Currently known issues
1) nVIDIA 4xx series users
There is apparently a bug with this specific line of graphics cards that Treyarch is working with nVIDIA to fix. So for you, any and all of the below fixes may or may not work. If they don't then you will likely have to wait for either another patch or potentially a driver update.
2) Some ATI users have reported now having issues after the latest patch when they did not have issues after the first patch. However this has not been officially confirmed.
Optimizing your PC
YES, the game needs more patching and optimizations. Even those with high end systems are still experiencing less than stellar performance but there are many out there who are able to play and enjoy the game in its current state....its just not optimal.
As far as perfomance expectations...this isn't MW2 and it's not COD:WW. I know that people would like the game to perform the same but at this point it's not going to happen. With some patching Treyarch might get it there but for now the goal is get the game into a playable state. When I say playable I mean not having the hitching that most everyone experienced when the game launched or having incredibly bad lag.
Now with that said, like I have already stated, the game does need a patch with some optimization.
There is something in the coding that causes a bottleneck on people's PC's, even those with high end systems. One of the biggest problems is that this bottleneck may actually be exacerbated by an issue with an individual's system that the person didn't even know they had.
Here is an example.....
A fellow gamer came to me with their issue and said they could run other CoD titles fine but that BO was unplayable. When they told me their system specs they said they were running 2.5gb of memory. Now....what the means is that they were running 2 x 1gb and 1 x 0.5gb sticks.
stay with me here....
What this meant was that his motherboard was running his memory in single channel mode instead of dual channel mode. This is a system that is not set up properly. So he ordered a 4GB set of RAM and guess what...he can now run the game without any issues.
Because BO was stressing his system differently than other previous titles, it actually highlighted this issue his system had.
The point is that the first thing you need to do is make sure that your system is set up properly. Here are some things to look at.
1) Are you using the latest drivers for such things as, graphics card, sound card, motherboard?
(For NVIDIA graphics card users...if you have been just installing drivers one over the other then I suggest you do a clean install of the latest driver.
Here are some directions on how to do a clean install:
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=169555 2) Ensure that you are running a legitimate, up-to-date copy of MS Windows
3) Are you on the latest BIOS for your motherboard? Note, if you decide to upate your BIOS it's best to do a clean install of the OS after a BIOS update.
4) When was the last time you reformatted your computer? You shouldn't really go longer than a year.
5) How much space do you have left on your HD? It shouldn't be less than 10% of the total space.
By the way, defragmenting doesn't do a thing about saving space, except for extreme cases of fragmentation and won't likely help you with your game issues.
6) Have you manually set the timings, voltage, and speed of your memory in your MB BIOS? Often times, the automatic settings are far slower than what they should be. They are designed to auto set to a point of stability so you can boot your system and set them manually.
People who have bought pre-built systems generally don't have to worry about this.
7) Are you using a 32bit OS with 4gb of memory or more? (a 32bit OS can only access 2.93gb of your memory).
8) How much memory do you have in your system? Are you running Vista/Win 7 with only 2gb of memory? That is the MINIMUM system requirement for those OSs. My suggestion would be to get yourself a nice shiny new set of 4gb ram. Make sure it's compatable with your motherboard. Note: DDR2 is super cheap these days.
All of those things are just little pieces that could have a negative affect on your overall PC performance, but with BO it may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have having issues with the game crashing or locking up, it may be because of YOUR system....not because of the game.
Game Issues
Ok now that you've got your system all set up like it should be, lets talk about the game specifically.
As we know, there are some general performance issues with the game that only a patch is going to fix.
Again, the goal here is to get the game to a playable state with the major hitches. How well the game performes really is going to depend on your specific system. If you are running a low end system you may be beyond any help I can possibly provide.
1) Before you do anything, verify your game's integrity through the Steam cache. Go to your Steam game Library, then right click on the game, go to properties, then the local files tab, then click on "verify integrity of game cache") This should be done for both the MP as well as the SP.
1a) Another option that some have found helpful has been to completely delete the config_mp file. If you choose this option, be sure to verify cache AFTER you do this. (note: not sure but you may have to restart the game just once to have it build a new config_mp file)
1b) You could also try just reinstalling the entire game regardless whether you've got the game on disc or through steam. I have not personally heard of this helping anyone but who knows. If your game is so messed up that a clean install works, my thought would be that it would indicate an issue with your system in that it's creating errors or corupt files.
