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mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
I couldn't find anything in the search... I am trying to play counterstrike source on my new MBP. I have noticed that the gameplay is really shaky. I put on the fps monitor via the game console and have noticed at 1920x1080 I have around 40fps. Even though it says 40, it is extremely hitchy. I tried it at 1600 and it was a little better, 1300 something and it said around 150-200. Even with those frame rates I was still seeing some jitteriness to it. You guys have any idea what this is? Does it have anything to do with an external monitor? Thank you in advance for your help!

My setup:

MBP 15" i7 10.6.4 (all current updates), external monitor 23" 1080p and 2ms, wireless mouse and keyboard (could these be lagging?)
 

mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
Update*

So I started playing L4D2 and started messing around with the settings. Still hitchy... I started monitoring the fps and I would dip into 29fps with 1280 resolution and medium settings all around. Anyone have any ideas on what I should do?
 

Johnnnny

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2007
56
0
First off, try shutting off all unnecessary processes running on your computer through Activity Monitor, except Steam of course. This can definitely cause random CPU-hoggage which may bog down your gaming experience.

Then when you run the game, set your native resolution and set every other possible setting on the lowest possible option. AA on 0x, AF on 0x, everything else on absolute low.

With this setup, CS should easily run with super high fps at all times, especially on a latest-refresh high-tier MBP.

Then, slowly work your way up with settings until you've found a balance that suits your needs. I would suggest keeping AA on 0x as with native resolution, especially with a MBP's DPI, is most definitely unneeded.

Some of these settings, such as AA, will require much more GPU hogging at higher resolutions, therefore causing exponential strain.
 

mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
Thanks

I appreciate the help and will definitely try what you just suggested. One last question Johnnny, do you don't think there is any chance that the monitor itself could be lagging? Asus 2ms 23" 1920x1080
 

mgartner0622

macrumors 65816
Jun 6, 2010
1,018
0
Colorado, USA
I appreciate the help and will definitely try what you just suggested. One last question Johnnny, do you don't think there is any chance that the monitor itself could be lagging? Asus 2ms 23" 1920x1080

No, I don't think you'd see it that much even with a really bad monitor.

Are you running Mac OS 10.6.4 plus the Graphics Update?

You might want to take a look at the software version and open software update just to check. Even i can run it reasonably well (playable) on my 13" with 1280x800 and a 9400M.
 

mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
All Updates

I have all of the updates. I am going to mess with my monitor settings to make sure there aren't any extra processing options on that would make the lag. I'm using the monoprice mini displayport to female Hdmi with a HDMI cable to hook up the monitor.
 

mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
Laptop Display fine

I just tried a round with only my laptop display and everything was fine. When I went to the external monitor I noticed some lag. Tried to check some settings in the Menu but didn't see anything it's an Asus vh236h
 

StopSign24

macrumors regular
Feb 1, 2010
135
0
Does it happen when you use your trackpad vs your mouse?

It might be that your mouse + OS X mouse acceleration is causing the jittery movement.
 

mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
Does it happen when you use your trackpad vs your mouse?

It might be that your mouse + OS X mouse acceleration is causing the jittery movement.

I use a wireless mouse and it seems like the mouse doesn't effect it. I believe its the monitor because the games play fine with only laptop screen. They are laggy when external monitor is on. Could it be monoprice adapter that goes minidisplay to hdmi? Could that create a delay that looks like lag?
 

StopSign24

macrumors regular
Feb 1, 2010
135
0
I use a wireless mouse and it seems like the mouse doesn't effect it. I believe its the monitor because the games play fine with only laptop screen. They are laggy when external monitor is on. Could it be monoprice adapter that goes minidisplay to hdmi? Could that create a delay that looks like lag?

Is there a way for you to take a video showing the lag? That could help figure this out immensely.
 

Ace134blue

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2009
734
2
I use a wireless mouse and it seems like the mouse doesn't effect it. I believe its the monitor because the games play fine with only laptop screen. They are laggy when external monitor is on. Could it be monoprice adapter that goes minidisplay to hdmi? Could that create a delay that looks like lag?

