Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a competitive FPS that demands high frame rates, and the data for the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 shows a combination capable of delivering playable performance, but with significant caveats at higher resolutions and settings. This pairing ranks in the bottom half of tested configurations, coming in at rank 1519 out of 1632 combos, indicating that while it can run the game, it is far from the top-tier hardware required for the highest refresh-rate competitive play. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: the system excels at 1080p with lower settings, but struggles to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K, particularly when visual fidelity is prioritized.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 (1080p) is the optimal resolution for this pairing. The system achieves an average of 174.3 FPS at Low settings and 105.1 FPS at High settings, which are the highest frame rates recorded across all tested resolutions.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The data shows that 4K gaming is only marginally playable. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 62.7, which is playable, but at High settings it drops to 40 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 33.8 FPS. These lower numbers suggest a suboptimal experience for a fast-paced shooter at this resolution.

Q: How does the RX 580’s performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 13559. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, scores 13564, showing a negligible 0% deltaPct difference. The GTX 950 is also close with a score of 13549, indicating a 0.1% deltaPct, meaning the RX 580 performs nearly identically to these cards in general benchmarks.

Q: What is the CPU’s standing compared to other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has a percentile rank of 73, meaning it outperforms 73% of all CPUs in the benchmark database. Its average benchmark score is 14168, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552 and 1.1% higher than the Intel Core i5-8500.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 174.3 FPS, which is a high frame rate that indicates the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at that setting. However, at 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 33.8, indicating the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as the resolution increases.

Q: Is this a good combo for high-refresh-rate monitors?

A: At 1080p with Low or Medium settings, the combo can push frame rates above 140 FPS, which is suitable for 144Hz monitors. However, at High settings, the average FPS of 105.1 falls short of that mark, so users with high-refresh-rate displays would need to stick to lower presets to fully utilize their monitor’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture and a 14 nm process node. It features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with memory clocked at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). These specifications place the GPU at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559.

In Counter-Strike 2, the RX 580’s role is pivotal in determining performance at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K (3840x2160), the GPU is the primary constraint. Average FPS drops from 62.7 at Low settings to 54.4 at Medium, 40 at High, and 33.8 at Ultra. This steep decline with increased graphical load indicates that the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM and compute capabilities are insufficient for maintaining high frame rates at this resolution. The GPU’s 2304 shading units and 144 texture mapping units are taxed heavily by the game’s visual effects at 4K, leading to sub-60 FPS performance on all but the lowest settings.

At 1080p, the GPU’s performance is more balanced. The RX 580 achieves 174.3 FPS at Low, 140.7 FPS at Medium, and 105.1 FPS at High settings. These numbers indicate that the GPU can handle the game’s demands at mainstream resolutions, providing a smooth experience for most players. However, even at 1080p, the Ultra preset drops to 85.1 FPS, showing that the GPU’s limits are reached when all visual features are enabled. The GPU’s 32 ROPs and 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are adequate for 1080p gaming, but the data suggests that pushing beyond this resolution requires significant compromises in graphical quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong for its class, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 and a single-core score of 1453. It ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168, placing it slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 and just behind the Intel Core i5-8500.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU’s performance is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 174.3 FPS, which is a high frame rate that demonstrates the CPU’s ability to process the game’s physics and game logic quickly. The 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s requirements, as Counter-Strike 2 tends to be more GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The CPU’s single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and Geekbench single-core score of 1454, is crucial for maintaining high frame rates in a game that relies heavily on per-frame processing.

The data shows that the CPU’s influence on FPS diminishes as resolution increases. At 4K, the frame rates drop significantly across all settings, suggesting that the GPU is the limiting factor. However, the CPU’s boost clock of 4.30 GHz ensures that it can keep up with the GPU’s output at lower resolutions. For players targeting 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the CPU’s performance at 1080p Low and Medium settings (174.3 FPS and 140.7 FPS respectively) is sufficient to avoid creating a CPU bottleneck, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how this combo performs across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. Low settings yield an average of 174.3 FPS, Medium drops to 140.7 FPS, High achieves 105.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 85.1 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression, with each step up in settings costing roughly 30-40 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance takes a noticeable hit. Low settings produce an average of 112.1 FPS, Medium achieves 97.9 FPS, High drops to 69.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 53.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 59 FPS, indicating that the GPU is starting to struggle with the increased pixel count. The 1440p results show that this combo can still provide a playable experience on Medium settings, but High and Ultra presets begin to compromise the smoothness expected from a competitive shooter.

