Increase your FPS.

If you have a low-end PC or you're just playing on a potato-powered PC, this guide will show you ways to increase your FPS with using FPS configs, commands, etc.

What is FPS?

FPS - Short for 'frames per second'.

Meaning of FPS - (Me being lazy, I'm just gonna take it from this.) [www.webopedia.com]

A measure of how much information is used to store and display motion video. The term applies equally to film video and digital video. Each frame is a still image; displaying frames in quick succession creates the illusion of motion. The more frames per second (fps), the smoother the motion appears. Television in the U.S., for example, is based on the NTSC format, which displays 30 interlaced frames per second (60 fields per second). In general, the minimum fps needed to avoid jerky motion is about 30. Some computer video formats, such as AVI, provide only 15 frames per second.

FPS Configs.

FPS configs - Basically making TF2 look worser in exchange for more FPS (blocky models, pixelated textures, no facial expressions, etc)

FPS configs I recommend:

1. Mastercomfig (Very Low / Low preset) [mastercomfig.com]
2. Comanglia's Toaster config [cfg.tf] (Click 'Graphics setting config' then click 'Comanglia : Toaster'.)
3. 3boody's FPS config

Or you can just make your own FPS config. If you want to make your own FPS config, I suggest you get Notepad++. [notepad-plus-plus.org]














It is a more advanced Notepad that makes it a lot easier to manage all the text and you can multitask with different text files. For making any scripts or configs, this is one of the best programs to recommend. Unfortunately, Notepad++ is only available for Microsoft Windows.

Commands that can boost your FPS.

model details:
r_rootlod 0 - high
r_rootlod 1 - medium
r_rootlod 2 - low

water details:
r_waterforceexpensive 0 - single reflections
r_waterforceexpensive 1 - reflect world
r_waterforcereflectentities 1 - reflect all

shadow details:
r_shadowrendertotexture 0 - low
r_shadowrendertotexture 1 - medium
r_flashlightdepthtexture 1 - high

texture details:
mat_picmip -1 - extra high
mat_picmip 0 - high
mat_picmip 1 - medium
mat_picmip 2 - low

shader details:
mat_reducefillrate 0 - high
mat_reducefillrate 1 - low

anti-aliasing:
FSAA OFF
mat_antialias 1/0
mat_aaquality 0

2x FSAA
mat_antialias 2
mat_aaquality 0

4x FSAA
mat_antialias 4
mat_aaquality 0

8x CSAA
mat_antialias 4
mat_aaquality 2

16x CSAA
mat_antialias 4
mat_aaquality 4

8x MSAA
mat_antialias 8
mat_aaquality 0

16xQ CSAA
mat_antialias 8
mat_aaquality 2

filtering:
mat_forceaniso 0/2/4/8/16
mat_trilinear 0/1

v-sync:
mat_vsync 0/1 (0 - disables Vsync, enabling it will cause input lag that can mess up your aim, but you can enable Vsync if you have screen tearing.)

hdr:
mat_hdr_level 0 - off
mat_hdr_level 1 - bloom
mat_hdr_level 2 - full

Disable shadows:
mat_shadowstate 0
r_shadowmaxrendered 0
r_shadowrendertotexture 0
r_shadows 0

Disable ragdolls:
cl_ragdoll_fade_time 0
cl_ragdoll_forcefade 1
cl_ragdoll_physics_enable 0
g_ragdoll_fadespeed 0
g_ragdoll_lvfadespeed 0
ragdoll_sleepaftertime 0

Disable gibs:
cl_phys_props_enable 0
cl_phys_props_max 0
props_break_max_pieces 0
r_propsmaxdist 1
violence_agibs 0
violence_hgibs 0

Disable decals (basically bullet holes):
r_decals 0
mp_decals 0

Disable motion blur (a must):
mat_motion_blur_enabled 0

Disable 3D skyboxes:
r_3dsky 0

Disable facial features:
r_eyes 0
r_flex 0
r_lod 2
r_rootlod 2
r_teeth 0

Removes grass, flowers, pebbles, etc:
r_drawdetailprops 0
cl_detaildist 0
cl_detailfade 0

Disables 3D player model HUD:
cl_hud_playerclass_use_playermodel 0

Locks your fps:
fps_max 'insert max fps here' (example : max_fps 144)

How to put these commands in your 'autoexec.cfg' :
Go to your 'cfg' folder (This PC > Local Disk > Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > Team Fortress 2 > tf > cfg). After that, create your 'autoexec.cfg'. Open your 'autoexec.cfg' (Make sure it's not autoexec.cfg.txt) using Notepad/Notepad++. Now you can put your commands such as binds, graphic commands, etc.