Ok, sorry for these not so good replys, nobody here seems to know what they are talking about.

It is not your monitor that is increasing latency/lag. You are experiencing lower framerate because the GPU has to process way more pixels in a 1080p monitor than the MBPs low res 1400 by 900. If lowering res doesnt fix it than we can go from there.

How much VRAM does yours have? If it is 256mb then thats the problem.
If not, sounds like Network problems. You will need to add these commands to CSs Cfg file

rate 50000
cmd_rate 40
cl_rate 40000
cl_updaterate 40
 

peskaa

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2008
2,104
5
London, UK
Ok, sorry for these not so good replys, nobody here seems to know what they are talking about.

It is not your monitor that is increasing latency/lag. You are experiencing lower framerate because the GPU has to process way more pixels in a 1080p monitor than the MBPs low res 1400 by 900. If lowering res doesnt fix it than we can go from there.

How much VRAM does yours have? If it is 256mb then thats the problem.
If not, sounds like Network problems. You will need to add these commands to CSs Cfg file

rate 50000
cmd_rate 40
cl_rate 40000
cl_updaterate 40
Eh? They're getting 40fps at 1080p, and higher at lower resolutions. 40fps is not going to introduce jerkiness.
 

CylonGlitch

macrumors 68030
Jul 7, 2009
2,956
268
Nashville
Eh? They're getting 40fps at 1080p, and higher at lower resolutions. 40fps is not going to introduce jerkiness.

Maybe the sampling rate of his optical collectors is not fast enough to accurately capture the 40fps of his display.

(better answer below)
 

CylonGlitch

macrumors 68030
Jul 7, 2009
2,956
268
Nashville
I use a wireless mouse and it seems like the mouse doesn't effect it. I believe its the monitor because the games play fine with only laptop screen. They are laggy when external monitor is on. Could it be monoprice adapter that goes minidisplay to hdmi? Could that create a delay that looks like lag?

No that's not creating the delay -- in theory it could, but I have used man monoprice adaptors and all work flawlessly. If you have another sitting around, try it out.

Ok, this seems to be the root cause of the problem. What machine exactly is this on? Does it have dual graphics cards? If so, the one connected to the external display may be bad or not up to snuff. Also may be that the machine is using the "good" graphics card for internal display and the "lousy" one for the external -- not sure but there might be a way to adjust this.
 

Ace134blue

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2009
734
2
No that's not creating the delay -- in theory it could, but I have used man monoprice adaptors and all work flawlessly. If you have another sitting around, try it out.

Ok, this seems to be the root cause of the problem. What machine exactly is this on? Does it have dual graphics cards? If so, the one connected to the external display may be bad or not up to snuff. Also may be that the machine is using the "good" graphics card for internal display and the "lousy" one for the external -- not sure but there might be a way to adjust this.

It's the newest mbp so it switches from the intel igp to the dedicated automatically.

To the op, add those commands to your Cfg. I was getting stutter even with 200+fps until I did those commands.
 

mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
VRAM and commands

My VRAM is the 330m 512mb card. I am going to try to enter the commands that you told me before. Are the commands supposed to be inputted into the in-game console of counter-strike source or somewhere in the software of my actual computer? I have not entered commands like that before. Does this mean I would input the commands with any game I play (i.e. L4D2)? And to answer someone's question from before, I do experience some lag even when the resolution is in the 1300's and set to medium settings.

My Setup:

MBP 15" i7 10.6.4 (all current updates), external monitor Asus 23" 1080p and 2ms, wireless mouse and keyboard, 330m 512mb graphics cards (has an autoswitch feature where it switches b/w 330m and on-board graphics card)

BY THE WAY, I appreciate all the help!
 

