Rockstar Games advises against copying boths discs for Grand Theft Auto V onto your Xbox 360 hard drive using the console’s “Install” feature, Eurogamer reports.
The 360 version of GTA V spreads across two discs: one is the “play” disc that sits in your drive while you’re in the game and the other is the “install” disc, containing a mandatory 8GB of installation data. The “install” disc takes care of itself the first time you launch GTA V, with a prompt that requires you to load the necessary data onto your hard drive before you can continue on to play. However, it’s also possible to install the “play” disc using an Xbox 360 dashboard feature; that’s the installation Rockstar recommends against using.
The GTA developer merely noted that it’s best to not install the game’s “play” disc “for optimal performance,” making no mention of what might occur if you install both. Perhaps Trevor steps through your TV and head-kicks you into unconsciousness? More likely, an installed “play” disc leads to issues with pop-in textures in the massive streaming world, as Digital Foundry discovered (video evidence embedded below).
Digital Foundry’s video makes a strong case for skipping the 360’s dashboard installation. The site notes (and the video confirms) that the pop-in issues aren’t rampant, but it is undeniably less than optimal.
