Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 presents a fascinating study in component balance. The data shows a system where the CPU, a 6-core/12-thread Rocket Lake part from 2021, is paired with NVIDIA’s flagship Blackwell GPU. The benchmark results reveal that this combination is heavily constrained by the processor at lower resolutions, while the GPU begins to assert its dominance as resolution increases. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, the roles of each component, and how this pairing ranks among the thousands of combinations tested.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 596 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 505 FPS, a decrease of approximately 15%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 282 FPS, which is a further 44% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is telling: the drop from 1080p to 1440p is relatively mild, but the jump to 4K is severe.

The High settings row shows a similar but more pronounced pattern. At 1080p High, the system delivers 473 FPS. This falls to 313 FPS at 1440p High, a 34% reduction. At 4K High, the average is 175 FPS, representing a 44% drop from 1440p. The consistency of the 4K penalty suggests that at this resolution, the RTX 5090's rendering load becomes the primary limiting factor, whereas at 1080p, the i5-11400F is likely holding the GPU back.

The Ultra preset data reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 368 FPS, which is still remarkably high. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 243 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 136 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Ultra is 34%, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Ultra is 44%. This consistent pattern across settings indicates that the game becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs, but the CPU's influence remains significant even at 4K.

The Medium preset provides the only min/max FPS data in the pack. At 1080p Medium, the average is 558 FPS with a minimum of 474 FPS and a maximum of 642 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 420 FPS with a minimum of 357 FPS and a maximum of 482 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 234 FPS with a minimum of 199 FPS and a maximum of 270 FPS. The min-to-max spread widens as resolution increases, from 168 FPS at 1080p to 125 FPS at 1440p and 71 FPS at 4K, indicating more consistent frame delivery at lower resolutions where the CPU is the bottleneck.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is almost entirely CPU-limited. The RTX 5090 is capable of far more than 596 FPS in this title, but the i5-11400F's 6 cores and 12 threads cannot feed frames fast enough. At 4K, the GPU's work per frame increases dramatically, allowing it to become the limiting component. The result is that the scaling from 1080p to 4K is steeper than one might expect from a flagship GPU alone, precisely because the CPU's limitation at low resolutions inflates the 1080p numbers.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The CPU has a 12 MB shared L3 cache, with 80 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 per core. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU's TDP is rated at 65 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1200 interface.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-11400F scores 14,340 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,024 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 7,737 multi-core and 1,777 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 16,908 with a single-thread score of 2,981. Its average benchmark score is 17,177, placing it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs tested. The nearest rivals in the database are the AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% higher score), Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% lower), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% lower), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% higher). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating the i5-11400F sits in a tightly packed performance tier.

For Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is critical at lower resolutions. The game is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance, and the i5-11400F's boost clock of 4.40 GHz is respectable but not exceptional by 2025 standards. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (596 FPS) and 1080p High (473 FPS) suggests that the CPU is the primary limiter. The delta between Low and High at 1080p is 123 FPS, which is a 21% reduction. This is a larger percentage drop than the 15% reduction seen when moving from 1080p Low to 1440p Low, indicating that the CPU's frame generation capacity is saturated at 1080p regardless of settings.

The 12 threads of the i5-11400F are sufficient to handle Counter-Strike 2's workload, but the architecture's 14 nm process and 65 W TDP limit its maximum frequency headroom. The data shows that at 4K, the CPU is no longer the primary bottleneck, but it still prevents the RTX 5090 from reaching its full potential. The 4K Low average of 282 FPS is likely lower than what a newer, higher-clocked CPU could achieve with the same GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, using the GB202 chip manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units. The GPU features 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's TDP is rated at 575 W with a suggested PSU of 950 W.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 scores 18,355 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 334,370 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 376,728 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its PassMark G3D score is 39,650 with a GPU compute score of 26,756. The average benchmark score is 79,842, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% higher), Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (0.6% higher), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.1% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (1.4% lower). These deltas are all within 1.5%, which is notable for a flagship consumer GPU—the database's comparison pool includes many workstation and data center parts.

In Counter-Strike 2, the RTX 5090's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. The 32 GB of VRAM is far more than the game requires, even at 4K Ultra, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is more than sufficient for the game's texture streaming needs. The boost clock of 2407 MHz provides the raw compute throughput needed to maintain high frame rates.

The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra, the RTX 5090 produces 136 FPS average, which is still very playable for a competitive shooter. The gap between 4K Low (282 FPS) and 4K Ultra (136 FPS) is 146 FPS, a 52% reduction. This indicates that the GPU is doing substantially more work at Ultra settings, but it remains capable of high frame rates. At 1080p, the GPU's performance is largely unused—the 596 FPS at Low settings is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output, not the GPU's.

The RTX 5090's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its position as a top-tier part. However, its performance in this specific combo is constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions, which is why the 4K results are more representative of the GPU's true capability in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 163rd out of 3,719 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places the combo in the top 4.4% of all tested systems. The rank is notable because the GPU alone sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 71st percentile. The combo's rank of 163 is worse than the GPU's percentile would suggest, confirming that the CPU is dragging down the overall performance.

