TF2 Performance problems

[b4k3d b34nz]

Ok, so first of all, I'm on a laptop, so I don't expect great framerates or anything.

HOWEVER, I used to get a lot better of a framerate, but now I sometimes get as low as 5-10 fps. Ridiculous.

Whenever I start playing TF2, especially right after a reboot, I can get a really good framerate. If I turn all my settings down, I can get 150 fps. Awesome. With good settings on, I get 40-70, and 20-30 in fights.

So, for some reason, I'll be playing along, and then 5 minutes or so into my first game, I'll just start creeping along. It will sometimes reset after I die, so I'll be back to getting 30 fps or so, but it never gets back up to the original 40-70 really.

So, I've tried it with pretty much every setting imaginable. It doesn't seem to be affected by the video card settings, as I get about the same starting framerates whether I'm at 1440 or 1900 resolution.

My CPU seems to jump to 100% from 60-70%, which is what I assume the problem is, but I don't know if there's any way around this, or how to find out what's causing it.

Again, this didn't used to happen, so I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this or has ideas on what to do? I just can't find a decent way of debugging it.

Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7600 @2.33GHz
4GB RAM
Vista 32 bit (don't be too quick to blame Vista; it's done just fine before)
Low settings on 1440x800

 

[bull55dog]

You probably would be better off moving this to the tech help section.
When you experience the slowdown go to you task manager and see if there are any other applications running. You can also look at the processes and see which one is using your cpu.

 

[Tee Hee Hee]

One major question...do you have a temperature monitor for you computer?

I used to have massive issues with my laptop, to cool it I manually put my fans on full and prop it up to allow for better air flow. If I didnt do that it would literally die on my while I gamed. Just a suggestion...hope you can fix it :biggrin:

 

[Stormrider^]

I had that problem on my laptop and why yes I used Vista. The problem was that it was a virus-infested OS with malfunctioning fans. I have to use an external fan to keep this baby cool but it does not bother me at all.
I think it's viruses and/or Vista inherently slowing down.
I went from 1024x768 resolution and max. 60 fps to 1366x768(native) resolution and max. 120fps and avg. 50 with deleting Vista and installing Win 7 RC.
Try defragging the entire HDD, check for viruses and if you want.. reinstall the entire OS.

 

[Motorcycle Sidecar]

One major question...do you have a temperature monitor for you computer?

I used to have massive issues with my laptop, to cool it I manually put my fans on full and prop it up to allow for better air flow. If I didnt do that it would literally die on my while I gamed. Just a suggestion...hope you can fix it :biggrin:

This. My roommate in college used to have similar problems. Once he turned on his lappy, it would keep getting slower and slower. It would eventually restart itself. You could tell when it did this because you would hear a string of expletives from across the hall He bought an aftermarket usb powered cooler that sat under his laptop. It helped out considerably.

Vista has most of the kinks worked out at this point and its not that bad an operating system. I dont know how old your laptop is, but if you are brave enough you could open up the insides and see if there is any dust clogging up the airflow.

 

[iGreen]

As mentioned before, overheating is your most likely problem.

The air-flow through laptops is pretty poor obv. with everything been crammed in so tight. Ensure a clear airflow and you should be ok, probably be best to follow Motorcycle Sidecar's advice and get some extra cooling put into place.

 

[!Woodstock!]

I'll continue to kill the horse and say your probably overheating.

Solution: move to Antarctica, play TF2 outside.

 

[A Blind Man Schmidt]

Dead Horse---Overheating......My laptop used to get nice and warm when I played but I didn't have too many problems.....your best bet is to play on a Desktop (preferably something that stays real cool)....but if you continue the laptop just keep it cool...and also try to give it a break once and a while

 

[L westminster purcell]

beanz, have you tried cleaning your laptop's guts out? i was having similar problems, and i opened mine up, cleaned out all the accumulated dust, especially in the fans. my laptop's performance during gameplay increased dramatically (be careful messing about inside the laptop if you aren't familiar with its parts). i also now prop up the back corners of the laptop in order to improve air flow to the fans. if you aren't sure how to open yours up (it can be obnoxious with all the screws), you can probably find a guide online, which is what i did. you'll probably need to purchase a tool or two for some specialized screws. let me know how it goes.

 

[Motorcycle Sidecar]

You can get a decent usb or wall plug cooling pad for 20 bucks or so USD.

 

[Lance]

The aforementioned temperature and virus things are probably right, but possibly an otherwise-welcome program with a memory leak could be doing it.

 

[b4k3d b34nz]

Ok, thanks for the (widely varied) input everyone. It's a Dell "desktop replacement" laptop, so it has a large monitor and lots of power in it, so it does run hot. Currently it's at 63 C/145 F. Awesome.

I don't have any viruses, and I've run system monitors to watch CPU and memory usage but Steam is the only one using anything. Memory is always fine, but CPU gets pegged at 100%.

I will definitely check out why it's running so hot, and will probably clean it out. Time to go buy some compressed air again!

Thanks everyone for your input--I'll post back with results.

 

[Motorcycle Sidecar]

The aforementioned temperature and virus things are probably right, but possibly an otherwise-welcome program with a memory leak could be doing it.

Yeah might want to use spybot search and destroy or malware bytes antimalware to check for spyware that might be hidden and causing issues.

 

[b4k3d b34nz]

In case anyone is interested in the outcome, I was able to sort of prop my laptop on top of a small box, so it levitates above my desk by about 4 inches. The fans all point out to the side or below, and it's significantly cool and of course air flow is better.

I don't have any way of getting a negative confirmation, but it does _seem_ to be working better now. I still have lags but they're all during dense gameplay instead of at random.

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone.

 

[Ryken]

I had a dell 600M that I used to prop up with a large textbook in the back, and then aimed a 6inch fan at in order to play WoW. Fun stuff!

 

[Cut Chem!st]

My friend had to get a cooling tray for his laptop to fix his temp problems

 

[Lance]

What, you mean people actually BUY cooling trays? Surely 'tis nobler to build them out of junk found around one's house.