Left 4 dead 2 running like 15fps on imac 27" ???

Are you running other, heavy apps at the same time?

kumse said:

Hello out there

My standard 27" 3,06Ghz, 4Gigs ram, 1TB, 4670 256mb is running around 15fps in Left 4 dead 2... i can not understand why...
according to this demonstration on youtube, it should run flawlessly ? !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBzNq4XnbHY


Im running all updated OS X 10.6.4, have only installed a couple of programs and uses like 250gb of the 1TB.

I uses the same settings as he do, but even if i switch to "recomended settings" with very low resolution, the framerate often drops VERY low

What could be wrong ???

Click to expand...

That video doesn't say what OS he is running it on...
The graphics drivers in Windows are much better in Windows than on OS X, even after the Graphics update Apple released.

That's why I play all my games in Windows...

But are their computers running them under windows? If so, you have nothing to be disappointed about.

Are framerates dropping more on online matches than in single player mode? If that is the case, there could also be some lag in your internet connection that is causing issues. You could test it by running the game in Windows on the same machine to see how much difference there is.

You should get better FPS. I'm running it on a 330m and it's pretty close to perfect. Resolution might be a big factor here, though.

If it's that bad at even lowest resolutions, something is definitely wrong like maybe 3D acceleration isn't working. I would check to see if QE is enabled (Run System Profiler and click on Graphics/Displays).

kumse said:

Okay.. im new to mac... and i LOVE it !! I didnt know the drivers isnt as good as in windows...

Im just a bit disappointed, my friends imac alu 24" 2,4Ghz 2gb ram runs it very smooth in 1920x1080. And my other friends macbook pro unibody 15" altso runs it without problems.

hmmm

Click to expand...

I run it flawlessly on my C2D 2.8 iMac; please disregard those trolls saying that Windows should run it much better...Mac games on Steam are almost on par with their Windows counterparts nowadays.

There is absolutely no reason for you to run it on 15fps, unless you are maxing out on full screen game specs.

1 - Check if you have any updates to apply from both Apple and Steam;
2 - Avoid running heavy apps at the same time;
3 - Check if there is nothing impacting your connection when playing;
4 - Check if there is another USER active in your Mac on the background.

BRLawyer said:

I run it flawlessly on my C2D 2.8 iMac; please disregard those trolls saying that Windows should run it much better...Mac games on Steam are almost on par with their Windows counterparts nowadays.

There is absolutely no reason for you to run it on 15fps, unless you are maxing out on full screen game specs.

1 - Check if you have any updates to apply from both Apple and Steam;
2 - Avoid running heavy apps at the same time;
3 - Check if there is nothing impacting your connection when playing;
4 - Check if there is another USER active in your Mac on the background.

Click to expand...

They are FAR from "on par" to Windows. It's a fact that Mac OS X will never be on par with Windows when it comes to 3D rendering or gaming.

kumse said:

Hello out there

My standard 27" 3,06Ghz, 4Gigs ram, 1TB, 4670 256mb is running around 15fps in Left 4 dead 2... i can not understand why...
according to this demonstration on youtube, it should run flawlessly ? !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBzNq4XnbHY


Im running all updated OS X 10.6.4, have only installed a couple of programs and uses like 250gb of the 1TB.

I uses the same settings as he do, but even if i switch to "recomended settings" with very low resolution, the framerate often drops VERY low

What could be wrong ???

Click to expand...

Which res are you playing at and what MSAA setting ?

Try to repair permissions.

Also download Xbench (http://www.xbench.com/) and have it run all the benchmarks. Maybe your problem will show as a low score in Xbench and you could narrow it down. Xbench can do OpenGl benchmarks.

Also can you post a "Get Info" of your Left 4 Dead 2 folder, because sometimes games and programs slow down when some of the files in the folder can "read and write" and some can only "read" (look under permissions tab in the L4D2 folder) I know this happened to WoW once.

If you're on a 27 incher, that's a ton of pixels. Plays fairly well on my 330m, but that's with AA off, using closer to 720p res, and everything on medium. My Mac Pro with the 4890 plays it flawlessly, but that card is much much more powerful than my laptop's.

It's going to play much better in Windows, always, though.

I often found myself having to reduce the texture levels in a game with my 256mb gfx card. Guess there's just not enough vram unless you have 512mb or more? I've never played this game I'm just comparing to other games - hopefully you can reduce the texture quality in this game? Everything else can usually be maxed out imho...

kumse said:

How do i find the folder and check the permissions ???

Click to expand...

Open 'Disk Utility', select your startup drive from the list on the left.
From the first aid tab press the button that says 'repair permissions'. Messages should appear telling you what os X is doing to your disk (nothing to worry about).
If anything comes up in red take note and report back.
Should take about ten minutes- maybe faster may be slower.

Nice disk again.

I have the same iMac 27 config. I have been playing LfD2 for the past 3 days with an spread of 25 to 43 FPS with most of the eye candy turned on. Most of the slow times are when heavy action is on screen. If I turn off AA then I get 33 to 60 FPS. It is beautiful.

The only advice I can give is the following:

I initially got my iMac and upgraded an older iMac and transferred all the apps and settings over. I used the network mount and imported it all. It took forever. My original iMac was a 24inch that was a few years old, came with 10.4 and was upgraded many times.

My new iMac ran like crap. I have the SSD I got aftermarket and I knew I wanted to put my OS on that, so I wiped the iMac clean. using only the hard drive, I reinstalled the OS, and added just the basics at first. iLife, iWork, Steam, Star Craft 2. I was amazed at how much better it ran.

