Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers exceptional performance in Counter-Strike 2, consistently producing frame rates that far exceed the requirements of high-refresh-rate displays. Across all tested settings and resolutions, the combination demonstrates a clear capacity for maximizing competitive play, with the data indicating that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured metrics to determine the optimal configuration and the role each component plays in the game's output.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest possible frame rates in competitive scenarios, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the definitive choice, yielding an average of 594.5 FPS. This represents the peak performance ceiling of the tested configurations, offering a substantial margin over even the Medium preset at the same resolution, which averages 557.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 37.4 FPS, a relatively small gap that some players might consider trading for slightly improved visuals, but for pure esports performance, the Low preset is unmatched.

However, the data suggests that the Medium preset provides a more balanced experience without sacrificing the competitive edge. At 1080p, Medium achieves 557.1 FPS, which is still enormously high and only 6.3% lower than the Low preset's maximum. This preset likely offers better visual fidelity for spotting enemies while maintaining frame rates that are far beyond what any current display can fully utilize. For players with 1440p monitors, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 370.3 FPS, a figure that remains exceptionally smooth and suitable for high-refresh-rate panels.

The Ultra preset is the least recommended for this combination in Counter-Strike 2, as it introduces a significant performance penalty. At 1080p, Ultra drops to 325 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 120.2 FPS. While these numbers are still playable, the relative cost of the Ultra settings is steep; at 4K, Ultra is 130.5 FPS lower than High and 85.7 FPS lower than Medium. Given the fast-paced nature of the game, the visual enhancements of Ultra do not justify the measurable reduction in frame rate, making High or Medium the superior choices for maintaining fluidity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a formidable component, evidenced by its 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 53610. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for Counter-Strike 2 at any of the tested resolutions. The GPU's architecture, with 10240 shading units and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, ensures that it can process the game's geometry and effects with substantial headroom.

In this specific pairing, the data reveals that the RTX 4080 SUPER is not the primary constraint at lower resolutions. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a moderate drop, but the massive leap in performance when switching from High to Low settings at the same resolution indicates that the CPU is often the bottleneck. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between High (417.5 FPS) and Low (594.5 FPS) is 177 FPS, a 42.4% increase that is largely attributable to reduced CPU workload from simpler graphics state changes. This suggests that while the GPU is capable of rendering frames at a very high rate, the Intel Core i5-11400F's processing of game logic and draw calls caps the output.

At 4K, the GPU's role becomes more prominent. The resolution scaling shows a steeper performance drop, with High settings at 3840x2160 yielding 153.1 FPS compared to 277.4 FPS at 2560x1440. This 44.8% reduction in frame rate when increasing pixel count by a factor of 2.25 indicates that the GPU is now under significant load, though it still manages to deliver playable frame rates. The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is never a concern here, as Counter-Strike 2 is not a VRAM-intensive title, and the measured data shows no signs of memory-related stuttering or performance cliffs.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extraordinarily high, with the Low preset reaching 594.5 FPS. This indicates a CPU-limited scenario where the RTX 4080 SUPER is waiting on the i5-11400F to issue draw calls. When moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease by an average of 34.5% across all settings, which is a moderate drop that still leaves the system in a very comfortable performance zone.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is where the GPU limitation becomes evident. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 277.4 FPS at 2560x1440 to 153.1 FPS at 3840x2160, a 44.8% decrease. This is a substantial reduction that aligns with the increased pixel fill rate demand. The Low preset at 4K still manages 250.7 FPS, which shows that the GPU has enough raw power to handle the resolution when the CPU overhead is minimized. The data suggests that the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p, where the balance between CPU and GPU load yields high frame rates without wasting GPU potential.

At 1080p, the system is leaving significant performance on the table, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. The 4K results, while impressive, show that the CPU is still a limiting factor even at this high resolution, as evidenced by the 130.5 FPS gap between Low and Ultra settings. This indicates that for players who prioritize maximum frame rates, sticking to 1080p or 1440p is advisable, while 4K is viable for those who prefer higher visual fidelity over extreme refresh rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across twelve distinct configurations. Beginning with 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average of 594.5 FPS, followed closely by Medium at 557.1 FPS and High at 417.5 FPS. The Ultra preset trails significantly at 325 FPS, which is 269.5 FPS lower than Low, representing a 45.3% performance penalty for the highest visual settings. This wide spread indicates that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly when the CPU allows.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains consistent but with a compressed range. The Low preset delivers 443.6 FPS, Medium achieves 370.3 FPS, High reaches 277.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 213.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 230.5 FPS, which is a 51.9% difference. Compared to the 1080p results, the frame rates at 1440p are lower by an average of 25.4%, reflecting the increased GPU workload from the higher pixel count. The Medium preset at 1440p, with its 370.3 FPS, remains an excellent choice for competitive play on 1440p monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the more dominant factor, though the CPU still plays a role. The Low preset yields 250.7 FPS, Medium drops to 205.9 FPS, High falls to 153.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 120.2 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 130.5 FPS, a 52.1% reduction. Interestingly, the percentage drop from Low to Ultra is similar across all resolutions (around 45-52%), suggesting a consistent CPU bottleneck that scales with settings. The 4K Low result of 250.7 FPS is particularly notable, as it demonstrates that the RTX 4080 SUPER can handle 4K gaming with ease when the CPU is not the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 130 out of 1632 combinations in Counter-Strike 2. This places the combo in the top 8% of all systems tested, which is a strong result given that the CPU is a mid-range part from the 11th generation. The ranking reflects the game's sensitivity to single-thread performance, where the i5-11400F's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, are sufficient to drive the high frame rates witnessed in the data.

The CPU's performance percentile of 75 indicates that it is better than 75% of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 17181. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, scores nearly identically at 17189, a 0% delta, showing that the i5-11400F is competitive with more modern mobile parts. However, the ranking of 130 out of 1632 suggests that many other combinations, likely with newer and faster CPUs, achieve higher frame rates in Counter-Strike 2. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking and its proximity to the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (0.2% delta) confirm that the RTX 4080 SUPER is a top-tier component.

The combo's rank is likely held back by the CPU's limitations at very high frame rates. While the RTX 4080 SUPER is capable of pushing beyond 600 FPS in ideal conditions, the i5-11400F restricts the system to 594.5 FPS at 1080p Low. This suggests that pairing the GPU with a higher-end CPU would yield even better results, but as it stands, the current combination still delivers exceptional performance that will satisfy the vast majority of players. The measured data shows that the system is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, where it achieves 443.6 FPS on Low settings, a figure that is more than enough for any competitive scenario.