Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a competitive FPS where frame pacing and raw throughput directly affect aiming precision and reaction time. The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 presents a distinct bottleneck profile, as the six-core, six-thread Coffee Lake CPU from 2018 is tasked with feeding a Blackwell 2.0 GPU released in 2025. The i5-9400’s base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz, combined with a 9 MB shared L3 cache, place it at the 50th percentile among all tested CPUs, a middling position that suggests it is the limiting factor in many scenarios. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 indicate modest computational headroom, especially when compared to the RTX 5070’s capabilities. In this title, the CPU’s age shows; the data indicates that the processor’s six threads are sufficient for basic game logic but struggle to maintain the highest possible frame rates that the GPU can otherwise deliver.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor without hyper-threading, a configuration that was mainstream in 2018 but is now entry-level. Its architecture, Coffee Lake, built on a 14 nm process, offers a boost clock of 4.10 GHz and a base clock of 2.90 GHz. In Counter-Strike 2, which is known for being sensitive to single-thread performance, the i5-9400’s single-core Cinebench R23 score of 1125 is a significant constraint. This score places it near rivals like the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2300 in the average benchmark suite, a mere 0.2% difference, indicating that the i5-9400’s per-core performance is not a differentiator. The CPU’s 50th percentile ranking versus all CPUs suggests that half of the tested processors are faster, which is a disadvantage in a game where high average FPS is often secondary to consistent frame delivery.

The measured FPS data reveals how this CPU limits the combo. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 414.1 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it drops to 360.6 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 208.6 FPS. The sheer magnitude of the drop from 1080p to 4K indicates that while the GPU is being stressed at higher resolutions, the CPU is still the primary driver of the ceiling at lower resolutions. The six threads of the i5-9400 are fully utilized in this engine, and the lack of additional threads means that background tasks or complex in-game scenes with many entities can cause frame time spikes. The L3 cache of 9 MB shared across all cores is modest by modern standards, which can lead to cache misses in data-heavy scenarios, though the game’s engine is optimized for lower-core-count CPUs. The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s via dual-channel DDR4 is also a limiting factor, as the RTX 5070’s 672.0 GB/s of VRAM bandwidth cannot compensate for the system memory bottleneck when the CPU is feeding draw calls.

Benchmark results show the i5-9400’s multi-core score of 3346 in Cinebench R20, which is not exceptional. In practice, this means that the CPU cannot maintain the high frame rates seen with newer processors in Counter-Strike 2’s most demanding moments, such as smoke grenades or multi-player engagements. The data suggests that the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p, where the GPU is underutilized, and the gap narrows as resolution increases, but the CPU still prevents the system from reaching the 500+ FPS territory that competitive players often seek.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of how settings impact performance. At 1080p, the Low preset yields 414.1 FPS, Medium yields 392.1 FPS, High yields 348.4 FPS, and Ultra yields 273.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 140.4 FPS, a 34% reduction, which is significant for a competitive shooter. However, the Ultra preset’s 273.7 FPS is still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate that most competitive monitors offer, making it a viable option if visual fidelity is prioritized. Yet, the data indicates that High is the sweet spot for balance: it delivers 348.4 FPS at 1080p, which is 25% faster than Ultra, while providing most of the visual enhancements that affect visibility, such as shadows and texture details.

At 1440p, the trend continues: Low gives 360.6 FPS, Medium gives 314.9 FPS, High gives 232.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 183.8 FPS. The High preset at 1440p still exceeds 200 FPS, which is adequate for high-refresh gaming, but the Low preset’s 360.6 FPS shows that the CPU can push much higher if the GPU is not burdened. For 4K, the numbers change dramatically: Low gives 208.6 FPS, Medium gives 177.3 FPS, High gives 130.9 FPS, and Ultra gives 98.4 FPS. Here, the High preset’s 130.9 FPS is below the 144 Hz threshold, making Medium (177.3 FPS) the recommended choice for a smooth 4K experience. The data shows that the Low preset is only beneficial for esports at 1080p, where the 414.1 FPS ceiling is CPU-bound; at higher resolutions, the GPU begins to matter more, and the Medium or High presets offer better balance.

