Playing Half Life 2 on an old/slow computer

I wanted to play Half Life 2 on an old laptop with Intel GMA 900 graphics (910GML/915GM chipset), but with the default settings the game would often become unbearably slow. So after doing some googling and lots of testing, I found some settings that seem to work.

1. First, create a text file named autoexec.cfg and place it in the hl2/cfg folder. Give it the following contents:
   
// see http://www.tweakguides.com/HL2_8.html for more information
// also see https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/List_of_HL2_Cvars

// ***** major stuff *****
mat_compressedtextures 1
mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware 0
mat_softwarelighting 0
// in pixels
//r_decal_cullsize
// specific number
//r_decals
// level of detail at a distance: -8 to 8
//r_lod

// ***** minor stuff *****
cl_ejectbrass 0
cl_show_splashes 0
dsp_slow_cpu 1
mat_bumpmap 0
mat_dxlevel 70
muzzleflash_light 0
r_drawflecks 0
r_waterforceexpensive 0
sv_robust_explosions 0
violence_ablood 0
violence_agibs 0
violence_hblood 0
violence_hgibs 0

// these are newer source 2007-based variables and may be unrecognized by older
// versions of half life 2
ai_expression_optimization 1
mem_max_heapsize 768


2. In your shortcut that you use to launch Half Life 2, add the following parameters:
   -novid -window -dxlevel 60 -heapsize 786432 -console
   
   The end result will look something like this:
   "C:\Program Files\Games\Half-Life 2\hl2.exe" -novid -window -dxlevel 60 -heapsize 786432 -console


3. (Optional) Create valve.rc in the hl2/cfg folder, or edit the one that already exists, and make sure the startupmenu line is commented out by ensuring there are two slashes (//) in front of it.


4. Lastly, read this article to get more information on what these tweaks mean and how to customize them for your system:
   http://www.tweakguides.com/HL2_1.html

If you're playing on a machine with integrated Intel graphics, GMABooster may help some as well.