Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 presents a clear performance hierarchy for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, and the data shows that this combination is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The most striking evidence is the scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings: the average frame rate drops from 353.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 132.2 FPS at 3840x2160, a 62.6% reduction. This massive plunge indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is doing the heavy lifting, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor only as pixel count rises. At High settings, the same resolution step yields a smaller but still significant decline from 222.9 FPS to 80 FPS, a 64.1% decrease, reinforcing that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s rendering pipeline is saturated at 4K. The 1440p results sit comfortably between these extremes, with Low settings producing 234 FPS and High settings delivering 149 FPS, showing a balanced workload where neither component is completely maxed out. The pattern across all settings is consistent: the gap between 1080p and 1440p is moderate, but the jump to 4K imposes a severe penalty that points squarely at the GPU’s 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth as the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data tells a story of diminishing returns as resolution climbs, with the CPU’s dominance at 1080p giving way to GPU limitations at 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination achieves 353.5 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded in the entire dataset. This number suggests that the i5-14600KF’s 5.30 GHz boost clock and 14 cores are more than sufficient to feed the RTX 2070 SUPER at this resolution, leaving the GPU to work well within its capabilities. Moving to 2560x1440, the same Low preset drops to 234 FPS, a 33.8% reduction that indicates the GPU is starting to take on more work but still has headroom. At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 132.2 FPS, which is a 43.5% drop from 1440p and a 62.6% drop from 1080p. This steep decline at 4K is the signature of a GPU bottleneck, as the 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs of the RTX 2070 SUPER struggle to fill the additional pixels.

The scaling behavior differs by preset, which reveals how the workload shifts. For Ultra settings, the 1080p result is 169.9 FPS, dropping to 115.8 FPS at 1440p and 64 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is the lowest in the entire dataset, and the 55.2% drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper than the 31.8% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This suggests that Ultra settings amplify the GPU’s workload disproportionately, likely due to the 8 GB VRAM being taxed by higher-quality textures and effects. Medium settings follow a similar trajectory: 294.6 FPS at 1080p, 192.4 FPS at 1440p, and 107 FPS at 4K. The High preset, which is the most common gaming choice, delivers 222.9 FPS at 1080p, 149 FPS at 1440p, and 80 FPS at 4K. Across all four presets, the 1080p-to-4K scaling factor ranges from 2.65x to 2.79x, indicating that the GPU is consistently the limiting factor at the highest resolution, regardless of visual fidelity.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER’s specifications directly explain its performance ceiling in Counter-Strike 2, particularly at 4K. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results suggest that the frame buffer capacity and bandwidth become strained when the resolution demands more texture data and pixel throughput. The core clocks of 1605 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost are modest by modern standards, yet the benchmark results show that the GPU can still push 132.2 FPS at 4K Low settings, which is respectable for a card from the Turing generation. The 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate provide enough raw power for competitive frame rates at lower resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result of 64 FPS indicates that the architecture is reaching its limits.

The GPU’s position in the performance hierarchy is confirmed by its percentileVsAllGpus of 65, which places it above the median but far from top-tier. Its benchmark scores show a passmark_g3d result of 18169 and a 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 1651, which are consistent with a mid-range card from 2019. In the context of this game, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are largely irrelevant, as Counter-Strike 2 does not heavily utilize ray tracing or DLSS, so the traditional rasterization performance is what matters. The 12 nm process node from TSMC, with 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, contributes to the 215 W TDP, but the power draw is not a limiting factor in the measured results. The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU can deliver high refresh rates, but at 4K, the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the bottleneck, capping even Low settings at 132.2 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is clearly the dominant component in this pairing at lower resolutions, and its specifications support this observation. With 14 cores and 20 threads, the CPU has ample parallel processing power, and the 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for Counter-Strike 2’s engine. The 24 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide fast access to frequently used data, reducing latency in gameplay. The CPU’s benchmark results are impressive: a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 32889 and a single-core score of 4643, along with a passmark_multithread score of 38697. These numbers place the i5-14600KF in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, indicating that it is a high-end processor for gaming workloads.

The CPU’s role becomes most apparent when examining the 1080p results across presets. At Low settings, the 353.5 FPS average suggests that the CPU is feeding frames as fast as the GPU can render them, but the scaling from Low to Ultra at the same resolution—from 353.5 FPS to 169.9 FPS—shows that the GPU is still the bottleneck even at 1080p Ultra. The 1440p results, where Low yields 234 FPS and Ultra yields 115.8 FPS, further demonstrate that the CPU has headroom, as the GPU’s workload increases with resolution. The 4K results, where even Low settings drop to 132.2 FPS, confirm that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution; instead, the GPU’s pixel-pushing capability is what caps performance. The CPU’s 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier allow for overclocking potential, but the measured data shows that the stock configuration is sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck in this game.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average is 353.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 64, which is the lowest in the dataset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data shows a balanced workload at 2560x1440, with Low settings at 234 FPS and High at 149 FPS, indicating neither component is fully saturated.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 353.5 FPS while Ultra produces 169.9 FPS, a difference of 183.6 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The 4K results, particularly the 64 FPS at Ultra, suggest that the 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are limiting factors.

Q: How does the i5-14600KF compare to its nearest rival in terms of CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1001 out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the bottom 38.7% of configurations, which is somewhat surprising given the CPU’s high percentile ranking. The explanation lies in the GPU’s relative weakness: the RTX 2070 SUPER’s percentileVsAllGpus of 65 is far lower than the CPU’s 93, and the GPU’s avgBenchmarkScore of 22206 is modest compared to the CPU’s 49367. The ranking suggests that in a game like Counter-Strike 2, which is highly dependent on frame rate, the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, dragging the overall combo down. The combo’s position is likely influenced by the fact that many other tested configurations pair this CPU with more powerful GPUs, yielding higher average FPS. However, the data shows that this combo is still capable of competitive frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, making the mid-tier ranking a reflection of the GPU’s age rather than a poor pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 353.5 FPS, Medium 294.6 FPS, High 222.9 FPS, and Ultra 169.9 FPS. The progression shows a 52.0% drop from Low to Ultra, indicating that graphical settings have a substantial impact on frame rate at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the numbers are: Low 234 FPS, Medium 192.4 FPS, High 149 FPS, and Ultra 115.8 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra drop is 50.5%, similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower across the board. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 132.2 FPS, Medium 107 FPS, High 80 FPS, and Ultra 64 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra drop is 51.6%, and the 4K Ultra figure of 64 FPS is the only result below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step down halves the frame rate roughly, but the relative impact of settings remains constant. The High preset at 4K delivers 80 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play, while the Low preset at 4K offers 132.2 FPS, which is sufficient for most players.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For competitive play at 1920x1080, the Low preset at 353.5 FPS is the clear choice, as it maximizes frame rate and minimizes input latency, which is critical in Counter-Strike 2. Players with high-refresh-rate monitors (240 Hz or higher) will benefit from the Low preset, while those with 144 Hz displays can comfortably use the Medium preset at 294.6 FPS for better visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 234 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate play, while the Medium preset at 192.4 FPS offers a good balance for 144 Hz monitors. The High preset at 149 FPS is viable for 144 Hz displays but may not maintain a locked frame rate in intense firefights. At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 132.2 FPS is the only option for high-refresh-rate play, as the Medium preset at 107 FPS is borderline, and the High preset at 80 FPS and Ultra at 64 FPS are best suited for 60 Hz displays. The data suggests that the Low preset is the most versatile, delivering playable frame rates at all three resolutions, while the Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K unless visual fidelity takes priority over frame rate.