Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with an Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER presents a dataset that clearly delineates the boundaries of both components. The measured frames per second across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that is exceptionally capable at lower resolutions but begins to show strain as pixel count and visual fidelity rise. The combination ranks 1145 out of 1632 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper third of all hardware pairings. The data indicates a configuration where the CPU provides a massive headroom for performance, while the GPU becomes the definitive limiting factor at higher loads.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is severe and tells a clear story about system balance. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 323.1 FPS at 1080p to 215.1 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 108 FPS, and then further down to 118.3 FPS at 4K. This represents a 63% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which indicates that even at the lowest graphical load, the RTX 2060 SUPER cannot maintain the sheer throughput the CPU can feed it. The i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock, is capable of generating far more frames than the GPU can render at 4K.

At High settings, the scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms. The average FPS drops from 201 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p, and finally to 76.2 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is 58.8 FPS, which is the largest single-resolution drop in the High preset. This steep decline suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory are being saturated as the pixel count increases. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, collapsing from 156.3 FPS at 1080p to 101.3 FPS at 1440p and then to 54.6 FPS at 4K—a 65% reduction from the starting point. The data strongly indicates that the limiting component at 4K is the GPU, while at 1080p, the system is closer to being balanced, though the CPU still has untapped potential.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 323.1 FPS, but the Medium preset still delivers 264.9 FPS, which is more than sufficient for competitive play. The High preset at 201 FPS remains exceptionally smooth. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates on high-refresh monitors, Low at 1080p is the top choice, but the data shows that Medium offers a 61.2 FPS advantage over High while only sacrificing visual quality that may be negligible in a fast-paced shooter. At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 215.1 FPS is the only option that clears the 200 FPS threshold; Medium at 177.2 FPS and High at 135 FPS are both viable for standard 144Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 101.3 FPS is the minimum for a smooth experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations shift dramatically. The Low preset at 118.3 FPS is the only configuration that provides a consistently fluid experience, while Medium at 102 FPS is borderline acceptable. High at 76.2 FPS and Ultra at 54.6 FPS are not recommended for competitive play, as the frame pacing would suffer. The optimal balance across all resolutions is the Medium preset at 1440p, which delivers 177.2 FPS—a figure that offers both high visual fidelity and a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only sensible choice, as the 118.3 FPS average is the sole option that avoids dropping below 100 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The maximum measured average is 323.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 118.3. At Medium it drops to 102, and at High and Ultra it falls to 76.2 and 54.6 respectively, which are too low for smooth competitive play.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 156.3 FPS at 1080p to 54.6 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 101.7 FPS or 65% of the original performance.

Q: Which preset at 1440p provides the best combination of speed and quality?

A: The Medium preset at 177.2 FPS is the strongest option, as it offers a 42.2 FPS advantage over High while maintaining a frame rate well above 144 Hz.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck this system at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is still the limiting factor, as the RTX 2060 SUPER's scores place it at the 63rd percentile, while the i5-14600KF sits at the 93rd percentile. The high CPU scores indicate it could push more frames if the GPU were faster.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The lowest is 54.6 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the dataset shows a full spread of performance. Low settings produce 323.1 FPS, Medium yields 264.9 FPS, High provides 201 FPS, and Ultra delivers 156.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 166.8 FPS, indicating that the CPU can handle the frame generation but the GPU's shading units and TMUs are taxed by higher presets. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 2176 shading units and 136 texture mapping units are the likely cause of this variance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers compress. Low settings still achieve 215.1 FPS, but Medium falls to 177.2 FPS, High to 135 FPS, and Ultra to 101.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 113.8 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p gap but with lower absolute values. The 1440p results show that the GPU's 64 render output units are becoming a bottleneck, as the pixel fill rate of 105.6 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain the highest frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve flattens considerably. Low settings produce 118.3 FPS, Medium drops to 102 FPS, High reaches 76.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 54.6 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is only 16.3 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is 21.6 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that the 8 GB memory buffer is being exhausted at 4K Ultra, forcing the GPU to manage data more inefficiently. The 4K results clearly show that this GPU is not designed for maximum settings at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary determinant of frame rates in this dataset, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The base clock of 1470 MHz and boost clock of 1650 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance places it at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the GTX TITAN with a 0.3% delta and the RTX 2070 with a 0.5% delta, indicating that it sits in a tightly contested performance bracket.

The GPU's memory bandwidth directly correlates with the FPS drops seen at 4K. At 1080p Low, the 323.1 FPS result shows the GPU is not bandwidth-limited, but at 4K Ultra, the 54.6 FPS result suggests the memory subsystem cannot keep up with the texture and geometry demands. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 and the Passmark G3D score of 16462 provide context for its overall capability, but in Counter-Strike 2 specifically, the data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck in all 4K scenarios and most Ultra presets. The 175 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, and the 14 Gbps effective memory speed is a limiting factor when pushing 4K pixels.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF provides a stark contrast to the GPU's limitations. With 14 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, this processor achieves the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, making it a top-tier performer. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and single-core score of 4643 demonstrate exceptional processing power. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache are well-suited for the high-frequency, low-latency demands of a competitive FPS title. In the measured data, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the 323.1 FPS result shows the system can reach very high frame rates, but even this is likely CPU-limited given the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking.

The processor's 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform support DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the dual-channel bus is standard. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 38697 and single-thread score of 4273 place it well above the GPU's relative standing. The nearest rivals include the i5-14600K with a 0.4% delta and the Ryzen 9 5950X with a 0.6% delta, showing it is competitive with much more expensive or differently configured parts. In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU is never the primary bottleneck in this pairing; the evidence points to the GPU as the limiting factor in every scenario where FPS drops below 200. The CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p—where the 323.1 FPS Low result exceeds the GPU's rendering capacity—suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant gains across all resolutions.