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| | PC Gaming / Half Life 2 Performance Tweaks | | Author | Message | | | November 17, 2004 - 10:20:28pm | 1 of 9 | | | Login |
| Here's a great list of minor tweaks to HL2 to make it load faster between sections and lessen some of the minor stuttering:
1. Reduce your sound quality to Medium in the game options.
2. Go to the icon where you launch HL2, and open its properties (or go to Steam>Play Games>Half Life 2>Right-click on it and select Properties>Launch Options) and in the Target box add "-heapsize [memoryamount]" (without quotes), e.g. -heapsize 128000 makes the game use 128MB of your RAM. Try not to exceed half of your system RAM with this setting.
3. Go to your \Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\[username]\half-life 2\hl2\cfg\ directory, and create a new blank text file (right click and select New>Text Document), then rename it to autoexec.cfg. Open this file and copy and paste the following commands into it, then close and save it:
snd_mixahead 0.7
cl_forcepreload 1
sv_forcepreload 1
cl_smooth 0
4. Make certain you run Windows Defragmenter after Steam has registered and updated your system to play Half Life 2. You must run Defrag to ensure smoother gameplay because Half Life 2 is a huge install and though it may take a while it's a vital step.
http://tweakguides.com/
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| | | November 17, 2004 - 10:26:34pm | 2 of 9 | | | Login |
| Ah yes after I defragged I was able to max everything out and put on 4xAA. I am using a 9800 pro and 512pc2700, 2.66ghz p4. So I would definately say defragging is worth it.
Does changing the memory the game uses help with the stuttering that happens every once in awhile? |
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1. Reduce your sound quality to Medium in the game options.
Hell no.. ^_^ |
| | | It does seem stupid that people want to play the game with 16xFSAA 128x AF in 4096x3072 at 240 Hz, but they don't want a decent sound quality.
I can't imagine the number of people who are probably running the game on a 6800 Ultra using an on-board soundcard and some £10 PC speakers.
Unless you have a digital out and a proper DAC, or a real high end soundcard into some great headphones or a good Hi-Fi, you're all hypocrites. |
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I can't imagine the number of people who are probably running the game on a 6800 Ultra using an on-board soundcard and some £10 PC speakers.
Unless you have a digital out and a proper DAC, or a real high end soundcard into some great headphones or a good Hi-Fi, you're all hypocrites.
Actually I have an optical cable running from my onboard soundcard to my 7.1 onkyo reciever and my bose speakers..
I am also running the game with full everything, at 1600x1200 with 4xAA, and 8xAF, and still get over 60FPS.. |
| | | November 18, 2004 - 4:15:36pm (edit: 11/18/04 - 4:41pm) | 6 of 9 | | To: sm284614 | Login |
| | I'm not one of those "hypocrites" you mentioned, although I know the type. They blow all their money on a $4-500 video card, yet they're still using cheap, tin-foily sounding speakers. I have a set of Klipsch 5.1 Ultras connected to an Audigy 2 and a pair of Sennheiser HD570's which I use to play at night when my gf has gone to bed. The game sounds fantastic. I also don't care much for resolutions above 1280X1024, so I'm not bothered by the fact that I'm using an LCD. |
| | | | I use crappy £10 speakers, but still kept the sound quality on high, simply because I didn't find the stuttering to be too annoying. |
| | | Wheeey! We're headphone buddies! Well, I use HD-580s, which are a little nicer (and much better than the crappy 590s).
Even with a poor quality soundcard a good pair of headphones will improve sound. I've used my headphones with old on-board things, and aside from the masses of noise like CD access and HDD shuffling, they make all the difference. One only needs to spend £100 for a nice pair of headphones, and unlike graphics cards etc. they don't need to be upgraded for years.
Alternitivly, it costs virtually nothing to get an optical audio output for a PC; many motherboards support it natively (though coaxial will set you back). If you have a hi-fi nearby you PC, use it. Unless it's crap. |
| | | November 19, 2004 - 3:27:21am (edit: 11/19/04 - 2:50pm) | 9 of 9 | | To: sm284614 | Login |
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Wheeey! We're headphone buddies! Well, I use HD-580s, which are a little nicer (and much better than the crappy 590s).
I use Sennheiser HD 490's.. They are great for the price..
http://formenmedia.ign.com/media/news/image/gear/sennheiserDH490small2.jpg
http://formen.ign.com/news/34603.html?fromint=1
http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/04483?Open&print=
http://www.combatsim.com/htm/mar00/sen1.htm
Comments: I have been an audiophile for the last couple of years, and Sennheiser has always stood out in my mind as one of the premier headphone manufacturers in the world
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