Counter-Strike: Source lags?

[DarkFang]

Ever since I've upgraded from Windows XP, Counter-Strike: Source just seems to lag a lot. It isn't my graphics card because it doesn't matter if I have the settings on max or on min, the lag still continues. It's not my ping because is was around 10 when I was playing. The in game FPS counter said I was getting 20 FPS but when I had Windows XP, I was getting around average 55+.

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9600 Black Edition @ 2.30GHz
Graphics Card: XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB
Memory: 4GB Corsair DDR2

I'm terribly sorry if this has already been answered before and if it has, would someone please close or delete this thread. Thank you.

 

[WalkerA WinTeam]

Hi DarkFang,

Have you tried disabling Aero before playing the game? There's also a general help topic on the Windows Support site: Fixing game performance problems

Let me know if that helps at all.

Cheers,

Walker
Windows Outreach Team

 

[DarkFang]

Still didn't work. It's making other things laggy too like snes9x. Snes9x shouldn't be that big of a problem to run but it does lag somewhat when I'm playing a game.

 

[DarkFang]

Am I allowed to bump my own topic?

 

[Toastums]

Well DarkFang there are a few things you should know about CS:S at the moment.

Steam has put the game through several updates and now its engine is much more similar to TF2 (not sure if your familiar with it) but in other words it requires a significant amount more from your overall cpu usage so many users may not be seeing their previous sky rocketing fps (like I used to).

Personally my FPS has gone from a 60 to 30 and this is after tweaking my autorun scripts to optimize my graphics. At this point being that CS:S now requires a higher min. to run as smooth, I would recommend you check fpsbanana for an autoexec script which basically configures shaders and other environment elements.

Another thing you can try is to adjust your rates. This setting is usually included in most autoexec's for CS:S but you can also manually enter in console cl_cmdrate 101 cl_updaterate 101 and rate 25000 (or 30000 whichever your performance is smoother with). This helps your client side net upload and receive packets from the server better and smooths out gameplay and best of all helps your shots register more accurately.

The last bit of information I can give you is to possibly change what server your playing on and see if maybe its server side lag which is causing you to lag. As a result of the updates many servers still haven't gotten a chance to update their servers to run with optimal performance (this applies to maps as well especially a number of ze_escape maps which are broken now from the update). So there isn't much to be done if this is the case and your server is at fault and not your rig. (This is something I've faced personally so far in a few servers). Hope I was of some help

 

[Swifty]

Hello Dark Fang.

You have said you upgraded from XP to Windows 7 its a pretty nifty operating system is it not? Well I know when I upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista that I had started experiencing odd lag and it was really frustrating as my computer was perfectly fine and could run the game no problem.

May I ask if you have a Wireless connection to the internet? If so I know exactly what the problem is and how you can solve this issue.

http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/

I started using that program which stopped all background activity which was causing my game to randomly lag and to my surprise it worked like a charm. Hopefully this is your issue if it is not I am sorry that I could not resolve your issue.

Swifty.

 

[DarkFang]

No I use a wired connection.

 

[sygnus21]

Have you updated your Direct X files?

5 - Update your Direct X files - Contrary to popular belief, just because Windows 7 is DX11 capable doesn’t mean it has the latest DX9 files!!! Most game issues can be fixed by simply updating the DX files.

Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues

 

[DarkFang]

I already tried the Direct X thing but I'll do it again just to be sure.

I already have the most recent version for all my drivers. I tried everything in the guide. Does Windows 7 really use that much CPU? I guess I'll just have to upgrade to a better one.

EDIT: I don't think I have motherboard drivers. Could that be the issue?

 

[sygnus21]

I tried everything in the guide.

4 - Windows updates (Yes Windows Update!!!) – Microsoft often releases compatibility patches (hint "Compatibility"!!!). If a compatibility patch is released, install it! It’s a compatibility patch for a reason!!! I would also add that any "critical update" be installed for the proper and efficient operation of the OS.


- Connection Problems with game managers???….

- Games for Windows LIVE: Troubleshoot connection problems
:ar: - Steam - Troubleshooting Network Connectivity
- EA Download Manager Connection Problems

Speaking of connection problems... check to see that Windows firewall isn't blocking you. Control Panel, Windows Firewall, click "Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall" and that your game is allowed through (a checked box)



Just trying to help.

Good luck.

Later.

 

[Toastums]

This might sound odd but have you also tried to run the game in a lower direct x setting?
-dxlevel 95 to run 9c
-dxlevel 90/81 for Direct X 9 and 8.1 respectively.
If you do have all your latest direct x files that could help you render the game better.

 

[Rhammstein]

A while back I had a very similar bug with CS:S using a Nvidia card. It turned out to be a bug with the control panel. If I used the card driver to manually set settings in the game, it ran terrible and skipped around. I fixed the problem by going into the nvidia control panel, selecting CS:S and setting it to all default settings, from there the game ran perfectly, and I set my graphics options from within the game.

I can't test if this is still the case, I haven't used Nvidia for over a year, but the card was very similar.

This may not be the case but I think it's worth posting.

 

[Layback Bear]

Does your antivirus have a gaming mode.

 

[DarkFang]

Hey guys, just wanted to let you all know that I did upgrade my CPU and the game runs fine now.

I went from an AMD Phenom X4 9600 running at 2.3GHz to an AMD Phenom II X4 940 running at 3.0GHz.

 

[Internet Badass]

I play the game with an amd phenom 9950 at 2.6ghz and I run fine. Thats a little strange how it didnt run well with a 2.3 ghz processor...

 

[DarkFang]

I play the game with an amd phenom 9950 at 2.6ghz and I run fine. Thats a little strange how it didnt run well with a 2.3 ghz processor...

I guess the CPU and motherboard combination wasn't that great. I've also read that the Phenom X4 9600 has some speed issues and doesn't work as great as it says.