TF2, CSS issues

Shicky · 26 Dec 2010 at 14:10

Hello all,

Im back to PC gaming after a few years away and was keen to get back into CSS and TF2 as its what I used to play a hell of a lot before going cold turkey.

Anyway I have myself a nice new laptop due to OCUKs glorious MM. Its the MSI GX740 - 4gb ram, 600gb hd, i5 cpu @2.27ghz, ati HD 5870 in crossfire I believe. Safe to say this should destroy the above games easily.

However every now and again I get a random freeze of either game for a few seconds. Its not limited to when there's lots going on either, I could have been walking forward in a tiny room alone and it happens as much as a lot of competition for a capture point. I have tinkered with settings so they've been very low, reduced resoluton etc and still it occurs. Tried with and without V-sync. Nothings seems to work at this stage. Tried updating graphics drivers also, anybody any other ideas for fixing this or why its happening, its ruining new laptop time!

uv · 26 Dec 2010 at 14:18

Are you using a BT homehub, Be* or Speedtouch router?
If so, try this:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10980298&postcount=4

just Scott · 26 Dec 2010 at 14:23

This may or may not help, but it's worth posting because everyone who plays TF2 should try these configs.

http://fakkelbrigade.eu/chris/configs/

Try highquality and see if it helps. It will make your game run a lot smoother, and look a lot better. I'm assuming you know how to use these configs, but if not just me let know and I'll explain.

Also, make sure to go into the TF2 advanced multiplayer settings and turn off Steam cloud. I used to get random performance drops too before I turned this off. It's definitely worth doing.

Shicky · 26 Dec 2010 at 14:27

Thanks very much for the tips, know my way around configs so won't be a problem. Virgin media customer and definitely not a network issue but thank you for the suggestion

I_M_Weasel · 26 Dec 2010 at 15:57

My laptop should be fine with those 2 games as well but it isn't after a lot of messing about I discovered the problem was related to my sound card. I now use a usb sound card if i play css or tf2.

Try having a game with audio disabled, it might isolate the problem.

Tweaker · 26 Dec 2010 at 17:33

I get the same sort of thing on my laptop, i havent nailed the issue yet, but i think its a power saving issue on the hard drive. I am still working on it, but maybe look at your settings to see if it helps you.