Counter-Strike 2

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake generation, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The chip connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes and uses the Intel Socket 1200.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-11400F demonstrates a solid balance between single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 2024 for single-core and 14340 for multi-core. The Geekbench scores are 1777 single-core and 7737 multi-core. In 3DMark tests, the processor scores 868 in single-thread, 1691 in 2-thread, 3171 in 4-thread, 4691 in 8-thread, 5619 in 16-thread, and 5652 in max-thread tests. The Passmark single-thread score is 2981, while the multithread score is 16908. The processor's average benchmark score is 17177, placing it in the 71st percentile among all CPUs tested.

The i5-11400F's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (average score 17120, deltaPct 0.3), the Intel Core i5-12450H (average score 17239, deltaPct -0.4), the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (average score 17278, deltaPct -0.6), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (average score 17074, deltaPct 0.6). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, indicating that the i5-11400F sits in a tightly clustered performance band where no single rival holds a decisive advantage.

For Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining high frame rates in scenarios where the game's simulation and entity updates become the bottleneck. The measured FPS data at 1080p with Low settings shows an average of 433 FPS, which is far beyond typical display refresh rates. This suggests that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough work to achieve very high frame rates. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a 4.40 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for competitive shooters like CS2 where frame pacing and responsiveness matter more than raw multi-threaded throughput. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game data locality, but the relatively modest cache size compared to newer processors may become a factor in complex team fights with many entities on screen.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture, using the GA104 chip manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 96 raster operation units, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. Its pixel rate is 165.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s, and it delivers 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The TDP is 220 W, with a suggested PSU of 550 W.

In GPU benchmarks, the RTX 3070 scores 22214 in Passmark G3D, 112821 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 21022 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its average benchmark score is 17208, placing it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (average score 17083, deltaPct 0.7), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (average score 17037, deltaPct 1), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (average score 17019, deltaPct 1.1), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (average score 17468, deltaPct -1.5). The RTX 3070 is slightly above the RX 7600 XT by 0.7% and below the Tesla K40c by 1.5%, indicating that it competes closely with these older or differently-targeted cards in aggregate benchmarks.

For Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes more prominent as resolution and settings increase. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game, as CS2 is not typically a VRAM-heavy title at competitive settings. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth helps maintain consistent frame delivery, particularly when textures and effects are increased. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 77, which is a significant reduction from the 433 FPS at 1080p Low. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at high resolutions and settings. The boost clock of 1725 MHz and the 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are sufficient to push high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the card's performance envelope is tested at 4K, especially with Ultra settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is ranked 1590 out of 3719 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places the pairing in the upper-middle portion of the database, meaning that while it is not among the top-tier configurations, it outperforms the majority of tested systems. The rank of 1590 out of 3719 puts this combo at approximately the 57th percentile of all tested combinations, which is slightly below the CPU's individual 71st percentile ranking but above the GPU's 61st percentile ranking.

This discrepancy between the combo rank and the component percentiles suggests that Counter-Strike 2's performance is influenced by factors beyond just the raw compute power of the CPU and GPU. The game's engine may favor certain architectural features that this combination handles moderately well but not exceptionally. The i5-11400F's 71st percentile CPU ranking indicates strong general compute capability, while the RTX 3070's 61st percentile GPU ranking is respectable but not outstanding. The combo's 57th percentile rank in this specific game suggests that there are other combinations in the database that achieve better frame rates, likely due to newer CPU architectures with higher single-thread performance or GPUs with more memory bandwidth.

The measured FPS data shows that this combo delivers playable frame rates across all tested settings and resolutions. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 77 is above the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider minimum for competitive play, though it may not satisfy those with high-refresh-rate 4K displays. The combo's performance is strongest at 1080p, where it exceeds 200 FPS at all settings, and at 1440p where it stays above 130 FPS at all settings. This makes the i5-11400F and RTX 3070 pairing a solid choice for esports-focused players who prioritize high frame rates at 1080p or 1440p.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 269. This is a strong result that comfortably exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors, making it suitable for competitive play.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 77. While this is still playable, it is significantly lower than the 1080p resultsched above, indicating that the RTX 3070 becomes the limiting factor at this resolution and settings level.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 433. This extremely high frame rate suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve such numbers, and the GPU is not being pushed to its limits. The bottleneck at this configuration is likely the game's engine or the CPU's single-thread performance, as the GPU has headroom.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium settings produce an average FPS of 238, while High settings produce 178. This is a difference of 60 FPS, or approximately 25% lower performance when moving from Medium to High, indicating that the GPU is handling the increased graphical load.

