Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 presents a demanding workload that shifts balance between processor and graphics card depending on resolution and quality preset. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 shows a system that scales predictably, with the CPU emerging as the primary constraint at lower resolutions and the GPU taking over at 4K. This analysis breaks down the performance characteristics using only the measured frame rates and component specifications.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals how this combination behaves under increasing pixel throughput. At 1080p with Low settings, the system posts 292.6 FPS, which drops to 246.2 FPS at Medium and 182.9 FPS at High. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 142.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: Low produces 198 FPS, Medium 163.1 FPS, High 124.1 FPS, and Ultra 96.8 FPS. At 4K, the frame rates compress significantly, with Low at 107.2 FPS, Medium at 91.9 FPS, High at 71 FPS, and Ultra at 54.2 FPS.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p shows a roughly 32-33% reduction in FPS across all settings, indicating that the GPU is beginning to feel the load but the CPU still contributes meaningfully. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K produces a much steeper drop: Low falls from 198 to 107.2 FPS (a 46% reduction), while Ultra falls from 96.8 to 54.2 FPS (a 44% reduction). This disproportionate decline at 4K points to the RX 6600 becoming the limiting factor, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p but the frame rate does not scale linearly with the reduced CPU load. The delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution narrows as resolution increases: 150.1 FPS at 1080p, 101.2 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. This shrinking spread indicates that at 4K, the GPU saturates regardless of quality settings, while at 1080p, the CPU holds the system back from fully exploiting lower graphical loads.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 provides the graphical horsepower for this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes critical at higher resolutions where texture and geometry data requirements expand. The GPU's boost clock of 2491 MHz and game clock of 2044 MHz (base 1626 MHz) allow it to push substantial frame rates when not bottlenecked by the CPU. The 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs handle rasterization efficiently, evidenced by the 4K Low result of 107.2 FPS, which remains playable despite the extreme pixel count.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it at the 69th percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25235. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 890M with a score of 25246 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP at 25287 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M at 25180 (0.2% delta). This clustering shows the RX 6600 sits in a tightly contested performance band, with less than 1% separating it from these alternatives. The data indicates that at 4K, the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for Counter-Strike 2's demands, as even Ultra settings produce 54.2 FPS, but the card's compute throughput (8.928 TFLOPS FP32) limits higher frame rates in this resolution range.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F brings six cores and twelve threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Comet Lake processor uses a 14 nm process and supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's benchmark data shows a single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark and 1453 in Cinebench R23, while multi-thread performance reaches 4735 in 3DMark max threads and 10297 in Cinebench R23 multicore. These scores place the CPU at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168.

The CPU's nearest rivals demonstrate its positioning: the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 (0.4% delta), the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 (-0.8% delta), and the Intel Core i5-8500 scores 14332 (-1.1% delta). This tight grouping means the i5-10400F is neither a standout nor a laggard in synthetic tests. In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the 292.6 FPS result suggests the processor can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at lower quality settings. The 12 MB shared L3 cache and 12 threads help maintain consistent frame delivery in a game that relies heavily on draw call processing and physics calculations. However, the 65 W TDP and lack of integrated graphics mean the CPU must rely entirely on the discrete GPU for display output, which is standard for this configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Counter-Strike 2, this specific combination of Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 1287th out of 1632 tested combinations. This position places it in the lower-middle tier of all possible pairings, which aligns with the component-level percentiles: the CPU sits at the 73rd percentile and the GPU at the 69th percentile, yet the combination underperforms relative to what those individual rankings might suggest. The rank of 1287 out of 1632 means roughly 79% of tested combos achieve higher frame rates in this game.

The discrepancy between component percentiles and combo rank indicates that Counter-Strike 2 rewards specific hardware synergies. The CPU's strength in single-threaded performance (688 in 3DMark single-thread, 2541 in PassMark single-thread) helps at lower resolutions, but the GPU's relatively modest compute resources cap performance at higher settings. The measured FPS data confirms this: at 1080p High, the system achieves 182.9 FPS, which is strong for most users, but at 1440p Ultra it drops to 96.8 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 54.2 FPS. These results show the combo is best suited for 1080p competitive play or 1440p with adjusted settings, rather than 4K gaming. The rank of 1287 suggests that many other combinations—likely featuring newer CPUs or higher-tier GPUs—can deliver better frame rates, but this pairing remains functional across all tested resolutions and settings.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 292.6, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 54.2 FPS, which is the lowest result across all tested resolution and quality combinations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (292.6 FPS) and Ultra (142.5 FPS) is 150.1 FPS, indicating that quality presets have a substantial impact at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance relate to the game's results?

A: The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1453 support high frame rates at 1080p, where the 292.6 FPS Low result suggests the processor is not the primary bottleneck at lower quality settings.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is more limiting at 4K. The frame rate drops from 107.2 FPS at Low to 54.2 FPS at Ultra, a 53 FPS reduction, while the CPU's role diminishes as pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combination ranks 1287th out of 1632 total tested combinations, placing it in the lower portion of the database despite the CPU being in the 73rd percentile and the GPU in the 69th percentile of their respective categories.