Apart from being simply annoying, micro stutters can be the difference between victory and defeat in the competitive world of Counter-Strike. Regrettably, ever since the release of CS2, there have been countless reports of players experiencing constant stuttering and lag despite running the game on PCs with the latest specs.
If you, too, find yourself trying to fix micro stuttering, you’ve come to the right place as we’ll not only be discussing some quick fixes for the issue but also trying to discover its root cause.
7 Ways To Solve Micro Stutters In CS2?
While we wish there was one magic fix for micro stuttering, this is sadly not the case, as the cause of the issue may lie in either the hardware or CS2 itself. Therefore, we’ve listed down a couple of tried and tested fixes for the problem.
Switch To Fullscreen
Switching to fullscreen is perhaps the simplest fix that seems to have done the trick for most players facing micro stuttering. Here’s how you can enter fullscreen mode:
- Launch CS2.
- Navigate to Settings → Video.
- In the Video tab, set the Display Mode to Fullscreen.
In Fullscreen mode, the game doesn’t have to compete for computational power with other applications running in the background. Therefore, completing these steps would ensure that the game has full control over the display output, which can lead to a more consistent frame rate and reduced stuttering.
Update GPU Drivers
Outdated or corrupt drivers could be the reason why you’re getting micro stutters in your game. You can update your graphics drivers through Windows Device Manager by following the below steps:
- Press Windows key + R to open up the Run dialog box.
- Enter devmgmt.msc. and press Enter. This command should take you to Device Manager.
- Expand the Display adapters option to see your graphics card.
- Right-click on your graphics card and select the Update driver option.
- Choose Search automatically for updated driver software and follow the prompts to successfully update your graphics drivers.
Reinstall Windows
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been sticking with the same old Windows setup for ages. However, it’s not a bad idea to occasionally reinstall your Windows, as not doing so can accumulate software conflicts and unnecessary background apps. So here’s how you can reinstall your Windows:
- Traverse to Settings → Update & Security → Recovery.
- Under the Reset this PC section, click on Get started.
- Now, you have two options: Keep my files or Remove everything. Select the option that suits you the best.
- Follow the remaining instructions that pop up to complete the reinstallation process.
Change The Number Of Cores Used By CS2
Optimizing core usage can significantly help in resolving micro stuttering issues in games. Here’s how you can do this in CS2:
- Launch Steam.
- Right-click on Counter-Strike 2 in your game library.
- Click on Properties → Set Launch Options.
- In the text box, you can use the -threads command to set the number of cores you want to use. For example, if you’ve got an 8-core processor, you can leave one core free for other processes and set the remaining 7 for CS2 by adding the command: -threads 7.
- Click on Ok and then Close.
By setting the -threads command to a number less than your total cores, you’re essentially ensuring that there are always some resources free for other processes, avoiding any competition with CS2.
Set CS2 To High Priority In Task Manager
You can allocate more CPU resources to CS2 by setting its affinity to “high” in the Task Manager by following these steps:
- Launch CS2.
- While CS2 is running, open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
- Click on the Details tab and scroll down until you find the CS2.exe file.
- Right-click on the file and select Set priority.
- In the menu that pops up, select the High option.
It is important to note that you’ll have to repeat this process every time you launch CS2, as the priority level will be reset to normal after the game is closed.
Disable MSAA Settings
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing, or MSAA for short, might sound like an intimidating name, but all it does is make the game feel more smooth and realistic. And as you might have guessed, it’s quite demanding on your CPU, leading to micro stuttering in CS2. Here’s how you can lower your game’s MSAA:
- Launch CS2.
- Go to Settings → Video.
In the Advanced Video tab, set the Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode to a lower value. For example, it’s set to “8X MSAA”, you can try reducing it to “2X MSAA” to see if it solves your micro stuttering problem.
Remove DirectX Shader Cache
The DirectX Shader Cache contains the compiled shaders for your DirectX games. While these shaders are used to render the graphics in your games, over time, this cache can accumulate or become corrupted, potentially leading to micro stuttering problems. Here’s how you can remove it:
- Go to Disk Cleanup by searching for it in the Window search box.
- Select the C drive option and click on Ok.
- In the Disk Cleanup window, check the box next to DirectX Shader Cache and click on Ok.
- Click on Delete files to complete the cleanup.
It is important to note that your game might load a bit slower after the cleanup since the shaders will need to be recompiled.
Conclusion
As there is no singular source for micro stuttering problems in CS2, it’s hard to figure out the root of the problem. Luckily, there are many methods available to address this problem, and it’s just a matter of trying different fixes until you find the one that resolves your micro stuttering problem. Do you know of any other fixes for micro stuttering and lag? If so, do share them in the comments below!