Updates-10/16/2005 (Highlighted in Green)
- Full version of diskeeper lite ( Disk-keeper )
- Kaspersky Anti-Virus Full version ( Kaspersky )
- Better Graphics CONT`D ( Scroll down to graphics section two new additions. )
Introduction
This is a guide to different settings, tools, and hidden options that I have run accross throughout the years of playing counter-strike. Over the years nobody has really written a specific guide taylored to cs 1.6 and your computer. I hope this allows people to max out their gameplay and get the most out of cs 1.6! Enjoy.
Computer Care
- Defragmenting your harddrive is extremely important, especially for larger harddrives. Once you defrag, it allows files to find the compenents they need to run a lot faster. The best (free) defragmenter that I have come accross is called disk keeper lite. It works about twice as fast than the one provided with windows ( 2k or XP ). It can be found here ( disk keeper lite )
- Viruses and spyware. We all get them one time or another. You may think your computer is immune to them, but just for the sake of having peace of mind, run a virus scan! If you do not have any virus protection software, you can use an online free virus and spyware scan by trendmicro. This can be located at http://housecall.trendmicro.com
- Clean your registry! Every time you uninstall a program, it supposedly cleans its registry settings and options but a lot of times it doesn't. Your registry will become cluttered and it can affect your gameplay. A good and safe program that provides making backups of your registry and includes many other options that are useful in maximizing your efficiency is jv16 Power Tools. ( BE CAREFUL ANY TIME YOU ARE MESSING WITH YOUR REGISTRY, BY DOING THIS YOU ARE TAKING IT IN YOUR OWN HANDS IF YOU DELETE A VITAL FILE. PLEASE MAKE AN EMERGENCY REPAIR DISK BEFORE EDITING ANY REGISTRY SETTINGS.)
Graphics
- If your graphics card has a molex connector slot to plug power into, use it. It will allow your video card to run a lot faster and smoother.
- Direct X - Make sure you have the latest version of Direct X on your computer. As of this year (2005), the latest version is 9.0c. The latest version of Direct X can be attained from Microsoft.
- One key element in having avaible the best graphics and performance is to have the right drivers for your video card. They really do make a world of difference. The best performance gaming oriented drivers are made by X-Treme G. Just go to their downloads section and download the latest set that they have available for your video card! (Note: Before installing new video drivers, it is highly recommended to run driver cleaner pro in safe mode. It removes previous driver .dll's and registry entrys and is very effective for obtaining the very best qualities of your new driver.)
- Now that you have the proper drivers for your video card, it is also highly important to have the best settings to tune your game to have the best graphics possible while maintaining good fps (frames per second). These can be accessed by:
- Right Click on your desktop
- Click Properties
- Click "Settings" Tab
- Click "Advanced" Button
- Click tab that has your video card name on it.
- Click "Performance and Quality Settings" on the menu provided with your video card.
Open GL Settings and Values
| Antialiasing |
Off |
Reduces Gritty Edges on Textures |
| Anisotropic Filtering |
Off |
Improves Image quality at the cost of Performance |
| Image Settings |
Quality |
Default setting that gives optimal image quality and performance. |
| Vertical Sync |
Off |
Specifies how vertical synchronization is handled in open gl. |
| Force Mipmaps |
Trilinear |
When on Trilinear provides best image quality, but when paired with these settings, provides optimal gameplay performance as well. |
| Conformant Texture Clamp |
On |
Textures are clamped to the edge of the image. |
| Trilinear Optimization |
Off |
Provides best image quality, and reduces RAM usage. |
| Anisotropic Mip Optimization |
Off |
Better Image Quality |
| Anisotropic Sample Optimization |
Off |
Better Image Quality |
| Triple Buffering |
Off |
Off is optimal setting when VSYNC is off. |
| Negative LOD Bias |
Clamp |
Unnecessary when anisotropic filtering is set to off. |
- PCI Latency - Most devices support latency values which are multiples of 8 (which means any other value will be rounded). Higher end video cards can support lesser latency values. A tool that can be used to adjust PCI Latency values is LtcyCfg. Using this tool provides a more constant solid framerate in counter-strike. (Note: This tool is not a cheat or a hack in any way, and is affiliated with PCI latency and not with counter-strike options. You will not get VACCED for those of you who are worried about using this tool.)
