Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Counter-Strike 2, with the data showing that the combination ranks in the 58th percentile of all tested system combos. The measured results indicate a system that is capable of pushing well beyond 144 frames per second at 1080p and 1440p, while still maintaining playable frame rates at 4K resolution. The performance profile across the different settings presets reveals a clear scaling pattern, with the Low preset providing the highest frame rates at every resolution, and the Ultra preset showing the most significant performance cost.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows that the 1920x1080 Low preset yields the highest average frame rate at 355 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, the 2560x1440 High preset offers 146 FPS average, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How does the Core i5-12400 compare to its closest rivals in general CPU benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. It is 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 7643, 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-1355U, 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F.

Q: What are the specifications of the graphics card's memory and core clocks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz.

Q: Does the processor have integrated graphics?

A: Yes, the Intel Core i5-12400 includes Intel UHD Graphics 730, though the benchmark data for this specific combo relies on the discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER.

Q: What is the measured average FPS at 4K resolution with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the system achieves an average frame rate of 109 FPS, with a minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS.

Q: What is the system's rank among all tested combos for Counter-Strike 2?

A: The combo of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER holds the 2151st rank out of 3719 tested combinations in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-architecture part built on TSMC's 12 nm process, with a die size of 545 mm² containing 13,600 million transistors. Its core configuration includes 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines, along with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The rendering capabilities are quantified by a pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s, while the FP32 performance is rated at 9.062 TFLOPS. Memory bandwidth is a significant factor for high-resolution gaming, and this card's 448.0 GB/s over a 256-bit bus is ample for the measured workloads.

The GPU's percentile ranking against all other graphics cards is 65, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, which scores 1% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 1.2% ahead. The Intel Arc B570 and Intel Arc A750 are 1.3% and 1.5% ahead, respectively, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER is positioned in a tightly contested performance tier.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p, the Low preset yields 355 FPS average, which is likely CPU-bound territory, but as the resolution scales to 4K, the frame rates drop to 131 FPS on Low and 63 FPS on Ultra. This pattern suggests that at higher resolutions, the graphics card's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors, as the rendering load increases substantially with the pixel count. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for this game, as the measured data does not indicate any memory-related performance degradation at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and can boost up to 4.40 GHz, with a thermal design power of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 18 MB L3 cache. This CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it connects to the system via a PCIe Gen 5 interface with 16 lanes. The processor's integrated graphics are the UHD Graphics 730, although the discrete GPU handles all rendering in this analysis.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores show a strong single-threaded and multi-threaded profile. In Cinebench R23, it scores 2257 points in single-core and 15989 points in multi-core tests. Its PassMark single-thread score is 3456, and its multithread score is 18747. The 3DMark results reveal scaling from 910 points in the single-thread test to 5890 points in the max threads test. The processor's overall average benchmark score of 18683 places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, demonstrating solid mainstream performance.

For Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are likely sufficient to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic at 1080p, where the measured 355 FPS average on Low settings indicates the CPU is capable of generating very high frame rates. The difference between 1080p Low (355 FPS) and 1440p Low (235 FPS) suggests a shift in bottleneck, but even at 4K Low, the 131 FPS average shows the CPU maintains a solid foundation. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is critical for this game, as Counter-Strike 2 tends to be sensitive to single-core performance, and the 3DMark single-thread score of 910 points reflects a capable per-core throughput.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how each settings preset affects performance across the three resolutions. For players targeting the highest possible frame rates, especially for competitive play, the Low preset is the clear choice. At 1920x1080, it delivers 355 FPS average, and at 2560x1440, it still achieves 235 FPS average. Even at 3840x2160, the Low preset maintains an average of 131 FPS, which is above the threshold for most high-refresh-rate displays.

The Medium preset offers a substantial improvement in visual fidelity while still providing excellent performance. At 1080p, it averages 295 FPS, with a minimum of 251 FPS and a maximum of 339 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 195 FPS, with a minimum of 166 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience during intense firefights. The 4K Medium result of 109 FPS average, with a 93 FPS minimum, is also highly playable.

The High preset is a reasonable middle ground, providing 220 FPS average at 1080p and 146 FPS at 1440p. However, at 4K, the High preset drops to 82 FPS average. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding 171 FPS at 1080p, 113 FPS at 1440p, and only 63 FPS at 4K. Given the measured numbers, the Medium preset at 1440p represents the best balance of visual quality and performance, offering a 195 FPS average that comfortably exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. For players who prioritize maximum smoothness, the Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest possible frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER holds a rank of 2151 out of 3719 tested combinations for Counter-Strike 2. This places the system in the upper half of all tested hardware configurations, specifically at the 58th percentile. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's strong single-threaded performance and the GPU's decent mid-range capabilities.

The CPU's percentile rank of 72 among all processors indicates that the i5-12400 is a stronger component relative to its peers than the GPU, which sits at the 65th percentile. This discrepancy suggests that in this particular game, the RTX 2070 SUPER is more likely to be the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates at 4K Ultra (63 FPS) versus 1080p Low (355 FPS) show a 5.6x difference, which is a larger scaling factor than what would be expected if the CPU were the primary constraint.

The combo's rank is determined by the aggregate performance across all measured settings, and the data indicates that this system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and capable of 1440p gaming at high quality. The 3719 total combinations in the database include many higher-end GPUs and newer CPUs, so the 2151st rank is a respectable position for a mid-range pairing from this hardware generation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average frame rate of 355 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution averages 295 FPS, with a minimum of 251 FPS and a maximum of 339 FPS. The High preset averages 220 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 171 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 235 FPS. The Medium preset shows a significant step down to 195 FPS average, with a minimum of 166 FPS and a maximum of 225 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 146 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 113 FPS. This data indicates that 1440p High is still a viable option for 144 Hz monitors, while 1440p Ultra approaches the 120 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. The Low preset averages 131 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that exceeds 120 FPS. The Medium preset averages 109 FPS, with a minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS. The High preset averages 82 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 63 FPS. These numbers show that 4K gaming is possible with this system, but only at lower settings for smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 355 at 1080p to 235 at 1440p, a reduction of 33.8%, and then to 131 at 4K, a further reduction of 44.3% from 1440p. This pattern indicates a progressive shift towards GPU limitation as the pixel count increases.

At Medium settings, the scaling is slightly different: 295 FPS at 1080p, 195 FPS at 1440p (a 33.9% drop), and 109 FPS at 4K (a 44.1% drop from 1440p). The High and Ultra settings show similar relative drops, with High going from 220 to 146 to 82 FPS, and Ultra going from 171 to 113 to 63 FPS.

The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest that the scaling is primarily driven by resolution rather than the specific settings preset. The ratio of 4K to 1080p performance is approximately 0.37 for Low, Medium, and High settings, and 0.37 for Ultra as well. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU's performance is sufficient to maintain frame rates if the GPU could render faster. The fact that the 1080p Low result of 355 FPS is the highest measured value suggests that the CPU is capable of even higher frame rates, but the GPU's rendering speed prevents higher numbers at lower resolutions when settings are increased. The data shows that this system is most efficient at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU and GPU are more evenly balanced.