Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a wide spread of performance across its four quality presets. The data shows a clear hierarchy where the Low preset maximizes frame rates to a degree that dwarfs the visual gains of higher settings. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 433 FPS, which is 73 FPS higher than Medium and 164 FPS higher than High. This gap narrows as resolution increases, but Low remains the fastest option at every step. For competitive play, where frame rate is paramount, the Low preset is the definitive choice. The Medium preset offers a balanced compromise, providing 360 FPS at 1080p and 238 FPS at 1440p, both well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. High and Ultra presets are increasingly demanding, with the Ultra preset producing the lowest frame rates across all resolutions, bottoming out at 77 FPS at 4K. Given that the game is a competitive FPS, the measured data suggests that the best experience is achieved by prioritizing frame rate over graphical fidelity. The Low preset provides the most responsive and fluid gameplay, while the Medium preset remains a strong option for users who want a mix of visual quality and high performance without sacrificing the high frame rates that are critical for this genre.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a clear performance hierarchy across the four settings presets. The Low preset is the undisputed performance leader, delivering 433 FPS at 1080p, 287 FPS at 1440p, and 160 FPS at 4K. This represents a massive performance headroom, especially at lower resolutions. The Medium preset is the next tier, producing 360 FPS at 1080p, 238 FPS at 1440p, and 133 FPS at 4K. The High preset follows, with 269 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 99 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding 209 FPS at 1080p, 138 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that the Low preset provides the best experience for competitive play, as it maximizes the frame rate ceiling. The delta between Low and Medium at 1080p is 73 FPS, which is a significant margin for a competitive shooter. The Medium preset is the recommended choice for users seeking a balance between visual quality and performance, as it still maintains frame rates above 200 FPS at 1440p. The Ultra preset, while offering the highest visual fidelity, sees a significant performance cost, dropping to 77 FPS at 4K, which is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced gameplay. The data suggests that the Low or Medium presets are the most effective for leveraging the hardware's capabilities in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the primary driver of frame rate differences between settings presets in Counter-Strike 2. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game's demands at the tested resolutions. The GPU's memory clock is rated at 1750 MHz, with a 14 Gbps effective data rate. The core clocks are 1500 MHz base and 1725 MHz boost. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with the workload. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 77, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings. The GPU's compute capabilities, including 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units, are tasked with rendering the game's geometry and effects. The RTX 3070's performance percentile is 61, and its average benchmark score is 17208, placing it near rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which has a delta of 0.7%. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, as the frame rate drops are substantial. However, at lower settings and resolutions, the GPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by the 433 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured FPS data indicates that the GPU's performance is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, but it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a consistent and significant drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. This scaling is observed across all settings presets, but the magnitude of the drop varies. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 433 at 1080p to 287 at 1440p, a reduction of 146 FPS (33.7%). From 1440p to 4K, the FPS drops to 160, a further reduction of 127 FPS (44.3%). The total drop from 1080p to 4K on Low is 273 FPS (63.0%). At the Medium preset, the FPS drops from 360 at 1080p to 238 at 1440p, a 122 FPS reduction (33.9%). From 1440p to 4K, it drops to 133, a 105 FPS reduction (44.1%). The total drop on Medium is 227 FPS (63.1%). The High preset shows a drop from 269 at 1080p to 178 at 1440p, a 91 FPS reduction (33.8%). From 1440p to 4K, it drops to 99, a 79 FPS reduction (44.4%). The total drop on High is 170 FPS (63.2%). The Ultra preset drops from 209 at 1080p to 138 at 1440p, a 71 FPS reduction (34.0%). From 1440p to 4K, it drops to 77, a 61 FPS reduction (44.2%). The total drop on Ultra is 132 FPS (63.2%). The data reveals a remarkably consistent pattern: regardless of settings preset, the FPS drops by roughly 34% from 1080p to 1440p, and then by roughly 44% from 1440p to 4K. This consistent scaling indicates that the performance bottleneck is primarily the GPU's rendering workload, which increases with the pixel count. The CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the relative drops are uniform across all settings. This behavior suggests that the RTX 3070's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the key constraints as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Counter-Strike 2, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 holds a rank of 1590 out of 3719 tested combos. This places the combo in the 57th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms more than half of the combinations in the database. The rank reflects the combined performance of both components. The CPU, the Intel Core i5-14600K, is a high-performance processor with an average benchmark score of 48618, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, which has a delta of -0.2%, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, which has a delta of -0.8%. This indicates the CPU is performing at a level consistent with its peers. The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, has an average benchmark score of 17208, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, has a delta of 0.7%, showing they are closely matched. The combo's rank of 1590 out of 3719 suggests that while both components are individually strong, the overall performance in Counter-Strike 2 is solid but not exceptional. The data implies that there are many combos with higher performance, likely featuring more powerful GPUs, but this pairing offers a balanced level of performance that is competitive. The rank is a data point that places this system in the upper-middle tier of tested configurations for this specific game.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves at 1920x1080?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is achieved with the Low preset, reaching 433 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset performance at 4K compare to the Low preset at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 77 FPS, which is significantly lower than the 433 FPS achieved by the Low preset at 1920x1080. This represents a 356 FPS difference, highlighting the massive impact of resolution and settings on performance.

Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested combos in Counter-Strike 2?

A: This combo is ranked 1590 out of 3719 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all tested configurations.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 2560x1440?

A: The minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 202 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, while the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H has a score of 48698. This results in a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i5-14600K is slightly behind its rival in average benchmark performance.

Q: At which resolution does the Low preset fail to maintain an average FPS above 200?

A: The Low preset maintains an average FPS above 200 at both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but at 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 160, which is below the 200 FPS threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset leads with an average of 433 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 360 FPS, and it has a recorded minimum of 306 FPS and a maximum of 414 FPS. The High preset produces an average of 269 FPS. The Ultra preset is the slowest at 1080p, with an average of 209 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 287 FPS. The Medium preset produces 238 FPS, with a minimum of 202 FPS and a maximum of 274 FPS. The High preset delivers 178 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 138 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the fastest with an average of 160 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 133 FPS, with a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 153 FPS. The High preset produces an average of 99 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the slowest at 77 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: the Low preset is always the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra. The frame rate deltas between presets are largest at 1080p and shrink as resolution increases. For example, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 224 FPS, while at 4K it narrows to 83 FPS. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, limiting the impact of settings changes on the final frame rate. The Medium preset consistently offers a balance, with its minimum FPS at each resolution staying above the average FPS of the next higher preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU's cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The benchmark data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most tested scenarios. At 1080p with the Low preset, the frame rate is 433 FPS, which is an extremely high value that requires strong single-threaded performance. The CPU's single-core performance is demonstrated by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064 and Geekbench single-core score of 2491. The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491. The data suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently, as the frame rates at 1080p are very high. However, the consistent frame rate drops with increasing resolution indicate that the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU's performance percentile is 90, meaning it outperforms 90% of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX. The CPU's high performance ensures that it does not hold back the RTX 3070 in this game, allowing the GPU to be the primary determinant of frame rates. The data shows that the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's demands, even at the lowest settings where the frame rate is highest. This is a scenario where the CPU's strong single-threaded performance is crucial for maximizing frame rates, as Counter-Strike 2 is known to be sensitive to CPU performance. The measured data confirms that this CPU provides a solid foundation for the GPU to perform at its full potential.