Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings in Counter-Strike 2, with the data showing this pairing ranks 858th out of 3719 tested combos in this game. The measured results indicate a system that is never constrained by the CPU at any resolution, while the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck only at 4K with higher quality presets. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to understand component roles, resolution scaling behavior, and optimal settings for this specific pairing.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, operating at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The processor carries a 65W TDP and is manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process node with a die size of 163 mm².

In Counter-Strike 2, the data shows this CPU is more than sufficient to feed the RTX 4070 at all tested settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 527 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. This figure indicates that the CPU can handle the game's physics and game logic calculations at extremely high rates without becoming a limiting factor. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and the 3DMark 2-thread score of 1692 suggest strong single-core performance, which is critical for a game like Counter-Strike 2 that relies heavily on single-threaded game logic.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and a PassMark multithread score of 18747. However, the game's performance scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution reveals that the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p, dropping from Low to Medium reduces average FPS from 527 to 438, and further to 327 at High and 254 at Ultra. This pattern is consistent with GPU-side rendering load increasing as settings improve, rather than CPU limitations. The processor's percentile ranking of 72 against all CPUs places it in the upper tier, and its average benchmark score of 18683 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697, -0.1% delta) and Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, -0.3% delta).

The L3 cache of 18 MB shared across six cores provides adequate capacity for Counter-Strike 2's map geometry and entity data. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and 3DMark max-thread score of 5890 indicate that all 12 threads are being utilized effectively in synthetic workloads, though the game itself likely does not require all threads simultaneously. The data strongly suggests that the i5-12400 delivers sufficient headroom for the RTX 4070 to operate at its full potential, even at the lowest resolution and settings where CPU overhead would typically manifest first.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 64 raster output units, 46 ray tracing cores, and 184 tensor cores, delivering 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Counter-Strike 2, the RTX 4070 demonstrates its capability across all settings, but the data reveals interesting scaling patterns. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The measured FPS at 4K ranges from 94 FPS at Ultra settings to 195 FPS at Low settings, with Medium at 162 FPS and High at 121 FPS. This progression shows that each quality level increase imposes a significant rendering cost on the GPU, with Ultra being roughly 51% slower than Low at 4K. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s and 12 GB VRAM capacity are sufficient for Counter-Strike 2's texture and geometry requirements at all tested settings, as no VRAM-related stuttering or min FPS anomalies appear in the data.

Comparing the GPU to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 scores 37648 on average, which is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507). The RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, which is 1.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 trails at 37157, 1.3% lower. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 26927 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 174152 indicate strong overall compute capability. The GPU's 81st percentile ranking against all GPUs places it in the upper tier of available hardware.

The 4K Ultra result of 94 FPS average is the only measured configuration that falls below the 100 FPS threshold, suggesting that while the GPU is capable of handling Counter-Strike 2 at 4K, the Ultra preset demands significant resources. The 4K Medium result with min FPS of 138 and max FPS of 186 shows a stable frame delivery window, indicating consistent GPU performance without major drops. At 1440p, the GPU continues to demonstrate strength, with Ultra at 168 FPS and Low at 349 FPS, showing that the RTX 4070 is not stressed at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data reveals clear resolution scaling behavior that identifies the limiting component at each configuration. Starting at 1080p Low, the system achieves 527 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 349 FPS, a drop of 178 FPS or approximately 34%. At 4K Low, the average FPS falls further to 195, representing a 63% reduction from the 1080p Low result. This dramatic scaling with resolution at Low settings indicates the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as pixel count rises, since the CPU workload remains relatively constant while GPU rendering load grows exponentially with resolution.

For Medium settings, the progression is 438 FPS at 1080p, 290 FPS at 1440p, and 162 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 34% from 1080p to 1440p and 44% from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the system delivers 327 FPS at 1080p, 216 FPS at 1440p, and 121 FPS at 4K, with drops of 34% and 44% respectively. The Ultra preset shows 254 FPS at 1080p, 168 FPS at 1440p, and 94 FPS at 4K, with reductions of 34% and 44% from each step.

The consistent 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p across all settings, and the consistent 44% drop from 1440p to 4K, strongly indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor throughout the resolution range. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain more constant across resolutions, particularly at lower settings where the GPU has less work to do. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, the system does not plateau at a CPU-imposed limit, as evidenced by the 527 FPS result being the highest in the dataset.

At 4K Ultra, the 94 FPS average represents the most demanding configuration tested, and the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K (195 vs 94 FPS, a 52% difference) highlights that the GPU's compute and memory resources are heavily taxed at this resolution. The min FPS data available for Medium settings shows 372 FPS at 1080p, 246 FPS at 1440p, and 138 FPS at 4K, demonstrating that frame time consistency scales proportionally with resolution. The data conclusively shows that the RTX 4070 is the performance limiter across all configurations, with the i5-12400 providing ample headroom.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Counter-Strike 2 at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, the measured data shows the system achieves 94 FPS average at 4K Ultra settings, 121 FPS at 4K High, and 195 FPS at 4K Low. The 4K Medium result of 162 FPS with a min FPS of 138 and max FPS of 186 indicates stable performance for competitive play.

