Gaming TF2 Running Poorly

[Dylaan]

Okay hopefully some of you guys can help me out here.
I finally got around to grabbing a few new parts and almost have a 'decent' computer...

Most games I've played run fine on high settings like Fallout 3, but TF2 is giving me a lot of trouble.
1280*1024 with everything maxed except no anti-aliasing. FPS jumps around between 15-50.
Also, every few minutes I'll get some stupid lag where it freezes for half a second, throws me back to where I was about 10 seconds prior and then jumps forward to where I should be. I'm on 1.5mbit DSL and get a ping of 20-50ms.

Oh and CPU & GPU temps of about 55 degrees idle, board temps of about 45 degrees.

Specs:
- ASUS p5kpl-cm board (G31 Chipset?)
- Pentium 4 HT 3.2Ghz (Sadly)
- 2 x 2GB Kingston DDR2-6400 (800mhz?)
- 2 x 160gb Seagate SATA HDD's (Only about 10gb space on each)
- ASUS DK9800GTX+ 512mb (I got ripped, they started selling 1GB version after mine arrived)
- Thermaltake ToughPower 750w PSU
- Onboard Sound

Anything I've forgotten just let me know,
Hopefully that's all thanks!

 

[Minox]

That's very strange, I'm running it at 1680x1050 with all settings set to the highest and my computer's specs are lower than yours.

Specs on my computer:
Pentium 4 HT 3.0Ghz
2x1GB Kingston 667 Mhz + 2x512MB Noname 667Mhz
Seagate SATA 160GB + 320GB HDDs
MSI Geforce 8600GT
375W PSU
Onboard sound

But by the sounds of it, it sounds like there may be some troubles with your OS.

 

[sean0007]

Have you tried a defrag of the TF2 files (can be done from within Steam)?

Right Click on TF2 -> Properties, [Local Files], Defragment Cache Files

 

[Dylaan]

^In regards to 'OS' problems, I get the same annoying frequent 'lag' in a fresh install of Vista Ultimate as I do in XP. The framerates in Vista are slightly higher but nowhere near satisfactory.

I will try defragging, my Steam games are all on the second drive. (OS on first) Also, would the temps I edited in to the above post have anything to do with it?

 

[Dylaan]

Sorry for the double post/bump. Defragging didn't help and I'm lost to what else to do... I found a thread where some guy wrote he went from 20fps to 120fps by plugging in a power cable, although mine all seem to be connected properly... :S

 

[sean0007]

The power cable the guy is talking about is to his graphics card (some require extra power), likely you have already connected it since the GTX is a power hog. Both the temperatures seem fine, have you updated your graphics card drivers from nvidia.com and sound drivers from the company website (likely Realtek, and you will need to update the HD Audio Codec Driver).

 

[CockroachMan]

I have a lower specs PC and the game runs fine here on max settings.. check if you're using the latest drivers and try re-installing the game..

Also, every few minutes I'll get some stupid lag where it freezes for half a second, throws me back to where I was about 10 seconds prior and then jumps forward to where I should be. I'm on 1.5mbit DSL and get a ping of 20-50ms.

This is certainly a connection problem.. even with a low ping, check if your ports are open and if your firewall is well configured.. might also be a problem in a specific server.

 

[sean0007]

If updating the drivers doesn't work then add me on Steam and I'll play TF2 with you on a custom server to test out your ping and connection status.

Steam ID: DayEnder