fps problems on CS source.

[shadow of chaos]

i have the latest drivers and i am getting bad fps on HL2 DM + cs source, when i say bad fps.. its like this, when i go to an open area the fps drops quite alot.. i am playing on a server right now and my ping is in the low 40-30's range.

it had 12 people on it and when i look at an open area ive seen the fps drop down well into the low 30's.

everything is set on reccomended.. i even turned off AA and AF and it is still poor in open areas, if i go look at the wall my fps shoots up though.

anyone know whats wrong?

btw, my friend has a 6600 card and says his fps doesnt drop like mine, i even tried the same graphics settings he used.. everything on high but AA + AF off.

[shadow of chaos]

I'm not sure but i "may" have found the problem..

i was playing CS just now and had the GPU temperature showing on the screen on the nvidia control panel thingy.. the core was past 130c.. it says core slowdown threshold is at 135c..

is that a possible cause of whats making my FPS drop so much or is it not even related?

EDIT: i was on a server then and there were only about 5 people.. i lowered the game and temp was around 128-129c.. is it extra characters etc causing the strain + temp to increase on the card and then throttling?

[jfk]

Open areas and NPC's tend to increase the gpu's workload, so it will get warmer. Your temps are high though. A couple things. Have you installed the AMD dual core optimizer for your CPU....it is designed to help dual core PC's cope with games, especially older games that weren't threaded for dual cores. Is your gpu fan free of dust and operating properly? I would install the dual core optimizer, clean the PC thoroughly and make sure the fan was working and try again. If the problem continues, try opening the side of your case and run a fan pointing at it...if that helps, you may have case ventilation issues compounding your problems by raising temp levels.

[newbuilder14]

I know CS very well - what is your actually FPS? I usually play between 100-200, maxing out around 230, and dropping to 70 in heavy action.

[jfk]

I know CS very well - what is your actually FPS? I usually play between 100-200, maxing out around 230, and dropping to 70 in heavy action.

Uh, how does this address answering his issue?:rolleyes:

[Underhanded]

Who knows. Probably just a shameless "look at my rig it rockzorz yours lol" post... though.. I would be heavily impressed if that rig actually put out 230 fps in source, with a 7600? bah.
In any case, I would heavily reccomend cleaning that pc out, who knows how much dust you got in there to make your gpu load at 130c. That is an INSANE temperature. If after cleaning the dust off the gpu and making sure the fan is working, if your temps are still amazingly high, I would reccomend reconfiguring the fans in your case (make sure they are all, or mostly, blowing air OUT of the case) and buying either an aftermarket gpu cooler or a pci slot loading cooling fan. Thses cooling fans work extremely well for cooling single core cards, and cost about $8 on newegg.

[shadow of chaos]

hi guys

well i took out the graphics card, unscrewed everything on it the hs fins near the fan had a line of dust clogged up in there.. i got it all out, it was quite a lump. I also took off the old thermal paste and put a small layer of new stuff on the core.

temps over 60c when gaming now, i ran CS S stress test and got 130 fps.. but in multiplayer the fps still drop, same in HL2 dm and HL2 single player.

anyone know at all? my friend with the 6600GT still says his fps doesnt drop down to low 30's and sometimes even lower, like mine does. I havent a clue now..

i remember testing my fathers pc, he has a simular setup bar different cpu and a 6800 GT but an AGP version - his fps also used to drop alot.

so is it normal? its annoying getting into a gunfight and dying because of the frame rate lag.

i had the card basically not long before the game came out, so in theory it should run the game top notch seeing as it was one of the best cards at the time (bar ati)

stumped.

[jfk]

Hmmm, if you've cleaned everything up and it's working fine, and you've lowered your temperatures, I would look next at your drivers. I'm not as familiar with NVIDIA drivers as ATI drivers, but instead of having the latest and greatest drivers, which may be optimized for newer cards, perhaps you could try some of the older drivers that were more optimized toward the 6800 series? I don't know their particular numbering system (I only have one NVIDIA card in the house, and it's on a PC that's hardly used anymore), but perhaps look for a driver that's 12-15 months old and try that. I know it sounds goofy, but it might do the trick. What drivers does your friend use on his 6600?