Q: How does the i5-11400F compare to its nearest CPU rival in benchmarks?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177, which is within 0.6% of its nearest rivals. It is 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 7H12 and 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-12450H, showing that the performance differences among these CPUs are negligible.

Q: What is the RTX 3070's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 3070 is in the 61st percentile among all GPUs tested in the database. This places it above the median but not in the top tier, which is consistent with its performance in Counter-Strike 2 at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear trend as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 433. Moving to 1440p with the same settings, the average FPS drops to 287, a reduction of approximately 34%. At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS is 160, which is a 63% drop from the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution in the same way.

Looking at High settings, the scaling shows a similar but slightly different picture. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 269. At 1440p High, it drops to 178, a 34% reduction. At 4K High, the average FPS is 99, representing a 63% drop from 1080p. The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest that the GPU's rendering load scales proportionally with resolution, and the CPU is able to keep up with the increased demands without becoming a bottleneck.

The Ultra settings performance shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 209. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 138, a 34% reduction. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 77, which is a 63% drop from 1080p. The fact that these percentage drops are nearly identical across all settings levels indicates that the limiting component at higher resolutions is consistently the GPU, not the CPU. The RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for these settings, but the card's compute throughput is what constrains performance at 4K.

The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates that take advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, the performance is playable but not optimal for competitive play, especially at Ultra settings where the average FPS falls below 100. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking and the GPU's 61st percentile ranking together create a system that is balanced for 1440p, where neither component is severely bottlenecked.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the resolution and the player's priorities. At 1080p, all settings levels produce average FPS above 200, so players can choose Ultra settings for the best visual quality without sacrificing competitive performance. The 209 average FPS at 1080p Ultra is more than sufficient for any standard monitor, and even the minimum FPS at Medium settings (306) indicates that frame drops are unlikely to be an issue.

At 1440p, the Medium settings provide the best balance between visual quality and performance. The average FPS of 238 at Medium is significantly higher than the 178 at High and 138 at Ultra. The minimum FPS at Medium is 202, which ensures that even in intense gameplay moments, the frame rate remains above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many 1440p monitors offer. For players who prefer higher visual fidelity, High settings still deliver 178 average FPS, which is playable, but the margin for frame drops becomes tighter.

At 4K, the Low settings produce 160 average FPS, which is the only settings level that exceeds the 144 Hz threshold. Medium settings at 4K produce 133 average FPS with a minimum of 113, which is still above 100 FPS and suitable for 120 Hz displays. High settings at 4K drop to 99 average FPS, and Ultra falls to 77 average FPS. For 4K gaming, the data suggests that Medium settings offer the best experience, as they provide a 34% performance increase over High settings while maintaining a minimum FPS that is above the 100 FPS mark.

The recommendation is to prioritize Medium settings at 4K and 1440p, while at 1080p, Ultra settings are viable without compromising performance. The measured data shows that the step from Medium to High consistently results in about a 25% performance drop across all resolutions, while the step from High to Ultra results in about a 50% drop. This indicates that Ultra settings carry a heavy performance penalty that may not be worth the visual gains for a competitive game like Counter-Strike 2.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers four settings levels (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, 4K). The Medium settings entries include minimum and maximum FPS values, while the other settings levels only include average FPS.

At 1920x1080:

• Low settings: 433 average FPS
• Medium settings: 360 average FPS, with minimum 306 and maximum 414
• High settings: 269 average FPS
• Ultra settings: 209 average FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low settings: 287 average FPS
• Medium settings: 238 average FPS, with minimum 202 and maximum 274
• High settings: 178 average FPS
• Ultra settings: 138 average FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low settings: 160 average FPS
• Medium settings: 133 average FPS, with minimum 113 and maximum 153
• High settings: 99 average FPS
• Ultra settings: 77 average FPS

The Medium settings data provides insight into frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range between minimum and maximum is 108 FPS (306 to 414), which is a relatively narrow band given the high average. At 1440p Medium, the range is 72 FPS (202 to 274), showing tighter consistency. At 4K Medium, the range is 40 FPS (113 to 153), indicating that frame times are more consistent at higher resolutions where the GPU is more heavily loaded. This pattern suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU can cause more variable frame rates, while at higher resolutions, the GPU's consistent workload leads to steadier performance.

The performance deltas between settings levels are consistent across resolutions. Moving from Low to Medium results in approximately a 17% performance drop at all resolutions. Moving from Medium to High results in approximately a 25% drop. Moving from High to Ultra results in approximately a 22-28% drop. These consistent percentages indicate that the game's settings scaling is uniform across resolutions, and the bottleneck shifts smoothly from CPU-bound at low settings to GPU-bound at higher settings. The combo's rank of 1590 out of 3719 in Counter-Strike 2 reflects this balanced but not exceptional performance profile.