Counter-Strike 2

FAQ

Q: What is the measured average frame rate for Counter-Strike 2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers an average of 504.6 FPS. This is the highest measured frame rate across all resolutions and settings in the data.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its closest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 35787. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, scores 35860, which is a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning the Radeon Pro Duo is marginally ahead. The RTX 3080 sits in the 80th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces an average of 332.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 164 FPS. This represents a substantial drop of 168.6 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the CPU have a high multi-core benchmark score relative to other processors?

A: Yes. The Intel Core i5-14600KF scores 32889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. It ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 4345P, scores 49595 in average benchmark score, which is 0.5% higher than the i5-14600KF's 49367 average.

Q: What memory configuration does the i5-14600KF support?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory types, using a dual-channel memory bus. It does not support 3D V-Cache, according to the data.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 still in production?

A: No. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has a production status of "End-of-life." Its release date is recorded as 2020-08-31, and its successor is the GeForce 40 series.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 plays a defining role in Counter-Strike 2 results, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The card features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is paired with a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, with memory clocked at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The data shows that at 3840x2160, the GPU's limits are apparent: the High preset yields 118.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 88.9 FPS. These figures suggest that at 4K, the RTX 3080 is still capable of high-refresh-rate play at High settings but struggles to maintain that pace at Ultra.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial. It has 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. Its FP32 performance is rated at 29.77 TFLOPS, with the same figure for FP16 (1:1). In benchmark tests, the card achieves a Passmark G3D score of 25086 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 167014. Its average benchmark score of 35787 places it in the 80th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, has an average score of 35860, a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning the two are statistically tied. The AMD Radeon 880M is 0.4% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is 1% behind.

The RTX 3080's role in Counter-Strike 2 becomes clearer when comparing resolution scaling. At 1920x1080, the card is not the limiting factor, as even the Ultra preset hits 245.3 FPS. However, at 3840x2160, the GPU's workload increases significantly. The transition from Low (187.7 FPS) to Medium (158 FPS) to High (118.8 FPS) to Ultra (88.9 FPS) at 4K shows a consistent penalty for each quality tier. The data indicates that the RTX 3080 is most effective at 2560x1440, where High settings produce 205.8 FPS — a comfortable margin above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many competitive players target.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF provides the processing foundation for this combo. It is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake-R architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU has an L3 cache of 24 MB (shared), with 2 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This configuration is well-suited for Counter-Strike 2, a game that benefits from high single-thread performance.

The CPU's benchmark results confirm its strength. It scores 4643 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 32889 in multi-core. In Geekbench, it scores 2778 single-core and 15636 multi-core. Passmark single-thread score is 4273, while multithread is 38697. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49367. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, scores 49166, a deltaPct of 0.4. The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is 0.6% behind, and the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 1.4% behind.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is evident at lower resolutions where the GPU has headroom. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 504.6 FPS, a figure that relies heavily on the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls quickly. The single-core performance, measured at 4643 in Cinebench R23, is critical here. The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz allows it to sustain high frequencies during gameplay, which directly translates to the 416.6 FPS seen at Medium settings and 316 FPS at High settings at 1080p.

The CPU also supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, with a dual-channel memory bus. It uses PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes (CPU only) and has a TDP of 125 W. The processor has a launch MSRP of $294. Its production status is Active, with a release date of 2023-10-16. The multiplier is unlocked, allowing for overclocking, though the data does not include overclocked results.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of how each preset performs at different resolutions. The data indicates that the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate depends heavily on the target resolution.

At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the High preset stands out. It delivers 316 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The Ultra preset at 245.3 FPS is also excellent, but the 70.7 FPS gain from dropping to High is significant, while the visual difference is often minimal in a fast-paced FPS. The Low preset at 504.6 FPS offers the absolute maximum frame rate, but this comes at a substantial cost to visual fidelity. For most players, High is the recommended setting at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 205.8 FPS, which is above the 144 Hz threshold and close to 240 Hz territory. The Medium preset at 275.8 FPS offers even more headroom, but the step down in visual quality may not be worth it for players with high-refresh monitors. The Ultra preset at 164 FPS is still above 144 Hz, making it a viable option for those prioritizing image quality. The Low preset at 332.6 FPS is excessive for most displays but useful for competitive play with very high refresh rates. The recommended setting at 1440p is High, as it provides a strong balance of visual quality and frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The High preset at 118.8 FPS is below 144 Hz, which may be a concern for competitive players. The Medium preset at 158 FPS is above 144 Hz and represents the best balance at 4K. The Low preset at 187.7 FPS offers the highest frame rate but sacrifices visual detail. The Ultra preset at 88.9 FPS is not recommended for competitive play, as it falls below 90 FPS. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal preset at 4K, providing a fluid experience without the visual penalty of Low.

In summary, the best experience per the measured rows is achieved with High settings at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, and Medium settings at 3840x2160. These configurations offer frame rates that align with common high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining reasonable visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 477th out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the upper third of all configurations in the database. The rank of 477 out of 1632 means that approximately 29% of tested combos perform better, while 71% perform worse. This is a strong result, given the age of the GPU (released 2020-08-31) and the CPU (released 2023-10-16).

The combo's ranking is influenced by both components' strengths. The CPU's 93rd percentile standing among all processors ensures that it does not bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios. The GPU's 80th percentile ranking is respectable, though it is not a top-tier performer by current standards. The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-to-high-percentile GPU yields a balanced system that excels in CPU-bound scenarios, as Counter-Strike 2 often is.

The data indicates that this combo is particularly well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the CPU's single-thread strength can be fully utilized. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the combo's ranking would likely be lower if only 4K results were considered. The measured FPS values support this: at 1920x1080, the combo delivers 504.6 FPS on Low settings, which is exceptional. At 3840x2160, the same settings yield 187.7 FPS, which is still playable but less impressive relative to other high-end combos.

Compared to the nearest CPU rivals, the i5-14600KF's performance is closely matched. The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is only 0.6% behind in average benchmark score, and the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.4% ahead. This suggests that the combo's ranking in Counter-Strike 2 is not heavily dependent on the specific CPU model, as long as it is in this performance class. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (0.9% ahead in average score), would likely produce similar frame rates in this game, assuming no other bottlenecks.

Overall, the rank of 477 out of 1632 indicates a solid, dependable combination for Counter-Strike 2. It is not a top-100 setup, but it provides ample performance for high-refresh-rate gaming at popular resolutions. The data shows that this combo is more than capable of delivering a competitive experience, particularly at 1440p where it achieves 205.8 FPS on High settings.