Counter-Strike 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveals a pronounced resolution-dependent behavior. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 671 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average drops to 444 FPS, a reduction of approximately 34%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 248 FPS, which is roughly 63% below the 1080p figure. This steep decline as resolution climbs indicates that the rendering workload scales heavily with pixel count, which is expected for a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

However, the story changes when examining the High and Ultra presets. At 1080p High, the average is 416 FPS, while at 1440p High it is 275 FPS, and at 4K High it drops to 154 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 34% reduction, and from 1440p to 4K is a 44% reduction. For Ultra settings, the pattern is similar: 323 FPS at 1080p, 214 FPS at 1440p, and 120 FPS at 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the limiting component shifts from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the extremely high frame rate of 671 FPS indicates the CPU is nearing its ceiling, as the i3-12100F's four cores and eight threads are likely saturated. At 4K Ultra, the 120 FPS average is more indicative of the GPU's raw throughput limits at maximum quality settings.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-bound, given the massive frame rates that outpace the GPU's ability to render at higher resolutions. The RTX 4080 SUPER, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth, is clearly capable of handling 4K workloads, but the 120 FPS at Ultra suggests that even this high-end GPU is fully engaged at that setting. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K — 248 FPS versus 120 FPS — shows a 128 FPS gap, which is substantial and points to the GPU being the primary constraint at this resolution. In contrast, at 1080p, the gap between Low (671 FPS) and Ultra (323 FPS) is 348 FPS, indicating that the GPU has more headroom but is still limited by the CPU at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In Counter-Strike 2, this specific combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 301 out of 3719 tested combinations. This places it in the top 8.1% of all combos in the database, which is a strong showing given the relatively modest CPU. The GPU alone sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. The rank disparity highlights that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting in this pairing, but the CPU is not holding the system back dramatically.

Looking at the nearest CPU rivals, the i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core 3 N355 at 13492 (0% delta), and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452 (0.3% delta). It also edges out the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13351 (1.1% delta). This means the CPU is competitive with older mid-range and newer low-end parts, but it is not a top-tier processor. The combo rank of 301 suggests that most higher-ranked combos pair stronger CPUs with similarly powerful GPUs, but this build still delivers excellent frame rates in CS2 due to the game's optimization and the GPU's raw power.

The RTX 4080 SUPER, with an average benchmark score of 54209, sits at the 86th percentile. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080, scores 54247 with a delta of -0.1%, meaning the SUPER is essentially on par with its predecessor. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.7% ahead. This indicates that the GPU is a top-tier part, and when paired with the i3-12100F, the combo rank of 301 reflects that the GPU is being utilized effectively, but the CPU's lower percentile prevents a higher overall rank.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 671, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 301 out of 3719 tested combinations, placing it in the top 8.1% of all tested setups.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU is the limiting factor. The average FPS ranges from 248 at Low settings to 120 at Ultra, showing a clear GPU-bound workload as resolution increases.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield an average of 444 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 214 FPS, a difference of 230 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU's performance align with its benchmark scores?

A: Yes. The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, which is within 1.1% of its nearest rivals, indicating consistent performance relative to its class.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 474, with an average of 557 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are 671 for Low, 557 for Medium, 416 for High, and 323 for Ultra. The Medium preset also records a minimum FPS of 474 and a maximum of 641, indicating a tight frame time distribution. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 348 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant headroom even at maximum settings.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values drop to 444 for Low, 369 for Medium, 275 for High, and 214 for Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 313 FPS and a maximum of 424 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 230 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming more of a bottleneck. The 1440p data shows a 26% reduction from Low to Medium, and a further 25% reduction from Medium to High, indicating a linear scaling with settings.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 248 for Low, 206 for Medium, 154 for High, and 120 for Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 175 FPS and a maximum of 237 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 128 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions. This reinforces that the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K, as even the highest settings yield a playable frame rate. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings is a 44% reduction, while at Ultra it is a 44% reduction as well, showing consistent GPU-bound behavior.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates observed. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Counter-Strike 2, which is not a VRAM-intensive title, but the high bandwidth ensures smooth texture streaming at higher resolutions. The GPU's base clock is 2295 MHz, with a boost clock of 2550 MHz, and these clock speeds allow it to sustain high utilization across all settings.

In terms of raw compute, the RTX 4080 SUPER has 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Its FP32 performance is 52.22 TFLOPS, which is a massive amount of compute for a game like CS2 that relies on simple geometric rendering. The GPU's pixel rate is 285.6 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 816.0 GTexel/s, both of which are critical for maintaining high frame rates at 4K. The benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 219065, confirming its top-tier status at the 86th percentile.

The GPU's role in this combo is to provide the headroom needed for high refresh rate gaming. At 1080p Low, the 671 FPS average is well beyond the capabilities of most displays, but it demonstrates that the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 120 FPS average is still very high, and the GPU's performance is consistent with its architecture. The 4080 SUPER is an end-of-life product with a successor in the GeForce 50 series, but its performance in CS2 remains excellent, as evidenced by the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 671 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play on a 360Hz or 500Hz monitor. However, the High preset at 416 FPS is more balanced, offering better visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate of most high-end displays. The Ultra preset at 323 FPS is also viable, as it provides the best visual fidelity without dropping below 300 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 275 FPS is the sweet spot for most users, as it maintains a high frame rate while improving image quality over Medium. The Ultra preset at 214 FPS is still above 200 FPS, making it suitable for 240Hz monitors, but the 61 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual improvement for competitive players. The Low preset at 444 FPS is overkill for any current display, but it ensures maximum frame consistency.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 154 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K gaming, as it provides a smooth experience on 144Hz displays. The Medium preset at 206 FPS offers a significant boost and is better suited for 240Hz 4K monitors, but the visual trade-off from High to Medium may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 120 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive on high refresh rate displays. The Low preset at 248 FPS is the best option for competitive play at 4K, but it sacrifices visual quality. Overall, the High preset at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K, offer the best balance of performance and visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a quad-core processor with eight threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture on a 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, and it boosts to 4.30 GHz. The CPU has a 12 MB shared L3 cache, with 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. These specifications are modest compared to higher-end CPUs, but they are sufficient for Counter-Strike 2, which is known to be more GPU-dependent than CPU-intensive in most scenarios.

The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for its performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 11860, and its single-core score is 1674. The 3DMark 4-thread score is 2859, and the single-thread score is 893. These scores place the CPU at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, which is decent for a budget part. However, the combo rank of 301 out of 3719 indicates that the CPU is not the primary driver of this build's performance in CS2.

In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. At 1080p Low, the 671 FPS average suggests that the CPU is approaching its limit, as frame rates this high require significant CPU overhead. The CPU's multi-threaded performance, as measured by its Passmark multithread score of 14015, is adequate for handling multiple game threads, but its four cores may bottleneck at extreme frame rates. However, at higher resolutions and settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU's lower performance has less impact. The data shows that the i3-12100F is capable of delivering high frame rates in CS2, but it is the GPU that boosts this combo to the top 8.1% of all tested combinations.