Counter-Strike 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing in Counter-Strike 2 delivers a dataset that is as revealing for its bottlenecks as it is for its raw speed. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and presets paint a clear picture of a system that is exceptionally capable at high refresh rates, but whose performance scaling is heavily dictated by the game's engine and the hardware's respective limits. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes them against the component benchmarks, and explores what the data implies for competitive play.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, but the pattern is far from linear, which is the first clue about where the bottleneck lies. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 382 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, that number falls to 253 FPS, a drop of roughly 34%. At 3840x2160, it falls further to 141 FPS, another 44% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling is consistent with a workload that is becoming increasingly GPU-bound as the pixel count rises.

However, the story changes dramatically at higher settings. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p sees the average FPS fall from 382 to 184, a 52% reduction in performance. At 4K, the drop from Low (141 FPS) to Ultra (68 FPS) is a similar 52%. This suggests that while resolution scaling is significant, the settings level has an equally profound impact on the GPU's workload.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiting factor. The sheer frame rates being produced, even at Ultra settings (184 FPS), are so high that the Ryzen 5 8400F's processing power is likely nearing its ceiling. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra settings is notable: 184 FPS versus 122 FPS. This 34% drop is nearly identical to the drop seen at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is still able to keep up with the increased resolution demand at this preset, but the overall frame rate is so high that the CPU's role in frame pacing becomes dominant.

Conversely, at 4K, the GPU's role becomes paramount. The 68 FPS at Ultra is a clear sign of a GPU-heavy workload. The RTX 4060, with its 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus, is being pushed to its limits at this resolution. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is a 44% drop (122 to 68 FPS), which is more severe than the 34% drop seen at Low settings. This indicates that at the highest visual fidelity, the memory bandwidth and raw compute of the RTX 4060 are the determining factors, and the CPU has ample headroom to feed it frames.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its base clock is 4.20 GHz and it boosts up to 4.70 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, this chip posts a single-thread score of 951 in 3DMark and 2943 in Cinebench R23, which are strong numbers that suggest excellent per-core performance. This is critical for Counter-Strike 2, a game that is notoriously sensitive to single-thread performance.

The benchmark scores show the processor's character. Its 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 is only marginally higher than its 8-thread score of 5275, indicating that scaling beyond 8 threads is minimal. The PassMark multithread score of 24389 and a single-thread score of 3685 further confirm that this is a processor with powerful individual cores rather than a multi-core behemoth. The data suggests that in CS2, the 8400F's high clock speeds and robust single-core performance are the engine driving the exceptional frame rates at lower resolutions.

The CPU's position relative to its rivals is tight. It is only 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F in average benchmark score, and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i7-11850H. The data shows a near four-way tie at the top of this performance tier, with the Intel Core i7-13620H just 0.4% behind and the AMD EPYC 9474F 0.4% behind the 8400F. This implies that in a game like CS2, the 8400F is performing exactly as expected for its class, leveraging its high boost clock to stay competitive. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache is a modest amount, but the data suggests it is sufficient to avoid significant penalties in this specific workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2460 MHz. The GPU's synthetic performance is solid, with a PassMark G3D score of 19545 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 95057. These figures place it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable for a mid-range card.

However, the data also reveals its limitations. The memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s is a potential constraint in modern titles, especially at higher resolutions. In CS2, this is likely why the frame rates at 4K Ultra are so much lower than at 1080p. The GPU is trying to render complex scenes with high-resolution textures, and the 8 GB VRAM buffer and 128-bit memory interface become significant hurdles.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are not modern competitors; they include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% slower) and the AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% faster). This is an interesting data point. It suggests that in pure compute terms, the RTX 4060 is not being compared to other 40-series cards but rather to older and integrated solutions in the database's scoring. This does not diminish its performance in this game, but it does highlight that its score is its own. The 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the raw compute power at its disposal, and the data shows that this is enough to deliver 184 FPS at 1080p Ultra, but not enough to maintain 60+ FPS at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested hardware combinations for Counter-Strike 2, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 8400F and RTX 4060 ranks 2003rd out of 3719 total combos. This places it in the 46th percentile of all tested systems, which is a surprisingly mid-pack position given the high frame rates measured.

