NO FPS DROP, Low-end Machine HRTF/Surround Sound Alternative

[Ulrica]

Some of you may suffer low FPS and have to turn off HRTF.

For those don't know what is HRTF, according to my understanding, it is a virtual surround sound solution provided by Valve quite while ago, help you discern in-game sound like footsteps or gunshots much more accurately. But calculating HRTF will eat up a certain amount of CPU resources and cause lag or FPS sudden drop (correct me if I'm wrong).

For those who are using potato machines like me, disable that function can regain a considerable amount of FPS. You can turn it off easily by disabling "Advanced 3D Audio Processing" and adding "+snd_use_hrtf 0" to your launch option.

But without it put us at a disadvantage, and I think I found an alternative for HRTF with no FPS drop.

At the Windows 10 Creator Update, Microsoft added a function called "Windows Sonic for Headphones", you can find it at Volume > PlayBack devices > your default device > Properties > Spatial sound > Spatial sound format. Switch it on and check "Turn on 7.1 virtual surround sound", you are good to go.

My Rig:
i5-6200U
8GB DDR4
GT920MX 2G

Setting:
1366 x 768, Fullscreen,
All low, except:
Texture High, MSAA 2X, Texture Filtering Mod 16X, as these three only have a tiny performance impact. But if you have lower spec, switch them on low or off.

In game HRTF:
FPS 40-80

Windows Sonic:
FPS 109-70, above 60fps, makes it much more playable and fluency.

Have fun!

[johnny Wick]

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