Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 911th out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This position reflects a pairing where the six-core Coffee Lake processor, which sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, is matched with a mid-range Ada Lovelace GPU that outperforms 66 percent of all graphics cards. The discrepancy between the CPU's middling percentile and the GPU's stronger showing suggests the processor is the primary constraint on overall performance, a dynamic that becomes more apparent as resolution and settings change.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's 911th place ranking out of 1632 combos places it firmly in the second half of the tested field, but the context matters. The i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2305 puts it within 0.6 percent of the Intel Core i7-8809G, which scores 2319, and only 0.4 percent ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 at 2295. The processor's nearest rivals also include the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, both scoring 2300 and 2299 respectively, with deltas of just 0.2 percent. This clustering means the CPU is essentially at parity with a broad group of comparable chips, offering no decisive edge in compute-heavy scenarios.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 23181 places it 0.6 percent behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and 0.7 percent behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, while leading the Intel Arc B580 by 0.7 percent and the AMD Radeon 760M by 0.8 percent. These margins are razor-thin, indicating that the GPU is competitive with its immediate peers but not a standout performer. The combination of a mid-pack CPU and a GPU that barely edges its rivals results in a system that delivers solid, but not exceptional, frame rates in Counter-Strike 2, with the rank reflecting the sum of these average parts.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a configuration that is adequate for the demands of Counter-Strike 2 at most settings. The GPU's base clock of 1830 MHz and boost clock of 2460 MHz, built on the AD107 chip with 3072 shading units, deliver a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s. These specifications translate into a measured peak performance at 1080p Low, where the combo achieves 384.7 FPS, showing that the GPU has ample headroom when the CPU is not the bottleneck.

However, the GPU's role shifts dramatically as settings increase. At 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 186.5 FPS, a reduction of 198.2 FPS from Low settings, which indicates that the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity are being taxed by the higher visual fidelity. The 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, while not directly relevant to Counter-Strike 2's non-ray-traced rendering, contribute to the GPU's overall throughput. The 5 nm process node from TSMC, with 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, allows the card to maintain these clocks within a 115 W TDP, but the performance data shows that the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear transition in the limiting component. At Low settings, the combo delivers 384.7 FPS at 1080p, 255.3 FPS at 1440p, and 143.8 FPS at 4K, a drop of 240.9 FPS across the resolution range. The percentage decline from 1080p to 1440p is 33.6 percent, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 43.7 percent, showing that the GPU's bandwidth and pixel throughput become increasingly strained as resolution climbs. At High settings, the pattern is similar but compressed: 234.7 FPS at 1080p, 158.9 FPS at 1440p, and 86.2 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result representing a 63.3 percent reduction from 1080p.

This scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the i5-9400's six cores and six threads, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, are sufficient to feed the GPU, allowing it to reach high frame rates. But at 4K, the GPU's workload increases substantially, and the frame rates at High settings (86.2 FPS) and Ultra settings (71.2 FPS) suggest that the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are the primary constraints. The CPU's 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth and 9 MB of shared L3 cache are unlikely to be the bottleneck at 4K, as the GPU's 272.0 GB/s is over six times higher, making the GPU the clear limiting factor at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo demonstrates its highest performance ceiling. Low settings yield 384.7 FPS, Medium settings drop to 318.7 FPS, High settings fall to 234.7 FPS, and Ultra settings settle at 186.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 66.0 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 48.2 FPS, showing that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are increasingly taxed as settings rise. The 1080p results are consistently above 180 FPS even at Ultra, making this resolution the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain strong but show a more pronounced drop-off. Low settings deliver 255.3 FPS, Medium settings produce 209.8 FPS, High settings hit 158.9 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 120.5 FPS. The transition from Medium to High represents a 50.9 FPS drop, the largest single-step decline at this resolution, indicating that the GPU's texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s is being saturated. At 4K, the results are more modest: Low settings achieve 143.8 FPS, Medium settings reach 119.2 FPS, High settings manage 86.2 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 71.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured across all configurations, representing a 313.5 FPS reduction from the 1080p Low maximum.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the optimal balance of frame rate and visual quality depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, High settings at 234.7 FPS offer a strong experience, with the 48.2 FPS improvement to Ultra settings coming at a significant visual cost that the GPU may not justify. For players with 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitors, Low settings at 384.7 FPS or Medium settings at 318.7 FPS provide the highest headroom, but the 66.0 FPS difference between them suggests that Medium is the better choice for most users, as it retains more visual fidelity while still exceeding 300 FPS.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 209.8 FPS represent the best compromise, as High settings drop to 158.9 FPS, a 50.9 FPS reduction that may be noticeable on high-refresh displays. The 120.5 FPS Ultra result is still playable but falls below the 144 Hz threshold, making it less ideal for competitive play. At 4K, the data indicates that Low settings at 143.8 FPS are the only configuration that consistently exceeds 140 FPS, while Medium settings at 119.2 FPS and High settings at 86.2 FPS offer diminishing returns. The 71.2 FPS Ultra result is the least recommended, as it approaches the lower bounds of smooth gameplay for a fast-paced FPS. For the best overall experience, the data points to 1080p Medium or High settings, or 1440p Medium, where the combo delivers frame rates that comfortably exceed the 144 Hz refresh rate while maintaining acceptable visual quality.