Ace134blue

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2009
734
2
My VRAM is the 330m 512mb card. I am going to try to enter the commands that you told me before. Are the commands supposed to be inputted into the in-game console of counter-strike source or somewhere in the software of my actual computer? I have not entered commands like that before. Does this mean I would input the commands with any game I play (i.e. L4D2)? And to answer someone's question from before, I do experience some lag even when the resolution is in the 1300's and set to medium settings.

My Setup:

MBP 15" i7 10.6.4 (all current updates), external monitor Asus 23" 1080p and 2ms, wireless mouse and keyboard, 330m 512mb graphics cards (has an autoswitch feature where it switches b/w 330m and on-board graphics card)

BY THE WAY, I appreciate all the help!

To add those cmds, go to Steam\SteamApps\[username]\[game name]\[game name]\cfg\
Sorry i havent played source on a mac in a long time, it may be in username/library/application preferences.
 

deadwulfe

macrumors 6502a
Feb 18, 2010
737
3
I was having a problem with lag in TF2 that I shouldn't have been experiencing. After some searching I found a suggestion to try using a network cable for internet access instead of playing online with wireless internet and that fixed my problem.

If you can, you should give that a shot. When it worked for me, I ended up buying a network cable long enough to go from my router to my laptop, since I have it set up on my desk with an external monitor and speakers for gaming and whatnot already.
 

susiengonda

macrumors newbie
Oct 19, 2010
1
0
And to answer someone's question from before, I do experience some lag even when the resolution is in the 1300's and set to medium settings.

Hi can you give me the detail of lag when you set to medium setting ? I sometimes met this lag and don't know how to solve it. Even when it is very simple for others.

I'm appreciated with any replies.

Regard
 

mohmandm

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 9, 2004
75
0
east lansing
Hi can you give me the detail of lag when you set to medium setting ? I sometimes met this lag and don't know how to solve it. Even when it is very simple for others.

I'm appreciated with any replies.

Regard

It's mainly when I move my mouse left/right. The screen doesn't move very smoothly and you can notice very slight hitches while you pan. I have noticed a difference when I use the commands recommended:

rate 50000
cmd_rate 40
cl_rate 40000
cl_updaterate 40

Although, I have no idea what the commands actually do :) I was able to successfully input 3 of the 4 (cl_rate 40000 wouldn't work for me in counterstrike.)

Two more questions... Are these commands for online and offline gaming? I noticed the same lag when playing LFD2 in offline mode. I haven't actually ever played it online. And can I use these commands for other games than CS:S?
 

durruti

macrumors regular
Mar 26, 2004
226
3
Jersey
i had Steam and Counterstrike Source playing on my macbook pro core duo 2.0....I was happy to start playing it but the lag was too much, so I deleted it.

I don't think it has anything to do with hardware, settings etc.

I think it has to do with the software side. Steam is still new for OS X, so I think the games are not completely optimized....

If you have to get the online bloodlust satiated, try Bootcamp and run CS: Source under windows to see if its better...? Or wait for Steam to get their **** together...
 

Ace134blue

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2009
734
2
It's mainly when I move my mouse left/right. The screen doesn't move very smoothly and you can notice very slight hitches while you pan. I have noticed a difference when I use the commands recommended:

rate 50000
cmd_rate 40
cl_rate 40000
cl_updaterate 40

Although, I have no idea what the commands actually do :) I was able to successfully input 3 of the 4 (cl_rate 40000 wouldn't work for me in counterstrike.)

Two more questions... Are these commands for online and offline gaming? I noticed the same lag when playing LFD2 in offline mode. I haven't actually ever played it online. And can I use these commands for other games than CS:S?

Ok time for some maximum tweaking hehe, we will get it to play good no doubt. First off, how much ram do you have?

First off add these commands, to do it right click on each Source game, L4d2 css, half life, etc and click Set Launch Options. Then add these commands into it

-threads 4
-heapsize 1024000
+exec mytweaks.cfg
( You can see if the above 2 commands help any)
Now, ill make you a Config file to put in your Config directory, ill need your email address to send the config file to you./ unless macrumors can send files to each other.
 
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