Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2, released on September 26, 2023, is a highly competitive FPS where frame rates directly impact gameplay fluidity. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D across a range of settings and resolutions. The data indicates that this combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates, making it suitable for the fastest competitive displays.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that this combo produces playable frame rates at every setting tier, but the optimal choice depends on the user's priority between visual fidelity and maximum performance. At 1920x1080, the 'Ultra' preset delivers an average of 392 FPS, which is a substantial drop from the 'High' preset's 505 FPS. While 392 FPS is still incredibly high, the difference between these two settings is a 113 FPS reduction, or roughly 22% lower performance, for what is typically a marginal visual improvement in a fast-paced esports title. The 'High' preset at 1080p is the recommended balance for most users, as it retains high visual quality while ensuring frame rates stay above the 500 FPS mark.

For users with 1440p monitors, the 'High' preset again proves to be the sweet spot. It averages 334 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of even the fastest 360Hz monitors. The 'Medium' preset offers 448 FPS, a significant 114 FPS increase over 'High', but the visual downgrade from 'High' to 'Medium' is more noticeable than the step from 'Ultra' to 'High'. Conversely, the 'Ultra' preset at 1440p drops to 260 FPS, which is still high but begins to approach the lower limit for competitive play on high-refresh displays. The data suggests that 'High' is the most balanced setting at this resolution, providing a significant visual upgrade over 'Medium' while maintaining a massive performance headroom.

At 4K (3840x2160), the situation changes. The 'High' preset averages 187 FPS, which is excellent for 4K gaming but may not satisfy users with 240Hz 4K displays. The 'Ultra' preset drops to 145 FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant compromise. The 'Low' preset at 4K jumps to 301 FPS, but the visual quality at 'Low' is so poor that it detracts from the game experience. For 4K, the 'Medium' preset is the most rational choice, as it averages 250 FPS and is the only preset with measured minimum and maximum FPS values of 213 and 288, respectively. This consistency suggests a more stable frame time experience at a resolution where the GPU is under maximum load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the high frame rates observed. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This immense bandwidth is crucial for feeding the 21,760 shading units at high resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with its 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power, allows it to process the geometry and lighting calculations in Counter-Strike 2 with ease.

The RTX 5090 D's performance percentile of 92% vs all GPUs confirms its position as a top-tier part. Its average benchmark score of 77712 places it in a unique tier, with its nearest rivals being mobile and workstation parts. The data shows it is 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, a mobile GPU, and 1.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. However, these are close scores, and the RTX 5090 D's performance in this game is clearly not the limiting factor. The GPU's role becomes more critical at higher resolutions; the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is primarily a function of the GPU's rendering load, and it handles this load without becoming a bottleneck that would cause frame rates to fall below competitive thresholds.

The 32 GB VRAM is a significant asset for future-proofing, but in Counter-Strike 2, it is not a limiting factor at any of the tested settings. The GPU's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs ensure that texture filtering and pixel output are handled efficiently, which is reflected in the high average frame rates even at 4K 'Ultra'. The data suggests that the RTX 5090 D is over-provisioned for this specific title at lower resolutions, but its raw power is what enables the 4K 'Medium' preset to maintain a stable 250 FPS average.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the relationship between the CPU and GPU in this system. At 1920x1080 'Low' settings, the combo achieves 742 FPS. This exceptionally high frame rate indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach this limit. Moving to 2560x1440 'Low', the frame rate drops to 539 FPS, a reduction of 27%. This drop suggests that the GPU is starting to become more involved, but the CPU is still providing a high level of performance. At 3840x2160 'Low', the frame rate is 301 FPS, a 44% drop from 1440p. This significant reduction shows that at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload becomes the primary factor in determining frame rate.

The scaling pattern is similar across all settings. For the 'High' preset, the drop from 1080p (505 FPS) to 1440p (334 FPS) is 34%, and the drop from 1440p to 4K (187 FPS) is 44%. This increasing percentage drop as resolution increases is a clear indicator of a GPU bottleneck emerging at higher resolutions. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has enough headroom at 1080p and 1440p to push frame rates to extreme levels. However, at 4K, the GPU's workload becomes so heavy that the CPU's potential is less relevant, and the frame rate is dictated by the RTX 5090 D's ability to render the scene.

