I love
Half-Life 2, I really do. However, instead of playing it, most of my time has been spent trying to find and eliminate the cause of the extremely annoying stuttering I keep experiencing. A quick Google search tells me I'm
not the only one with this problem, either. Hmm. So, what have my investigations revealed thus far?
Well, I'm almost certain it's not texture thrashing. A powerful machine like mine should be able to handle the game on the highest settings. I've tried turning the detail settings all the way down and even turning the textures off completely; it still stutters. I've tried various other settings suggested to me; it still stutters.
I am convinced my HL2 stuttering is caused by a sound problem. I've noticed that when character speech (and some environmental sound effects) kick in, I get stuttering. However, I've tried turning the sound quality right down to the lowest setting; it still stutters. I've tried updated soundcard drivers and settings; it still stutters.
So, where do I go from here? Well, I've just downloaded a fresh copy of the game via Steam (thank goodness for broadband) so I'll see if that cures it. If not, I think I'll splash out on a more up to date soundcard. My current Soundblaster Live! Value is a fairly dated anyway, and this is the perfect excuse to buy a new card.
