Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a striking performance profile in Counter-Strike 2, characterized by extreme frame rates that scale unusually well with resolution. This combination ranks in the top 1.3% of all tested configurations in this game, at rank 37 out of 2870 combos, indicating exceptional capability even by high-end standards. The data reveals a configuration where the CPU’s six Alder Lake performance cores, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosting to 4.40 GHz, provide a solid foundation, while the GPU’s immense computational resources take over as resolution increases.

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

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Alder Lake architecture using Intel’s 10 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and reaches a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. This CPU’s cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and an 18 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor demonstrates strong single-thread performance with a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1680, which are critical for a game like Counter-Strike 2 that relies heavily on rapid, sequential frame rendering.

At 1080p, the CPU’s influence is most apparent. With Low settings at 1920x1080, the combo reaches an average of 698 FPS, a figure that suggests the processor is feeding the GPU efficiently enough to avoid significant bottlenecks. However, the delta between settings at 1080p is revealing: moving from Low to High reduces average FPS from 698 to 505, a drop of 193 FPS. This indicates that while the CPU is capable, the rendering workload at higher settings begins to engage the GPU more heavily, yet the i5-12400F’s 12 threads still manage to keep up with the demand. The processor’s multi-threaded scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a Passmark multithread score of 19433, show it has headroom for background tasks, but in game, the single-thread performance is what drives those high refresh rates.

The CPU sits at the 73rd percentile among all processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (average score 19047, delta 0%), the Intel Core 3 201E (19056, delta -0.1%), and the Intel Core i5-1335U (18982, delta 0.3%). These close scores indicate that the i5-12400F is in a tightly contested performance tier, though its desktop-oriented design with a 65 W TDP and Socket 1700 platform likely provides more sustained performance than mobile counterparts in longer gaming sessions. In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU’s role is to maintain high minimum frame rates and ensure consistent frame pacing, which the 1080p results confirm, but as the resolution climbs, its influence on average FPS diminishes relative to the GPU.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average FPS of 505. This is 193 FPS lower than the Low setting result of 698 FPS, showing that image quality settings have a substantial impact on frame rate even at this resolution.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 145. This is the lowest average across all measured settings and resolutions, indicating that the GPU is being pushed heavily at this extreme configuration, while still delivering playable frame rates.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Medium settings at 1440p and 4K?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 448, while at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, it falls to 250. This represents a 198 FPS reduction, or roughly a 44% decrease, when moving from 1440p to 4K at the same quality preset.

Q: Does the combo provide higher FPS at 1080p Low compared to 1440p Low?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 698, while at 2560x1440 with Low settings, it is 539. The difference is 159 FPS, showing that even at the lowest quality preset, resolution scaling has a significant effect on performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo in the measured data?

A: The data includes min FPS only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080 Medium, the min FPS is 556, at 2560x1440 Medium it is 380, and at 3840x2160 Medium it is 213. These values indicate frame drops are more pronounced at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The combo ranks 37th out of 2870 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.3% of all configurations. This high ranking reflects its ability to deliver exceptional frame rates across most settings and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the database of tested Counter-Strike 2 configurations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 37 out of 2870 combos. This places it in the top 1.3% of all systems tested, a position that underscores its high-end status. The rank is determined by measured FPS across various settings and resolutions, and the data shows that the combo excels particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU can fully utilize the GPU’s power.

To contextualize this rank, consider that the RTX 5090 D alone sits at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712. Its nearest rivals in the GPU database include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (average score 76904, delta 1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, delta -1.6%), and NVIDIA’s Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396, delta -2.1%). The GPU’s performance is clearly in the upper echelon, but the combo’s rank of 37 suggests that the CPU is not holding it back in this game, as higher ranks would typically require a more powerful processor. The i5-12400F’s 73rd percentile standing among CPUs indicates it is a mid-to-high-tier chip, and the fact that this combo still reaches the top 1.3% in Counter-Strike 2 highlights the game’s relative sensitivity to GPU power at higher resolutions.

