Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 produces a wide spread of framerates depending on resolution and quality preset. The measured data shows average FPS ranging from 68 to 382 across the tested configurations, indicating that this combo is highly flexible but also revealing the distinct bottlenecks at each end of the spectrum. This analysis walks through the measured results to explain what the numbers mean for playability and component balance.

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

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a steep decline in average framerate across all settings, but the shape of that decline changes with the quality preset. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 382 at 1080p to 253 at 1440p, then further to 141 at 4K. That represents a 63% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit. At High settings, the drop goes from 237 at 1080p to 157 at 1440p and then to 88 at 4K — a 63% reduction as well, nearly identical in proportional terms. The consistency of that proportional drop across Low and High settings suggests the scaling is driven primarily by resolution pixel count rather than by specific preset features.

The Medium preset follows a similar pattern but with slightly steeper absolute declines: 317 at 1080p, 210 at 1440p, and 117 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the smallest absolute drop but the largest proportional one: 184 at 1080p, 122 at 1440p, and 68 at 4K, which is a 63% reduction from 1080p to 4K as well. The fact that all four presets show nearly identical proportional drops from 1080p to 4K — all within a narrow band around 63% — indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. When pixel count quadruples, the frame rate falls by roughly two-thirds regardless of settings, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound rendering.

At 1080p, the data tells a different story. The jump from Low (382 FPS) to Medium (317 FPS) to High (237 FPS) to Ultra (184 FPS) shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at the lower presets, but the GPU becomes more relevant as settings increase. The fact that Low at 1080p exceeds 380 FPS suggests the CPU is not the constraint at that point; the GPU is still able to push beyond what most displays can show. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 198 FPS, which is larger than the gap at 4K (73 FPS between Low and Ultra). This compression at 4K further confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at high resolution, while at 1080p the CPU has more headroom to work with.

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

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2491 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064. These numbers matter for Counter-Strike 2 because competitive shooters typically rely heavily on single-threaded game logic and draw call submission. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz is directly relevant to the 1080p Low result of 382 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU must be keeping up with the GPU's frame generation.

The processor's multi-core strength is also evident: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 24491, and Passmark multithread scores 38682. While Counter-Strike 2 is not typically a multi-threaded benchmark showcase, the 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample background processing headroom so that system overhead does not interfere with frame pacing. The CPU's percentile rank of 90 versus all CPUs indicates it outperforms the vast majority of tested processors, which is consistent with the high frame rates observed even at 1440p Medium (210 FPS) and above.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmark scores show the i5-14600K sits in a tight cluster: the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698 (0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470 (0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287 (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995 (0.8% higher). These are all within 1% of each other, meaning the i5-14600K's CPU performance is essentially mid-pack among similar-tier processors. The fact that it still achieves 382 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that even a modestly faster CPU would not yield dramatically higher results in this game, because the GPU becomes a more significant factor at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 382, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the data that exceeds 350 FPS.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 68. This is the lowest measured result and is below the 100 FPS threshold that many players consider minimum for smooth competitive play.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the gap between Low (253 FPS) and Ultra (122 FPS) is 131 FPS, which is substantial. The proportional drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 34% for Low settings, suggesting the GPU is becoming more of a constraint, but the CPU still has headroom to push over 250 FPS on Low.

Q: What is the difference between Medium and High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium averages 317 FPS while High averages 237 FPS, a difference of 80 FPS. This is a notable step, but both are well above typical refresh rates.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 100 FPS?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 68. At 4K High, the average is 88 FPS, which is also below 100. All other measured configurations stay above 100 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Medium performance compare to 1440p High?

A: 4K Medium averages 117 FPS, while 1440p High averages 157 FPS. The 1440p High configuration is 40 FPS faster, despite using a higher quality preset, because the lower resolution reduces GPU load significantly.

