How do I get this game to run smoother?

[Impaired Bear]

For the life of me I cannot get this game to run smoothly.

I have similar performance reports from 2 different rigs and it is something I have struggled with for years in this game. I do run some light autoexec stuff and I keep a clean computer and don't use antivirus programs.

Looking for easy or general tips for performance or network improvements. Both my rigs are more than sufficient and I have a strong internet connection, but feel like this game has always performed poorly. Lots of dips, hangs and lag and none of it hardware related as I monitor all of my metrics.

I have done all the basic stuff like reinstall, verify cache, etc. as I have been doing since 2007! It is one of my favorite games of all time and would love to be able to get a smoother experience.

Thanks in advance!

[MichaHil]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doymTl9LhhQ

[scorpianswag]

Originally posted by Mike Hillus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doymTl9LhhQ

[Smetrix]

Use recommended graphics for your system, I run on max just fine, but the recommended graphics for your system tends to run the smoothest

[Stink3y]

Grease the axles and make sure to feed it nutritious meals every day.

Serious answer: a common theme among many complaints is TF2 is vastly unoptimized for newer hardware, notably Nvidia cards in the 900 and 1000 series leading to inconsistent performance. I'm not aware of AMD cards doing the same but I imagine they have similar hiccups.

Simply lowering all TF2's graphics in Options settings to High or Medium usually does it. If not, you'll need to use a graphics config.

The idea of a FPS config is to purposefully restrict TF2's graphics to a lower setting compatible with the game's standards. Use the "Max FPS for High Quality PCs" config. Read the instructions if you don't know how to install a config.

http://www.teamfortress.tv/25328/comanglia-s-config-fps-guide

Another is OS compatibility. Mac client is notorious for being wonky and Linux is almost broken. Windows 8 and 10 also have consistent issues. Some people report TF2 runs fine on W10 while others can't play at all. The only solutions I can think of:

- Downgrade to Windows 7
- Running TF2/Steam in compatibility mode with Windows 7

How do I know? There have been tons of people complaining on the forums about their precious 1080's and 970's running TF2 like sh*t. In comparison I run Windows 7 have an ancient GTX 670 and TF2 runs flawlessly.