Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a competitive FPS that rewards high frame rates and responsive input over raw visual fidelity. The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a dataset that reveals a clear division of labor: the CPU is the primary driver of peak performance, while the GPU dictates the ceiling at higher visual presets and resolutions. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the twelve tested configurations show a system that is extremely capable at standard competitive settings, but which requires careful tuning to maintain smooth gameplay at higher graphical loads.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz are the key specifications for a game like Counter-Strike 2, which is known for its sensitivity to single-threaded performance. The benchmark data for this CPU shows a strong single-thread score of 974 in 3dmark_single_thread and 3218 in Cinebench R23 single-core, indicating that the processor can handle the game's primary game logic and render thread efficiently.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most apparent at the 1080p Low preset, where the system reaches an average of 320.2 FPS. This high frame rate, achieved when graphical load is minimized, suggests that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to push far beyond typical 144 Hz monitor refresh rates. The Ryzen 5 7500F's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s also contribute to low-latency data access, which is critical in fast-paced scenarios. The CPU's percentile rank of 82 among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24993, places it just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-11850H, indicating that its compute potential is competitive in this class, even if the game does not always use all 12 threads.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 1650 MHz and 2176 shading units are the primary drivers of rasterization performance. The GPU's role in Counter-Strike 2 becomes dominant as settings and resolution increase. The data shows a significant drop in average FPS when moving from Low to Ultra settings at any given resolution, which is a direct result of increased pixel and shader workload.

For instance, at 1440p, the average FPS falls from 210.9 on Low to 104.3 on Ultra, a reduction of over 50%. This suggests that while the RTX 2060 SUPER is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming at lower presets, its 8 GB VRAM and 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are challenged by the higher-fidelity effects and textures in the Ultra preset. The GPU's percentile rank of 63 among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774, places it just 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070 in synthetic tests, but the in-game results show that the 2060 SUPER can still deliver playable frame rates at 4K with Low settings, hitting an average of 119.4 FPS.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Analyzing the measured rows, the ideal balance of performance and visual quality appears to be the Medium preset. At 1080p, the Medium preset produces an average of 266.8 FPS, which is only 16.7% lower than the Low preset's 320.2 FPS, but offers a substantial improvement in visual detail over the Low preset. At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 177.4 FPS, a figure that remains well above the 144 Hz threshold for high-refresh monitors, and is 40% higher than the High preset's 132.5 FPS.

The High preset is a viable alternative for users prioritizing image quality, as it still delivers 198.4 FPS at 1080p and 132.5 FPS at 1440p. However, the Ultra preset is the least efficient choice. At 1080p, it yields 153.8 FPS, which is a 22.4% drop from High, and at 4K it falls to 56.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. For competitive play, the Low preset is optimal for maximizing frame rate, but for a balanced experience, Medium provides the best combination of speed and fidelity without compromising the fluidity of the game.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested system combinations, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1193rd out of 1632 combos for Counter-Strike 2. This rank, which places it in the lower third of all tested configurations, is surprising given the high frame rates observed at 1080p. The rank suggests that many other tested combos, likely those with more powerful graphics cards, achieve even higher average FPS, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

The discrepancy between the high absolute FPS numbers and the relatively low rank indicates that while this combo is excellent for 1080p esports play, it is not optimal for 4K or Ultra settings. The data implies that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting factor in this pairing, as the CPU is capable of producing frame rates above 300 FPS at low settings, but the GPU cannot maintain those rates when graphical load increases. This rank reflects the overall performance across all tested resolutions and settings, not just the best-case scenario.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 320.2, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution with High settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the system produces an average of 74.2 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500F stronger than the Intel Core i7-11850H?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24993, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-11850H's score of 24974, making them essentially equivalent in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 210.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 104.3 FPS, a difference of 106.6 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for this game's Ultra preset?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory; while the game runs, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 56.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are strained at that setting.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F has a launch MSRP of $179, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER has a launch MSRP of 399 USD.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured data provides a clear progression of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 320.2 FPS on Low, 266.8 FPS on Medium, 198.4 FPS on High, and 153.8 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS decreases to 210.9 on Low, 177.4 on Medium, 132.5 on High, and 104.3 on Ultra. At the highest resolution tested, 3840x2160, the average FPS drops further to 119.4 on Low, 100.8 on Medium, 74.2 on High, and 56.1 on Ultra.

These numbers show a consistent pattern: the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 166.4 FPS, while at 4K, the difference narrows to 63.3 FPS. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is more involved, allowing the GPU to render more frames, whereas at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the absolute FPS numbers converge toward the GPU's maximum throughput.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 320.2 at 1080p to 210.9 at 1440p, a 34.1% reduction, and then to 119.4 at 4K, a further 43.4% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is heavily taxed by the increase in pixel count, even at the lowest settings, because the number of fragments to be shaded quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

At the Ultra preset, the drop is less severe in percentage terms but more impactful in absolute numbers: from 153.8 FPS at 1080p to 104.3 FPS at 1440p (a 32.2% drop) and then to 56.1 FPS at 4K (a 46.2% drop from 1440p). The fact that the percentage drop is similar across presets suggests that the GPU's rendering pipeline is the primary constraint. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller FPS drop when increasing resolution, as the CPU workload remains constant. The data instead shows that the GPU is the limiting component, particularly at 4K, where the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS even on Medium settings, averaging only 100.8 FPS on Low. This analysis confirms that for users seeking higher resolutions, a more powerful GPU would be necessary to fully utilize the Ryzen 5 7500F's capabilities.