Improving gameplay by reducing lag

bear

bear

Server Owner
Hi all!

I figured I'd write a quick guide on a few simple things you can do to help improve your gameplay, by improving performance (reducing lag) and therefore making your SAMP experience even more enjoyable!

  • Ensure that your computer is free of infections (i.e. malware). You might be surprised to know the impact that an infected operating system can have on performance. Sometimes this is very noticeable, and likewise, sometimes it isn't. I strongly recommend checking out Malwarebytes. It's free, very easy to use, and extremely good at what it does. Scan your PC, remove any infections that it finds, reboot.

  • Disable the fancy Windows Visual Effects. If you're like me, you'll prefer performance over a snazzy user interface. Disabling these effects can give you a slight boost in performance. Here's what my settings look like. As you can see, I have all of them disabled, except smooth edges for fonts. You'll also see that Windows lets you choose between best performance or best appearance. To make these changes for yourself, follow this guide for Windows 7 or this guide for Windows 10.

  • Don't run applications that you don't need, or use. I've seen plenty of desktops over time, and I'm often blown away by the amount of, what looks like, "crap", that people run. It goes without saying that having an application running (even if it's in the background) will consume resources (Disk, CPU, Memory & Network - with varying amounts depending on what it is) Ask yourself this: have you used an application in the last month, and if not, do you plan on using it again? If the answer is "no" to both questions, consider removing it. See this guide for Windows 7 and this guide for Windows 10.

  • Ensure you have enough free drive space. It's well known that having little-to-no free space on your disk drive(s) can impact your performance. I've noticed that "Gamers" in particular often seem to pretty much max out their available space. Just read some of the comments to this post, for example. As such, why not run the Windows Disk Cleanup feature? You may be able to free up a couple hundred megabytes, maybe even gigabytes. See this guide for Windows 7 and this guide for Windows 10.

  • Reduce the display resolution for your games. Many people play games at lower resolutions to improve performance. Just because 1920 x 1080 x 32 is available to you as the maximum doesn't mean to say you need to use it. This thread has some more in-depth discussion about the idea. For those of us who play SA:MP (probably everyone), this is easily done via ESC -> Options -> Display Setup -> Advanced -> Resolution.

  • Install driver updates...or uninstall them. There's a lot of hype around installing the latest updates. Sometimes they'll claim to boost performance and stability. Other times you'll install them and find out that completely the opposite has happened. As such, experiment. If a driver update is available (best to check your hardware manufacture's website), install it. If it doesn't help, revert back. Just make sure you are confident that you know how to roll back if needed.

  • Use Task Manager to see where your resources are being used. There's a whole plethora of helpful data in Task Manager. It allows you to see what's using up your gear (i.e. CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, GPU). If you find that a particular application is hogging your memory (for example), consider closing it, or replacing it. Web browsers are a common culprit, and since many of us have a browser session open all the time, perhaps break free of that habit and close the browser whilst gaming, or use another browser. A blog post by Mozilla claims Firefox Uses Less Memory Than Chrome, Edge and Safari. The easiest way to open Task Manager is by hitting CTRL + SHIFT + ESC.

  • If you're using WiFi, make sure that no one is "piggybacking" on your connection. It's common for people to "borrow" other people's internet connections. I know I've done it before. What's to stop them connecting to yours, and streaming, downloading all day long? This will not only increase your monthly bandwidth usage, but it will increase your ping in online games. Make sure you have a password set up so that you're the only one using your connection.

  • Turn off downloads! Briefly mentioned above, downloads will increase your ping and create "lag" in online games. Check what you've got running. If you've got a torrent client open, do you really need to be seeding? If you've got Steam open, do you really need it to be downloading updates for The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 that you last played a decade ago? See this guide for disabling automatic updates for Steam games.

  • Use the High Performance power plan. This prevents your device components from entering power saving modes and ensures you are getting the most out of your hardware at all times, at the cost of extra power usage. To do so, hit the Windows Key (start menu) and search "power options", then click on the "High performance" plan. See here.

I'll update this thread over time, but hopefully it has helped a bit.

If you've any suggestions or questions to help improve game or SAMP specific performance, feel free to post here!

Thanks,
Tezla
 
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A little tip that I do to decrease lag when playing on SF-SE specifically is:
Removing textdraws (/tdsettings)
Disable your toys, alternatively /objects
Disabling head movement with /headmove
While in-game, push esc and go into options > display setup > advanced, and from there lower the draw distance and graphics to low.
And finally, using the SAMP FPS limiter. /fps limit 48 is what I personally use.
 
