The Delayed Experience: Revisiting Max Payne 3 After Almost a Decade
I found myself distracted by Far Cry 3 and Dishonored, both of which came out the same year I had an AMD A4 APU at the time. Because it ran both of the aforementioned games at about 20 FPS by the time I was done, we were already midway through 2013, and GTA V was all I could think about. I pretty much played that exclusively for the next few months - eight years later, and I've come to realize that I missed out on not only a good game but one of the most well-optimized games of all time.
One of the reasons I avoided playing Max Payne 3 on PC back in 2012 was because my mum's HP compact desktop had less RAM than half the kitchen appliances, and had as much computing power as a pound shop calculator. This was mainly due to the fact that it wasn't a console-to-PC port; it was developed alongside the 360 and PS3 versions and designed to run well on a wide range of machines from low-end to high-spec.
However, what I didn't realize at the time was that Max Payne 3 was actually one of those rare games that would run on almost anything. Unlike GTA IV, which was ported to PC and had some performance issues, Max Payne 3 was developed with a wide range of machines in mind from the start. Even today, it's still possible to play this game on low-end hardware, but with some compromises on visuals.
At its lowest setting, Max Payne 3 looks like this - not bad at all considering the game's graphical demands even back in 2012 PC games usually took up around 15-20 GB of space. However, due to the visual enhancements that the PC version features, such as four times higher textures than the consoles, better quality audio, multi-sample anti-aliasing, and optional DirectX 11 enhancements, the overall install size is actually quite substantial.
The idea behind graphical settings menus is to allow players to tweak their game to run on a wide range of PCs. However, Max Payne 3 takes this concept to the max - literally! The game has been optimized to run using even the lowest tested specs, with the combination of a dual-core Intel or AMD processor, two GBs of RAM, and an 8800 GT or AMD 3400 series card suggested for low-end performance. On the other end of the spectrum, you've got a suggested 6-core i7 with 16 GBs of memory and a 680 or 7970 top-tier hardware.
Even on lower-end hardware, Max Payne 3 still manages to run relatively smoothly, maintaining a 30 FPS average even in more demanding areas where the frame rate might dip slightly. The fact that I can play this game even on my own aging PC - which has a Core i3-2120 and an NVIDIA GTX 750 graphics card - is a testament to Rockstar's efforts to ensure compatibility across a wide range of hardware configurations.
The Game Runs Well, Even Today
In summary, Max Payne 3 will run well on almost any hardware configuration. The game supports DX9, 10, 10.1, and 11 features, has a wide range of graphical options, and plenty of resolutions to choose from. It's also capable of running at high settings even in 2021, albeit with some dips in performance.
The game's visuals have improved over time due to the inclusion of new graphics enhancements. Despite being released back in 2012, Max Payne 3 still looks great on modern hardware and runs well, making it a perfect example of a PC game that was given extra care and attention during development. I regret not paying more attention to this game earlier on, as I missed out on something truly special.
If you're interested in playing Max Payne 3, now is the time. The game is still widely available, and its low system requirements make it accessible even to those with aging hardware. If you've got an older PC or one that struggles with a lot of games, be sure to consider adding Max Payne 3 to your library. Leave a like down below if you enjoyed this article; leave a dislike if you didn't let me know what you think of Max Payne 3 and how well it runs on your hardware. Subscribe to the channel for more content, and hopefully, I'll see all of you in the next video!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everyone and welcome to another video now i've got to be honest i had never played more than half an hour of max payne 3 before the start of this week that's not because i didn't like it i just found myself distracted by far cry 3 and dishonored both of which came out the same year i had an amd a4 apu at the time and because it ran both of the aforementioned games at about 20 fps by the time i was done we were already midway through 2013 and gta 5 was all i could think about i pretty much played that exclusively for the next few months eight years later and i've come to realise that i missed out on not only a good game but one of the most well optimized games of all time like almost everyone the last open world rockstar game i played before 2012 was gta 4 a true masterpiece that ran fine on my 360 but one that i avoided on pc this was mainly because in 2008 the only pc in the house was my mum's hp compact desktop which sported less ram than half the kitchen appliances and had as much computing power as a pound shop calculator why is gta 4 relevant to this tail well because unlike gta max payne 3 will probably run on almost anything for starters it wasn't a console to pc port it was developed alongside the 360 and ps3 versions and designed to run well on a wide range of machines from low end to high spec at its lowest setting it looks like this but at its highest it's still quite impressive even today back in 2012 pc games usually took up around 15 to 20 gigs of space but this was over 30. i couldn't quite believe the size as i clicked install on steam earlier this week but because of the visual enhancements that the pc version features such as four times higher textures than the consoles better quality audio multi-sample anti-aliasing and optional directx 11 enhancements to name a handful the overall install size is certainly justified and by 2021 standards it's really not that large it's not uncommon to be able to tweak a game to run on a wide range of pcs that's the whole idea behind graphical settings menus but max payne 3 takes the term wide range well to the max sorry i couldn't resist just one at the lowest end of things we have a dual core intel or amd processor two gigs of ram and an 8800 gt or amd 3400 series card suggested but at the opposite end of the spectrum we've got a suggested 6 core i7 16 gigs of memory and a 680 or 7970 truly top tier hardware back in