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

A: The data shows that 1080p Low delivers the highest frame rate at 527 FPS average, while 1080p Medium provides 438 FPS with a min FPS of 372. For players prioritizing maximum responsiveness, 1080p Low is the fastest option, but 1080p Medium offers nearly comparable performance with improved visual quality.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135) by 1.3% but leads the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37157) by 1.3%.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 in this game?

A: The data indicates no CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 527 FPS, and the FPS drops proportionally with resolution increases (349 FPS at 1440p, 195 FPS at 4K), which is characteristic of GPU-limited performance. The CPU's single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark and 2257 in Cinebench R23 confirm sufficient processing power.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with this system?

A: The measured results at 2560x1440 show 349 FPS at Low, 290 FPS at Medium (with min 246 and max 333), 216 FPS at High, and 168 FPS at Ultra. All configurations deliver well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combos in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The combination ranks 858th out of 3719 tested combos, placing it in the top 23% of all systems tested for this game. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both components in Counter-Strike 2.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 527 FPS, which is the maximum measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 438 FPS average with a minimum of 372 FPS and maximum of 503 FPS, demonstrating a tight frame delivery window. High settings reduce the average to 327 FPS, while Ultra settings bring the average down to 254 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 52% reduction in average FPS, from 527 to 254, with each settings tier imposing a similar incremental cost.

At 2560x1440, the system maintains exceptionally high performance. Low settings average 349 FPS, representing a 34% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings deliver 290 FPS average with a minimum of 246 FPS and maximum of 333 FPS, maintaining consistency with a 15% spread between min and max. High settings produce 216 FPS average, and Ultra settings achieve 168 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 52% reduction, identical to the 1080p pattern, confirming that the relative cost of each settings tier is resolution-independent.

At 3840x2160, the GPU workload becomes significant. Low settings produce 195 FPS average, which is a 44% drop from the 1440p Low result. Medium settings deliver 162 FPS average with a minimum of 138 FPS and maximum of 186 FPS, showing a wider frame time variance of 23% between min and max. High settings reduce the average to 121 FPS, and Ultra settings bring it down to 94 FPS, the only measured configuration below 100 FPS. The 4K Ultra result represents a 52% reduction from 4K Low, consistent with the scaling observed at other resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data identifies 1080p Medium as the optimal balance between frame rate and visual quality for competitive play. This configuration delivers 438 FPS average with a minimum of 372 FPSchers, ensuring no frame drops below the refresh rate of even the fastest 360Hz monitors. The 66 FPS difference between min and max FPS (372 to 503) indicates a stable performance envelope that should maintain consistent gameplay. While 1080p Low achieves higher average FPS at 527, the visual quality reduction may not be justified given that Medium already exceeds the capabilities of virtually all displays.

For 1440p users, the Medium preset at 290 FPS average with a minimum of 246 FPS provides a similar balance, offering smooth performance on high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. The High preset at 216 FPS average also remains viable for those seeking better visuals, as it still exceeds the refresh rate of most 1440p displays. At 4K, the Medium preset at 162 FPS average with a minimum of 138 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains frame rates above 120 FPS while providing reasonable visual quality. The High preset at 121 FPS average is acceptable for 4K 120Hz displays, while Ultra at 94 FPS is only advisable for 4K 60Hz monitors or players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate.

The data shows that Ultra settings consistently reduce FPS by approximately 52% compared to Low across all resolutions, making it the least efficient preset in terms of frame rate per visual quality gain. The Medium preset offers the best documented stability, as it is the only setting level with min and max FPS data at every resolution, all showing acceptable variance ranges.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 858th out of 3719 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the top 23% of all systems benchmarked for this game. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both components in this specific title, where the CPU's high single-thread performance and the GPU's substantial rendering capabilities combine to deliver exceptional frame rates across all tested configurations.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 18683 positions it slightly below the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697, -0.1% delta) and Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, -0.3% delta), while marginally above the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519, 0.9% delta). The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking against all CPUs indicates that it outperforms the majority of processors available, though it is not in the top tier. The GPU's average benchmark score of 37648 places it in the 81st percentile against all GPUs, with the nearest rivals being the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, 0.1% higher), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, 0.4% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, 1.3% lower), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37157, 1.3% lower).

The combination's rank of 858 suggests that while many systems achieve higher frame rates in Counter-Strike 2, this pairing delivers performance that should satisfy the vast majority of players. The measured data shows no configuration where the system falls below playable frame rates, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra setting maintaining 94 FPS average. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where neither component significantly limits the other, and the system performs well above the median for all tested combos.