Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 580 delivers a playable experience primarily at 1080p, with the data showing a significant performance cliff as resolution increases. The combination ranks 3390th out of 3719 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower percentile of systems, but the measured FPS reveals that the CPU is strong enough to push the GPU to its limits at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where this combo consistently achieves high frame rates, with an average of 172 FPS at Low settings and 107 FPS at High settings. At 2560x1440, performance drops to a range of 55–114 FPS depending on settings, while 3840x2160 falls below 64 FPS across all presets.

Q: How does the RX 580's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928, which is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940) and 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986). It slightly outperforms the AMD Radeon 740M by 0.5% and the AMD FirePro W5100 by 0.6%.

Q: Is the i5-12400F a bottleneck for the RX 580 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 1080p, as the FPS scales inversely with resolution in a pattern typical of GPU limitation. The i5-12400F's average benchmark score is 19039, ranking it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, which provides sufficient headroom for the GPU's capabilities.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The measured FPS shows a 89 FPS gap between Low (172 FPS) and Ultra (83 FPS) at 1920x1080. This represents a 51.7% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest preset, indicating that graphical settings have a substantial impact on this GPU.

Q: Does the combo maintain stable frame rates at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the measured minimum and maximum FPS are available. At 1080p, the range is 122–164 FPS with an average of 143 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 80–109 FPS with an average of 95 FPS, while at 4K it drops to 45–61 FPS with an average of 53 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank relative to all tested systems?

A: This specific combination of the i5-12400F and RX 580 ranks 3390th out of 3719 total combos tested for Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the bottom 8.8% of all systems. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU's age, as the CPU itself sits in the 73rd percentile of all processors.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the limiting factor in this pairing, and the benchmark data clearly demonstrates this. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, with base and boost clocks of 1257 MHz and 1340 MHz respectively. These specifications, combined with 2304 shading units and 32 ROPs, yield a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role is most evident when comparing the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 172 FPS, but this drops to 114 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 64 FPS at 4K Low. This pattern shows that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become exhausted as pixel count increases. The RX 580's FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS is adequate for the game's rendering demands at lower resolutions, but the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth appears insufficient for maintaining high frame rates at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 53 places it just above the median of all GPUs, but its nearest rivals include mobile and integrated solutions, indicating it is dated. The 185 W TDP and PCIe 3.0 x16 interface are consistent with its 2017 release, and the data shows that the i5-12400F, with its 65 W TDP and modern architecture, is not the constraint. The measured results indicate that at 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but at higher resolutions, the RX 580's architectural limits become apparent, with the 4K Ultra preset yielding only 31 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, performance falls from 172 FPS at 1080p to 114 FPS at 1440p (a 33.7% reduction) and then to 64 FPS at 4K (a 62.8% reduction from 1080p). The scaling at High settings shows a similar trend: 107 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K, representing a 62.6% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The Medium preset, which includes min/max FPS data, provides the clearest picture of the limiting component. At 1080p, the average is 143 FPS with a range of 122–164 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 95 FPS with a range of 80–109 FPS. At 4K, the average falls to 53 FPS with a range of 45–61 FPS. The fact that the minimum FPS at 1440p (80 FPS) is close to the maximum FPS at 4K (61 FPS) indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated as resolution increases.

This scaling behavior points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the data shows a clear inverse relationship between pixel count and frame rate. The i5-12400F's single-thread performance, as indicated by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 909 and passmark_single_thread score of 3481, is sufficient to drive the RX 580 to its limits at 1080p. The conclusion is that players seeking higher resolutions would need a more powerful GPU, as the current combination cannot exceed 64 FPS at 4K even on the lowest settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 172, which is ideal for competitive play where frame rate is prioritized over visual fidelity. However, the Medium preset at 143 FPS offers a better balance, providing 122–164 FPS with only a 16.9% performance penalty compared to Low, while likely improving visual clarity.

For players using 2560x1440, the Low preset at 114 FPS is the only setting that maintains a frame rate above 100 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 95 FPS, which is still playable, but the High preset at 71 FPS and Ultra at 55 FPS may introduce noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenarios. The data suggests that at 1440p, sticking to Low or Medium is necessary to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the measured results are poor across the board. The Low preset achieves 64 FPS, which is borderline playable, but Medium drops to 53 FPS and High falls to 40 FPS. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 31 FPS. Given these numbers, the recommendation is to avoid 4K with this combination entirely, as even the lowest settings do not provide a consistent 60+ FPS experience. For the best experience, 1080p with Medium settings offers the best compromise between the 143 FPS average and the 122 FPS minimum, ensuring that frame drops remain above the threshold where they would be noticeable in a competitive shooter.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3390th out of 3719 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the bottom 8.8% of all systems. This low ranking is somewhat surprising given the CPU's strength, as the i5-12400F ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 19039. The GPU is the clear weak link, ranking in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 12928.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with a score of 19047 (0% delta), the Intel Core 3 201E with 19056 (-0.1% delta), and the Intel Core i5-1335U with 18982 (0.3% delta). These scores are nearly identical, indicating that the i5-12400F is competitively positioned within its class. The GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, -0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, -0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon 740M (12870, 0.5% delta).

The ranking of 3390th out of 3719 means that 329 other tested combinations performed worse, but the vast majority of systems deliver better results in this game. This low ranking is directly attributable to the RX 580's age and performance ceiling. The data shows that while the CPU is capable of delivering high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain high FPS at higher resolutions, dragging the overall combo ranking down significantly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 172 FPS average
• Medium: 143 FPS average, with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS
• High: 107 FPS average
• Ultra: 83 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 114 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average, with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS
• High: 71 FPS average
• Ultra: 55 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 64 FPS average
• Medium: 53 FPS average, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS
• High: 40 FPS average
• Ultra: 31 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy, with Low providing the highest frame rates and Ultra representing a 51.7% reduction from Low. The Medium preset's min/max range of 122–164 FPS indicates good consistency, with no severe frame drops. At 1440p, the Medium preset maintains a playable 80–109 FPS range, but the High preset at 71 FPS and Ultra at 55 FPS begin to show the GPU's limitations. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with even the Low preset failing to maintain a stable 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset dipping to 31 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

The data also reveals that the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 89 FPS; at 1440p, it is 59 FPS; and at 4K, it is 33 FPS. This narrowing indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing graphical settings cannot compensate for the increased pixel count. For competitive play, the 1080p Medium preset at 143 FPS average is the recommended configuration, as it provides a high frame rate with a reasonable safety margin above the 122 FPS minimum.