Did you install the Dual Core Optimizer from the AMD site? That is usually very helpful for games. If this only happened in multiplayer role, I would question your internet connection causing lag, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Install the dual core optimizer and try an older driver, and let's see what that does. FWIW.

[Shadar Logoth]

I wouldn't have thought it was the drivers. I run HL2 on an AGP 6600GT with latest drivers and its fine. In fact I used to play the game with an 128mb FX5200 and had no problems with that either. It seems to be a very stable game.

[shadow of chaos]

hi.

im using the latest drivers, ive tried older ones before.. the ones released to around the time the 6800 gt was out and it didnt make a difference.

I think my friend is using the newest drivers on his 6600.

I just want to know if its normal? its not good enough for me though, seems a little poor for a card thats released before the damn game is out.

Performance is ok, but not to my liking.. its playable but it can drop alot i see 30-40 fps quite commonly on open maps and ones with as little as 8 players on.

anyone else get this?

also i have installed the dual core fix.. but.. only 1 core is working on my dual core right now (need to format to change something to enable it)..

[jfk]

What is the maximimum fps you get in the game? Also, please try the CS stress test and state what you get for a fps score there. You also need to get that second core enabled. It shouldn't require a format, check in your device manager. The only thing I can think of at the moment on the core is that your BIOS version is old enough that it doesn't support dual cores. Which BIOS version is it?

[Pooh Bear]

Currently on CS with my res @ 1680-1200ishsomething or other I'm averaging about 120-170FPS
with my Second PC Setup - with the Duel Core + 8800GTX... Rather nice..

Though I have a slight 'fading' problem right now where CT's and T's will turn into just a gray smug
whenever they get so far away... kind of annoying, only happens in shadow/darker area's.

[shadow of chaos]

What is the maximimum fps you get in the game? Also, please try the CS stress test and state what you get for a fps score there. You also need to get that second core enabled. It shouldn't require a format, check in your device manager. The only thing I can think of at the moment on the core is that your BIOS version is old enough that it doesn't support dual cores. Which BIOS version is it?
130 fps in the stress test after a reboot.

i cant get the 2nd core working, i did something to disable it because 2 cores were conflicting with stuff and causing problems..

so anyway, anyone know if my fps are normal? its not satisfactory.

Pretty poor if u need to wait 6 months after a game you want is released to buy a video card capable of playing that game without any lag.

[jfk]

Try uninstalling your video drivers, rebooting into safe mode, and run Driver Cleaner Pro to COMPLETELY remove them. Reboot normally, and when you get the "new hardware found" (it will do it twice), hit cancel. Then reinstall your drivers.

Did you install the Dual Core Optimizer as I asked earlier? Go here to get it:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html

Finally, you should be able to go into your device manager (start>control panel>administrative tools>computer management>device manager). You should be able to view your CPU information there and make sure both cores are activated.

There is a conflict somewhere. That card will run that game better than that.

[shadow of chaos]

Try uninstalling your video drivers, rebooting into safe mode, and run Driver Cleaner Pro to COMPLETELY remove them. Reboot normally, and when you get the "new hardware found" (it will do it twice), hit cancel. Then reinstall your drivers.

Did you install the Dual Core Optimizer as I asked earlier? Go here to get it:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html

Finally, you should be able to go into your device manager (start>control panel>administrative tools>computer management>device manager). You should be able to view your CPU information there and make sure both cores are activated.

There is a conflict somewhere. That card will run that game better than that.
i did install the dual core optimizer as you asked. I went into computer management and i cant see the cpu listed under device manager, it also says under "Computer" its saying "Standard pc" i think that is wrong.. it needs to be changed. Anyway, ive opened up CPU Z and it only shows 1 core.

as for driver cleaner pro, ill download it now and do what you said.

