[FAQ] CS:S for low end users (FPS help)

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This tutorial is intended for people with low end machines, which can be qualified as machines with some type of 1.7 gigahertz processor or below, an agp slot - mostly towards 4x, or an nVidia 5900 series or below card or an ATI 9600 series or below (although you may also want to copy and paste the following link for the VALVe hardware assesment service)

 

steam://support/?Issues=*

 

. It is separated into six sections:

 

1. Graphic Card Drivers

2. Command Line Settings

3. Automatically Executed Configuration

4. Setting Priorities

5. In game settings.

6. Other Helpful links

 

It is intended to get the maximum playability for those who can not afford to upgrade; it is not going to make a pretty game with all the bells and whistles, rather, it will turn them ALL OFF. Your game, when done, will now graphically resemble CS 1.6, but hopefully will be more playable in Source. This tutorial is not intended for users who already have a decent machine and just want to "squeeze out a few more fps", rather, it's for players who have fps problems. I hope it helps. This tutorial can easily be modified to work on all Source games, not just CS: S.

 

**Note** THIS TUTORIAL PROBABLY WON'T HELP IF YOU DON'T HAVE AT LEAST THE MINIMUM SPECS

 

1.) Graphic Card Drivers

 

BE SURE TO HAVE DirectX 9.0c INSTALLED. NOT SURE WHAT VERSION YOU HAVE? CLICK START-> RUN-> TYPE IN DXDIAG. THIS WILL TELL YOU RIGHT AWAY

 

Older cards require older drivers. Just because a new driver was released doesn't mean you should install it. They won't help geForce F/X or ati 9600 or below series owners, and may in fact hinder you. I think nVidia put it best, on this one. Guru3d has a great database of graphics drivers for everything, and an awesome forum to help you identify which drivers you need(although for older nVidia users I recommend the 79.11 drivers). Check them out at: Guru of 3D

 

But, be sure to use the software removal tools for any drivers. There are some on Guru of 3D although I've also heard good things about Driver Cleaner, too. When you've downloaded and installed the driver removal tool of your choice, and after you've downloaded but before you've installed the new driver, be sure to:

 

* open Control Panel-> Add/remove Software-> find your card's drivers -> remove

* Reboot in Safe Mode ->tap the f8 key while rebooting to get this option

* Run the driver removal tool of your choice

* Reboot normally

* Install your new driver

 

2.) Command Line Settings

 

THESE ARE EASY TO UNDO

 

First, start Steam. (Figure 2 shows DoD:S, substitute CS:S instead)

 

* Then, right click on the Steam icon in the lower right hand corner Figure 1.

* Select Games Figure 1.

* Right click on Counter Strike : Source Figure 2.

* Click Properties

* Click Set Launch Options Figure 2.

* enter in the following commands, the only spaces being between the commands as well as the command values Figure 2.:

 

Set the amount of ram used by Steam*. it is recommended to use 1/2 your available ram - so for the following:

Code:

 

-heapsize <number>

 

* Ram - Heapsize

* 2 gigs - 1048576

* 1 gig - 524288

* 512 megs - 262144

* 256 megs - 131072

* 128 megs - 65536 (you should consider buying more ram)

 

*VALVe has said that this doesn't control

the same resources it did in Half-Life. For more

information read this.

 

Specify the DirectX level used by the game.**

Code:

 

-dxlevel <number>

 

* DxLevel - Number

* 9.0c - 90 (really unnecessary if you are already fine)

* 8.1 - 81

* 8.0 - 80

* 7.0 - 70 (recommended for very low-end, although leagues consider this a cheat, for which I can understand.)

 

**Also, once set, you should remove this command from the launch options before

the next time you play. That way, if you've made any video setting changes

from the game engine after this, it will save and not reset itself each time.

 

3.) Automatically Executed Configuration

 

TO UNDO THESE, RENAME OR DELETE THE AUTOEXEC.CFG FILE, THEN START THE GAME. OPEN YOUR CONSOLE ANDTYPE IN THE FOLLOWING -

-autoconfig

Thanks, Bazooka

 

Copy the following code (Thanks, Casey) and paste it into windows notepad. Name it autoexec.cfg and save it in your c:\Program Files\Steam\ . . .counter-strike source\hl2\cfg\ directory.

**Note**Both the r_drawdetailprops and the r_propsmaxdist are considered cheats in most leagues, so do not include these if you play in CAL, TPG, BFE, or ViE **

 

Here are the commands, with a brief explanation (to activate or de-activate certain lines, simply comment or un-comment them by adding or removing "//" in front of the actual command. when the two forward slashes are there, like "//mat_dxlevel 60" that means it's not going to be read by the computer.):

 

Code:

 

// Casey's Source Config

// Updated 6/26/06

 

// _Set netcode settings_

// _adjusts hitboxes and netcode settings for optimal registration_

 

cl_cmdbackup 2

cl_cmdrate 101

cl_interp 0.01

cl_interpolate 1

cl_lagcomp_errorcheck 1

cl_lagcompensation 1

cl_updaterate 101

cl_smooth 1

rate 25000

 