This rank suggests that while the combo is fast, there are a substantial number of other hardware pairings that achieve higher average FPS in this specific game. The data implies that CS2 is a title where high-end CPUs can have a massive impact, and many other combos likely feature more powerful processors that can push even higher frame rates at 1080p. The 8400F's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs is higher than the combo's overall rank, suggesting that the CPU is not the primary drag on the combo's position.

Conversely, the RTX 4060's 61st percentile among GPUs is lower than the combo's rank, indicating that the GPU is likely the component holding the combo back from a higher placement. The data suggests that in a game like CS2, where high refresh rates are king, the GPU's role is often secondary to the CPU, but at higher resolutions, it becomes the limiting factor, preventing the combo from climbing higher in the ranks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo's performance across all settings and resolutions. The full breakdown is as follows:

• 1920x1080: Low averages 382 FPS. Medium averages 317 FPS, with a minimum of 270 FPS and a maximum of 365 FPS. High averages 237 FPS. Ultra averages 184 FPS.
• 2560x1440: Low averages 253 FPS. Medium averages 210 FPS, with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS. High averages 157 FPS. Ultra averages 122 FPS.
• 3840x2160: Low averages 141 FPS. Medium averages 117 FPS, with a minimum of 100 FPS and a maximum of 135 FPS. High averages 88 FPS. Ultra averages 68 FPS.

The Medium settings are the only preset that includes minimum and maximum FPS data across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 270, which is still higher than the average FPS at 1440p Ultra (122 FPS). This highlights the massive performance headroom available at lower resolutions. At 4K Medium, the minimum FPS of 100 is a critical number for competitive play, as it shows that the system can occasionally dip below the triple-digit mark, which could be noticeable on a 144Hz monitor. The data shows a clear hierarchy: resolution is the dominant factor in frame rate reduction, but the settings preset also has a massive impact, particularly at 4K where the GPU is heavily taxed.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 4K gaming in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The data overwhelmingly indicates 1080p is the sweet spot. The combo achieves 382 FPS at 1080p Low and 184 FPS at 1080p Ultra, while at 4K Ultra it only manages 68 FPS. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, making 1080p the optimal resolution for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect the game's frame rates?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F's strong single-thread scores (951 in 3DMark and 2943 in Cinebench R23) are crucial. The high frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, suggest that the CPU's fast cores are effectively feeding the GPU, allowing it to render 382 FPS at Low settings.

Q: What is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS falls to 68. The RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are likely insufficient for the high-resolution textures and effects, causing the significant performance drop compared to lower settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2003rd out of 3719 tested combinations. This is a mid-pack ranking, suggesting that while the performance is good, many other systems with more powerful CPUs or GPUs achieve higher average frame rates in this specific title.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game's performance?

A: The data suggests the CPU is more important for achieving high frame rates at lower resolutions. The near-identical percentage drop in FPS from Low to Ultra at both 1080p and 4K (52%) indicates a balanced workload, but the absolute frame rates at 1080p are so high that they are likely CPU-limited. At 4K, the GPU's limitations are exposed.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, even the Ultra preset (184 FPS) exceeds a 144Hz refresh rate. At 1440p, the High preset (157 FPS) also clears this threshold. For a 144Hz monitor, 1440p High or 1080p Ultra would provide a smooth experience without dropping below the refresh rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the ideal settings preset depends entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate. For players with a 144Hz monitor at 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is a viable choice, as it delivers an average of 184 FPS, leaving enough headroom to stay above the refresh rate in most scenarios. For those seeking maximum competitive advantage and frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear winner, producing 382 FPS to minimize input lag and ensure the absolute highest refresh rate compatibility.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the most balanced option. It produces an average of 157 FPS, which is above a 144Hz threshold, while offering better visual fidelity than Medium (210 FPS) or Low (253 FPS). The Ultra preset at 1440p (122 FPS) is a solid choice for a 120Hz monitor, but the data shows it is a significant step down in performance.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset at 141 FPS is the only reliable way to get close to a 144Hz refresh rate. The Medium preset at 117 FPS is suitable for a 120Hz display, but the minimum FPS of 100 is a concern for frame pacing. The High (88 FPS) and Ultra (68 FPS) presets are better suited for 60Hz displays, as they offer higher visual quality but cannot sustain high refresh rates. The data clearly suggests that for competitive play, 1080p with lower settings is the optimal configuration, while 4K is reserved for visual fidelity over frame rate.