[newbuilder14]

Who knows. Probably just a shameless "look at my rig it rockzorz yours lol" post... though.. I would be heavily impressed if that rig actually put out 230 fps in source, with a 7600? bah.
In any case, I would heavily reccomend cleaning that pc out, who knows how much dust you got in there to make your gpu load at 130c. That is an INSANE temperature. If after cleaning the dust off the gpu and making sure the fan is working, if your temps are still amazingly high, I would reccomend reconfiguring the fans in your case (make sure they are all, or mostly, blowing air OUT of the case) and buying either an aftermarket gpu cooler or a pci slot loading cooling fan. Thses cooling fans work extremely well for cooling single core cards, and cost about $8 on newegg.

You cannot logically say that I don't get 230fps because you have no clue at all. I would gladly show you a screenshot, but I don't feel like it... I said maxes out, which means only sometimes in open areas.

And JFK the reason I asked the FPS was because he didn't really state his actually FPS amount sin his original post, at least when I read it.

If you played or knew CS well you'd know you can run that game on almost any video card - it is highly CPU intensive, that is where it takes advantaged of my OC'ed e6300.

[jfk]

You cannot logically say that I don't get 230fps because you have no clue at all. I would gladly show you a screenshot, but I don't feel like it... I said maxes out, which means only sometimes in open areas.

And JFK the reason I asked the FPS was because he didn't really state his actually FPS amount sin his original post, at least when I read it.

If you played or knew CS well you'd know you can run that game on almost any video card - it is highly CPU intensive, that is where it takes advantaged of my OC'ed e6300.

New, he DID state his fps from the get go in his first post. Also, he's running an Opty 170, which is hardly a slacker from a performanace perspective. That system SHOULD be getting more than 30-40 fps at any point in CS:S.

[glc]

Standard PC is wrong - it should be ACPI dual processor. You need to be using 2K or XP Pro. XP Home is not dual processor compatible. You may need to reinstall Windows and make sure ACPI is enabled in the bios - and that you have the latest bios.

[jfk]

glc,

Do you mean XP Home is not dual core compatible, or dual procesor compatible? I ask because I run XP home with my dual core, and everything works fine. In device manager it shows two processors, and when you click on one, it shows "standard processor" in an ACPI compliant system. Network manager shows two cores, and I can set the affinity for programs to either core. Also, the OP's mobo is a single CPU board. Needless to say, I'm a little confused by your statement...care to elaborate? Thanks.

[newbuilder14]

Well, he said dual processor.

Why do you think so many people have dual core CPUs using XP Home?

[jfk]

Thanks glc.;) BTW, a dual core is technically a dual processor, two CPU's on one wafer, but I'm sure you knew that.;) I would like GLC to expand on that statement, as I'm curious about it. I'm also not sure if it was done to point out the OP's misuse of the term, or if glc thought his mobo was in fact a dual processor setup. Sometimes it's good to read more and interject less, but that's JMO.:)

[glc]

The OP has a dual PROCESSOR rig according to his sig. XP Home is dual CORE compatible but not dual PROCESSOR compatible (dual processor = 2 CPU's in 2 sockets).

[jfk]

Roger that, just wanted clarification on your end. Thanks.

Shadow, any luck with the driver cleaning and reload?

[shadow of chaos]

Hi

just to clear things up im using a dual core cpu, not 2 processors on 1 board.

I forgot to put "Dual core" instead it says dual opty.

anyway, ive uninstalled the nvidia graphics drivers and ran driver cleaner pro so everything is clean.. however performance is still the same.

as for my processor not showing up dual core im not sure, i havent been able to fix it.. i dont see it is part of my problem though as the game should run fine on just the 1 functioning core anyway.

i cant say i remember CS:S running this way the first months i played the game after it came out with HL2.. but why do the FPS drop to low 30's sometimes 20's? i was expecting 60fps even minimum, so is it a problem or am i just expecting too much?.. i think the benchmark is right around 130fps so there doesnt seem to be any issue with that?.