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Some stuff I noticed:
  1. The link to the thread that explains how to change the desktop effects on Windows 7 is outdated and leads to a completely unrelated website. Here is an alternative.
  2. The thread that has a more in-depth discussion regarding resolution and gaming is outdated as well.
  3. The blogpost about Mozilla using less memory than the rest of the popular browsers (Chrome, Safari, Opera, Edge etc.) may have been true at that point, but not anymore according to my experience. I have been using it for the last few months, but decided to give the completely revamped Edge a go. It uses about 25-50% less memory and less CPU resources (especially on idle).
    • If you don't mind using something uncommon, you can also use 'Pale Moon'. It's said to be really low on resources while being optimised for modern CPUs at the same time.
Some stuff I'd like to add:
  • Process Priority: Set the process of your game in Task Manager to high. Your system will allocate even more resources to your game than it already does. Here is a thread about it, which includes saving this setting permanently.
  • Charging Laptop: If you are gaming on a laptop, make sure you are doing it while the power cable (charger) is plugged in. It can deliver a higher consistent power output than the battery, meaning the performance of the system and games will be noticably better. Source
  • Dusty PCs: Make sure you clean your PC or Laptop from dust once in a while (every 2-3 months depending on usage and your enviroment). The dust that builds up especially around cooling outlets and fans reduces the capability of your computer to drive heat out. That results in overheating, throttling and your parts wear out quicker than they should. I use compressed air and a paint brush for parts with difficult access.
  • Defragmentation (HDD only): If you have a really old system with an HDD that's been used for years, it's possible that due to the extreme amounts of writing things have gone wrong a few times. Don't worry though, defragmentation can fix most of these issues and actually increase space and performance. Disk SpeedUP is a software that can actually do that for free. WARNING: DO NOT DO THIS ON SSD! It will cause unnecessary wear and reduce it's lifespan. Here is a more in-depth article about it.
  • Maintain more than 10% space free at all times: We all know the feeling of our computer or phone slowing down from time to time. One of the causes is the lack of sufficient free space. If you have an SSD with less space than that left, your PC will be noticably slower and your SSD will die faster. HDD's longevity might not be affected as much, but it will still be slower than it can be. Source
  • Money can go a long way if invested properly (If you don't want to replace the whole computer but want to increase performance with as little money as possible
    • Thermal paste: Thermal paste is the stuff that sits between your CPU cooler and die and dissipates heat. It usually lasts for a long time before it dries out and loses it's ability to cool your computer down. However, if you haven't changed it for years or at all since you have the computer, it's plausible you need to do to it achieve better cooling and overall performance. When it comes to desktop PCs, here is a thread about how to do it. When it comes to laptops, the method varies and is notebook model specific, therefore you need to search your own laptop up to see how it's actually done. Before you get down to it, it can be a DIFFICULT process and make sure you know how to handle things. If you are uncertain about yourself, ask around your circle of acquintance or get to a local but well-known IT repair store for them to do it for you (however it can cost more than you want). My choice is Arctic MX-4, it's popular around the IT world and is a great choice for anyone while costing around $10. You can also replace it on your dedicated GPU, a video here (This is the same in difficulty or sometimes even harder, and is GPU specific)
    • CPU-cooler: Most of the time replacing your thermal paste will yield the results you desired, however if you want to go one step ahead in maintain top performance and ensuring longevity of your computer, you can buy one. Since you want your money to worth it's while, go for a well-known brand like 'beQuiet!', 'Noctua' or 'Cooler Master'. Cheaper models of these end up satisfying most of the needs, and you only need to go higher if you want to overclock your system or it's already expensive to begin with. Here is a video how to install one onto your CPU. Always verify that the cooler of your choice supports your CPU.
    • SSD: These used to be really expensive compared to HDD a few years ago, however nowadays they can be found cheap. Be sure you have a computer or notebook that's modern enough to have SATA slots, else you have to buy yourself adapter (like IDE --> mSATA for example) and then mSATA SSD. If you decide to buy one, be ready to reinstall the whole system if you want to get the most performance out of it. However once you are done, your PC will feel like as if it was reborn, for as little as $10. Here is a video about it. I recommend buying 128 GB at least if you want your system and some stuff on it.
 
It's 2020 who would have problem runing samp, Intel pentuim CPU is enough to run the game, in case you just want more fps and don't mind about the overall look just download GTA for low end PC.
 
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