The delta between this combo and the top-ranked configurations is not provided in the data, but the rank itself is a strong indicator. For comparison, the CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, have nearly identical average scores (19047 vs 19039), yet the desktop i5-12400F likely maintains more consistent performance in gaming due to its higher boost clock. The combo’s rank of 37 reflects the balanced pairing, where the CPU provides enough single-thread throughput to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at 1080p, while the GPU’s massive compute resources drive 4K performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 698, which is the peak across all measurements. Medium settings at 1080p yield an average of 654 FPS, with a minimum of 556 and a maximum of 752. High settings reduce the average to 505 FPS, and Ultra settings bring it down further to 392 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a total decrease of 306 FPS, or roughly 44%, which indicates that the GPU is becoming more involved as settings increase, but the CPU still manages to maintain high throughput.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down from 1080p. Low settings produce an average of 539 FPS, which is 159 FPS lower than at 1080p. Medium settings at 1440p average 448 FPS, with a minimum of 380 and a maximum of 515. High settings drop to 334 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 260 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 279 FPS, a slightly smaller relative reduction than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is starting to take on a larger share of the workload.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still impressive but shows the most significant scaling impact. Low settings average 301 FPS, which is 397 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings at 4K average 250 FPS, with a minimum of 213 and a maximum of 288. High settings drop to 187 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 145 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 156 FPS, which is less than at lower resolutions, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The min FPS values at Medium settings across resolutions—556 at 1080p, 380 at 1440p, and 213 at 4K—show that frame dips become more severe as resolution increases, which is typical for GPU-bound scenarios.

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

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo reveals a clear shift in bottleneck from CPU to GPU as pixel count increases. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 698, and at 4K Low settings, it drops to 301, a reduction of 397 FPS or 57%. This substantial drop indicates that the GPU is being taxed more heavily at 4K, even at the lowest quality preset. However, the fact that 4K Low still achieves 301 FPS suggests that the GPU has immense headroom, and the CPU is capable of feeding it at this level.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 1080p averages 654 FPS, 1440p averages 448 FPS, and 4K averages 250 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 404 FPS, or 62%, which is slightly larger than at Low settings. This indicates that the GPU’s workload increases more steeply with resolution when more effects are enabled. The High settings show a drop from 505 FPS at 1080p to 187 FPS at 4K, a 63% reduction. Ultra settings follow a similar pattern, with 392 FPS at 1080p falling to 145 FPS at 4K, a 63% drop.

The consistent ~60% reduction in FPS from 1080p to 4K across settings points to the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller percentage drop, as the CPU’s workload is largely resolution-independent. The fact that the FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count (4K has four times the pixels of 1080p, but FPS drops by less than half) suggests that the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the increased data, and the GPU’s 21760 shading units are being fully utilized. At 1080p, the CPU’s single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 909) is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU is capable of far more than 698 FPS, but the i5-12400F cannot issue draw calls fast enough to exceed that threshold.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and the user’s preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 698 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play where maximum refresh rates are prioritized. However, the Medium preset at 654 FPS offers a better balance, with only a 44 FPS penalty while providing improved visuals and a minimum FPS of 556, which is still well above the refresh rates of most high-end monitors. The High preset at 505 FPS is also viable for 240 Hz displays, but the Ultra preset at 392 FPS may be excessive for most users unless they have a 360 Hz monitor and prefer maximum detail.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the best choice. It averages 448 FPS with a minimum of 380 FPS, which is sufficient for 360 Hz displays and provides a significant visual upgrade over Low. The High preset at 334 FPS is also strong, but the drop to 260 FPS at Ultra may not justify the visual gains for competitive players. For those with 1440p 240 Hz monitors, the High preset is recommended as it delivers 334 FPS, leaving headroom for frame drops. The Low preset at 539 FPS is unnecessary unless the user is chasing absolute maximum frame rates.

At 4K, the situation changes. The Low preset at 301 FPS is still remarkably high, but the Medium preset at 250 FPS with a minimum of 213 FPS offers a better visual experience while remaining above 240 Hz. The High preset at 187 FPS is suitable for 144 Hz displays, and the Ultra preset at 145 FPS is the only option that dips below 160 FPS, making it less ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. For most 4K users, the Medium preset provides the best balance of frame rate and quality, as it maintains an average above 240 FPS and a minimum above 200 FPS.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, with a massive 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Counter-Strike 2, which is not a VRAM-intensive title, allowing the GPU to focus on compute throughput rather than memory capacity.

The GPU’s compute resources are staggering, with 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. Its FP32 performance is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 14326 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 310674 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 376915 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Passmark G3D score is 44065, placing it at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p, the GPU is underutilized, as evidenced by the 698 FPS at Low settings, which is likely CPU-limited. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is fully engaged, producing 145 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (698 to 301 FPS) shows that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the key factor at higher resolutions. The RTX 5090 D’s nearest rivals in the database, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (average score 76904, delta 1.1%) and the RX 6850M XT (78940, delta -1.6%), are far less powerful, yet this GPU sits comfortably above them. The 575 W TDP and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensure that the GPU has ample power and bandwidth to deliver these results, and the data confirms that it is the primary driver of performance at 4K, where the CPU’s limitations are less relevant.