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Like some other posts i see, I am also unable To get CSS going.

Quad 2.4GHz Intel Q6600, 4Gb RAM, NVIDIA 8800 GT 512Mb

PlayOnLinux 4.1.1
Wine 1.5.5
Wine 1.3.37
kubuntu-12.04-dvd-amd64.iso - Linux kubuntu1204 3.2.0-24-generic #39-Ubuntu SMP Mon May 21 16:52:17 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
KDE 4.8.2
NVIDIA X-Server Settings:
-proprietry nvidia current
-1680x1050 pixels @24bit
-Operating System:Linux-x86_64
-NVIDIA Driver Version:295.40
-Server Version Number:11.0
-Server Vendor Version:1.11.3 (11103000)
-NV-CONTROL Version:1.27
-GeForce 8800 GT (512Mb, 256bit, PCI Express x16 Gen2 )
-Direct Rendering: yes
-NVIDIA Corporation v1.4
-renderer: GeForce 8800 GT/PCIe/SSE2
-version: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 295.40

I also installed 32bit mint specifically to try a native 32bit OS:

PlayOnLinux 4.1.1
Wine 1.3.37
linuxmint-13-cinnamon-dvd-32bit.iso
I tried the default video driver
..and proprietry nvidia drivers current
...and proprietry nvidia drivers current-updates
I did not try downloading a driver from nvidia.

All of them give lots of opengl and other errors in the debug console, and almost load the game, but at the game console 'loading...' (which I barely got to see maybe twice) it crashes back to steam.
I googled a ton of pages and tried a couple of things that were not very helpful, and everything seems to point at 64bit incompatibility with wine.

Thanks for any help. PlayOnLinux seems to have vastly improved the easy-gaming experience on linux since I last tried wine a few years ago.
Is it just wine that is holding us back? Or some other issue?

Are there any known workarounds?

Update:
I tried using the nvidia-cg-toolkit packages from ppa:micove/experimental as per this URI:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/116389/wine-is-no-longer-able-to-initialize-opengl
In Wine 1.5.5 and 1.3.37
But only in 64bit kubuntu.
All of these tests have been conducted after disabling the steam 'in game' options as per this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYFrnxU_OXw
Still fails the same way.

I have made progress. So reporting in:
Mint 13 cinnamon 32bit
wine 1.5.5
After getting CS:S to work at least once I noticed that each time it didn't work, or failed after I (inevitably) broke it, that it was starting in a windowed mode. The back-of-head-baldy-valve-guy splash screen was always obviously in a non-fullscreen mode.
I couldn't remember where video config gets saved, and suspect it's 'to the cloud', so after I changed vsynch and killed the game, I tried adding -console -w 1680 -h 1050 to the steam launch options for this game. And it works.
You need to be careful about changing any advanced video setting once it's running, or it will likely crash, but you may find that simply forcing the game to start in a video mode that you KNOW your monitor can do, will probably work.
http://oh-hi.info/temp/Workspace1_12-m-30--16:26:25.png

I am also pleased to say it works in Kubuntu 12.04 64bit

And very displeased to say that it crashes so easily that it's unplayable.
Can anyone suggest a wine version that in your experience is stable with CS:S?

Edited by BETLOG

Saw this on the wine site:
Game crashes after a few minutes. You can fix this by putting this file into your "~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Steam/steamapps/YOURUSERNAME/counter-strike source/cstrike/resource" folder
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=3731
and it seems to have radically improved CS:S's ability to not crash.
Nice.