The best experience per the measured rows for most users is the High preset at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p High, the 348.4 FPS is enough to drive a 360 Hz monitor, and the visual quality is high enough to spot enemies. At 1440p High, 232.5 FPS is still excellent, and the increased resolution provides better clarity. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution because the performance penalty is steep—at 4K, it nearly halves the FPS compared to Low—and the visual gains in a fast-paced shooter are often imperceptible during gameplay.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is a textbook example of a CPU-bottlenecked system transitioning to a GPU-bottlenecked one. At Low settings, the combo produces 414.1 FPS at 1080p, 360.6 FPS at 1440p, and 208.6 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 12.9%, which is modest, indicating that the CPU is still the primary limiter at 1440p. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 42.1%, showing that the GPU begins to take over as the limiting factor at 4K. This pattern is consistent across all settings: at High, the FPS goes from 348.4 to 232.5 to 130.9, with the 1440p to 4K drop being 43.7%, a clear sign that the RTX 5070 is being increasingly taxed.

The data indicates that the i5-9400 is the bottleneck at 1080p, as the GPU is capable of much higher frame rates. The RTX 5070’s FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for 1080p, but the CPU cannot feed it fast enough. At 4K, the GPU’s pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s becomes the constraint, and the FPS drops accordingly. The scaling factor from 1080p to 4K at Low is 49.6% (414.1 to 208.6), which is a large drop, but at Ultra, the drop is 64.1% (273.7 to 98.4), showing that the GPU is more stressed at higher settings and resolutions. This suggests that for 4K gaming, the CPU is less of a concern, but the GPU is not powerful enough to maintain high FPS at Ultra, making Medium the practical ceiling for 4K.

The limiting component analysis is clear: at 1080p and 1440p, the Intel Core i5-9400 holds back the RTX 5070. The CPU’s 50th percentile ranking and its single-core performance are the reasons why the FPS does not scale linearly with resolution. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, but the CPU is still not fast enough to push the GPU to its absolute limits, as seen in the 4K Low score of 208.6 FPS, which is below what a newer CPU could achieve with the same GPU.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 421st out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the top 25.8% of all combos, which is respectable, but it also highlights the mismatch between the old CPU and new GPU. The rank of 421 indicates that there are 420 other combos that achieve higher average FPS in this game, many of which likely use newer processors with higher single-thread performance. The combo’s position is heavily influenced by the CPU’s limitations, as the RTX 5070’s GPU percentile of 83% (versus all GPUs) is much higher than the CPU’s 50th percentile.

The combo rank is a direct result of the CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. In a game like Counter-Strike 2, where competitive players often run at 1080p with Low settings to maximize FPS, the i5-9400’s 414.1 FPS at 1080p Low is good but not class-leading. The data shows that the combo is better suited for 1440p or 4K gaming, where the GPU is more involved, but the rank of 421 suggests that other combos with a more balanced CPU-GPU pairing would outperform it. The nearest rivals for the CPU, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% faster) and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (0.4% faster), would likely produce similar combo rankings, as they share the same bottleneck characteristics. The RTX 5070’s nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (0.6% faster), would also yield similar results when paired with this CPU, reinforcing that the CPU is the limiting factor in this combo’s overall rank.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the clear performance driver in this combo, despite the CPU bottleneck. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Counter-Strike 2’s asset streaming at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 2512 MHz and base clock of 2325 MHz, built on a 5 nm process from TSMC, allow it to deliver high frame rates when the CPU can keep up. The RTX 5070’s 6144 shading units and 80 ROPs are responsible for the pixel throughput, and its 48 RT cores are not heavily used in this non-ray-traced title, but the raw rasterization power is what matters.

The GPU’s role is evident in the resolution scaling: at 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 98.4 FPS, which is a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 5070’s pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s is being pushed hard at 4K with Ultra settings, and the 12 GB VRAM is likely sufficient, as the game does not require massive textures. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS is more than enough for 1080p, but at 4K, the fill rate becomes the limiting factor. In contrast, at 1080p Low, the GPU is idle much of the time, waiting for the CPU to submit draw calls, which is why the FPS is capped at 414.1.

The RTX 5070’s 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs shows that it is a high-end part, and its average benchmark score of 41687 places it near the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, with delta percentages of 0.2% and 0.6% respectively. This indicates that the GPU is not the weak link in this combo. The data suggests that the RTX 5070 is capable of much higher FPS in Counter-Strike 2 if paired with a faster CPU, as evidenced by the 1080p Low score of 414.1 FPS, which is likely still CPU-limited. The GPU’s 12 GB VRAM is not a concern at any of the tested settings, and its clock speeds are sufficient for the game’s demands. The GPU’s role is to provide high frame rates at 1440p and 4K, where it does so effectively, but its full potential is unrealized due to the i5-9400’s inability to feed it at lower resolutions.