TF2 & other Source games - Low FPS

[Yuralz]

Note : I'm a self-admitted noob on computers and hardware, please keep it simple

I recently bought a new computer from NCIX and 2 months later my FPS in all my Source games (the only modern games I have on my PC, CS 1.6 still works fine) just took a nose dive in preformance. FPS was more than halved in most cases. Up until this point I had easily over 100 FPS on maxed out settings and never dipped below 70 or 65. Now its as low as 30-40 in most cases with graphics severly toned down. I had not changed any hardward or messed with any drivers when my FPS decreased, just one day it decided to die on me.

--System Specs--
These are taken from the receipt from when the PC was ordered :

-Intel Core2Duo E8500 LGA775 3.16GHz Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB
-Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L ATX Motherboard
-2x Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2-800 Dual Channel Memory
-GeForce 9800GTX+ OEM 738MHz 512MB GDDR3 2.2GHz PVI-E
-Corsair TX750W ATX 12v 60A 24PIN Power Supply, 120mm Fan
-Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM
-Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 3.5IN 500GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Cache Hard Drive
-HT Omega Striker 7.1 7.1 Channel PCI Sound Card
-Some random case, 120mm Fan
-Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32Bit OEM

Again, nothing that I listed up there had been even touched before I got this problem. The first time I even opened up my PC was when this happened.

Any help is welcome, thanks in advance

[Aus_Karlos]

Hi Yuralz and welcome to TSF,

If your frames are not dipping below 30-40 then there is really no problem as most games are played at 30fps. Anything above 60fps the eye cannot see (Some will argue though but thats another debate).
There has been a recent update to TF2, where more particles were added, they also tweaked the texture settings for higher-end users, removed some bugs and of course when this happens bugs are added.

the best thing to do is to make sure all drivers are up-to-date. Use my sig to get the latest in DirectX and Nvidia drivers.

Also could you please post the specs on your computers power supply. For this you will need to take the side of your case off and have a look. Your PSU should be at the top back of your case, there should be a sticker on there that gives the make/model and the output.

[Yuralz]

Thanks for the quick reply.

A few things I want to correct that are really my fault for not mentioning in the first post.

1. The problem started 2-3 weeks ago, before the recent update, I had actually went to other sites but they we're much help.
2. Its not a TF2-only problem, my DoD:S and other mods on the source engine also have the same problem starting on the same day.
3. Maybe 30-40 isn't so bad, but theres also something that can only be described as a "lack of smoothness" in the game. Whenever there's enough action on the screen (and in TF2 there's always enough action on the screen) it feels like I'm watching one of those videos that have to buffer every 5 sec.

Now then..

My Nvidia drivers are up to date, confirmed by their website and Device Manager. As for DirectX, the file in your sig is somewhat confusing. What am I supposed to do with all the .rar files?

There is no sticker on the PSU inside my PC. The best I can do i just link itif you want to take a look.

[Aus_Karlos]

For the DirectX you need to find the setup.exe amongst the other files.
Also what tool are you using to measure your frame rate. (just out of curiosity). Also TF2 and DoD (i think) share the same game engine. So if anything in the core of the engine was changed in the update chances are it will affect the other games that share the same engine that last engine update was on 11th of December i think.

And that PSU is more than adequate to run your system to its fullest performance. A weak or underpowered PSU can cause the same and similar issues.

[Tiber Septim]

Hi.
Download CoreTemp and GPU-Z from my signature.
Run both when the system is idle and check the temps.

Then, run TF2 for a couple of minutes, quickly quit out and check the temps again.
Post both sets of figures back here so we can check them.

[Yuralz]

Thanks again for replies.

Originally Posted by Aus_Karlos

For the DirectX you need to find the setup.exe amongst the other files.
Also what tool are you using to measure your frame rate. (just out of curiosity). Also TF2 and DoD (i think) share the same game engine. So if anything in the core of the engine was changed in the update chances are it will affect the other games that share the same engine that last engine update was on 11th of December i think.

Heh, I feel stupid for not finding the setup.exe myself . Anywho, with both DX9 and the latest Nvidia drivers, no changes to my framerate. I think you're right about them sharing the same engine, but I believe that the update you are refering to was a TF2 update and should not have affected DoDS or any other Source game.

Originally Posted by Tiber Septim

Hi.
Download CoreTemp and GPU-Z from my signature.
Run both when the system is idle and check the temps.

Then, run TF2 for a couple of minutes, quickly quit out and check the temps again.
Post both sets of figures back here so we can check them.

Idle
Core #0 - 36C - 0% load
Core #1 - 35C - 0% load
GPU - 46C

Gaming
Core #0 - 40C -100% load
Core #1 - 38C - 100% load
GPU - 54C

Something to point out is that when I tabbed out of the game, Core0 was at 100% for about 5 seconds while Core1 dropped to 0% almost instantly.

[darewinder]

problem is the game itself. Same thing happens to my game.

IDK if you know fragmentation or not. but tf2 runs really bad when its files are even lil bit fragmented.

What i suggest you doing is. Delete your team fortres 2. Use a defrag software, (ultimate defrag or something), then reinstall the game.

Your fps will go back to normal.

[koala]

Thanks for the help, darewinder, and welcome to TSF.

It's always a good idea to defrag straight after installing any new software. And make sure you have at least 15% free hard drive space. There's no need to delete the game before defragging though.