The rank of 163 out of 3,719 means there are 162 combos that achieve higher average FPS in this game. These are likely systems with newer, higher-clocked CPUs paired with GPUs of similar or slightly lower tier. The data suggests that the RTX 5090's potential is not fully realized with the i5-11400F, particularly at 1080p and 1440p where the CPU bottleneck is most severe.

The delta between the combo's rank and the GPU's percentile is instructive. If the system were purely GPU-bound, one might expect a rank closer to the 92nd percentile (roughly 300th out of 3,719). Instead, the combo ranks 163rd, which is better than the GPU's percentile alone would predict. This is because at 4K, where the GPU is the primary limiter, the combo still performs very well. The 4K Ultra average of 136 FPS is respectable, and the 4K Low average of 282 FPS is excellent. The rank reflects the blend of CPU-limited low resolutions and GPU-limited high resolutions.

The nearest CPU rivals in the database (AMD EPYC 7H12, Intel Core i5-12450H, etc.) all have average scores within 0.6% of the i5-11400F, so swapping to those parts would not meaningfully change the combo's rank. The limiting factor is the CPU's absolute performance level, not its standing among peers. The combo rank of 163 suggests that the system is competitive but not top-tier in Counter-Strike 2, despite featuring the flagship GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Counter-Strike 2. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver well above 300 FPS, with Low at 596 FPS, Medium at 558 FPS, High at 473 FPS, and Ultra at 368 FPS. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 474 FPS, which is above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low or Medium presets offer the highest frame rates, but even Ultra is playable.

At 1440p, the recommended preset depends on the target refresh rate. For 240 Hz displays, the Medium preset (420 FPS average, 357 FPS minimum) is sufficient. For 360 Hz displays, the Low preset (505 FPS) is the only option that guarantees the frame rate stays above the refresh rate. The High preset at 313 FPS is suitable for 240 Hz monitors, while Ultra at 243 FPS hovers near the 240 Hz threshold and may occasionally dip below.

At 4K, the recommendations shift. For 144 Hz displays, the Medium preset (234 FPS average, 199 FPS minimum) provides a comfortable margin. The High preset (175 FPS) is adequate for 144 Hz displays but may not maintain a consistent 165 Hz. The Ultra preset (136 FPS) is best suited for 120 Hz displays. The Low preset (282 FPS) is overkill for most 4K monitors but provides the highest frame rate headroom.

The data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. It delivers 558 FPS at 1080p, 420 FPS at 1440p, and 234 FPS at 4K, with minimums of 474, 357, and 199 FPS respectively. The min FPS at 4K Medium (199 FPS) is above the 144 Hz threshold, making this the optimal choice for most users. The High preset is a reasonable alternative for those prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, but the jump from Medium to High costs roughly 15-20% performance at each resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

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

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 282 FPS average
• Medium: 234 FPS average, 199 FPS minimum, 270 FPS maximum
• High: 175 FPS average
• Ultra: 136 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 505 FPS average
• Medium: 420 FPS average, 357 FPS minimum, 482 FPS maximum
• High: 313 FPS average
• Ultra: 243 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 596 FPS average
• Medium: 558 FPS average, 474 FPS minimum, 642 FPS maximum
• High: 473 FPS average
• Ultra: 368 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation as settings increase at each resolution. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 228 FPS (596 to 368). At 1440p, the spread is 262 FPS (505 to 243). At 4K, the spread is 146 FPS (282 to 136). The percentage reduction from Low to Ultra is 38% at 1080p, 52% at 1440p, and 52% at 4K. The similar percentage reductions at 1440p and 4K suggest that the GPU is the limiting factor at both resolutions, while the smaller percentage reduction at 1080p indicates CPU limitation.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the min FPS (474) is 85% of the average (558). At 1440p Medium, the min FPS (357) is 85% of the average (420). At 4K Medium, the min FPS (199) is also 85% of the average (234). This consistency suggests the frame time distribution is stable across resolutions at Medium settings.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F bottlenecking the RTX 5090 in Counter-Strike 2?

A: Yes, particularly at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 596 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output. The 52% reduction from Low to Ultra at 1440p and 4K indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at those resolutions, but the CPU still prevents the system from achieving the frame rates a newer processor would allow.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for competitive play?

A: For maximum frame rates, 1080p Low provides 596 FPS average. For a balance of quality and performance, the Medium preset is recommended, delivering 558 FPS at 1080p, 420 FPS at 1440p, and 234 FPS at 4K, with minimums above 199 FPS in all cases.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 163rd out of 3,719 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.4%. This is lower than the GPU's 92nd percentile ranking would suggest, due to the CPU's 71st percentile standing.

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

A: Yes. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 136, which is playable on 120 Hz monitors. At 4K Medium, the average rises to 234 FPS with a minimum of 199 FPS, making it suitable for 144 Hz displays.

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

A: The i5-11400F's average benchmark score is 17,177. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17,120 (0.3% higher). The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17,239 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17,278 (0.6% lower). All are within 0.6% of each other.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's performance in this combo representative of its capabilities?

A: Only at 4K. The 4K results (282 FPS Low, 136 FPS Ultra) reflect the GPU's true rendering capacity. At 1080p, the CPU limits performance, so the 596 FPS Low result underestimates the GPU's potential. The GPU's average benchmark score of 79,842 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs.