Counter-Strike 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a dominant Counter-Strike 2 experience, with frame rates that far exceed the refresh rates of most high-end monitors. The data shows a system that is heavily overqualified for competitive play at any resolution, though the scaling patterns reveal where the bottleneck shifts as settings and resolution change.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline is highly dependent on the quality preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 674 FPS at 1920x1080 to 249 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 63% reduction. This dramatic fall indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is being pushed harder at 4K, but the sheer headroom means the game remains exceptionally playable.

Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Low settings produces a 44% frame rate drop, from 446 FPS down to 249 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is less severe, with a 34% reduction from 674 FPS to 446 FPS. This pattern suggests that the CPU is still contributing significantly at lower resolutions, but the GPU begins to take over as the primary limiter at 4K.

At High settings, the resolution scaling is more moderate in percentage terms but still substantial. The average FPS falls from 418 at 1080p to 277 at 1440p, a 34% drop, and then to 155 at 4K, another 44% reduction from the 1440p figure. The 4K High result of 155 FPS is still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many gaming monitors, so even the most demanding settings at 4K remain viable for high-refresh gameplay.

The Ultra preset shows the most constrained scaling. At 1080p, the average is 325 FPS; at 1440p it drops to 215 FPS (a 34% reduction); and at 4K it falls to 120 FPS (a 44% reduction from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 120 FPS aligns almost perfectly with a 120 Hz display, making it a borderline choice for those who want maximum visual fidelity without dropping below triple-digit frame rates.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data in the pack. At 1080p, the average is 560 FPS with a minimum of 476 FPS and a maximum of 644 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 371 FPS with a minimum of 315 FPS and a maximum of 426 FPS. At 4K, the average is 207 FPS with a minimum of 176 FPS and a maximum of 238 FPS. This data reveals that even the minimum frame rates at 4K Medium are far above what most competitive players require.

The limiting component shifts based on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the 674 FPS average suggests the CPU is the primary constraint, as the RTX 4080 is capable of far more if the Ryzen 7 5800X could feed it faster. At 4K Ultra, the 120 FPS average indicates the GPU is now the limiting factor, as the rendering load at that resolution and quality overwhelms even this high-end card.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers a 674 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. This configuration maximizes responsiveness and minimizes input latency, though the visual quality is naturally reduced. The data shows that Low at 1440p still produces 446 FPS, which is more than enough for any current high-refresh monitor.

For players using a 240 Hz or 360 Hz display at 1080p, the Medium preset at 560 FPS offers a strong balance between visual clarity and performance headroom. The minimum of 476 FPS ensures that even the most chaotic team fights will not cause the frame rate to dip below the refresh rate of the display. The High preset at 418 FPS also remains well above 360 Hz, providing additional visual detail without sacrificing competitive viability.

At 1440p, the High preset at 277 FPS is the recommended choice for most users. This provides excellent visual quality while maintaining frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of 240 Hz monitors. For those with 144 Hz or 165 Hz displays, the Ultra preset at 215 FPS offers the best image quality without any risk of dropping below the display's refresh rate.

At 4K, the situation changes. The High preset at 155 FPS is suitable for 144 Hz displays, while the Medium preset at 207 FPS provides more headroom for those who want to stay well above 144 Hz. The Ultra preset at 120 FPS is only recommended for users with 120 Hz displays, as the frame rate is exactly at that threshold. The Low preset at 4K produces 249 FPS, which is overkill for any current display but demonstrates the GPU's raw capability at this resolution.

The benchmark data indicates that the Medium preset at 1440p, with its 371 FPS average and 315 FPS minimum, offers the most balanced experience across the board. It provides enough visual fidelity to spot enemies clearly while maintaining frame rates that are three times higher than what a 120 Hz display can show.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This large memory pool is more than sufficient for Counter-Strike 2 at any resolution, as the game does not appear to be memory-constrained in the measured data. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz contribute to its raw compute capability, which is reflected in its Passmark G3D score of 34457.

