Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a compelling, high-refresh-rate experience in Counter-Strike 2, with the data revealing a system that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The measured frame rates show a clear hierarchy: the combo is capable of exceeding 350 FPS at 1080p on Low settings, yet drops to just 63 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating a shift in bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. This analysis examines the measured FPS data, the ranking of this combo among all tested configurations, and the specific roles the CPU and GPU play in producing these results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K in Counter-Strike 2 reveals a classic pattern of resource shifting. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 355 FPS, which is an exceptionally high figure that suggests the CPU is the primary driver of performance, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly. Moving to 2560x1440 on Low settings, the average FPS drops to 235, a 33.8% decrease, while at 3840x2160 on Low, the average falls to 131, a further 44.3% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep decline is the signature of a GPU that is becoming the limiting factor, as the pixel count increases significantly.

The data becomes even more telling when examining the High settings across resolutions. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 220, which drops to 146 at 1440p (a 33.6% reduction) and then to 81 at 4K (a 44.5% reduction from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops—around 33% from 1080p to 1440p and 44% from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the RX 9060 is scaling in a predictable manner with pixel load, with no sudden cliff or anomaly. This suggests the GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the data demands, but the raw compute power is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The most extreme example of resolution scaling is seen at Ultra settings, where the average FPS at 1080p is 171, dropping to 113 at 1440p (a 33.9% decrease) and then to 63 at 4K (a 44.2% decrease from 1440p). These figures highlight that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 184 FPS (355 vs 171), but at 4K, the difference shrinks to 68 FPS (131 vs 63). This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU can feed frames quickly enough to expose the GPU’s full potential, while at 4K, the GPU’s processing limits become the dominant factor, compressing the performance differences between settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The highest average FPS is 355, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average FPS of 109, with a minimum of 93 and a maximum of 125.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tested settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 63, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Is there a significant performance gap between Low and High settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows a significant gap. At 2560x1440, the Low setting produces 235 FPS, while the High setting produces 146 FPS, a difference of 89 FPS.

Q: Does the combo rank in the top half of all tested combos for this game?

A: Yes, the combo ranks 1640 out of 2870 tested combos, placing it in the top 57.1% of all configurations tested.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 250, with a maximum of 339 and an average of 295.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 9060 holds a rank of 1640 out of 2870 tested combinations for Counter-Strike 2. This places the configuration in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms 1230 other combos but is bested by 1639. This ranking is notable because the CPU itself sits in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 59th percentile among all GPUs. The discrepancy suggests that while the processor is a high-end part, the graphics card is a more mid-range offering, and their combined performance in this game reflects a balance where the GPU is the more likely bottleneck.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its strength. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 has an average benchmark score of 46971, which is only 0.2% higher than the i7-13700K’s average score of 46881. Similarly, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47022, a 0.3% difference. On the other side, the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Intel Xeon w3-2535 score 46654 and 46653 respectively, with the i7-13700K being 0.5% faster than both. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the i7-13700K performs nearly identically to its closest competitors in general benchmark tests.

For the GPU, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which has an average score of 16129, just 0.7% higher than the RX 9060’s 16014. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 both score lower, at 15862 and 15852 respectively, with the RX 9060 being 1% faster than both. These close margins reinforce the idea that the RX 9060 is a solid mid-range performer. The combination’s overall rank of 1640 suggests that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU’s mid-range positioning prevents the combo from reaching the top tiers, and the measured FPS data confirms this by showing the GPU limiting performance at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its peak performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 355, providing an exceptionally smooth experience for competitive play. Medium settings reduce the average to 295, with a minimum of 250 and a maximum of 339, still well above the threshold for high refresh rate monitors. High settings yield an average of 220 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 171 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with the difference between Low and Ultra being 184 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear reduction. Low settings average 235 FPS, which is still excellent for most displays. Medium settings average 195 FPS, with a minimum of 166 and a maximum of 224. High settings drop to 146 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 113 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 122 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p but still significant.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck. Low settings average 131 FPS, which is playable but a far cry from the 1080p figure. Medium settings average 109 FPS, with a minimum of 93 and a maximum of 125. High settings drop to 81 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 63 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 68 FPS, highlighting how the GPU’s limitations compress performance at this resolution. Notably, the 4K Medium settings row is the only one at that resolution with min/max data, showing a 32 FPS spread between the minimum and maximum.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060’s specifications directly explain its performance characteristics in Counter-Strike 2. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 2250 MHz, with an effective speed of 18 Gbps. The core operates at a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. With 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, the GPU delivers a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. These figures indicate a GPU designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a stretch.

The GPU’s performance metrics show it is competitive with mid-range rivals. Its Passmark G3D score is 17631, and its average benchmark score is 16014. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129, which is 0.7% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, with the RX 9060 being 1% faster. In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU’s role is clear: at 1080p, it can easily keep up with the CPU’s frame generation, but as resolution increases, its compute capabilities and memory bandwidth become limiting. The FP32 performance of 21.43 TFLOPS is sufficient for high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS shows the GPU’s limits. The fact that the GPU has no launch MSRP in the data pack is notable, but its performance class is clear from the benchmarks.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low setting at 1920x1080 is the clear choice, delivering 355 FPS. This configuration minimizes GPU load, allowing the CPU to push frames to the absolute maximum. For a balance between visual quality and performance, the Medium setting at 1080p is highly effective, with an average of 295 FPS and a minimum of 250, ensuring no drops below 250 FPS. This is arguably the best experience for competitive play, as it offers a smooth experience with slightly better visuals than Low.

At 1440p, the Medium setting provides an average of 195 FPS with a minimum of 166, which is a solid choice for high refresh rate 1440p monitors. The High setting, at 146 FPS, is also viable, but the lower minimum FPS could be a concern for sensitive players. For 4K gaming, the data shows that only the Low setting (131 FPS) and Medium setting (109 FPS) are playable. The High setting at 81 FPS is borderline, while Ultra at 63 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. The Medium setting at 4K offers a 93 FPS minimum, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the best choice for 4K if visual fidelity is desired. Overall, the measured rows suggest that the Medium preset offers the best compromise between frame rate and visual quality across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116. Its Passmark multithread score is 45887, and its 3DMark max threads score is 12412. These figures place the CPU in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 355 FPS result indicates that the CPU can generate frames at a very high rate, and the GPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU’s high single-core performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R20 single-core score of 2299 and Passmark single-thread score of 4333, is crucial for a game like Counter-Strike 2, which traditionally relies heavily on single-threaded performance. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that the CPU can respond quickly to game logic and draw calls. However, the CPU’s performance is nearly identical to its rivals, with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 being only 0.2% faster in average benchmark score. This means the CPU provides a consistent, high-level baseline, but the GPU is the component that determines the final FPS at higher resolutions. The i7-13700K’s 16 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the game’s performance scaling with resolution shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck above 1080p.