I don't really like these threads either..but..what settings should I run my CS:S at?

[wzc89]

My specs are:

Athlon 64 3000+
512 DDR PC2100 (slooooow)
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
Windows XP Pro SP1

Right now i'm at the 'reccomended' and is till feel really laggy. When I see someome my fps goes pretty much to 0 as it locks up... for that one second

Thanks for any help

 

[Ecthe|ioN]

I would suggest getting a new videocard (Radeon 9800XT) and 512MB (recommend 2x512) PC3200 ram if you could affort it You cpu is more than enough.

If you can't affort it, we need to know what settings you are currently running at. With that videocard it looks like a 800x600, Medium Detailed with no Antialiasing and Anisotropic Filterting.

With a new videocard and new RAM you could bump that up to atleast 1024x768, High Detail, 4xAA, 8xAF. Maybe more.

Be sure you have the lastest drivers installed. Download them from www.ati.com if you haven't got em. I recommend using drivercleaner before installing new videocard-drivers. Goodle "Drivercleaner" and read the instructions before you use it.

Good luck.

 

[Mouldy Punk]

ATI Radeon 9600 Pro

Same card as me

Make sure AA and AF are off in the game menu and in the ATI tray tools. My ATI tray tools were forcing max AA and AF which gave me rubbish FPS. I run @ the lowest settings for everything atm. I don't need to but I like having a FPS in the 90's

 

[Biscuit]

Well, you have better specs than me, and I run everything at high with about 25-40 FPS

ATI 9200
512 MB SDRAM
1.3Ghz P4

You should be able to run everything at high with no AA or AF and get pretty good FPS.

 

[wzc89]

I'm running at 1024x768 medium. No AA / AF ingame or in ATI contorl panel.

A new card woudl be great, but I'm really out of money. Why would you suggest me gettin ga 9800 xt? I mean its already old-gen and the x800 ahs a HUUUGE improvmeent over hte 9800 series... hehe.

And the RAM, yeah i really need that, so far i am thinkin that perhaps i could get 512 PC3200 HyperX.. its around $200 CDN here.

WHich shoudl I get first? (save up for first)

The thing is..when I go 800x600.. cs doens't like my 100hz refresh rate.
I play in a comp. team for cs 1.6 and my resolution (800x600) is FORCED at 100hz by reforce.. source hates that and would say 'video mode cannot be loaded!" or whatever.. so i was forced to play at 1024....

 

[Schock Therapy]

You should be able to get away with running fairly high
settings even with the 9600. It really depends how picky you are about framerates. Personally, I would rather have better visual quality instead of an extra 10fps, as long as it doesn't dip below 30fps.

A memory upgrade would definitely be a good idea, but why would you bother with the expensive stuff? I don't know where you live, but here in Vancouver you can get 512mb Samsung 400mhz ram for just over $100. You can't run it any faster than your older ram anyway, so why spend more? Obviously a graphics card upgrade would make a big difference but you are looking at a big chunk of money to move into the current generation. You should hold off until X800 prices come down out of the stratosphere.

In order to improve your performance on your 9600pro you should definitely do some benchmarking and tweaking. It is very important to upgrade your drivers to the latest, or better yet, try the Omega drivers. The latest release gives huge performance boost. What do you score on the CSs stress test?

 

[Rikaelus]

Shouldn't video ram be factored into this, too? I have a 9600 (no PRO or anything) w/ 256mb of RAM and I've been able to play the game easily on 1024x768 (or was it 1280x1024?) -- whatever the normal resolution is below 1600x1200. Everything else is at the defaults.

I also have 1GB of PC2100 RAM and a Athlon64 3200+.