Launch Options

-novid : Disables Valve startup logo, saves time.

-nojoy : Stops Joystick system from starting up, faster startup and less memory usage.

-nosteamcontroller : Disable Steam controller system, faster startup, less memory usage and less input conflicts.

-nohltv : Disables SourceTV hosting, less resource usage.

-high : Runs TF2 with High priority, which depending on your CPU may decrease or increase performance.

-softparticlesdefaultoff : Disable scene depth blending for particles and sprites, more FPS.

-particles 1 : Limits beam count to the minimum of 512

-w X -h Y : Forces the game to start with resolution set to X x Y (example : 1280x720)

-NoQueuedPacketThread : skips creating a thread for sending large packets, which is unused on clients

-dxlevel <level> : Forces a specific DirectX version when launching the game. This is useful if your graphics hardware is older, and gets significantly better performance in an earlier version of DirectX. Below are the modes used in TF2:

-dxlevel 81 If you a have extremely low-end PC, I suggest using DX Level 8.1. If you like to see
weapon skins, don't use DX Level 8.1 because it disables skins
-dxlevel 90
-dxlevel 95
-dxlevel 98

-autoconfig Put this in your Launch Options to restore default settings. Useful if you messed up or you don't want to use a config anymore.

How to put one of these Launch Options :
Right click Team Fortress 2 in your Library, after that, click 'Properties' and click 'Set Launch Options...'. Now you can put one of these Launch Options in your 'Set Launch Options...'.

FPS Mods.

There are also mods that can boost your FPS by a small amount but if your that desperate to squeeze every last FPS, use these mods:
1. No Hats Mod [gamebanana.com]
Works on Valve's official servers.

2. No Explosion Smoke Script [www.teamfortress.tv]
Works on Valve's official servers.

3. No Bullet Dust [drive.google.com]
Works on Valve's official servers.

4. Particle Limitation Pack [www.teamfortress.tv]
Doesn't works on Valve servers.

Uhhh, if you know other FPS Mods, please send a link to it.

Other stuff you can do to increase your FPS.

Is your game still choppy? Try these tricks:
1. Lowering your resolution. (example : 1280 x 720)
2. Overclock your CPU.
3. Save up money for a new PC or upgrade your PC
4. Make sure your PC have the minimum/recommended specs to run the game. (Yes, they're a joke. Check out this [www.teamfortress.tv] or this for the actual system requirements.)

Source

Mastercomfig's recommended Launch Options [docs.mastercomfig.com]
Steam Launch Options
Graphics commands
Meaning of FPS [www.webopedia.com]

Thank You.

Thank you for reading this guide. If you have other tips, FPS mods and commands, please comment down below. If your gameplay is still choppy, get a new PC, upgrade it or just make TF2 the most horrible looking game as possible.

[DeadSpace47]

l used very low master config and it seems it improved. It is similar to Overwatch now, mostly stable 30FPS. l do have medium high model detail just to see their facial expressions but l don't see any degradation of performance. Unless it is really heavy combat with lot of players present in a line of sight.

[kamild_【=◈︿◈=】]

I'm curious, what are your PC specs? To be frank, when it comes to TF2, the CPU is always the weakest link, unless your GPU is comically underpowered compared to your CPU :p

[DeadSpace47]

My PC is low end but THAT low end. My CPU is my weakest link since l get FPS spikes when there are lot of people or explosions.
In Overwatch, l get mostly stable 30 FPS unless it is heavy combat or effects.
But l can't understand how in TF2, it is much worse.
It has do with the optimization of the game being horrible, as low end or PCs with weak links(CPU) will easily suffer while others, will not.
Using Very low on Master config helps a bit for sure, might try lower resolution but that is just a band aid on a large leaking hole.

[Ellronn]

This guide has helped me throughout my entirety of playing tf2, but now i have a better pc and i dont need this guide anymore but i thank you so much for this guide

[Stop It]

thx

[kamild_【=◈︿◈=】]

Reminder: sprays don't work on casual, no matter what you do
Sometimes you may see someone's spray, but that's because you played with that person on a community server (where sprays work) and the spray is saved on your computer, so his spray will show up in casual as well.

[DeathSh3ll]

so toggled this option and it didn't work

[F4DE]

I'll look for it. Thank you.

[kamild_【=◈︿◈=】]

Unless you explicitly disabled sprays, they should just work. There's a checkbox in the "Advanced Options" if you didn't use any commands to toggle it.

[F4DE]

but It doesn't also enable in community servers too