console 30fps feels way smoother than pc 30fps and it's all frame pacing

Been seeing a lot of people dreading a 30fps cap if that's what GTA 6 ends up with on PS5 and Series X. I've got a decent PC, a weak one, and a bunch of consoles, so I've played 30fps on both sides plenty. The console version almost always feels better.

It comes down to frame pacing. On console, a 30fps lock usually means the frame times are consistent. Your 1% lows sit close to 30, so there's no weird judder. On PC, if your average is 30, your 1% lows are probably dipping way below that. The CPU gets hit unevenly, and the moment it's overwhelmed you get stutters. Not just lower fps, actual hitches.

Consoles all have the same CPU, so devs can optimize around one target. PC has a million combos. That's why a locked 30 on PS5 can feel smooth while a PC at 30 feels like garbage. Unless you've got a modern CPU paired with an older GPU, but most people upgrade the GPU first and leave the CPU behind.

I'm not saying console 30 is as good as PC 60. It's not. But console 30 is way better than PC 30. I think that's why console players seem okay with 30 and PC players lose their minds. If GTA 6 does ship at 30 on consoles, I'd rather have that than a PC port that's barely holding 30 with stutters everywhere. Rockstar's console versions are usually rock solid with frame pacing anyway.

---

Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.