Another thing id like to point out, i have a pretty loud fan on this SI 120, a 40.5 dba which ive stuck with since earlier this year.. The temps are awful, easily lead up to 50c even without overclocking the chip.. and its not bad contact with the cpu as ive already reseated it with fresh thermal paste.

im using XP pro also btw.

:confused:

[shadow of chaos]

http://www.boomspeed.com/shadowuk/fpscss.JPG

Just thought i'd post a pic here of FPS i can get..

it was a server in a different country of course, i get basically the same fps on servers i get low pings on also. Ive seen my ping around 15 to 30 the lowest on uk servers.

[jfk]

shadow, I'm sorry man, I'm out of ideas....don't know what to say other than I agree that you should be getting better performance. Maybe glc will stop back and help you resolve the CPU issue. Have you looked for any CS:S forums that might have a troubleshooting forum and asked there?

As far as your SI120, that's a nice heatsink, it should be performing better. Do you have good airflow AND good cable management in your case to facilitate the airflow? Is there any dust built up between the fins? I know all systems are different, but I use an XP120 and my 4800 overclocked runs about 41-42C in demanding games/operations according to MBM5, about 10C hotter using CoreTemp (which is to be expected). When you put the thermal paste on, did you do the grain of rice trick in the center of the CPU or spread it out? I have heard that the dual core's "seem" to like it spread out more, due to the larger size of the die, but to be honest I used the grain of rice in the center and it worked out fine.

[shadow of chaos]

i used a little bit of paste and spread it over the core.

I havent been to a CS forum, i thought i wouldnt need to.

Cabling isnt the best in my case, it is a bit messy.. airflow? nothing going on except the cpu fan, but ive turned on the other case fans to try it before and it didnt really help the core temperature.

I dont think i got temps like these with my last cpu, a winchester 3500+.

[newbuilder14]

You aren't even showing your FPS in that picture. :) Latency is not FPS. Type net_graph 3 in console.

[TimPoet]

You aren't even showing your FPS in that picture. :) Latency is not FPS. Type net_graph 3 in console.
His FPS shows in the upper right corner of the pic. I almost missed it, too.

[shadow of chaos]

You aren't even showing your FPS in that picture. :) Latency is not FPS. Type net_graph 3 in console.
i did cl_showfps 1

its showing the same as net_graph 3 by the looks of it.. still, i can see when its laggy without those.

[Alaron]

Changed your image to a link to keep the forums dialup friendly. :)

[shadow of chaos]

Changed your image to a link to keep the forums dialup friendly. :)
fair enough

as for the stress test FPS being 130, anybody know if its normal?

i still dont know if my fps drops are normal.. it is very annoying though.

it seems as though you need to buy a graphics card around 6 months after a game you want is released, if you want good performance with no lag.. if this is true then that is quite poor and disappointing

[glc]

DFI boards are pretty quirky and picky - have you tried digging around the dfi-street forums?

[mojo]

I've noticed a severe drop in my framerates in CS:S during the last few weeks. I used to get a constant 150-200 fps, then it dropped to around 100, and the last couple times I've played it's been around 60-70. You think valve is making some changes to that maps that affect performance?

I have:
X2 4600+ AM2
ATI X1900XT, original 512 MB version
2 gigs of ddr2-800
drives and stuff like that

[shadow of chaos]

glc - i havent looked around there, my last board was a DFI also.. tbh im not that fussed on it, it does seem really picky and maybe even a little problematic.

Im still stuck here, my next setup will be a conroe.. however i cant see myself going for a DFI board again. I'll go for one that overclocks well and without problems if there are any.

i need to fix problems with my current setup first though