Counter-Strike 2

FAQ

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the Intel Core i5-13400F?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has a launch MSRP of $196. It is a 10-core, 16-thread desktop processor from Intel's Core 13th Gen series, built on Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41,224, which places it 0.5% behind the RTX 3090 (41,441). It also trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 by 0.9% and the RTX 5070 by 1.1%.

Q: What is the combo's rank among tested CPU-GPU combinations in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The Core i5-13400F + RTX 3080 Ti combo ranks 410th out of 1,632 tested combinations. This places it in the top 25% of all combos tested for this game.

Q: What FPS does this combo achieve at 1080p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers an average of 526.6 FPS. Dropping to Ultra settings at the same resolution still yields a very playable 254.8 FPS average.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-13400F scores 3,004 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 960 in 3DMark single-thread. Its average benchmark score of 25,236 puts it 0.1% ahead of the Core i7-13620H and 0.5% ahead of both the AMD EPYC 9474F and Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340, while trailing the Ryzen 5 5600X3D by 0.5%.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the RTX 3080 Ti provide?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the primary driver of raw frame output in Counter-Strike 2, and the measured FPS data confirms that this Ampere flagship still has substantial headroom. Built on Samsung's 8 nm process with a GA102 chip containing 28,300 million transistors, the card operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and boosts to 1665 MHz. Its 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs provide the computational throughput needed for high-refresh competitive play.

The memory subsystem is equally important for CS2's performance profile. With 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit interface, the card achieves 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This wide bus allows the GPU to feed its 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute without stalling. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present, though CS2's traditional rasterization workload leans more heavily on the standard shader units and texture rate of 532.8 GTexel/s.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 83 places it above the vast majority of graphics cards, and its average benchmark score of 41,224 sits just 0.5% behind the RTX 3090. The data shows that in CS2, the card can push 526.6 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating that the Ampere architecture remains exceptionally capable for esports titles. However, the GPU's role shifts dramatically as resolution increases, with the 4K Ultra result of 95.8 FPS indicating where the card's limits begin to surface.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides the architectural foundation for this combo's CS2 performance, and its hybrid design is well-suited to the game's threading model. With 10 cores and 16 threads spread across Raptor Lake's performance and efficiency core arrangement, the CPU offers substantial parallel throughput. The base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts up to 4.60 GHz, and the 20 MB shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores.

Single-thread performance is critical for CS2's main game logic, and the i5-13400F delivers strong results here. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,004 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,301 indicate robust per-core capability. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 reinforces this picture. The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all processors suggests that it handles the game's physics and entity updates without becoming a bottleneck at standard settings.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 25,236 places it within 0.5% of several rivals, including the Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365) and Core i7-13620H (25,201). In multi-threaded workloads, the 21,279 Cinebench R23 score and 25,032 Passmark multithread score demonstrate that the processor can support background tasks and game streaming without compromising frame delivery. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support round out a package that was released in January 2023 with a $196 launch MSRP.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 1,632 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Counter-Strike 2, the Core i5-13400F paired with the RTX 3080 Ti secures the 410th position. This ranking places the combo in the upper quartile of all tested systems, which is notable given the game's reputation for being CPU-sensitive at high frame rates. The data suggests that this pairing hits a sweet spot where neither component consistently drags down the other.

The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking is mirrored by the CPU's 82nd percentile, creating a balanced pairing where both components operate near their respective performance tiers. The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41,224 trails the RTX 3090 by just 0.5%, while the CPU sits within 0.5% of the Ryzen 5 5600X3D. This symmetry helps explain why the combo achieves competitive frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings.

The 410th rank out of 1,632 means that roughly 1,222 other combinations tested faster, but it also means this combo outperforms the majority of systems. For a mid-range 13th-gen Intel processor paired with a previous-generation flagship GPU, the positioning makes sense. The rank reflects that while the CPU is not the absolute fastest available, its 10-core configuration and high boost clock keep it relevant for CS2's demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of CPU limitation at lower resolutions and GPU limitation at higher ones. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 526.6 FPS, but this drops to 329.4 FPS at High and 254.8 FPS at Ultra. The relatively small gap between Low and High at 1080p suggests that the CPU is holding back the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates, as the RTX 3080 Ti's raw compute could theoretically push further.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scaling becomes more predictable. At Low settings, the combo delivers 347.2 FPS, which drops to 213.4 FPS at High and 168.3 FPS at Ultra. The transition from 1080p Low to 1440p Low represents a 34% decrease, while the 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra drop is 34%. This consistency indicates that at these resolutions, the GPU begins to take on more of the rendering load while the CPU still maintains adequate throughput.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The 4K Low result of 194.2 FPS drops to 160.8 FPS at Medium, 122.4 FPS at High, and 95.8 FPS at Ultra. The gap between 1440p Ultra (168.3 FPS) and 4K Ultra (95.8 FPS) represents a 43% reduction, demonstrating the massive pixel throughput required at 4K. The data shows that players targeting 4K Ultra will need to accept sub-100 FPS, while 1080p and 1440p players can comfortably achieve competitive frame rates even at maximum settings. The scaling behavior confirms that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, with the CPU supporting high frame rates until the GPU's bandwidth and fill rate limits are reached at 4K.