rates..
Maybe this will help..
THE INGREDIENTS:
cl_cmdrate - this should apparently be approximately equal to the FPS you're getting (check netgraph). Too much above or too much below and you'll get choke.
cl_updaterate - you should set this as high as it will go without causing ANY packet loss - if you're getting any loss, that's BAD.
rate - capped at 20000 for online play (25000 at LAN). Setting it too low will cause choke. Setting it too high will cause choke.
ex_interp - the "ideal" is supposed to be 1/cl_updaterate. NEVER set this to zero because CS uses your current cl_updaterate, not the server's. Basically, the higher ex_interp, the smoother play will appear, but true player positions will be less accurate on your screen. Some people prefer to just set this low and leave it there. (0.01)
THE METHOD:
So, to figure out decent settings for you, best thing to do is probably something along the lines of this:
1 ) Turn on netgraph ("net_graph 3" I think is the one you want)
2 ) Start with this:
cl_cmdrate 30
cl_updaterate 40
rate 15000
ex_interp 0.033
3 ) Run around a bit (preferably on a busy server) and take note of your FPS... what you want is you *average* FPS.
4 ) Set cl_cmdrate to that value. E.g. if you're averaging 40 FPS on a busy server, then set cl_cmdrate to 40.
5 ) Run around some more, and see if you experience any choke. If you're getting choke, drop this value by 5. If you're not, increase by 5. Basically - keep doing this for a bit - you want the highest setting you can get before getting any choke / loss. Once you're happy, subtract 5! (safety buffer - and lets us play with the next settings) (max of 101)
6 ) Ok, so we've got our "ideal" cl_cmdrate... let's mess around with the cl_updaterate... Increase your cl_updaterate by 5, then run around some more. If you're not getting choke / loss, add 5. If you are, subtract 5. Basically, find the highest setting for this you can without getting any loss / choke. (max of 101)
7 ) Now that we've got those sorted, change your ex_interp to 1/cl_updaterate - so if your cl_updaterate is 50, you'll use 0.02. If your cl_updaterate is 100, you'll use 0.01. etc. (use a calculator) This value has more to do with the "feel" of the game rather than choke/loss, and some people will tell you to use 0.01 all the time (which is usually the same bunch of people who have decent connections capable of handling cl_updaterate of 100/101 and think they know better - it depends on how much easier you find it playing with a smoothe gameplay vs. a jerky but slightly more accurate one)
8 ) Ok... now you can start mucking about with the rate setting. Start increasing the rate by 500 until you get choke / loss. As soon as you do, decrease it by 500, and voila! You should have a pretty decent game on your hands.
9 ) Hopefully you'll also have a reasonable ping, but your ping, or latency, is actually less important than the rest of the above. Put your trust in the Half-Life server code for client compensation on this one. If you're really worried about your ping, then this is what you need to know: The higher your cl_cmdrate, the higher your ping. So you could try lowering the cl_cmdrate, then repeating steps 5-7 to get your better values for the other netcode (you might find though that you won't get a better cl_updaterate or rate at all). I suggest you forget about ping for an evening and try with the values this little exercise gives you and see how it handles, and only worry about your ping if the feel of the game is still really poo.
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Something else to bear in mind... these settings are not only affected by your hardware, but also by the server you're connecting to (and the settings on that server), as well as every bit of network connection between your PC and the server you're playing on. So while one setup might be fantastic on most servers, you might need to tweak things again if you play on a server where you're getting a lot of choke / loss (a slow server or foreign one for example)
Miss
