4090 = 100), retrieved 2026-08-29. Planning estimates, not benchmarks.
| GPU | 1080p | 1440p | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4090 | 392 | 259 | 149 |
| RTX 4080 Super | 351 | 232 | 134 |
| RTX 4080 | 338 | 223 | 128 |
| RX 7900 XTX | 375 | 248 | 143 |
| RX 7900 XT | 351 | 232 | 134 |
| RTX 4070 Ti Super | 300 | 198 | 114 |
| RX 7800 XT | 300 | 198 | 114 |
| RTX 4070 Super | 282 | 186 | 107 |
| RTX 4070 | 264 | 175 | 101 |
| RX 7700 XT | 272 | 179 | 103 |
| RTX 3070 | 247 | 163 | 94 |
| RX 6800 XT | 296 | 196 | 113 |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 217 | 143 | 83 |
| RX 6700 XT | 264 | 175 | 101 |
| RTX 3060 | 199 | 131 | 76 |
| RX 6600 XT | 225 | 148 | 85 |
| RTX 2060 | 180 | 119 | 68 |
| GTX 1660 Super | 149 | 98 | 57 |
| RX 580 | 172 | 114 | 65 |
| GTX 1060 6GB | 141 | 93 | 53 |
| GTX 1650 | 112 | 74 | 43 |
| Intel Arc A770 | 228 | 151 | 87 |
| UHD 770 (integrated) | 46 | 30 | 17 |
Method: a game's demand tier maps to a “GPU index needed for ~60 FPS at 1080p”; each GPU's relative index produces an estimate via a diminishing-returns curve, then scaled for resolution. Source: TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), 2026-08-29.
For the full hardware spec sheet and a deeper performance breakdown, see Full specs & performance data on GameFigs.
Age rating & regional compliance
GameRulePro pairs each title with its ESRB age rating and, where documented, real regulatory notes on loot boxes, skin gambling and randomized monetization. Every line is source-linked and labeled with its retrieval date. This is an educational reference, not legal advice — verify the specifics that apply to your jurisdiction.
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age rating | ESRB Mature | ESRB rating via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21. |
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Open profile →Best graphics settings for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Pick your PC and get a starting preset — resolution, upscaler, shadows, ray tracing and an FPS cap — tuned to how demanding Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is on hardware. Print it and tune from there. Everything runs in your browser.
Best graphics settings for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas hardware-demand tier: 2/9. Pick your PC above to get a starting preset, then tune up if you have FPS headroom or down if you're under your target.
Estimated starting point — real FPS depends on drivers, thermals and background load.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — Best settings (Mid-range (GTX 1660 – RTX 3060))
Generated at GameRulePro · 2026-09-25
Release, patch & rule-change notes
Official release date: 2004-10-26. Ongoing patches and version history are published by the developer — for the latest patch notes, see the official store or support page. GameRulePro summarizes the official release only and does not invent patch dates. When a developer ships a rule-affecting update (balance pass, mode change, or ranked-reset), re-run the generator above to keep your house rules in sync.
About Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas is the seventh entry in the series in the GTA franchise, but only second big title after GTA - Vice City. Setting up in fictional state San Andreas, you follow the story of CJ, a member of one of the multiple gangs in the city. CJ's family is being attacked in drive shooting which resulted in the death of CJ's mother, so he returns to home from Liberty City. Meeting the rest of the family at his mom's funeral, he decides to rebuild the gang and gain control of the state. The game makes a brilliant connection with missions and open world actions that you are able to do around the cities. You can steal cars, buy guns, hunt for collectables and do some side quests, while different characters give you specific missions in order to push the plot forward. Streets are filled with people as well as plenty of vehicles to steal. Fictional brands of cars, tanks, bikes are available to be stolen from any place around the city. Armoury contains pistols, rifles, hand-machine guns or a rocket launcher as well as melee weapons giving player freedom in anything he's doing in GTA.
Performance reality & how to tune Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
GameRulePro editorial — these notes are based on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas's published specifications and genre profile, not a single benchmark run. Use them to set expectations before you open the settings menu.
As a 2004 action title, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sits at demand tier 2 (Light (entry discrete GPU)) — light on PC. It is light enough for older hardware and even integrated graphics at lower settings.
What to tune first on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Start from the Best graphics settings generator on this page for a hardware-matched preset.
- Shadows and post-processing effects are usually the cheapest FPS wins.
- If you crash or stutter, jump to the crash-fix and optimization guides linked below.
The FPS table above is a model estimate from the demand-tier + GPU-index method. Real frame rates vary with drivers, background apps, thermals and resolution. Treat it as a buying or upgrade planning aid, then verify in-game. For step-by-step fixes, see the crash-fix and optimization guides linked on this page.
Sources & attribution
- Game data (release year, genres, platforms, system requirements, description, cover art) via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21.
- GPU relative-performance indices via TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), retrieved 2026-08-29.
- FPS estimates on this page are GameRulePro planning estimates from the demand-tier + GPU-index model — not benchmark results.
- House rules and tournament formats are community-style templates for casual play, not official rulebooks.
- Pre-launch intelligence (release windows, settings, editions, pricing, beta dates) is compiled from each title's official publisher / studio announcements and is source-linked per item with its retrieval date (2026-09-09). Where a detail is from reporting rather than a primary source, the item's source line states so. This is preview material, not an official specification.
- Per-game age-rating & regional compliance reference (ESRB rating via RAWG; curated regulatory notes) from the GameRulePro game-rules dataset, retrieved 2026-08-29.
How the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas FPS estimate and rules generator are computed
Each game is scored on a 0–9 demand tier from its published PC requirements (and a year/genre fallback when requirements are absent). The FPS estimate compares your selected GPU's relative-performance index against the tier's required index using a diminishing-returns curve, then scales for resolution. The rules and tournament builder is a community-style template engine: it formats your group size, match format and tiebreaks into a printable sheet. All outputs are planning guides — verify in-game and agree house rules with your group before play.
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