The 4K results at 3840x2160 highlight the combo’s limitations. Low settings yield an average of 62.7 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for playable. Medium drops to 54.4 FPS, High falls to 40 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 33.8 FPS. These numbers show a dramatic decline in performance, with the Ultra preset being nearly half the speed of the Low preset. For a game like Counter-Strike 2, where frame rate consistency is critical, these 4K results suggest that the combo is only viable at the lowest settings, and even then, the experience is marginal.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a significant dependency on the GPU. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 174.3 at 1080p to 112.1 at 1440p and 62.7 at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 64% drop from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the resolution increase demands more pixel-pushing power that the RX 580 cannot provide.

At High settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The FPS drops from 105.1 at 1080p to 69.1 at 1440p and 40 at 4K. This is a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 62% drop from 1080p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings suggests that the GPU’s performance ceiling is being hit, and the resolution is the primary factor driving the frame rate down. The CPU’s performance remains relatively constant, so the data clearly points to the RX 580 as the component that limits the combo at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern also shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming. At this resolution, the frame rates are high enough to take advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors, even at High settings. At 1440p, the combo can still deliver playable frame rates, but users must be selective with their settings. At 4K, the combo is only viable at Low settings, and even then, the 62.7 FPS average is below what most competitive players would consider optimal. The data indicates that the GPU’s 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo is at 1080p with Medium settings. This configuration yields an average of 140.7 FPS, which is high enough for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual improvement over Low settings. The 140.7 FPS figure is also suitable for 144Hz monitors, making it the best balance between performance and visual quality.

For players who prioritize frame rate above all else, 1080p Low is the recommended preset. The 174.3 FPS average is the highest recorded for this combo and ensures maximum smoothness for competitive play. This setting minimizes visual effects to achieve the highest possible frame rate, which is often the preferred choice in a game like Counter-Strike 2 where reaction time is critical.

At 1440p, Medium settings provide the most playable experience, with an average of 97.9 FPS. This is a reasonable frame rate for most players, but it does not offer the same level of smoothness as 1080p. High settings at 1440p drop to 69.1 FPS, which may still be acceptable for some, but the data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this resolution. The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combo, as even Low settings only achieve 62.7 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for a competitive FPS. The Ultra presets at all resolutions should be avoided, as they consistently produce the lowest frame rates, with 4K Ultra hitting just 33.8 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 580 combination ranks 1519 out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the bottom 7% of all configurations, indicating that it is significantly outperformed by the majority of systems in the benchmark database. The combo’s low rank reflects the GPU’s age and its limitations at higher resolutions, as well as the CPU’s mid-range standing.

The CPU itself is not the primary cause of the low ranking. The i5-10400F performs well in general benchmarks, with a percentile rank of 73 and an average score of 14168. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7552 and Intel Core i5-8500, show very similar scores, with deltaPct values of 0.4% and -1.1% respectively. This indicates that the CPU is a solid mid-range performer. The GPU, however, is where the combo loses ground. The RX 580 ranks in the 53rd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 13559, placing it in the lower half of all GPUs. Its closest rivals, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 950, have nearly identical scores, with deltaPct values of 0% and 0.1%, showing that the RX 580 is on par with older graphics cards.

The low combo rank is a direct result of the GPU’s performance ceiling in Counter-Strike 2. While the CPU can support high frame rates at 1080p, the GPU’s limitations at 1440p and 4K drag the overall experience down. The data shows that the combo is best used at 1080p with lower settings, where it can achieve frame rates comparable to more modern systems. However, for players looking to play at higher resolutions or with maximum visual quality, this combo will not provide a satisfactory experience, as evidenced by its ranking near the bottom of the database.