The GPU's role in this pairing becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the CPU is the primary limiter, as evidenced by the 674 FPS result. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with the 120 FPS result showing that the rendering load at that resolution and quality exceeds what even the RTX 4080 can process at higher frame rates. The 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the theoretical peak, and the measured results show that the card can approach this capability only when the CPU can keep up.

The RTX 4080's percentile rank of 86 among all GPUs places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores within 0.1% of the same average benchmark score, indicating that the two cards are essentially equivalent in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 1.1%, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% behind.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role is to provide enough raw throughput to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU has ample headroom, with even the Ultra preset producing 325 FPS. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, but the results remain playable on high-refresh displays. The 16 GB of VRAM is unlikely to be a constraint in this game, as Counter-Strike 2 does not typically require large texture pools.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 237th out of 3719 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places the pairing in the top 6.4% of all tested systems, which is a strong result given that the CPU is a 2020 release while the GPU is from 2022. The ranking reflects the game's sensitivity to both CPU and GPU performance, and this combo excels in both areas.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 29123 places it at the 81st percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H, scores within 0.1% of the same average, while the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 is 0.4% behind. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT trails by 0.6%. This indicates that the Ryzen 7 5800X remains competitive even against newer architectures in synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 54247 places it at the 86th percentile among all GPUs. As noted, the RTX 4080 SUPER is nearly identical in performance, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB trails by 2.6%, and the AMD Radeon 8060S is 2.7% behind. These small deltas suggest that the RTX 4080 is well-positioned in the GPU hierarchy.

The combo's rank of 237 out of 3719 is influenced by the fact that many other tested combos pair newer CPUs with this GPU, or pair this CPU with even more powerful GPUs. The Ryzen 7 5800X, despite being a previous-generation part, still delivers excellent single-threaded performance with a Geekbench single-core score of 2032 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1574.5. These scores are critical for Counter-Strike 2, which is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 674 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this pairing in the tested configurations.

Q: Can this combo maintain 144 FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 120, which is below the 144 FPS threshold. However, 4K High produces 155 FPS, which exceeds 144 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54247 on average, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, a difference of 0.1%. The two cards are effectively identical in synthetic benchmark performance.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests yes. At 1080p Low, the 674 FPS result is likely CPU-limited, as the RTX 4080 is capable of higher frame rates. The CPU's single-thread performance is strong but not top-tier.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 240 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 1440p produces 277 FPS, which exceeds the 240 Hz refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 215 FPS also remains above 240 Hz, so either is viable depending on visual preference.

Q: How much FPS is lost going from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 560 at 1080p to 207 at 4K, a reduction of 63%. The minimum FPS drops from 476 to 176, a 63% reduction as well.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 674 FPS, the highest result in the entire dataset. The Medium preset produces 560 FPS average with a minimum of 476 FPS and a maximum of 644 FPS. The High preset achieves 418 FPS, and the Ultra preset reaches 325 FPS. All of these results are far above the refresh rate of any consumer monitor, indicating that the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 446 FPS. The Medium preset averages 371 FPS with a minimum of 315 FPS and a maximum of 426 FPS. The High preset averages 277 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 215 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent at roughly a 34% reduction across all presets, showing that the GPU is beginning to take on more of the rendering load.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 249 FPS. The Medium preset averages 207 FPS with a minimum of 176 FPS and a maximum of 238 FPS. The High preset averages 155 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 120 FPS. The 4K results show a clear GPU bottleneck, with the Ultra preset producing exactly 120 FPS average, which is the minimum acceptable for a 120 Hz display.

The complete dataset shows that this combo excels across all tested configurations. The only configuration that falls below 144 FPS is 4K Ultra at 120 FPS, which is still suitable for 120 Hz displays. Every other combination of resolution and settings produces frame rates that exceed 144 FPS, and most exceed 200 FPS. This makes the Ryzen 7 5800X and RTX 4080 pairing an excellent choice for Counter-Strike 2 players who want maximum performance at any resolution.