Solved at last!
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 11:46 am
Ever since the second big TF2 update - what was it, three years ago? - I've been having persistent problems with lost connections to the loadout server, usually resulting in me getting auto-kicked from servers after about half an hour of play. I always had to exit and restart Steam itself to get another half hour. Very annoying.
I tried getting a better router and all kinds of messing with my Windows networking settings, but nothing helped.
Now I've got a new, faster computer and I'm not having a problem at all. This doesn't prove my old sluggish CPU was the problem - it could still be a difference in networking settings - but boy am I ever happy!
If it is the CPU, my theory is that TF2 keeps a background thread around to maintain communication about items with the loadout server, and that thread was getting starved out on my old machine (which was barely capable of playing the game at minimal settings).
I tried getting a better router and all kinds of messing with my Windows networking settings, but nothing helped.
Now I've got a new, faster computer and I'm not having a problem at all. This doesn't prove my old sluggish CPU was the problem - it could still be a difference in networking settings - but boy am I ever happy!
If it is the CPU, my theory is that TF2 keeps a background thread around to maintain communication about items with the loadout server, and that thread was getting starved out on my old machine (which was barely capable of playing the game at minimal settings).