im not so knowledgeable about computer parts these days
my cpu specs are
dual core E5400 @ 2.70GHz
3GB ram
HD ati radeon 4350 @ 512MB

I lag in smoke and in gunfire, i average around 60-180 FPS on dust2 (with lower than low settings...)
i just want it so i have absolutely no lag in big fire fights or smokes. what should i upgrade first? memory or graphics? or wutttttt

I think the main Part that is responsible for every thing in a PC is the CPU, and obviously your CPU is old.

- I think you should replace your CPU with a new 6 Mega Cache CPU or more (Suggestion: Intel core2duo 3000MHz_6M Cache).
- If your motherboard isn't compatible with the new CPU, then its hopeless, & you need to get your self a new PC.

Hope that helps.

yeah ssave up some cash and buy a new CPU and Mobo and then your probably going to have to get new RAM as well because i dont see your Ram being able to be used in newer mobos. then you can still use your old graphics card for now until you save up more to get a new one.

[Assassin]

i would suggest that you keep your graphic card as it is, and upgrade your ram to at least 4GB or you can get 6GB, and get a new processor like core i3 or i5 2.40 GHz preferably i5, but it depends on the budget, if you get those you can run a game as css without any lag or problems. hope that helped

[naive]

    Minimum: 1.7 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, DirectX® 8.1 level Graphics Card (Requires support for SSE), Windows® 7 (32/64-bit)/Vista/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

    Recommended: Pentium 4 processor (3.0GHz, or better), 1GB RAM, DirectX® 9 level Graphics Card, Windows® 7 (32/64-bit)/Vista/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection


Your processor and ram are greater than cs recommended.

Adding more ram isn't going to speed anything up for you in cs, you already have enough. Windows 7 can run on 512mb of ram, so you have like 2.5gb of ram free on boot and, cs uses only even a small portion of that.

You already have a decent enough cpu, I know people that play cs on fucking atom processors if they have a capable video card (netbooks).  Your gpu is whats lacking the most. I would say your best bet would be a better video card, your $34 dollar one sucks.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.p ... on+HD+4350


Find out your motherboard's sockets, if you have PCI express you can probably slap on a 80-130 dollar modern video card on itand turn cs settings on high.

I would probably go with something like this, presuming you have a fast enough pci express slot, and enough room in your case.

PCI Express 2.1:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.p ... on+HD+6850

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 62334&SID=

The radeon HD 4350's I see are pci express 2.0, if you can't use a 2.1 card i'd say this would be a good alternative for a major upgrade from your current one too. You really need to check what your mobo supports.

PCI Express 2.0:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127573

http://videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?g ... GTX+550+Ti

how can i find out if my computer is pci or pci-e? its been a while.. and dam i only got my computer 3 years ago

[naive]

What kind of computer do you have, did you build it yourself or is it a prebuilt one? dell, etc? does it have a modl number?

how can i find out if my computer is pci or pci-e? its been a while.. and dam i only got my computer 3 years ago

My PC is like 5 years old, or more :o! But my fps is usually ok, rarely less than 45fps with medium-high graphics settings. But from a quick look your pc's specs are better than mine :S

Your processor and ram are greater than cs recommended.

Its' not the frequency that the CPU operates on, it's the cache size that matters.

P.S: most game always lag online or offline if you have 3MB cache or less, 6MB or more = no lag at all.

[naive]

Your processor and ram are greater than cs recommended.

Its' not the frequency that the CPU operates on, it's the cache size that matters.

P.S: most game always lag online or offline if you have 3MB cache or less, 6MB or more = no lag at all.

This is essentially just wrong. Frequency doesn't mean everything, but cache size means even less. I look at benchmarks, actual processing power, not arbitrary ratings. Yes, cache size makes a slight difference, but his processor is already at least 2x the recommended requirements for cs in processing capability. My old laptop was a 2.53ghz dual core 3mb cache processor, with a nice video card and I could play crysis on high, cs wouldn't even make my fan come on on high.

CS:S is an old game, he is already using a processor that didn't even exist when the game was made. He is however using a crappy bottom end video card from the time frame cs was made. Dual core 2.7ghz > P4 3ghz, going from 2x the power you need to 4x the power you need in the proc isn't going to help. When I watch my processor's load while playing cs, it makes virtually no increase on load on my cpu. Not one of my cores spiked above 15% even. The bottleneck is the gpu here, it's the obvious weakness. The gpu he is using currently is inferior to even a modern onboard integrated intel gpu.

That fact that you slow down in smoke is pretty much enough for me to diagnose that it's your video card without even looking at your specs, things like that have almost nothing to do with your proc, it's offshored to the gpu for rendering, the increased render load is dropping your fps because your gpu can't handle it.


Your processor is most likely using a LGA775 socket. I dont think you need it, but something like this would be the upper end of compatibility and would be more than enough for cs if you get a better video card. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116419

I would at least replace your video card first, it's simply not powerful enough for cs. I don't think you would benefit greatly from a risky proc swap (assuming you don't know what you're doing). Swapping your video card would be easier, and likely far more effective.