Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti delivers a remarkably consistent frame rate in Counter-Strike 2, with the data showing that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor even at 4K. The most striking result is the 171 FPS average at 4K Low settings, which drops to 102.7 FPS at 4K High—a 40% performance penalty that is almost entirely attributable to the graphics card's load. This indicates that while the RTX 3070 Ti is capable of driving this esports title at high refresh rates, the CPU's six cores and six threads begin to show their age only when the GPU is pushed to its absolute limit at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling pattern from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic CPU-bound scenario at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 416.4 FPS, but this drops to 304.8 FPS at 1440p Low—a 26.8% reduction that is relatively modest given the 2.25x pixel count increase. However, the jump from 1440p Low to 4K Low (171 FPS) represents a 43.9% loss, indicating that the RTX 3070 Ti finally becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p scaling at High settings shows a similar trend: 281.6 FPS down to 186 FPS, a 33.9% drop, which is still far less than the pixel count increase would suggest if the GPU were the sole constraint.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more linear: 218.2 FPS at 1080p, 147.2 FPS at 1440p, and 78.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is 64% lower than 1080p Ultra, which demonstrates that when the visual load is maximized, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. The medium preset shows a similar pattern with 378.1 FPS at 1080p, 253.9 FPS at 1440p, and 140 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that players targeting 144Hz or 240Hz monitors will find the sweet spot at 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings, as the CPU maintains frame rates above the monitor refresh rate in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB of GDDR6X memory and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for Counter-Strike 2, as evidenced by the 4K High result of 102.7 FPS. The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz and 6144 shading units deliver substantial raw compute, but the game's engine is clearly not demanding enough to stress the card's 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 performance at lower resolutions. The 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates this is a strong mid-to-high-end part, yet the benchmark results show it is underutilized at 1080p, where the CPU caps performance.

The gap between 4K Low (171 FPS) and 4K Medium (140 FPS) is 18.1%, while the gap between 4K Medium and 4K High (102.7 FPS) is 26.6%. This non-linear scaling suggests that the High preset introduces effects that disproportionately impact the GPU, such as advanced shadows or reflections. The Ultra preset at 4K (78.5 FPS) is only 23.5% slower than High, indicating diminishing returns beyond the High settings tier. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in any measured configuration, as even 4K Ultra does not show signs of memory-related stuttering or frame drops.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU-GPU combinations for Counter-Strike 2, this pairing ranks 651st out of 1632 total combos, placing it in the 60th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking is notably lower than what the raw GPU performance might suggest, which reinforces the CPU bottleneck theory. The i5-9400's 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs (based on average benchmark score of 2305) is the primary constraint, as the RTX 3070 Ti's 74th percentile GPU status cannot fully compensate for the older processor.

The nearest CPU rivals provide context: the Intel Core i3-10305 (avg score 2300, +0.2% delta) and Intel Core i3-1125G4 (avg score 2299, +0.2% delta) would perform nearly identically, while the Intel Core i7-8809G (avg score 2319, -0.6% delta) is marginally faster. This clustering within 1% of the i5-9400's benchmark score suggests that any of these four CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in this game, meaning the 651st ranking is more about the CPU tier than the specific model. The GPU's nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (avg score 30755, +0.3% delta), AMD Radeon RX 6700 (avg score 31112, -0.8% delta), and NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (avg score 31142, -0.9% delta)—are all within 1.2% in synthetic benchmarks, yet the RTX 3070 Ti's real-world performance in CS2 would likely be superior due to its Ampere architecture optimizations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full spectrum of settings delivers playable frame rates. Low settings produce 416.4 FPS average, Medium drops to 378.1 FPS (−9.2%), High yields 281.6 FPS (−25.5% from Medium), and Ultra bottoms out at 218.2 FPS (−22.5% from High). These results show that 1080p is firmly CPU-limited, as even the Ultra preset fails to push the GPU to full utilization.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show increasing GPU influence. Low settings average 304.8 FPS, which is 26.8% lower than 1080p Low. Medium produces 253.9 FPS (−16.7% from Low), High drops to 186 FPS (−26.7% from Medium), and Ultra yields 147.2 FPS (−20.7% from High). The 1440p results indicate that the RTX 3070 Ti begins to matter more, but the CPU still provides sufficient headroom near 300 FPS at lower presets.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 171 FPS, which is 43.9% lower than 1440p Low. Medium produces 140 FPS (−18.1% from Low), High drops to 102.7 FPS (−26.6% from Medium), and Ultra yields 78.5 FPS (−23.5% from High). The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below 100 FPS average, which is still playable but falls short of high-refresh-rate monitors.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400's six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz, are the defining bottleneck in this combo. The CPU's 9 MB shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth provide adequate throughput for Counter-Strike 2's engine, but the lack of hyper-threading limits concurrent workload handling. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 place this processor in the 50th percentile, which aligns with the observed frame rate ceiling.

The 1080p Low result of 416.4 FPS is likely near the practical maximum for this CPU, as the GPU is not meaningfully stressed at that resolution. The 4K Low result of 171 FPS, while 59% lower, still shows the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to maintain high frame rates. The CPU's 65W TDP and Coffee Lake architecture are dated relative to modern processors, but the data shows that for this specific game, the i5-9400 can sustain competitive frame rates up to 1440p. The single-core performance is particularly important for CS2, and the 1125 R23 single-core score suggests that the CPU's boost clock of 4.10 GHz is doing most of the heavy lifting.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 281.6 FPS, which is well above 144Hz. At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average is 186 FPS, also exceeding 144Hz. For 4K, only Low (171 FPS) and Medium (140 FPS) presets come close to or exceed 144Hz.

Q: Does the RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB VRAM cause any issues in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The measured data shows no VRAM-related problems at any resolution or settings preset. The 4K Ultra result of 78.5 FPS is a performance limitation, not a memory capacity issue, as the game's requirements are well below 8 GB.

Q: How much FPS is lost when going from Low to Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 416.4 FPS while Ultra averages 218.2 FPS, representing a 47.6% reduction. This indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a significant GPU load even though the CPU remains the primary limiter.

Q: Is the i5-9400 holding back the RTX 3070 Ti in this game?

A: Yes, particularly at 1080p and 1440p. The 1080p Low result of 416.4 FPS is likely near the CPU's maximum, while the GPU's 74th percentile ranking suggests it could push higher frame rates if paired with a stronger processor.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 651st out of 1632 total tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the upper 40% of all systems. The ranking reflects the CPU's 50th percentile status rather than the GPU's higher capability.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Counter-Strike 2?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K High, the average is 102.7 FPS, which is playable on a 60Hz or 100Hz monitor. For higher refresh rates, 4K Low (171 FPS) is the only preset that fully utilizes a 144Hz display.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play at high refresh rates, the 1920x1080 Medium preset (378.1 FPS) offers the best balance between frame rate and visual fidelity, as the 416.4 FPS Low preset provides no meaningful competitive advantage beyond an 9.2% FPS increase. Players with 240Hz monitors should consider 1080p High (281.6 FPS) or 1440p Low (304.8 FPS), both of which exceed 240 FPS averages. For 1440p 144Hz displays, the High preset (186 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it provides the best visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above 144 FPS. At 4K, the Medium preset (140 FPS) is the optimal selection for 120Hz or 144Hz monitors, while the High preset (102.7 FPS) suits 100Hz displays. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it consistently delivers the lowest frame rates with only marginal visual improvements over High. The data clearly shows that the High preset at 1440p provides the best overall experience for this CPU-GPU combination, balancing the GPU's capability with the CPU's limitations.