I have several questions about graphics, internet connection (dialup, highspeed), and CS Source. I currently have a low end Dell Dimension B110 that my grandparents bought me originally for highschool(word docs, pictures, music, web surfing) but not gaming. I just CS Source, downloaded all 4 discs, downloaded Steam, and tried it out. but my gameplay is poor, the graphics are nice, but its very laggy. I fire a shot and 2 seconds later I see the gun finally fire. I lose health and 3 seconds later I'm dead with a guy standing in front of me. BUT in the map: Cobble, in confined space, there is NO LAG, but out in the open..much lag..

1. I'm not a PC wiz but I figured its either my graphics aren't up to it or my internet connection which is AOL 56k dialup , or both? I have 2.5 ghz of proccessing power so I didn't think that was part of it. 2. My friend who plays CS 1.6 told me one of their best players runs dialup and since their playing CS 1.6 the graphics are outdated so I was thinking maybe graphics is the problem then, confirm?. If it is graphics, I'd appreciate it if you could check out this link:

http://www.pchelpforum.com/monitors/24334-answered-great-but-affordable-plugin-vga-dvi-card-suggestions-please.html?highlight=jsquad

Jsquad was my former account on PCHelpForum, I never did buy the (2nd) recommended card though. 3. But the graphics card listed, would those improve my graphics or are those only for using multiple moniters? If yes, then the next question relates> 4. also, I'm really wanting to buy a graphics card now that I have CS but the 2nd card listed in that link, the VisionTek RADEON-9250 PCI DUAL DVI/VGA FULL HEIGHT/LOW PROFILE VIDEO CARD: Compare Prices, View Price History and Read Reviews at NexTag , isn't for sale anymore. I'd be a huge help if you could find me the same one or identical(VGA, DVI, PCI) w/ similar prices.

5. and last question, are used chips reliable? ebay or a local hardware store.

Thanks very much,
Joe

hi Striker,

I'd recommend trying to run through levels offline. If you have zero lag then your graphics card is at least up to snuff. The video card mentioned in the other thread should be okay to run the game if not at full settings.

If everything runs fine offline then try online to see if lag increases. On dial up you're likely going to get lag online (i even get it on simple poker sites), and a higher speed connection will also help. Counter Strike 1.6 was out when dial up was the predominant connection method and therefore had to be optimized for such a connection but with the increasing saturation of high speed, it's unlikely that valve did the same for CS:S.

Hmm, I ran through levels with just myself in the map(cobble), lagged in the open space, in a confined hallway and to make it even more sharp, I was in the hallway but also facing the wall. no lag. I'll have to test if I still get the same results with players running next to me. Also just to confirm, so CS 1.6 will run fine?

So since I still had lag, the graphics card isn't ruled out yet.. I'm willing to spend $30-40USD for a cheep but reliable PCI card with VGA DVI ports.

I was online when I did that former test stated above. Just now I just found out how to play offline skirmishes..by opening Steam offline and then opening Source. Then creating my own server and play against the Bots. Map: Dust, Bots: 7, there was still lag even though I was offline, so do you think buying a graphics card will then help the performance? If so I'm buying one tomorrow! thanks

And to confirm, 1.6 you think will run just fine?

(Sorry for posting so much, I need to learn to include all my info and questions in just one post alone)

I'm not to confident that you will get much performance out of a PCI GFX card mate, if you can get a decent AGP card you should be in business, I've managed decent framerates, if not spectacular from a GeForceFX 5200 (not very expensive). CS 1.6 is a pretty old game so it should run decently even on an old TNT Riva or something.