Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers exceptional performance in Counter-Strike 2, with measured frame rates that far exceed the requirements of competitive play. Across all tested settings and resolutions, this combination never drops below 96.3 FPS average, meaning even the most demanding preset at 4K maintains smooth, playable performance. The data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, showing clear CPU limitations at lower resolutions and GPU-bound behavior at higher ones.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals how the balance of work shifts between the Core i5-11400F and the RTX 4070 as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 526.4 FPS average, which drops to 346.3 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 196.1 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 62.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the CPU is heavily involved at lower resolutions—the RTX 4070 has enough headroom to render frames quickly, but the i5-11400F's six cores with 12 threads become the limiting factor.

The scaling pattern changes dramatically when moving to higher settings. At Ultra preset, the frame rate goes from 256.9 FPS at 1080p to 168.1 FPS at 1440p and 96.3 FPS at 4K—a 62.5% drop from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the Low preset scaling. However, the absolute numbers tell a different story: the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 269.5 FPS, while at 4K that gap shrinks to 99.8 FPS. This compression at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases, with the RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth being exercised more heavily.

At Medium settings, the scaling follows a similar trajectory: 437.5 FPS at 1080p, 287.5 FPS at 1440p, and 161.2 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows 325.7 FPS, 219.3 FPS, and 124.2 FPS respectively. The consistent pattern across all settings—roughly a 55-65% performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K—suggests that Counter-Strike 2 scales predictably with resolution, and this particular combo maintains a healthy balance where neither component completely dominates until the highest pixel densities.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070's specifications directly influence these results. With a boost clock of 2475 MHz and 5888 shading units, the card delivers substantial compute throughput that translates to high frame rates even at 4K. The 12 GB frame buffer proves sufficient for Counter-Strike 2 at all tested settings, as evidenced by the playable 96.3 FPS average at 4K Ultra—a setting that would strain cards with smaller memory pools. The GPU's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are not directly relevant to this title, but the underlying Ada Lovelace architecture's efficiency contributes to the strong performance.

The GPU's 192-bit memory bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth handles the texture and geometry data efficiently at higher resolutions. The measured results show that the RTX 4070 is capable of pushing past 500 FPS at 1080p Low, but the i5-11400F cannot feed it fast enough to maintain that pace at higher settings. This is classic CPU-bound behavior: at 1080p Low, the frame rate is 526.4 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it drops to 256.9 FPS, a 51.2% reduction that reflects both increased GPU workload and the CPU's struggle to keep up with draw calls at higher presets.

The GPU's 200 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it can sustain boost clocks under sustained gaming loads, which is reflected in the consistent frame rates across the benchmark results. The RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 37283, positions it as a high-end part that can handle Counter-Strike 2's requirements with substantial headroom.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 96.3, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. At 4K High, it rises to 124.2 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 161.2 FPS. For serious competitive play, 1440p or 1080p is recommended.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this setup?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers 526.4 FPS, which maximizes responsiveness. At 2560x1440 Low, the frame rate is still a very high 346.3 FPS, offering a good balance between visual clarity and performance.

Q: How does the i5-11400F hold up against the RTX 4070?

A: The CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 526.4 FPS, but the GPU is capable of far more—the RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283 and ranks in the 81st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Counter-Strike 2?

A: Yes, the measured results show no indication of VRAM limitations. The card maintains playable frame rates at 4K Ultra (96.3 FPS), which is typically the most demanding scenario for memory capacity.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with this combo?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 168.1 at Ultra to 346.3 at Low. The High preset delivers 219.3 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Does this combo bottleneck at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck—frame rates are extremely high but limited by the i5-11400F's processing power. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with frame rates dropping to 96.3 FPS at Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1920x1080 offers the highest measured frame rate at 526.4 FPS, which provides the lowest input latency and highest responsiveness. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 88.9 FPS (526.4 to 437.5), which is a substantial reduction for minimal visual gain in a fast-paced FPS. If visual clarity matters, High at 1080p delivers 325.7 FPS, still far above typical 240 Hz monitor refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides an excellent balance with 287.5 FPS, offering a 68.2 FPS advantage over High (219.3 FPS) while maintaining solid visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 168.1 FPS, which is still smooth but may not fully utilize 240 Hz displays. For 4K gaming, High is the sweet spot at 124.2 FPS—the difference between High and Ultra is 27.9 FPS, and the visual improvement from Medium (161.2 FPS) to High is worth the modest frame rate cost.

The data suggests that players with 1080p 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitors should strongly consider Low or Medium settings to maximize frame rates. Those with 1440p displays can comfortably use Medium or High presets. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p users who prioritize visual fidelity over competitive advantage, as it still delivers 256.9 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 379th out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the top 23.2% of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the strong overall performance, though it's notable that the CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs (avg benchmark score 17181) is slightly below the GPU's 81st percentile ranking (avg benchmark score 37283). The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (0% delta) and Intel Core i7-1260P (-0.2% delta), while the GPU's closest competitors are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (-0.6% delta) and NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (-1.9% delta).

The ranking of 379 out of 1632 suggests that while this combo performs admirably, there are many faster configurations available. However, the measured FPS data shows that this system is more than capable of delivering competitive frame rates in Counter-Strike 2. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz provide adequate processing power, while the GPU's 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance ensures high frame rates across all settings. The combination ranks well because both components are above average in their respective categories, and Counter-Strike 2's engine scales effectively with both CPU and GPU resources.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are: Low 526.4 FPS, Medium 437.5 FPS, High 325.7 FPS, and Ultra 256.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 88.9 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 68.8 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are: Low 346.3 FPS, Medium 287.5 FPS, High 219.3 FPS, and Ultra 168.1 FPS. The scaling from 1080p shows reductions of 34.2% for Low, 34.3% for Medium, 32.7% for High, and 34.6% for Ultra, demonstrating consistent scaling across all presets.

At 3840x2160, the measured averages are: Low 196.1 FPS, Medium 161.2 FPS, High 124.2 FPS, and Ultra 96.3 FPS. The reduction from 1440p is 43.4% for Low, 43.9% for Medium, 43.4% for High, and 42.7% for Ultra, showing that the performance cost of moving to 4K is nearly uniform across all settings.

The complete dataset shows that the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 269.5 FPS, at 1440p it is 178.2 FPS, and at 4K it is 99.8 FPS. This progressive narrowing confirms that the GPU becomes more dominant at higher resolutions, with the CPU's influence waning as pixel count increases. The minimum measured average is 96.3 FPS at 4K Ultra, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while the maximum measured average is 526.4 FPS at 1080p Low, which exceeds even the highest refresh rate monitors available.