- Lately I have been doing a lot of experimenting with graphics drivers, and have found one to stand out the most within the categories of performance and quality using my open gl settings. It is the X-treme-G 78.05 driver set. Grab it Here.
- Another setting that I didn't include last time that greatly increases graphics quality and speed is your open gl dll. Ingame uses an older version of opengl dll that Isn't the best.
- Find the correct C:\WINNT\system32\nvoglnt.dll
- "Right Click" then click Copy
- "Right Click" then paste in C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\mail@youremail.com\counter-strike\gldrv
- Open drvmap.txt with notepad
- Type Text as Follows:
- There is a way to optimize the timings between your cpu and your video card a safe way. It is done through a program called power-tweak which can be found here. (Since it is a trial only version, here is the patch.)
Counter-Strike Config Settings
- It is very important to have the best configuration settings when going to play counter-strike. Most of these are pure preference. The best configuration setup that I have come accross was made and adjusted by the CPL. It is called the CPL CS Gui ( Graphic User Interface ). It can be downloaded through their ftp site.
- Rates - Everybody is concerned about which rates are best for their internet connection. Rates really vary between server location/connection/config settings and where you are located. Some servers will have caps on rates so no matter what rates you put, your gaming experience will be the same. On servers with CAL.cfg loaded, the rates on the server will be set to the max so users can have the max throughput to the server. The very most basic explanation for the forumla of rates is as follows.
Note: Choke and fps can be viewed by using net graph. To see your net graph, type "net_graph 3" in console.
R A T E S |
Update Rate ( cl_updaterate XX ) |
Command Rate ( cl_cmdrate XX ) |
| Choke |
Lower updaterate until your choke is a constant zero. |
No Correspondence. |
| Frames Per Second |
No correspondence. |
Command rate should be equal to your average frames per second. |
Important Settings
| Setting |
Value |
Explanation |
| s_eax |
1 |
Enables eax sound support for your sound card if it is available. |
| s_a3d |
1 |
Enables a3d support, by far the best surround sound if supported by your sound card. |
| rate |
25000 |
Maximum throughput for your interenet connection. |
| cl_updaterate |
101 (max) |
Amount of packets from gameplay you receive from the server, the higher your connection allows you, the better. |
| cl_cmdrate |
101 (max) |
Amount of gameplay packets you send to the server. The higher the better. |
| ex_interp |
.01 (default) |
Allows for better shot registration in servers with the proper rate settings. |
Launch Options: Explained
- The launch options were made for serious comptetitive gamers who would like to tweak their game out to the max. The area to enter in launch options can be found by:
- Right Click Steam Icon in tray.
- Click "Play Games"
- Single Click Counter-strike Icon
- Right Click Counter-strike Icon
- Click "Properties"
- Click "Launch Options" button
- Once you find the launch options you'd like to enter, include a space in between each one. Then Press ok.
- Mouse Launch Options can be very useful to competetive players who want to move their mouse more accurately, or control their recoil in a much more stable way.
- -noforcemparms
- -noforcemaccel
- -noforcemspd
- Heapsize can be very useful to allocate the right amount of memory to keep your game running smooth and consistent. However, it is not recomnended to use heapsize if you have less than 256MB of DDR RAM.
- -heapsize 256000 (Average)
- Frequency. You can lock your ingame frequency refresh rates by using the freq command.
- Direct X - Older versions of the direct X module can be utilized by the dxlevel command.
- -dxlevel XX (Note: 70 for 7.0, 90 for 9.0, etc.)
Note: This guide will be constantly be updated and added on to. If you have any questions, concerns, additions to the guide; please email Rob[oc]