Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a competitive FPS that demands high frame rates. The combination of an Intel Core i5-12400 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER produces measured average FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets. This analysis examines how the CPU and GPU contribute to those results, which settings offer the best experience, and where this combo ranks among 1,632 tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear progression as resolution increases. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 583.4 FPS, Medium 489.2, High 362.4, and Ultra 283.6. Moving to 1440p, the same presets produce 389.1, 321.3, 239.3, and 187.2 FPS respectively. At 4K, the numbers fall to 217.4, 181.4, 133.3, and 104.5. The drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings. For example, Low goes from 583.4 to 217.4, a reduction of more than half. High goes from 362.4 to 133.3, also more than half. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU enough frames to reach very high rates, but at 4K the rendering load on the GPU dominates, capping the average FPS well below the 1080p figures.

The gap between Low and Ultra also narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, Low and Ultra differ by a wide margin, with Low at 583.4 and Ultra at 283.6. At 4K, the same two presets are 217.4 and 104.5, a smaller absolute gap. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU's performance ceiling limits the impact of quality settings, whereas at 1080p the CPU and GPU have more headroom to respond to preset changes. The 1440p results sit between the two extremes, with High at 239.3 FPS and Ultra at 187.2 FPS. The data shows that 1440p High is still above 200 FPS, while 4K High drops to 133.3. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe than from 1440p to 4K, as evidenced by the Low preset: 583.4 to 389.1 to 217.4. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that handles 1440p comfortably but becomes increasingly constrained at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 18 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its launch MSRP is $199. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12400 scores 15,935 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,249 in single-core. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 910. The CPU's average benchmark score is 19,850, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (delta 0.1%), Intel Core i7-8700 (delta -0.2%), AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (delta -0.4%), and Intel Core i5-11600K (delta 0.4%). These deltas indicate that the i5-12400's performance is essentially on par with those processors, with differences of less than half a percent.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is evident in the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 583.4, the highest measured in this dataset. This suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance, as reflected in its 2,249 Cinebench R23 single-core score, is sufficient to drive very high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 6 cores/12 threads provide the computational headroom needed for the game's logic and physics. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking aligns with its ability to keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 further supports the notion that the i5-12400 can handle the per-frame processing demands of a fast-paced FPS, as evidenced by the 583.4 FPS result at 1080p Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1980 MHz and boost clock is 2475 MHz. The GPU has 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. Its launch MSRP is 599 USD. In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 SUPER scores 42,576 on average, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (delta -0.2%), AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (delta -0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro 580X (delta 1.4%), and NVIDIA Tesla M40 (delta 1.6%). The GPU's performance is within 1.6% of these rivals, with the RTX A6000 being essentially tied.

The GPU's impact is most visible at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 104.5, the lowest in the dataset. At 4K High, it is 133.3, and at 4K Medium, 181.4. The 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's textures and geometry at these resolutions, but the rendering load limits the frame rate. At 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck; the CPU can push 583.4 FPS on Low, and even Ultra reaches 283.6. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking is consistent with its ability to handle high resolutions, though the 4K results show that it cannot maintain the same frame rates as at 1080p. The boost clock of 2475 MHz and the 7,168 shading units contribute to the GPU's throughput, but the measured 4K Ultra figure of 104.5 FPS indicates that the rendering pipeline is the primary constraint at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of how each preset performs at each resolution. At 1080p, all presets exceed 280 FPS, with Low at 583.4, Medium at 489.2, High at 362.4, and Ultra at 283.6. For players prioritizing maximum frame rate, Low at 1080p offers the highest average, but the visual quality is reduced. At 1440p, Medium delivers 321.3 FPS, High 239.3, and Ultra 187.2. The data suggests that 1440p High provides a strong balance, with 239.3 FPS and better visual fidelity than Medium. At 4K, Medium yields 181.4 FPS, which is higher than High (133.3) and only slightly lower than Low (217.4). Given that Low at 4K still produces 217.4 FPS, players with high-refresh 4K displays might prefer Low for competitive play, while those seeking visual quality could choose Medium for 181.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 104.5 FPS, which may be too low for fast-paced gameplay.

Based on the measured rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, any preset is viable, but High or Ultra offer a good mix of quality and speed. For 1440p, High appears to be the sweet spot, as it maintains 239.3 FPS while providing more detail than Medium. For 4K, Medium is a reasonable choice, delivering 181.4 FPS, while Low offers a higher frame rate at the cost of visual fidelity. The data also shows that the difference between Medium and High at 4K is significant—181.4 versus 133.3—so players who want a smoother experience should consider Medium over High.

How This Combo Ranks

In Counter-Strike 2, this combination of Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 287th out of 1,632 tested combos. This places it in the upper portion of the ranking, indicating that it outperforms the majority of configurations. The CPU's 77th percentile and GPU's 84th percentile are consistent with this rank. The CPU's average benchmark score of 19,850 is within 0.4% of its nearest rivals, and the GPU's average score of 42,576 is within 1.6% of its nearest rivals. The combo's rank suggests that the i5-12400 and RTX 4070 SUPER work well together in this game, with the CPU providing enough throughput to feed the GPU at lower resolutions and the GPU handling the higher-resolution load. The measured FPS data supports this, as the combo achieves over 100 FPS at 4K Ultra and over 500 FPS at 1080p Low. The rank of 287 out of 1,632 also implies that this configuration is better suited for high-refresh 1080p and 1440p play than for 4K, where the GPU's limitations become more apparent.