Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with an Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 presents a study in contrast, where the GPU’s raw throughput is frequently gated by a six-thread processor that predates the game’s release. The measured FPS data reveals a system that can push well beyond high-refresh-rate thresholds at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain that dominance as pixel count climbs. This analysis breaks down the scaling behavior, the combo’s standing among tested configurations, and the specific roles the CPU and GPU play in shaping these results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate trajectory from 1080p to 4K shows a classic transition from a CPU-bound state to a GPU-bound one. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 403.1 FPS, which is an extraordinary figure that indicates the RTX 5060 is far from saturated. Even at High settings, the 1080p average of 253.4 FPS suggests the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU has ample headroom to render more frames if the processor could feed it faster. This is typical of Counter-Strike 2 at lower resolutions, where draw calls and game logic place heavy demand on the CPU’s single-thread performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high but begin to show the GPU’s influence. The Low setting average drops to 266.7 FPS, a 34% reduction from the 1080p Low result, which indicates that while the GPU is now doing more work, the CPU still has enough headroom to keep the pipeline mostly full. The High setting at 1440p yields 164 FPS, and Ultra drops to 128.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is roughly 52%, which is a wider spread than at 1080p, where the same settings gap is about 51.5%. This suggests that at 1440p, the graphics card’s shading and memory bandwidth are starting to become more significant factors.

At 3840x2160, the scaling pattern shifts decisively. The Low setting average falls to 148.1 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 44.5% drop from the 1440p Low result. The High setting at 4K yields only 92 FPS, and Ultra drops to 75.1 FPS. The most telling comparison is between Low and Ultra at 4K: a 49% performance delta, which is similar to the lower resolutions, but the absolute numbers are much closer to the GPU’s limits. The RTX 5060’s 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus are likely the constraining factors here, as the higher resolution demands more memory bandwidth and capacity. The data shows that this combo is comfortably capable of 4K Low play but will require significant settings reductions to maintain high refresh rates at that resolution.

The pattern across all resolutions indicates that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p and even at 1440p Low, while the GPU becomes the limiting component at 4K and at higher quality presets. The 4K Ultra result of 75.1 FPS is particularly telling, as it suggests that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are fully taxed, and the CPU’s six cores and six threads are no longer the main constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1,632 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Counter-Strike 2, this pairing of Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 holds the 788th position. This places it in the middle of the pack, which is a somewhat surprising result given the GPU’s high percentile ranking. The RTX 5060 sits in the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 is in the 50th percentile among all CPUs. The combo rank suggests that the CPU’s modest standing drags down what the GPU alone could achieve.

The i5-9400’s nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, both of which score within 0.2% of the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305. The Intel Xeon E-2134 is 0.4% slower, and the Intel Core i7-8809G is 0.6% faster. These are all relatively close scores, indicating that the i5-9400 is competitive with other mid-range processors from its generation, but it lacks the multi-threading capabilities of higher-tier chips. This is critical in Counter-Strike 2, which benefits from higher clock speeds and more threads.

The RTX 5060’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT with a 0% delta, the AMD Radeon RX 570 with a -0.2% delta, and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 and RTX 5070 Mobile with 0.5% and 0.6% deltas respectively. The fact that the RTX 5060’s average score of 30109 is nearly identical to these rivals suggests that its raw compute capability is well-matched to its peers, but the combo rank of 788 out of 1632 indicates that the i5-9400 is not extracting the full potential from the graphics card in this specific game.

A combo rank in the 48th percentile (788/1632) implies that roughly half of all tested configurations perform better. This is a reasonable result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, but it highlights that the i5-9400’s six threads are a limiting factor in a game that can leverage more processing power.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. It has 3,840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units, along with 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. The base clock is 2280 MHz with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The 8 GB of GDDR7 memory is connected via a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings increase. The 4K Ultra result of 75.1 FPS is likely limited by the 8 GB memory capacity and the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, as the game’s textures and effects at Ultra settings require substantial memory throughput. The 128-bit bus is a notable constraint, as higher resolutions demand more data movement. At 1080p, the GPU’s 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than sufficient, as evidenced by the 403.1 FPS Low result, but the CPU cannot feed it fast enough to reach even higher numbers.

The RTX 5060’s 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a strong performer, but its measured FPS in this combo shows that it is often idle waiting for the CPU. The data shows that the GPU is fully utilized only at 4K and at higher quality presets, where the pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s are more relevant. The GPU’s launch MSRP is 299 USD, which positions it as a mainstream part, but its performance in this pairing is gated by the older processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 253.4 at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is a high refresh rate result that suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has more headroom.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 75.1. This is the lowest result in the measured data, indicating that the GPU is fully taxed and the 8 GB memory capacity is a constraint at this resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 5060 stronger than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109, while the RX 7700 XT scores 30097, resulting in a delta of 0%. They are effectively equal in raw performance, but the combo rank in this game depends on the CPU pairing.

Q: What is the CPU’s benchmark percentile?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 is in the 50th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, scores 2300, a 0.2% difference.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration?

A: The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, with 28 Gbps effective speed.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 788th out of 1,632 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the middle of the pack, reflecting the CPU’s limiting role.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a Coffee Lake Refresh processor with six cores and six threads, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has 9 MB of shared L3 cache, with 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core. The 14 nm process node and 65 W TDP are typical for this generation, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The CPU is end-of-life and was released in October 2018.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU’s six threads are a significant limitation. The game is known to scale with higher core counts and faster single-thread performance, and the i5-9400’s 4.10 GHz boost clock is respectable but not exceptional. The measured FPS at 1080p Low of 403.1 FPS confirms the CPU’s capability, but it also shows that the RTX 5060 is not being fully utilized, as a more powerful CPU would likely push this number higher. The combo rank of 788 out of 1632 suggests that many other processors paired with similar GPUs achieve better results.

The i5-9400’s benchmark scores are modest: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125. These numbers place it in the 50th percentile, meaning half of all CPUs perform better. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 and i3-1125G4, have nearly identical average scores, indicating that the i5-9400 is not uniquely capable or deficient. However, the lack of multi-threading means that in heavily threaded games like Counter-Strike 2, the CPU can become a bottleneck, particularly when the GPU is powerful enough to render frames faster than the CPU can issue draw calls.

At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 4K Low result of 148.1 FPS is significantly lower than the 1080p Low result of 403.1 FPS, but this is due to the GPU’s pixel throughput limitations, not the CPU. The data shows that the i5-9400 is capable of feeding the RTX 5060 at lower resolutions, but it cannot maintain that pace at higher resolutions, where the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the constraint. This combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the CPU can keep up with the GPU, but it will not excel at 4K Ultra.