the day remember what i said about optimization though even rockstar themselves said that the game will still run using the lowest tested specs well i don't have any hardware that matches this criteria exactly i did have a pentium g3220 dual core cpu hd 3650 and four gigs of ram to hand though i am using windows 10. even so you wouldn't think that max payne 3 even with a heavily reduced resolution and visuals would run on this 2 core and 256 megabytes of vram setup but the combination soldiered on maintaining a 30 fps average even in more demanding areas where the frame rate still tends to dip a little more most of you watching probably have better hardware than this a lot of you probably have better hardware than the system that's been used to play and capture the b-roll footage of the game as well that's right the most powerful hardware i've used today is a core i321 2120 and a one gigabyte gtx 750 which in combination can run max payne 3 at mostly very high settings with 1080p resolution and 60fps again more demanding levels will cause dips to the mid 40s but if you've got an aging pc or one that struggles with a lot of games be sure to consider adding 2012's max payne 3 to your library to summarize this game will run well on a very large range of hardware it supports dx9 10 10.1 and 11 features has a wide range of graphical options and plenty of resolutions to choose from it can go from looking fantastic even in 2021 to looking well still pretty acceptable even at reduced quality settings it's a perfect example of a pc game that's been paid extra care and attention to during development and i regret not paying it more attention myself earlier on because i really missed out on something here but thank you very much for watching this one then if you enjoyed it leave a like down below leave a dislike if you didn't let me know what you think of max payne 3 and of course let me know how well it runs on your hardware subscribe to the channel if you haven't done so already and hopefully i'll see all of you in the next onehello everyone and welcome to another video now i've got to be honest i had never played more than half an hour of max payne 3 before the start of this week that's not because i didn't like it i just found myself distracted by far cry 3 and dishonored both of which came out the same year i had an amd a4 apu at the time and because it ran both of the aforementioned games at about 20 fps by the time i was done we were already midway through 2013 and gta 5 was all i could think about i pretty much played that exclusively for the next few months eight years later and i've come to realise that i missed out on not only a good game but one of the most well optimized games of all time like almost everyone the last open world rockstar game i played before 2012 was gta 4 a true masterpiece that ran fine on my 360 but one that i avoided on pc this was mainly because in 2008 the only pc in the house was my mum's hp compact desktop which sported less ram than half the kitchen appliances and had as much computing power as a pound shop calculator why is gta 4 relevant to this tail well because unlike gta max payne 3 will probably run on almost anything for starters it wasn't a console to pc port it was developed alongside the 360 and ps3 versions and designed to run well on a wide range of machines from low end to high spec at its lowest setting it looks like this but at its highest it's still quite impressive even today back in 2012 pc games usually took up around 15 to 20 gigs of space but this was over 30. i couldn't quite believe the size as i clicked install on steam earlier this week but because of the visual enhancements that the pc version features such as four times higher textures than the consoles better quality audio multi-sample anti-aliasing and optional directx 11 enhancements to name a handful the overall install size is certainly justified and by 2021 standards it's really not that large it's not uncommon to be able to tweak a game to run on a wide range of pcs that's the whole idea behind graphical settings menus but max payne 3 takes the term wide range well to the max sorry i couldn't resist just one at the lowest end of things we have a dual core intel or amd processor two gigs of ram and an 8800 gt or amd 3400 series card suggested but at the opposite end of the spectrum we've got a suggested 6 core i7 16 gigs of memory and a 680 or 7970 truly top tier hardware back in the day remember what i said about optimization though even rockstar themselves said that the game will still run using the lowest tested specs well i don't have any hardware that matches this criteria exactly i did have a pentium g3220 dual core cpu hd 3650 and four gigs of ram to hand though i am using windows 10. even so you wouldn't think that max payne 3 even with a heavily reduced resolution and visuals would run on this 2 core and 256 megabytes of vram setup but the combination soldiered on maintaining a 30 fps average even in more demanding areas where the frame rate still tends to dip a little more most of you watching probably have better hardware than this a lot of you probably have better hardware than the system that's been used to play and capture the b-roll footage of the game as well that's right the most powerful hardware i've used today is a core i321 2120 and a one gigabyte gtx 750 which in combination can run max payne 3 at mostly very high settings with 1080p resolution and 60fps again more demanding levels will cause dips to the mid 40s but if you've got an aging pc or one that struggles with a lot of games be sure to consider adding 2012's max payne 3 to your library to summarize this game will run well on a very large range of hardware it supports dx9 10 10.1 and 11 features has a wide range of graphical options and plenty of resolutions to choose from it can go from looking fantastic even in 2021 to looking well still pretty acceptable even at reduced quality settings it's a perfect example of a pc game that's been paid extra care and attention to during development and i regret not paying it more attention myself earlier on because i really missed out on something here but thank you very much for watching this one then if you enjoyed it leave a like down below leave a dislike if you didn't let me know what you think of max payne 3 and of course let me know how well it runs on your hardware subscribe to the channel if you haven't done so already and hopefully i'll see all of you in the next one\n"
