TF2, older systems

[Omsion]

So...TF2 performance on an old Opty 165 + 7600GT shouldn't be around 30fps on low, right? Mobo is a RS482 (has onboard X300, unused obviously). I definitely don't remember performance being that crappy when 2-3 years ago when the Opty+7600GT were paired on an A8N-SLI.

I'm either suspecting a PCI-e x16 slot that isn't running at x16, or did the CPU OC on the Opty before I handed the system over to the parents make that much of a difference? (it was at 2.7 Ghz, now only 2.0Ghz since I passed it on). And how would I check that the PCI-e slot is running at capacity? I could obviously reclock the CPU...

ATM, rather impossible to contribute to the massive spam fest going on right now - at least positively. :(

Probably should have thrown this into another section, perhaps.

[Dapman02]

it could also be that Team fortress 2 has gotten a little more bloated over time.

[Omsion]

it could also be that Team fortress 2 has gotten a little more bloated over time.Yeah, that is true, but not much has changed graphics-wise (it eats more RAM, that's for sure). But to go from 60 @ all medium to 30 @ all low?

Anyway, tomorrow I'll be reclocking, and if anyone can tell me if its a possibility the PCI-e slot is running slow and how to check, please do so.

[Leviathan41]

TF2 is VERY CPU limited, bump the CPU back up and make sure multicore rendering is enabled in the game.

[deed]

TF2 is VERY CPU limited, bump the CPU back up and make sure multicore rendering is enabled in the game.

You sure? Its running fine on a few friends older systems with no issue but lets try to clock it anyways hehe. After the latest patch to fix performance I have recieved a 15fps drop from my norm 60fps

[bLack0ut]

TF2 is VERY CPU limited, bump the CPU back up and make sure multicore rendering is enabled in the game.

Yep, this is true.

When I had an e2200, I saw a 50% boost in fps overclocking it to 3.1ghz.

[Omsion]

As it turns out, RAM was in single-channel for I don't know why or how. Now dual-channeled, even though it's still only 30fps, at least its medium-high, and no fps drops.

Also, bLack0ut, any advice with this board, since it was yours originally? :p
Had to run around resetting CMOS after a few failed attempts at getting it back to 2.7 after a few failed boots. IIRC, on the A8N-SLI, I was at 300FSB, 1.375 vcore, 3/2 divider, 4x HT multiplier, no RAM changes. Here, I can't get it to boot @ 275 @ 1.425 :(

[Omsion]

I'm no longer playing on this computer (back @ school), but this might have been the problem, if anyone else encounters unexpectedly low performance. Can't confirm for myself, though.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1093560

Essentially, some (apparently recent-ish) update has made TF2 (and maybe L4D?) frequently update some files when playing, which make real-time anti-virus software recheck them repeatedly, which can cause performance issues due to hard drive thrashing and CPU usage.

[Marshmallow64]

No idea it was so CPU limited.

[Omsion]

Well...figured I might as well revive this.

My 8800GTS died earlier today, and the 7600GT is in as a temp. And I'm back at ~30fps at low, on a much more powerful CPU, with maybe a high of ~60fps when there's no fighting in an enclosed area. In other words...it is the GPU :(

Interestingly, bumping up the settings doesn't affect fps that much - only the highs seem to drop. Which is weird, since that's usually a sign of a CPU bottleneck. Also for reference, my CPU usage is ~30-35% when playing.

Finally...some of the newer maps (pl_upward, for one) are unplayable. :(

[rumbl3]

check for a fps config maybe? makes graphics look like poo but playable then even on the crappiest systems.

[PhysX]

it will work in dx8 np