Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a competitive FPS where frame rate directly impacts input responsiveness and smoothness. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti shows a system that can drive very high refresh rates, but the optimal settings depend heavily on the display's native resolution. The benchmark results across all tested presets reveal that this combination is best utilized by prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU becomes the primary performance determinant.

Settings Recommendations

The data shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). For competitive play, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers the highest measured average of 511.2 FPS. This is the standout configuration for maximizing refresh rate potential. The Medium preset at the same resolution produces 439.9 FPS, which is still exceptionally high but represents a 13.9% drop from Low. The High preset yields 329.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 255.0 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset remains the top performer with 349.8 FPS. The Medium preset follows at 291.2 FPS, High at 214.8 FPS, and Ultra at 169.5 FPS. The pattern is consistent: each step up in settings costs a significant chunk of frame rate. At 3840x2160, the differences become more pronounced. Low delivers 193.3 FPS, Medium 159.5 FPS, High 120.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 95.1 FPS.

For the best experience, the Low preset is recommended for any resolution if the goal is maximum frame rate. However, the data indicates that the Medium preset offers a reasonable compromise, especially at 2560x1440 where it still maintains 291.2 FPS. The Ultra preset should be avoided for competitive play, as even at 1920x1080 it produces 255.0 FPS, which is lower than the Low preset at 3840x2160. The High preset sits in a middle ground but does not provide the frame rate headroom that competitive titles demand.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The benchmark data shows a single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 4748 in the 16-thread test. In Cinebench R23, it scores 10297 multi-core and 1453 single-core. The processor's percentile ranking is 73, meaning it performs better than 73% of all CPUs in the database.

Counter-Strike 2 is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance, and the data supports this. The jump from Low to Medium settings at 1920x1080 reduces average FPS from 511.2 to 439.9, a drop of 71.3 FPS. This suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor when the GPU has less work to do. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average is 193.3 FPS, which is more than double the 95.1 FPS at Ultra. This indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU begins to take on more of the load, but the CPU still plays a significant role in maintaining high frame rates.

The processor's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are relevant to how quickly it can feed the GPU. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1350 and 4-thread score of 2560 show that the CPU scales reasonably well with increased thread usage, but the single-thread score of 688 is the more critical metric for this game. The nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, has an average score of 14115 with a deltaPct of 0.4, meaning the i5-10400F is nearly identical in overall CPU performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip. It has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. The base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The memory clock is 1188 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective. The GPU has 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 5077 and a Passmark G3D score of 26896. Its percentile ranking is 83, placing it above 83% of all GPUs. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 with an average score of 41441 and a deltaPct of -0.5, indicating the RTX 3080 Ti is nearly equivalent.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes more apparent at higher resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low and Ultra is 98.2 FPS (193.3 vs 95.1), which is a 50.8% reduction. This stark contrast shows that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K with higher presets. Conversely, at 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 256.2 FPS (511.2 vs 255.0), a 50.1% reduction. The relative percentage drop is similar, but the absolute frame rates are much higher at 1080p, suggesting the CPU is the primary bottleneck there.

The 12 GB VRAM is ample for this title at all tested settings. The GPU's 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 532.8 GTexel/s texture rate provide substantial headroom. The data shows that at 2560x1440 Medium, the system achieves 291.2 FPS, which is a strong result that balances load between CPU and GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 441 out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the top 27% of all configurations in the database. The rank reflects the system's ability to produce high frame rates, but it is not at the very top due to the CPU's limitations at lower resolutions.

The ranking is influenced by the fact that many other combos use newer or more powerful CPUs that can push even higher frame rates at 1080p. The RTX 3080 Ti is capable of exceeding 500 FPS at 1080p Low, but the i5-10400F's single-thread performance of 688 in 3DMark may cap the maximum achievable frame rate. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, the GPU becomes more of a factor, and the combo's performance is more competitive relative to other systems.

The data indicates that this combo is well-suited for 1440p gaming, where it achieves 349.8 FPS at Low settings. This is a high ranking position because it can drive high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors effectively. At 4K, the combo still performs well, but the frame rates are lower, which is expected given the resolution's demands.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 511.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance impact the game?

A: The i5-10400F scores 688 in 3DMark single-thread, and the data shows that at 1080p, dropping from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by 256.2, indicating the CPU is a key factor.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The benchmark results show no VRAM-related issues at any tested resolution or setting, including 3840x2160 Ultra.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain over 200 FPS?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves 214.8 FPS, and at 1920x1080 with High it reaches 329.6 FPS, both above 200 FPS.

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

A: It ranks 441 out of 1632 combos, placing it in the top 27% of all configurations tested.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low produces 193.3 FPS while Ultra produces 95.1 FPS, a difference of 98.2 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 511.2, Medium 439.9, High 329.6, and Ultra 255.0. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with the largest single drop between Medium and High at 110.3 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 349.8, Medium 291.2, High 214.8, and Ultra 169.5. The difference between Low and Medium is 58.6 FPS, and between Medium and High is 76.4 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is 45.3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 193.3, Medium 159.5, High 120.3, and Ultra 95.1. The difference between Low and Medium is 33.8 FPS, between Medium and High is 39.2 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 25.2 FPS.

The data shows that at every resolution, the Low preset provides the highest frame rate, and the Ultra preset provides the lowest. The relative performance gap between presets remains consistent, but the absolute differences shrink as resolution increases. This indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, while the GPU becomes more dominant at 4K. The system's performance is strong across all tested configurations, but the optimal experience for competitive play is clearly the Low preset at 1920x1080.