Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060

This combo of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers exceptional frame rates in Counter-Strike 2, ranking 781st out of 1632 tested combinations. The data reveals a system that excels at high-refresh-rate 1080p play, maintains strong performance at 1440p, and remains surprisingly capable at 4K. The i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting to 4.40 GHz, pairs with the RTX 5060's 8 GB GDDR7 memory to create a balanced esports-focused setup.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest 1080p average is 404.3 FPS, achieved at Low settings. This drops to 334.3 FPS at Medium, 249.7 FPS at High, and 195.5 FPS at Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest GPU rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 30109 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which scores 30097 — a deltaPct of 0.0%. It also sits 0.2% above the AMD Radeon RX 570 and 0.5% above the NVIDIA Tesla M60.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all tested processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores 19210, showing a 0.1% delta.

Q: What frame rate can players expect at 4K with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 153.1 FPS on Low, 124.1 FPS on Medium, 91.2 FPS on High, and 75.1 FPS on Ultra settings.

Q: Does the GPU memory configuration impact high-resolution performance?

A: The RTX 5060 features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. This configuration supports the 4K frame rates observed, though the drop from 153.1 FPS at Low to 75.1 FPS at Ultra suggests memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at higher presets.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in multi-threaded workloads?

A: The i5-12400F scores 16518 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, while its nearest rival the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS has an average score of 19364 — a -0.7% delta. The i5-12400F shows a 0.3% advantage over the Intel Core i5-1335U and a 1.3% edge over the AMD EPYC 7773X.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary driver of Counter-Strike 2's frame rates, and its memory subsystem plays a crucial role. The GPU packs 8 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 128-bit bus, achieving 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is paired with a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 3840 shading units and 48 ROPs handle the game's rendering tasks efficiently.

Benchmark data shows the RTX 5060 sits at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 30109. Its nearest rival, the RX 7700 XT, scores 30097 — a negligible 0.0% delta. Interestingly, the RX 570 scores 30158, placing it 0.2% above the RTX 5060, while the Tesla M60 trails by 0.5%. This clustering suggests the RTX 5060 occupies a tightly contested performance tier.

In actual gameplay, the GPU's role becomes evident through the settings scaling. At 1080p, the jump from Low (404.3 FPS) to Ultra (195.5 FPS) represents a 51.6% performance drop, indicating that higher presets increasingly tax the GPU's shader and ROP throughput. The 4K results — 153.1 FPS at Low versus 75.1 FPS at Ultra — further highlight how the 8 GB memory capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth interact with the game's texture and effect demands.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Low settings as the optimal choice for competitive play, especially at 1080p where it hits 404.3 FPS. This preset provides headroom above 240 Hz refresh rate monitors while minimizing input latency. Medium settings at 1080p still deliver 334.3 FPS, offering a balance between visual fidelity and performance for players with 240 Hz displays.

For 1440p users, Low settings produce 268.4 FPS, which comfortably exceeds 240 Hz, while Medium at 224.1 FPS remains viable for 200 Hz panels. High settings at 1440p (167.7 FPS) suit 165 Hz monitors, and Ultra at 127.6 FPS works for 120 Hz displays. At 4K, Low settings (153.1 FPS) enable high-refresh-rate play, but Ultra (75.1 FPS) should only be considered for 60 Hz panels.

The data suggests a clear pattern: the performance gap between Low and Medium is smaller than between High and Ultra. At 1080p, Low to Medium costs 70 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 54.2 FPS. This indicates the game's Ultra preset introduces disproportionately heavy effects that strain the GPU's resources.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 404.3 FPS, Medium drops to 334.3 FPS, High reaches 249.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 195.5 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 51.6% reduction in frame rate, showing how dramatically settings impact performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive but show the expected resolution penalty. Low settings hit 268.4 FPS, a 33.6% drop from 1080p Low. Medium achieves 224.1 FPS, High reaches 167.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 127.6 FPS. The relative ordering stays consistent, with each preset tier costing roughly 40-50 FPS compared to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show strain. Low settings still deliver a playable 153.1 FPS, but Medium drops to 124.1 FPS, High to 91.2 FPS, and Ultra to 75.1 FPS. The 4K Low result remains 42.9% higher than 1440p Ultra, indicating that resolution scaling affects performance less than settings scaling at this tier.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400F and RTX 5060 combination ranks 781st out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the top 47.9% of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking is notable given the hardware's strong individual benchmark scores — the CPU sits at the 77th percentile and the GPU at the 73rd percentile.

The rank suggests that Counter-Strike 2's performance profile rewards certain hardware combinations more than others. While the i5-12400F and RTX 5060 both perform well in isolation, their combined ranking indicates the game's engine may favor different CPU-GPU pairings. The CPU's nearest rival list includes the i7-8700K (0.1% delta) and Ryzen 5 7533HS (-0.7% delta), suggesting comparable processors could yield similar results.

The GPU's rival cluster — RX 7700 XT, RX 570, and Tesla M60 — all within 0.5% of the RTX 5060's score — implies that alternative GPUs in this performance tier might produce nearly identical frame rates. The 781st rank out of 1632 combos should be interpreted as solidly mid-tier, with ample room for improvement through CPU upgrades or GPU overclocking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost up to 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture chip features 80 KB L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 18 MB shared L3 cache. Its 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node make it an efficient choice for sustained gaming workloads.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12400F shows strong single-thread performance — 2332 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3481 in Passmark single-thread. Multi-threaded results are equally robust: 16518 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 19433 in Passmark multithread. The 3DMark scores reveal scaling characteristics: 1699 in 2-thread, 3067 in 4-thread, 4779 in 8-thread, and 5912 in max-thread tests.

Counter-Strike 2's performance data suggests the CPU handles the game's physics and game logic without bottlenecking the GPU. At 1080p Low, the 404.3 FPS result indicates the i5-12400F can feed the RTX 5060 effectively. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking, with nearest rivals showing 0.1% to 1.3% deltas, confirms it sits in a well-populated performance tier where minor differences between processors have minimal gameplay impact.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals how this combo's balance shifts. At Low settings, 1080p delivers 404.3 FPS, 1440p drops to 268.4 FPS (33.6% reduction), and 4K reaches 153.1 FPS (additional 43.0% reduction). This steep scaling pattern indicates the RTX 5060 becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution rises.

The settings-based scaling tells a different story. At 1080p, Low to Ultra costs 51.6% of performance, while at 4K, the same settings change costs 50.9%. This consistency suggests the game's preset effects scale linearly with resolution, and the GPU's 8 GB memory capacity handles the increased pixel count without introducing additional bottlenecks.

The data also shows diminishing returns from resolution scaling at higher presets. At High settings, 1080p to 1440p costs 32.8% performance, and 1440p to 4K costs 45.6%. This widening gap implies the RTX 5060's 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a constraint at 4K High, where texture streaming and buffer requirements exceed what lower resolutions demand. For players targeting 4K, Low or Medium settings are clearly preferable, as they maintain the frame rates necessary for smooth competitive play.