This data shows that the i5-14400F is a capable partner for the RTX 5090 D. It is not weak enough to hold back the GPU at 1080p, as demonstrated by the 742 FPS result on 'Low' settings. Instead, the scaling pattern reveals a balanced system where the CPU dictates the ceiling at low resolutions and the GPU determines the floor at high resolutions. The 'Medium' preset data, which is the only one with min/max values, shows a tighter band at 4K (213-288 FPS) compared to 1080p (575-778 FPS), further confirming that the system stabilizes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across nine distinct test scenarios.

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across the board. The 'Low' preset achieves an average of 742 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. The 'Medium' preset averages 676 FPS with a minimum of 575 and a maximum of 778 FPS. The 'High' preset averages 505 FPS, and the 'Ultra' preset drops to 392 FPS. The difference between 'Low' and 'Ultra' is 350 FPS, which is a massive range, but even the lowest number is far beyond what is needed for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains extremely high. The 'Low' preset averages 539 FPS, while 'Medium' averages 448 FPS with a range of 380 to 515 FPS. The 'High' preset averages 334 FPS, and 'Ultra' drops to 260 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average reduction of about 30% across all settings. This reduction is consistent and indicates that the system is scaling well with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still very strong but shows the expected impact of 4K rendering. The 'Low' preset averages 301 FPS, which is a 44% drop from the 1440p 'Low' result. The 'Medium' preset averages 250 FPS, with a minimum of 213 FPS. The 'High' preset averages 187 FPS, and the 'Ultra' preset drops to 145 FPS. The 'Ultra' preset at 4K is the lowest score in the dataset, but it is still above the 144 FPS threshold that many high-refresh monitors use. The data shows that even at maximum settings and resolution, this combo provides a playable experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 33rd out of 2870 combos for this game. This places it in the top 1.2% of all tested systems, which is an exceptional result. The rank demonstrates that this is a highly optimized pairing for Counter-Strike 2, despite the CPU being a mid-range part relative to the GPU.

The CPU itself has an average benchmark score of 32279, which puts it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% faster). This shows that the i5-14400F's compute performance is competitive with older i9 and newer Ryzen 7 mobile parts, but its value in this combo comes from its strong single-thread performance, which is critical for a game like Counter-Strike 2. The GPU's rank of 92nd percentile vs all GPUs, with an average score of 77712, places it in a similar top-tier position.

The combo's rank of 33rd out of 2870 suggests that the combination of this specific CPU and GPU is more effective than the sum of its parts in this game. The data indicates that the i5-14400F provides enough single-core performance to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5090 D, allowing the GPU to deliver its full potential. This rank is a strong indicator that users with this combo will have one of the best possible experiences in Counter-Strike 2.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest average FPS measured is 742, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the 'Low' settings preset.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, it can. At 3840x2160, the 'Medium' preset averages 250 FPS, and even the 'Ultra' preset averages 145 FPS, which is playable.

Q: Is the 'Ultra' preset worth the performance cost?

A: The data shows a significant performance drop when using 'Ultra'. At 1080p, it drops from 505 FPS ('High') to 392 FPS ('Ultra'), a reduction of 113 FPS. The visual difference is often not worth this loss in frame rate for competitive play.

Q: Which setting provides the most stable frame times at 4K?

A: The 'Medium' preset at 3840x2160 is the only one with measured min/max values, showing a range of 213 to 288 FPS. This suggests it has the most consistent frame pacing at that resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 33rd out of 2870 tested combos for Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the top 1.2% of all systems.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 'Low' and 'High' settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the 'Low' preset averages 539 FPS, while the 'High' preset averages 334 FPS. This is a difference of 205 FPS, or about 38% lower performance for 'High' settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a crucial role in achieving these high frame rates. This CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. It is built on the Raptor Lake architecture and has 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's performance percentile is 83% vs all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 32279 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and the Intel Core i9-11900.

In the context of Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's single-thread performance is paramount. The game's engine is heavily dependent on a single primary thread for game logic and rendering commands. The i5-14400F's boost clock of 4.70 GHz is high enough to ensure that this thread is processed quickly, allowing the system to achieve the 742 FPS seen at 1080p 'Low'. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and the Geekbench single-core score of 2058 are indicative of this strong single-thread capability.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. The fact that frame rates scale down as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor, proves that the i5-14400F can keep up with the RTX 5090 D. If the CPU were weak, we would see a plateau in frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, we see a linear progression from 742 FPS at 1080p 'Low' to 301 FPS at 4K 'Low', indicating that the CPU provides a solid foundation for the GPU to operate at its full potential. The CPU's 65W TDP also suggests it can maintain these high boost clocks under sustained gaming loads without significant thermal throttling, given an appropriate cooler.