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

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across presets. Low settings produce an average of 382 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 317 FPS with a minimum of 270 and maximum of 365. High settings average 237 FPS. Ultra settings average 184 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 65 FPS, from Medium to High is 80 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 53 FPS. All of these are well above the 144 Hz that many high-refresh displays offer, meaning even Ultra at 1080p is playable at high refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the results show a similar pattern but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 253 FPS. Medium settings average 210 FPS with a minimum of 179 and maximum of 242. High settings average 157 FPS. Ultra settings average 122 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 43 FPS, from Medium to High is 53 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 35 FPS. These are all still above 120 FPS, which is generally considered smooth for competitive play, though the Ultra preset at 1440p is approaching the threshold where frame pacing might matter more.

At 3840x2160, the numbers drop more significantly. Low settings average 141 FPS. Medium settings average 117 FPS with a minimum of 100 and maximum of 135. High settings average 88 FPS. Ultra settings average 68 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 24 FPS, from Medium to High is 29 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 20 FPS. At 4K, only the Low and Medium presets stay above 100 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below that mark.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2460 MHz, and the architecture is Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process. The GPU's benchmark profile shows a Passmark G3D score of 19545 and a percentile rank of 61 versus all GPUs. This places it in the mid-range tier, which is consistent with the observed performance where 4K Ultra produces only 68 FPS.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Counter-Strike 2 at the tested settings, as the game's texture and geometry demands at 4K Ultra do not appear to cause a memory-related collapse — the FPS drop from High to Ultra is 20 FPS, which is a moderate step rather than a cliff. The memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s is a more likely constraint at 4K, where the GPU must push significantly more pixels and the 128-bit bus limits throughput. This is reflected in the fact that 4K Low (141 FPS) is less than half of 1080p Low (382 FPS), a drop that tracks with pixel count rather than memory capacity.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all within 1% of the RTX 4060: the AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 (0.7% lower). These are older or integrated parts that would likely perform much worse in real gaming scenarios, which suggests the RTX 4060's benchmark score understates its gaming capability in this title. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, as evidenced by the 63% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K regardless of preset.

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

For players targeting a 144 Hz display at 1080p, any preset works. Even Ultra at 1920x1080 averages 184 FPS, which is above 144 Hz. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 317 FPS with a minimum of 270, which provides a comfortable margin above typical high-refresh displays. If the display is 240 Hz, Low (382 FPS) and Medium (317 FPS) are the only presets that stay above 300 FPS, so Low is the safest choice for maximum frame rate.

At 1440p, the recommendation depends on the refresh rate. For 144 Hz displays, Medium (210 FPS) and High (157 FPS) both exceed 144 FPS, with High providing better visuals while still staying above the threshold. Ultra at 1440p averages 122 FPS, which is below 144 Hz but might be acceptable on a 120 Hz display. For competitive play where every frame counts, Low at 1440p (253 FPS) is the best choice, but it sacrifices visual fidelity for a marginal gain over Medium (210 FPS).

At 4K, only Low (141 FPS) and Medium (117 FPS) stay above 100 FPS. High (88 FPS) and Ultra (68 FPS) are below 100 FPS, which is generally considered too low for smooth competitive play. For a 4K display, Medium is the best balance, providing 117 FPS with a minimum of 100, which keeps frame pacing consistent. Low at 4K gives 141 FPS but with reduced visual quality that may not be worth the 24 FPS gain over Medium. Players with 60 Hz 4K displays could use High (88 FPS) for better visuals, but the data suggests Medium is the sweet spot for maintaining a playable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2003 out of 3719 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the 46th percentile of all combos, meaning roughly 54% of tested systems perform better. This ranking is based on the measured FPS data across all tested resolutions and settings, and it reflects the mid-range positioning of both components.

The CPU's strong single-thread performance (Geekbench 2491, Cinebench R23 2064) helps push the combo into the upper half of results, but the GPU's mid-range standing (61st percentile) holds it back from a higher rank. The fact that the combo still achieves 382 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in most scenarios; the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, which is consistent with the ranking being in the middle rather than the top.

Comparatively, the CPU ranks in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 61st percentile. This imbalance explains why the combo rank (46th percentile) is lower than either component's individual percentile — the GPU drags the overall performance down at higher resolutions. In games like Counter-Strike 2 where frame rates are already high, the GPU's limitation at 4K is the primary reason this combo does not rank higher. Players who prioritize 1080p competitive play will find this combo performs much better than the rank suggests, as the 1080p results are among the highest in the dataset.