Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a high-refresh-rate Counter-Strike 2 experience across most settings, with clear performance scaling from 1080p to 4K. The data shows this combination ranks 1731st out of 2870 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second, component roles, and scaling behavior using only the provided benchmark data.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 211 FPS. This is well above the 144 Hz threshold, making it suitable for competitive play at standard high refresh rates.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 225 average FPS, while Ultra drops to 108 average FPS. That represents a 117 FPS difference, meaning Low is over twice as fast as Ultra in this scenario.

Q: Does the RTX 5050 have enough VRAM for Counter-Strike 2 at 4K?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the combo achieves 104 average FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS, suggesting the 8 GB capacity is sufficient for this game at that resolution without causing severe frame drops.

Q: Which resolution provides the highest minimum FPS recorded?

A: The highest minimum FPS recorded in the data is 240 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This indicates a very stable frame time floor at that configuration.

Q: What is the combo's rank relative to all tested configurations?

A: The comboRankInGame data places this pairing at 1731 out of 2870 total combos. This means it performs better than roughly 40% of all tested configurations for this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the combo hits 339 average FPS. Given the CPU has 14 cores with a 5.30 GHz boost clock, and the GPU has 2560 shading units, the high frame rates suggest the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently, but the GPU becomes the primary limiter at higher settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process from TSMC. The GPU features 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. Its memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock runs at 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz, and memory operates at 2500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective speed.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes increasingly apparent as resolution scales upward. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 339 average FPS, which drops to 126 average FPS at 4K Low. This 213 FPS reduction highlights how the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth constrain performance at higher pixel counts. The texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s are sufficient for 1080p gaming but show strain at 4K, where the 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth must handle larger frame buffers.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 66th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, scores 21153, which is 0.6% higher. The RTX 5050 also outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT by 1.6% in average score. These synthetic benchmarks align with the measured game data, where the GPU delivers playable frame rates even at 4K Medium (104 FPS) but falls to 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating the graphics card is the limiting component at the highest settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake refresh generation. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration and uses an Intel Socket 1700.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's high single-thread performance is critical for maintaining high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU has headroom. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064 and multi-core score of 24491 indicate strong processing capability. The PassMark single-thread score of 4270 further confirms this, which translates to the ability to handle the game's physics and game logic without bottlenecking the GPU at 1080p.

At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 339 average FPS, which reflects the CPU's capacity to drive frame generation. The CPU's 5.30 GHz boost clock helps maintain high minimum frame rates, as evidenced by the 240 minimum FPS at 1080p Medium. The 90th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618, places it just 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P. This processing headroom means the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this game, except perhaps at extremely high frame rates beyond 300 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance. Low settings produce 339 average FPS, which is the maximum recorded across all configurations. Medium settings yield 282 average FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS and maximum of 324 FPS. High settings drop to 211 average FPS, while Ultra settings produce 163 average FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 176 FPS reduction, indicating the GPU becomes more stressed as graphical fidelity increases.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but decreases noticeably. Low settings produce 225 average FPS, which is still above 200 FPS. Medium settings yield 187 average FPS with a minimum of 159 FPS and maximum of 215 FPS. High settings drop to 139 average FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 108 average FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 117 FPS, showing a similar pattern to 1080p but with lower absolute numbers.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. Low settings produce 126 average FPS, which is playable for most users. Medium settings yield 104 average FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 120 FPS. High settings drop to 78 average FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 60 average FPS. The 4K Ultra result is exactly at the 60 FPS threshold, which may be borderline for competitive play but acceptable for casual gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame data shows this pairing ranks 1731 out of 2870 tested combinations for Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the 60th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms 60% of configurations but trails the top 40%. Given the hardware's specifications, this rank is reasonable for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU.

The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests the processor is capable of supporting even more powerful graphics cards. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates the RTX 5050 is the weaker component in this pairing. This imbalance is reflected in the game data, where the CPU provides ample headroom at 1080p but the GPU limits performance at 4K Ultra.

Relative to its nearest rivals, the RTX 5050's average benchmark score of 21035 is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153) and 1.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713). The CPU's average benchmark score of 48618 is 0.7% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (48287) but 0.8% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995). These synthetic benchmarks provide context for the observed game performance, which shows the combo delivering competitive frame rates in Counter-Strike 2.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play at 1920x1080, Low settings provide the highest average FPS at 339, which maximizes refresh rate potential for high-Hz monitors. Medium settings offer 282 average FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS, providing a good balance between visual quality and performance. High settings at 211 average FPS are still sufficient for 144 Hz displays, while Ultra at 163 average FPS is suitable for 165 Hz monitors but with less headroom.

At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 225 average FPS, which is ideal for 240 Hz displays. Medium settings at 187 average FPS with a minimum of 159 FPS work well for 165 Hz monitors. High settings at 139 average FPS are adequate for 144 Hz displays, while Ultra at 108 average FPS is better suited for 100 Hz or 120 Hz monitors.

For 4K gaming at 3840x2160, Low settings at 126 average FPS provide a playable experience for 120 Hz displays, though the minimum FPS is not recorded. Medium settings at 104 average FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS are the recommended choice for a stable 90-100 FPS experience. High settings at 78 average FPS are acceptable for 75 Hz displays, while Ultra at 60 average FPS is the minimum for smooth gameplay. The data suggests Medium settings at 4K offer the best compromise between visual fidelity and frame rate stability.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 339 at 1080p to 225 at 1440p, a 33.6% reduction, and then to 126 at 4K, a 62.8% reduction from 1080p. This steep decline indicates the GPU cannot maintain performance as pixel count increases dramatically.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 282 FPS at 1080p drops to 187 FPS at 1440p (33.7% reduction) and then to 104 FPS at 4K (63.1% reduction). High settings show a slightly different pattern: 211 FPS at 1080p to 139 FPS at 1440p (34.1% reduction) to 78 FPS at 4K (63.0% reduction). Ultra settings follow the same trend: 163 FPS at 1080p to 108 FPS at 1440p (33.7% reduction) to 60 FPS at 4K (63.2% reduction).

The consistent percentage reduction across all settings, roughly 34% from 1080p to 1440p and 63% from 1080p to 4K, points to the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources being the bottleneck. The CPU's high single-thread performance ensures it is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as evidenced by the minimal frame rate drop between settings at the same resolution. This scaling behavior suggests that users targeting 4K should stick to Medium settings or lower to maintain playable frame rates, while 1080p users can push to Ultra if desired.