Counter Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular multiplayer first-person online shooters of all time. Released in 2012 on a number of platforms, it was the fourth game in the CS series.
The CS:GO community is still very strong, and the game is still considered a premier esports title. The game has, however, suffered from a myriad of glitches including lag, poor ping rate, freezing and slow clients that negatively impact the game experience.
If these have been a problem, or continue to be, for you or the young gamer in your home, then read on as we have some tips to make CS:GO run faster and smoother.
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Understand The CS:GO Minimum Requirements
An important starting point is to know CS:GO requirements. What follows are the minimum requirements for a PC, and it is highly recommended you have a system that exceeds these requirements for a better overall gaming experience.
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6600 2.4 GHz or AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz processor
- GPU: Any video card with 256 MB of VRAM or higher
- RAM: 2 GB of memory
- HDD: 15 GB of free space
- OS: Windows XP or higher operating system
- DirectX: 9.0c or higher
- Shader Model: 3.0 or higher
Ensure your PC’s specifications, at minimum, meet these.
Evaluate Your GPU To Determine Whether It Can Support CS:GO
CS:GO lag often is due to the GPU, the Graphic Processing Unit. For smooth gameplay, the GPU should be running at least at 240 frames per second, ideally more. The higher the speed of the GPU, the smoother the game will be. If the frame rate is less than 240, there will be the dreaded lagging.
Nvidia are the leaders in the market when it comes to a Graphic Processing Unit. Esports professionals love their products and use the higher speed cards for the smoothest gameplay.
Make Sure You Are Running the Latest CS:GO Patch
Games often need patches downloaded for them to run at their best. Patches are literally that, they “patch up” and fix any problems that have crept up in a game over time. When downloading a patch, game developers will often list what the new patch is intended to fix, so it’s important to look at the list of fixes the new patch will achieve.
These can be small things like fixing a translated word for subtitles in a particular language to something larger like a bug in the game that was making the gameplay end.
It’s important to update CS:GO when a new patch is released, but even a patch can come with its own issues.
CS:GO Patch Stuck While Downloading
A common problem gamers experience when downloading patches is that their system gets stuck and freezes up on them. Fortunately, Steam has an easy way to combat this problem for CS:GO users.
First, ensure the server you are downloading the patch from is not down for maintenance. Come back later if this is the case.
If this isn’t the issue, then closing the downloading program through Task Manager is your answer. Follow these simple steps:
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete
- Select Task Manager
- Go to Processes
- Right-click the Steam process and select End Task.
Reload Steam and restart your download after doing this.
CS:GO Update Is Really Slow
There’s nothing worse for gamers when all you want to do is play, but the update for the game is taking what feels like an eternity! If CS:GO won’t update or is updating slowly, then there are a few things gamers can do to speed things up a bit and get back to gaming quicker.
- Clear your download cache (Click Steam > Settings > Downloads > Clear Downloads > OK)
- Change the download server location (Click Steam > Settings > Downloads > Download Region > Choose a different download server location > OK)
- Temporarily disable your firewall
- End the resource-hogging programs
- Update your network driver with a program like Driver Easy.
- Check your network connection status and restart your connection if necessary
- Reinstall Steam
CS:GO Won’t Start After Update
Another scenario some gamers experience is that after downloading the update, the game won’t start. Fortunately, there are some quick remedies CS:GO players can do to get things up and running again:
- Restart your PC
- Reset CS:GO Configurations to their default setting
- Update your graphics driver (or turn on Auto Updates)
- Stop overclocking your CPU and return it to its default
- Verify the integrity of CSGO files (Run Steam > LIBRARY > Right Click on CS:GO Properties > Local Files Tab > Verify Integrity of Game Files > Relaunch game when process finishes)
- Run CSGO as an administrator
- Check for Windows Updates
- Reinstall your CSGO
What To Do If Your CS:GO Client Is Slow or Laggy
Most CS:GO players have experienced it being slow or laggy. It’s unfortunate but quite common and much like other issues with this incredibly popular game, it is fixable.
Your system’s ping (or latency) may be causing lag. Ping is the response time from requests in a connection with a server. If a ping rate is below 60ms (mini-seconds), CS:GO should be running smoothly.
Packet loss is another culprit for CS:GO lag. 1-2% packet loss (data “packets” transmitted between a source and your system) is normal, but anything higher may make the CS:GO “jerky” and unplayable.
Essentially, it’s a matter of going into the CS:GO settings to ensure that ping rate and packet loss aren’t having a detrimental effect on your gaming experience. This tutorial video goes into exact detail for CS:GO gamers.
Resolving CS:GO Frame Drops
The big term to understand as to why your CS:GO gameplay is experiencing frame drop is FPS (frames per second). Sometimes this rate dips from 300 fps to 100 fps while playing CS:GO, leaving players annoyed and frustrated.
Old graphics drivers or not having the best settings applied for CS:GO are usually the culprits for a low FPS. Players should also close out other programs while running the game and ensure their connectivity is strong.
- A quick fix was discovered by some CS:GO lovers. Follow these steps:
- Go to CS:GO Settings under Options.
- Enable console (~).
- Go back to the game and press the ~ key.
- A command console will appear on the screen.
- Type in ‘logaddress_add 1’ and press Enter.
Ensure That You Have The Best Settings For CS:GO Configured
It should be obvious that to make anything run at an optimal level, having the correct setting applied is important. The same goes for CS:GO. It’s vital to have the best settings for CS:GO.
CS:GO experts recommend the following to make the game run optimally:
Brightness to 80%
Aspect ratio: 4:3
Resolution: 1280 x 960 (makes for easier targeting)
Display mode: Full screen
Laptop Power Savings: Disable these
There are plenty of other in-game settings CS:GO players will be aware of, but having these major settings set accordingly should be enough for most users.
Make Sure Your Firewall Isn’t Causing Issues With CS:GO
Finally, the CS:GO firewall issue is a common barrier gamers experience. It is, however, a quick fix! Windows Defender Firewall has been a particular culprit for CS:GO players in the past because it improperly flags the game as a potential threat. But, all gamers need to do is turn the firewall off by following these quick steps:
- Press the Windows key + S hotkey.
- Input firewall to search for the Windows Defender Firewall applet.
- Click Windows Defender Firewall to open the Control Panel applet.
- Click the on or off option. Then click OK.
Hopefully, this comprehensive rundown of how to make Counter Strike: Global Offensive run better for you or your young gamer is helpful. We’ve covered many of the common issues CS:GO users have experienced over the years, and some not so common ones too.
Gaming is about community, and we’d love to hear your thoughts and any great tips you might have on how to make CS:GO run smoothly. Leave us some feedback or questions in the comment section.
