Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a Counter-Strike 2 experience that scales dramatically with resolution and settings. Across the measured spectrum, this pairing produces average frame rates ranging from 103 FPS at 4K Ultra to 566.3 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating that the system is capable of extreme performance when the workload is shifted toward the CPU. The data shows a clear pattern: at lower resolutions, the frame rates become so high that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the primary constraint, while at 4K, the GPU's rendering load dominates the observed scaling.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the performance ceiling shifts as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 566.3 FPS, but dropping to 2560x1440 Low reduces this to 376.6 FPS, a 33.5% decrease. Moving further to 3840x2160 Low yields 211.9 FPS, another 43.7% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep drop-off at lower settings indicates that the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p; the CPU's 6-core, 12-thread design with a 4.40 GHz boost clock is being pushed to its limits. The Intel Core i5-11400F benchmarks show a single-thread score of 868 in 3dmark_single_thread and a passmark single-thread score of 2981, which are moderate figures that cap the absurdly high frame rates possible in a lightweight esports title.

At High settings, the scaling is less severe but still pronounced. The 1080p High result of 354.9 FPS drops to 235.5 FPS at 1440p (a 33.6% reduction) and then to 132.6 FPS at 4K (a 43.7% reduction from 1440p). The percentage drops are nearly identical to the Low settings pattern, suggesting that the rendering workload increases proportionally with pixel count regardless of quality preset. This consistency implies that Counter-Strike 2's engine scales resolution costs linearly for this hardware combination, with the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth being sufficient to avoid memory-related bottlenecks even at 4K.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. From 275.6 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate falls to 182.4 FPS at 1440p (a 33.8% drop) and then to 103 FPS at 4K (a 43.5% drop from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 103 FPS is the lowest measured figure in the entire dataset, yet it remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The consistent ~33% and ~43% reduction patterns across all settings strongly suggest that the RTX 5070's rendering throughput is the dominant factor once resolution increases, with the GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate determining the ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070's specifications directly explain the observed performance characteristics. With 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines, the GPU has substantial raw compute for a game like Counter-Strike 2 that doesn't heavily utilize ray tracing or DLSS features. The card's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the texture and geometry loads at 4K Ultra in this title. The clock behavior, with a base of 2325 MHz and boost of 2512 MHz, allows the GPU to maintain high utilization across all resolution points.

The benchmark data for the RTX 5070 places it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41687. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 with a deltaPct of 0.6, meaning the RTX 5070 scores 0.6% higher in aggregate benchmarks. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is 0.2% behind, and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 is 0.5% ahead. These close margins in synthetic benchmarks translate to the measured FPS results, where the GPU never becomes a severe bottleneck even at 4K Ultra. The 103 FPS floor at 4K Ultra indicates that the GPU still has headroom, as the CPU's limitations begin to surface at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 300 FPS.

The GPU's memory configuration plays a minimal role in this game's performance. Counter-Strike 2 is not a VRAM-intensive title, and the 12 GB allocation never approaches capacity at any tested setting. The 192-bit bus width and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the bandwidth demands of 4K rendering, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from 1080p to 4K without any anomalous drops that would indicate memory thrashing. The GDDR7 memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) provides ample margin for the game's asset streaming requirements.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 566.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration exceeding 500 FPS in the dataset.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 103 FPS is 81.8% lower than the 1080p Low result of 566.3 FPS. This represents the full span of measured performance across all resolution and settings combinations.

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

A: The data indicates the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, particularly at Low settings where the 566.3 FPS figure approaches the practical ceiling for the Intel Core i5-11400F's single-thread performance. The GPU's benchmark percentile of 83 suggests it has more headroom than the CPU at these frame rates.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings produce 315.2 FPS while High settings produce 235.5 FPS, a difference of 79.7 FPS or 25.3% lower performance for the High preset.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to the RTX 3090 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070 scores 0.6% higher than the RTX 3090 in average benchmark score, with the RTX 5070 at 41687 and the RTX 3090 at 41441. This indicates near-parity in raw compute performance.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K across all settings?

A: Yes. The lowest measured 4K result is 103 FPS at Ultra settings, which remains above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Low settings at 4K reach 211.9 FPS, Medium reaches 174 FPS, and High reaches 132.6 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience. At 1920x1080, all settings deliver well above 270 FPS, with Low at 566.3 FPS, Medium at 473.5 FPS, High at 354.9 FPS, and Ultra at 275.6 FPS. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset offers the highest frame rates, which is typically desirable for reducing input lag in a fast-paced FPS. However, the Medium preset at 473.5 FPS still provides a massive margin over any 240 Hz or 360 Hz display, while offering better visual quality than Low.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 315.2 FPS, which is the best balance between visual fidelity and performance. The High preset at 235.5 FPS remains above 240 Hz refresh rates, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 182.4 FPS is still highly playable but represents a 42.1% performance reduction compared to Medium, which may not be justified given the modest visual improvements in a competitive shooter.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 174 FPS provides the most balanced experience, staying above 144 Hz refresh rates while maintaining decent visual quality. The High preset at 132.6 FPS is acceptable for 120 Hz displays, and the Ultra preset at 103 FPS is playable but approaches the lower boundary for competitive play. The Low preset at 211.9 FPS demonstrates that even at 4K, the hardware can exceed 200 FPS when visual quality is sacrificed. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently offers the best performance-per-frame-rate ratio, with only a 16.4% reduction from Low at 1440p and a 17.9% reduction at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination ranks 301 out of 1632 tested combos for Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the top 18.4% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong GPU performance combined with a mid-range CPU that limits the absolute ceiling at lower resolutions. The CPU alone sits in the 75th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17181, while the GPU sits in the 83rd percentile with an average score of 41687. The gap between these percentile rankings explains why the combo performs better at higher resolutions where the GPU's advantage is fully utilized.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with a deltaPct of 0, meaning identical average scores, and the Intel Core i7-1260P at -0.2% (slightly lower). These comparisons show that the i5-11400F's 6-core, 12-thread configuration with 12 MB of L3 cache performs competitively with mobile-oriented chips but lacks the multi-threaded grunt of higher-tier desktop processors. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 at +0.6% deltaPct, indicates that the RTX 5070 provides flagship-level compute despite being a lower-tier product in the 50-series lineup.

The rank of 301 suggests that while this combo is not at the very top of the leaderboard, it outperforms the vast majority of tested configurations. For a game like Counter-Strike 2 that rewards high frame rates, the combo delivers exceptional 1080p and 1440p performance, with the ranking primarily limited by the CPU's single-thread capabilities at extreme frame rates. The data indicates that pairing the RTX 5070 with a stronger CPU would yield higher rankings at 1080p, but the current configuration still provides a highly competitive experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 566.3 FPS
• Medium: 473.5 FPS
• High: 354.9 FPS
• Ultra: 275.6 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 376.6 FPS
• Medium: 315.2 FPS
• High: 235.5 FPS
• Ultra: 182.4 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 211.9 FPS
• Medium: 174 FPS
• High: 132.6 FPS
• Ultra: 103 FPS

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent reduction: at 1080p, Ultra is 51.3% lower than Low (275.6 vs 566.3); at 1440p, Ultra is 51.6% lower (182.4 vs 376.6); and at 4K, Ultra is 51.4% lower (103 vs 211.9). This consistency indicates that each settings tier adds a similar rendering cost regardless of resolution. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by approximately 33.5% across all settings, and the transition from 1440p to 4K reduces performance by approximately 43.7% across all settings. These scaling factors are remarkably uniform, suggesting that the game's rendering pipeline scales predictably with pixel count and that neither component introduces unexpected bottlenecks at any point in the resolution spectrum.