What does a low cmdrate even do?
cl_cmdrate is the number of times your computer
sends packets of information to the server per second. the main information people are concerned with when it comes to a FPS is
their own location in the game, since that determines where others will see you.
cl_updaterate is the number of times your computer
receives packets of information from the server per second. the main information people are concerned with when it comes to a FPS is
other people's location in the game, since that determines where you will see others.
rate determines the
maximum amount of data your computer will receive per second. this one concerns people because if your rate is not high enough to receive all of the information the server is sending you, you will receive loss, which can result in lag, bad reg, choppiness, etc. Generally, the server won't send you anything more than 25k/s so a rate 30000 should be enough, but some people set it to 50k-80k just in case.
the game engine doesn't allow your system to send more packets of information per second than the number of frames per second your computer is getting (i.e.
if fps < cl_cmdrate, then the actual cl_cmdrate = fps).
what the server is set to really depends on what people are getting as a majority. allowing people to set lower rates than what the server has will result in people with higher rates seeing people with lower rates as lagging around everywhere. if you disagree with that, go play CSS on a server that doesnt force rates and see how people react when you are playing with cl_cmdrate and cl_updaterate 10.