How do I boost game performance with my Laptop(link here)

[DanJK]

Alright so, I have this laptop:
http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668273.php

I know its a laptop and they will generally not run games as well but Im pretty sure this should be able to run CS:S pretty well especially on low settings but I still get lag when it comes to the jail server,etc.

So without saying ``get a new computer`` or telling me to upgrade it, what can I do to boost the performance and also tell me if my laptop is any good for gaming.

EDIT: Im gonna be broke for awhile so upgrading and buying a new PC isnt an option for me

 

[Stealth]

set ur settings low, uninstall anything that you think is not needed...

 

[Kvitrafn]

Everything except the graphics chip looks good enough to play source games, the only thing you could really do is set everything to the lowest. You could try killing processes using the task manager if you're computer savvy enough but with 4GB of RAM you should be fine in that regard.. you may be out of luck, sir.

 

[Passerby]

so is it pretty much only the jail map that it plays bad on? if it is that is more of a problem with the maker of the map that doesn't no crap about optimizing it.

 

[DanJK]

Yeah, its only Jail server. Its my favourite server to play but when it changes to maps like leoben or canyon, I suffer and it ruins my gameplay

 

[stealthh]

what i find helpful for me to make things more clean is to exit anything you do not need. Example yahoo, messenger, browsers and stuff. It makes more easy for you so no interruptions.

 

[reflex99]

Read this here post:
http://edgegamers.org/forums/showpost.php?p=926101&postcount=5

Specifically this:

Here you can set which DirectX level Source should run in by typing -dxlevel ##.
-dxlevel 95 for DirectX 9.0c
-dxlevel 90 for DirectX 9.0
-dxlevel 81 for DirectX 8.1


-dxlevel 90 This is the default for all directx 9.0 compatible cards, if yours is different please find out what dx level its supports otherwise you might end up with the wrong dx config skewing your CSS performance
this level has all of css's features, nothing taken away.

-dxlevel 81 A favourite of mine as it maintains a nice balance between graphics and performance, your models will have less poly's (lower quality) but you will still maintain all the eye candy features like bumapping. (If you have no idea what im talking about just look for things you understand)

-dxlevel 80 very similar to 81 but without the bumpmapping.. no point really unless you are really desperate, will improve smoothness a tad more than 81.

-dxlevel 70 Now this leaves all of the basic eye candy which makes css look decent but improves smoothness phenominally on my old comp I went from 20 - 30 fps to 60 - 100 /w a config not bad eh? I will include my fps config later, if you really need it.

An interesting fact is that choosing the level lower than what your card supports may actually increase the performance. Go ahead and try it and figure out which one gives you the best performance. But you must be careful which level you choose (dxlevel 70 is considered illegal for leagues).