So the short answer is that if you upgraded from a system with lots of 'history' you may have some legacy files causing grief. When I think about it, I have been 'upgrading' each Mac I have bought since my Quicksilver G4 tower. I have never started fresh. Each time was an import upgrade. So that goes back to old PPC and 10.2 days.

With a nice clean install, all is fast, even of very high settings.


You can do better than 15 FPS with your machine in the Mac OS.

95% of all people will have no disastifaction playing games on the Mac OS. in nearly all cases, after a few patches, Mac ports play very well. It is true nearly every game will perform slightly better under Windows, but unless yo are just a numbers freak, playing an action packed online competetive game, then +/1 5 FPS is not huge, nor does it impact gameplay.

The less you run, the more RAM you have the better things run. Rebooting always helps clean the caches and memory leaks to improve performance.

Raw numbers and benchmarks do mean something, but ignore those that argue about a few FPS. Our brains do a wonderful job filling in the blanks of moving pictures. While we can perceive fairly fast frame rates in the 50 to 60's we often process best in the 30's. Below 26 to 28 we can easily perceive stutters and gaps. Think of it this way, your brian itself is not runnning at more than 15 FPS in most cases. It 'sustains' massive old data if it perceives it has not changed. Only when your attention is rapt does it scan and perceive more. So for the most part it is easy to work with agame in the 30FPS range and enjoy it.

It should run better, but the 4670 card is the weakest you'll get in a 27 inch iMac.
256MB VRAM should be able to run it decent at lower resolutions.
Which res are you using btw?

Try these settings to start, and ramp up from there. This gets me a consistent 30+ fps on a Mid-2010 Mac Mini connected to a 23" HD Cinema Display. I'm using OS X 10.6.4.

Resolution: 1280x800
Anti-Aliasing: None
Shader Detail: Low
Effects Detail: Low
Vertical Sync: Enabled (Double Buffering)
Model/Texture Detail: Medium

Shader/Effects detail will have the biggest impact on your overall performance. After that, enabling triple buffering will have a real effect, and then resolution/AA. Tweak one settings at a time, and note its performance impact with the "cl_showfps 1" console command.

I never drop below 30fps, and typically would go as high as 50fps (if it weren't for vertical sync kicking it back down to 30 to prevent tearing). Even during the last stage of "The Passing" which is nothing but constant hordes of mobs with 7 people unloading (4 survivors plus the original 3 survivors).

Booting into Windows 7 isn't a huge boost. Only about 5 to 10 fps. The problem is the 320M (and even the 4670 to an extent) aren't known for their stellar shader performance, and weren't designed for pushing very high resolutions (i.e. the 2560x1440 of your display) or for FSAA.

mrfoof82 said:

Try these settings to start, and ramp up from there. This gets me a consistent 30+ fps on a Mid-2010 Mac Mini connected to a 23" HD Cinema Display. I'm using OS X 10.6.4.

Resolution: 1280x800
Anti-Aliasing: None
Shader Detail: Low
Effects Detail: Low
Vertical Sync: Enabled (Double Buffering)
Model/Texture Detail: Medium

Shader/Effects detail will have the biggest impact on your overall performance. After that, enabling triple buffering will have a real effect, and then resolution/AA. Tweak one settings at a time, and note its performance impact with the "cl_showfps 1" console command.

I never drop below 30fps, and typically would go as high as 50fps (if it weren't for vertical sync kicking it back down to 30 to prevent tearing). Even during the last stage of "The Passing" which is nothing but constant hordes of mobs with 7 people unloading (4 survivors plus the original 3 survivors).

Booting into Windows 7 isn't a huge boost. Only about 5 to 10 fps. The problem is the 320M (and even the 4670 to an extent) aren't known for their stellar shader performance, and weren't designed for pushing very high resolutions (i.e. the 2560x1440 of your display) or for FSAA.

Click to expand...

Why arent u using triplebuffering?

I play on a iMac 27" i7 (2009) with 8 gigs of ram

2560x1440
All maxed out - No anti-alias.

Runs damn smooth and looks amazing.

Only Anti-alias seems to slow down the game. Make sure it's off.

mrfoof82 said:

Try these settings to start, and ramp up from there. This gets me a consistent 30+ fps on a Mid-2010 Mac Mini connected to a 23" HD Cinema Display. I'm using OS X 10.6.4.

Resolution: 1280x800
Anti-Aliasing: None
Shader Detail: Low
Effects Detail: Low
Vertical Sync: Enabled (Double Buffering)
Model/Texture Detail: Medium

Shader/Effects detail will have the biggest impact on your overall performance. After that, enabling triple buffering will have a real effect, and then resolution/AA. Tweak one settings at a time, and note its performance impact with the "cl_showfps 1" console command.

I never drop below 30fps, and typically would go as high as 50fps (if it weren't for vertical sync kicking it back down to 30 to prevent tearing). Even during the last stage of "The Passing" which is nothing but constant hordes of mobs with 7 people unloading (4 survivors plus the original 3 survivors).

Booting into Windows 7 isn't a huge boost. Only about 5 to 10 fps. The problem is the 320M (and even the 4670 to an extent) aren't known for their stellar shader performance, and weren't designed for pushing very high resolutions (i.e. the 2560x1440 of your display) or for FSAA.

Click to expand...

Theres no reason to use double buffer. It causes huge framerate drops, always use triple buffer.