Performance Impact: Low (CPU)

s_mixahead

Controls the audio buffer size, essentially determining how far ahead the game engine mixes sounds before they are sent to your speakers or headphones. Lower values (0.08–0.10) minimize delay for near-instant weapon firing and hit feedback on modern systems; higher values prevent crackling on older hardware (and are safe). Note: Lowering this value below 0.08 can disable sounds at all. Modifying it only slightly below default is recommended and to test values

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Pro Tip

99% of players will be safe with the default 0.14 — but if you test lowering down to 0.8-0.9, the near-zero audio delay makes weapon switch and hit feedback feel instant, which is what you want to achieve real-time play.

Friendly Name Audio Buffer Latency
Default Value 0.14
Data Type float
Quick Copy seta s_mixahead "0.14"

Available Settings

ValueDescription
0.08 0.08 - May crackle here or below (Lower is dangerous)
0.1 0.10 - High End Sweet Spot (Safe Tweak Recommendation)
0.14 DEFAULT0.14 - High Latency (Safest Default)

Related Commands

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