Some basic settings that should be changed in the config_mp file. (if you don't know where that file is:
C: program files/steam/steamaps/common/call of duty black ops/players)
seta cg_drawFPS "Simple"
This command will show your fps while you play the game.
seta cl_maxpackets "100"
This setting should help those who are experiencing internet lag. If your internet connection is at least as good as 6MB down and 768kb up then you should be fine with this setting. Users with slower speeds will need to set this to a lower number.
seta r_multiGpu "0"
This setting should only be set to "1" if you either a) are running multiple graphics cards in SLI or crossfire or b) are running a single graphics card with multiple GPUs (ie gtx 295 or ATI 5970)
seta rate "25000"
This should be set already but it's good to check.
seta snaps "30"
This is another network setting but I have found that this value will automatically change back to this default setting. I have not found any performance changes even if you force the setting by making the file read only.
seta sv_ (any commands)
The "sv" stands for server and these commands are only for when you are hosting a game like combat training and will NO affect on your own mp performance.
My suggestion at this point would be to clear out your mp config, verify your game cache, set the above settings, set your in graphics settings to your desire and give it a go. Essentially what this goes it get you back to start and get the basics set up properly.
Still having issues? Where to go from here
Something to note is that this game is not very GPU (graphics card) intensive. Meaning that you don't need the latest and greatest super fast graphics card to run this game. The game puts far more stress on your systems CPU and memory. So here are some things to you can look at.
1) For dual core CPU users....
seta r_multithreaded_device "0"
Changing this setting to "0" has helped a number of dual core CPU users with the "hitching" issue.
For quad core or Hexa(6) core cpu users, you should have this setting to "1"
2) Again for dual core CPU users....
Try changing the games cpu priority. You can do this through the following steps.
a) Launch the game to the main menu
b) Alt-tab out and then press ctrl+alt+del and run the task manager
c) In the processes tab, find the game, right click it, go to set priority, and change the setting to low.
d) If this does work for you then you'll have to remember to do this every time you launch the game.
Again this is only for Dual Core CPU users.
3) How much stuff do you have running in the background? Are you running the CPU hog of them all, Norton Antivirus? Do you have 5 webpages, your fb chat, Vent, xFire, a torrent download, weather bee, and 10 other icons showing up in your toolbar indicating various other things running?
SHUT THAT STUFF DOWN!
Open up Task Manager and see how many processes you have running. If it's more than 50 or so then you've probably got too many. This is especially true for those running older or dual core CPU systems.
4) If you've got a half way decent graphics card, try actually turning up your graphics settings. Yes I know this sounds conter-intuitive but it has helped people. What alot of people find is that regardless of what graphics settings they have they end up getting about the same FPS.
What this can also do is move the burden from other parts of your system to your GPU. IF you start to see dramatic drops in your framerate when doing this, then you likely don't have a good enough graphics card to do this. You should turn down your graphics until the point where you no longer see any improvement in FPS by turning them down more.
5) Graphics settings tweaks.
Here are some settings in the config you can try. Some will have a bigger effect than others. PLEASE NOTE: when changing these settings you should try them individually and see what changes. you may change a setting and all you see is a worse looking game with no performance improvement. Some of these can be changed in the in game settings.
seta r_aaSamples "2" (this is anti-aliasing) (not sure if setting this to "0" actually works")
seta r_blur_allowed "0"
seta r_distortion "0"
seta r_dof_enable "0"
seta r_glow_allowed "0"
seta r_specular "0"
6) If you got a really low end graphics card (possibly even trying to run the game on a laptop) you might want to try ulitmate graphics dumb-down.
The Yitch "performance" Black Ops config: Yitch2
7) Sound and sound cards.
a) some users who use onboard sound have reported that by disabling their onboard sound it has eliminated the issue. It's something to try and if it does fix things then I suggest you report this to Treyarch.
b) As mentioned before, make sure your sound card drivers are up to date
c) if you are using a sound card, you may want to try and use on board sound to see if there is any difference. Again, if this does help then this should be reported to treyarch.
d) seta snd_losOcclusion "0"
I have not personally seen any performance improvements by changing this setting however those with lower end/older systems might.