// _Set graphics settings_

// _adjusts graphics settings to boost framerate_

 

cl_ejectbrass 0 // _disables shells flying out of guns_

cl_forcepreload 1 // _forces preload to help increase performance_

cl_phys_props_enable 0 // _disables trash and cans etc_

cl_phys_props_max 0 // _disables trash and cans etc_

cl_ragdoll_physics_enable 0 // _disables dead animations and bodies_

cl_show_splashes 0 // _disables splashes when in water_

fps_max 101 // _caps FPS_

mat_forceaniso 0 // _disables anisotropic filtering_

mat_antialias 0 // _disables antialiasing_

mat_bloomscale 0

mat_bumpmap 0 // _disables bumpmapping_

mat_clipz 1 // _disabled non visible object rendering_

mat_fastnobump 1 // _faster bump mapping_

mat_fastspecular 1 // _fast specular lighting_

mat_mipmaptextures 1 // _texture quality decreases with distance_

mat_hdr_enabled 0 // _disables high dynamic range lighting_

mat_picmip 1 // _lower texture quality--set between 0 and 4_

mat_reducefillrate 1 // _reduces shader fill rate_

mat_specular 0 // _disables specular lighting_

mat_trilinear 0 // _disables trilinear filtering_

mat_wateroverlaysize 16 // _lowers water quality_

mat_vsync 0 // _disables vertical synchronization_

mp_decals 50 // _how many bullets etc will be shown_

muzzleflash_light 0 // _disables muzzleflash_

r_3dsky 0// _disables 3d skybox_

r_avglight 0 // _disables average lighting_

r_cheapwaterend 1 // _worse water rendering_

r_cheapwaterstart 1 // _worse water rendering_

r_decal_cullsize 2 // _lower texture quality at distance_

r_decals 0 // _disables player sprays_

r_drawdetailprops 0 // _disables detail props_

r_drawflecks 0 // _disables bullet impacts_

r_drawmodeldecals 0 // _disables decals on models_

r_dynamic 0 // _disables dynamic lighting_

r_eyes 0 // _removes eyes from player models_

r_lightaverage 0 // _disables average lighting_

r_lightinterp 0 // _disables light interpolation_

r_lod 0 // _adjusts model quality--set between -5 and 5_

r_occlusion 0 // _disables occlusion--lowers image quality but gains FPS_

r_propsmaxdist 100 // _lower object fading distance_

r_renderoverlayfragment 0

r_rootlod 2 // _lower overall game detail level_

r_shadows 1 // _set to 0 to disable shadows (not recommended)_

r_teeth 0 // _removes teeth from player models_

r_waterforceexpensive 0 // _disables high-quality water_

rope_averagelight 0 // _disables average lighting on ropes_

rope_smooth 0 // _disables antialiasing on ropes_

rope_subdiv 0

rope_wind_dist 0 // _disables wind effects on ropes_

 

// _Set violence settings_

// _increases blood to help you see hits better_

 

violence_ablood 1

violence_agibs 1

violence_hblood 1

violence_hgibs 1

 

// _Set HUD and xhair settings_

// _adjusts HUD and xhair for easy viewing_

 

cl_crosshairalpha 999 // _bright crosshair_

cl_crosshairusealpha 1 // _enables adjustable crosshair brightness_

cl_c4progressbar 1 // _enables C4 progress bar_

cl_radaralpha 255 // _maximum radar brightness_

cl_radartype 1 // _enables solid radar_

hud_centerid 1 // _centers player IDs_

net_graph 3 // _enables net_graph 3--CAL required!_

net_graphpos 2 // _adjusts netgraph position-set between 1 and 3_

 

// _Set various settings_

 

budget_show_history 0 // _disables history graph_

cl_downloadfilter "nosounds" // _disables annoying sound downloads_

jpeg_quality 100 // _high quality screenshots_

mat_monitorgamma 1.6 // _maximum ingame brightness_

net_graph 3 // _enables net_graph 3--CAL required!_

net_graphpos 2 // _adjusts netgraph position-set between 1 and 3_

sv_forcepreload 1 // _forces preload to help increase performance_

 

clear

echo "_casey's config loaded_"

 

4.) Setting Priorities

 

THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE, AS ON SOME SYSTEMS IT CAN DESTABILIZE THINGS.

 

* Launch CS:S. Wait for it to fully load.

* hit ctrl+alt+del.

* In the taskmanager window, hit the processes tab.

* Find Steam.

* Select it, right click it-> set priority-> below normal.

* Close the Taskmanager, alt+tab back into game.

 

5.) In Game Settings

 

THESE ARE THE EASIST TO EDIT, BUT BE SURE AFTER YOU SET THESE AND SUCCESSFULLY TEST THEM TO REMOVE THE DXLEVEL SWITCH FROM YOUR LAUNCH OPTIONS IF YOU HAVE ENABLED IT, OTHERWISE THEY WILL RESET.

 

Video Qualities

 

* Start CS:S.

* Click Options Figure 3.

* Make sure your screen resolution is set to a smaller size, like 640 x 480 or 800x 600 Figure 3.

* Click advanced. make everything low or off, except leave the texture filtering to trilinear unless you have a graphics card older than 3 years, in which case you most likely need bilinear, and should really consider an inexpensive upgrade. Figure 3.

* Apply.

 

Sound Quality

 

* Also, on some machines, certain soundcards, especially board integrated sound cards, rely too much on the cpu. Try setting your sound quality to medium or low.

* ->Options->audio Fig.4

 

6.) Other Helpful Links

 

* GotFrag Tweak

* Whisper's Wiki -General Game FPS guide

* Amadeus III's Configs

* EMORAY'S Links

 

Good luck to those with older machines, once again I hope this helps. Please feel free to repost this tutorial anywhere, but please credit me for it. If anyone has any questions or contributional comments please post below.

 

By taxbat