This site is a collection of information on a problem with Half-Life 2 that has plagued many players of this otherwise excellent game. This problem is characterized by a sudden massive drop in frame rate when turning corners or moving into new areas of the game. These drops are usually accompanied by looping or stuttering sound during the frame rate drop which is how most people become aware of the problem. Aside from these isolated drops in frame rate, the game is otherwise perfectly smooth. These sudden drops kill the immersion and lead to a very frustrating experience. Below you will find additional details on this problem, some theories, and all responses from Valve on this problem.
I have solved my crashing problem by lowering my
PCI Latency Timer BIOS setting to 32 from its default of 64. Since doing this I have been able to appreciate the improvements in the most recent patch.
This patch has made a significant improvement in the stuttering issue affecting my system. While a few hitches remain, the game is completely enjoyable now in the areas that I have seen so far. I achieved the best results by setting
mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware to
0.
I will continue to post updates as I progress through the game and receive additional feedback from the community.
