Counter-Strike 2

The data for Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reveals a configuration built for extreme frame rates, where the CPU's high frequency and the GPU's massive bandwidth interact in surprising ways across resolutions and settings.

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

The measured FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count, but the pattern reveals a shift in bottleneck behavior. At 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 772.5 FPS, which drops to 509.1 FPS at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and further to 285.8 FPS at 4K (a 63% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that at lower resolutions, the system is heavily CPU-limited — the i7-13700K's boost clock of 5.40 GHz is being pushed to its limits, and the GPU is not the constraint.

Moving to High settings, the scaling changes: 478.2 FPS at 1080p falls to 316.7 FPS at 1440p (34% lower) and then to 180.6 FPS at 4K (62% lower). The percentage drops are nearly identical to Low, suggesting that even at High settings, the CPU remains the dominant limiting factor at 1080p. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 139.9 FPS, which is only 37% of the 1080p High figure — this much larger relative penalty implies the GPU begins to take on a more significant role as resolution and settings increase.

The data implies that Counter-Strike 2 is unusually CPU-sensitive for an FPS title. Even with a top-tier GPU like the RTX 5090, the 1080p results are bounded by the processor's single-thread performance and cache structure. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Geekbench single-core score of 2850 place the i7-13700K in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, which aligns with its ability to drive such high frame rates. The fact that 4K Ultra still achieves 139.9 FPS shows the RTX 5090's raw throughput can handle the load, but the CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions means the GPU's full potential is only realized at 4K.

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

The Intel Core i7-13700K features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It uses the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process, with a 30 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core. These specifications matter because Counter-Strike 2 appears to favor high clock speeds over core counts — the game's engine doesn't scale linearly with the 24 threads, as evidenced by the 3DMark scores: 10717 for 16 threads versus 12412 for max threads, showing diminishing returns beyond 16 threads.

The single-thread performance is critical here. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505 and PassMark single-thread score of 4333 indicate strong per-core performance, which directly translates to the high 1080p frame rates. The CPU's 125W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest it can sustain boost clocks under load, though the exact sustained frequency isn't measured. The L3 cache of 30 MB likely helps with the game's map data and entity management, reducing memory latency. The dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support means the system can feed the CPU quickly, though the measured data doesn't specify which memory type was used.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the i7-13700K's average benchmark score of 47282 is essentially tied with the i7-13700KF (47334, delta -0.1%) and the AMD EPYC 4364P (47131, delta 0.3%). This parity suggests that for pure CPU throughput, the i7-13700K is well within the expected range for its class. In Counter-Strike 2, the boost clock of 5.40 GHz is likely the differentiator, as the game's frame rates at 1080p Low (772.5 FPS) are among the highest recorded for this database.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 brings 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost of 2407 MHz, and it features 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. For Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at 4K and higher settings, where the frame rates show a clearer dependence on resolution.

At 1080p, the GPU is largely idle relative to its capabilities — even at Ultra settings, 370.8 FPS is achieved, which is still above the CPU's apparent limit at Low settings (772.5 FPS). The 32 GB VRAM is far more than Counter-Strike 2 requires, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures texture streaming is never a bottleneck. The GPU's FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS means it can handle the game's particle effects and smoke rendering at any resolution without strain.

The scaling from 4K High (180.6 FPS) to 4K Ultra (139.9 FPS) shows a 22% drop, which is steeper than the 1080p High-to-Ultra drop (478.2 to 370.8, a 22% decline as well). This consistency suggests the GPU's rendering load increases proportionally with settings, but the absolute frame rates remain high. The RTX 5090's percentile rank of 94 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84306, places it just 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5090 D (84241) and 0.2% ahead of the RTX 5050 Mobile (84171) — though those are synthetic benchmarks, not game-specific.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 10th out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. That places it in the top 0.6% of all configurations in the database, which is remarkable given the game's CPU-intensive nature. The rank suggests that only nine other combinations of processors and graphics cards achieve higher average frame rates across the tested resolutions and settings.

The i7-13700K's CPU percentile of 93 and the RTX 5090's GPU percentile of 94 indicate both components are near the top of their respective categories. However, the combo rank of 10 out of 1632 implies that the pairing is particularly well-suited for this game. The high single-thread performance of the CPU (Cinebench R23 single-core 5505) combined with the GPU's massive bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) likely contributes to this ranking. The fact that the CPU's nearest rivals (i7-13700KF, EPYC 4364P, i9-12900F) all have similar average benchmark scores within 0.5% suggests the top 10 combos may rely on slight CPU clock advantages or different memory configurations.

The data indicates that this combo is not just powerful in isolation but specifically effective for Counter-Strike 2's engine. The 1080p Low result of 772.5 FPS is the highest measured value in the dataset, and even the 4K Ultra result of 139.9 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold most competitive players target. The rank of 10 out of 1632 means that while this combo is exceptional, there are a handful of other configurations that edge it out — likely those with even higher single-thread clock speeds.

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

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset delivers 772.5 FPS, which maximizes responsiveness on high-refresh-rate monitors. The jump from Low to Medium reduces performance to 640.7 FPS (a 17% drop), while High drops to 478.2 FPS and Ultra to 370.8 FPS. The data suggests that Low is optimal for pure frame rate, but Medium still provides over 600 FPS, which may be worth the visual improvement for some players.

At 1440p, the Low preset achieves 509.1 FPS, while Medium hits 426.2 FPS and High reaches 316.7 FPS. Ultra drops to 247.7 FPS. For 1440p gaming, Medium appears to be the sweet spot: it's 16% slower than Low but still 35% faster than High. The visual fidelity gains from Medium over Low are likely noticeable in texture quality, while the frame rate remains above 400 FPS.

At 4K, the Low preset yields 285.8 FPS, Medium 235.7 FPS, High 180.6 FPS, and Ultra 139.9 FPS. For 4K displays, High is the recommended balance — it's 24% slower than Medium but 29% faster than Ultra, and 180.6 FPS is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most high-end monitors. Ultra at 139.9 FPS is still playable but sacrifices 22% performance compared to High for presumably marginal visual gains. The data implies that Low is for esports, Medium for balanced 1440p, and High for 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 772.5 at 1080p with Low settings. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 139.9 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested configurations in Counter-Strike 2?

A: It ranks 10th out of 1632 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.6% of all configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. The drop from 772.5 FPS at Low to 478.2 FPS at High (a 38% reduction) shows the CPU's single-thread performance caps the frame rate, while the GPU has ample headroom.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 478.2 at 1080p to 316.7 at 1440p (34% lower) and then to 180.6 at 4K (62% lower than 1080p).

Q: What is the boost clock of the CPU and how does it relate to performance?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, which is likely the key factor in achieving the high 1080p frame rates, as Counter-Strike 2 depends heavily on single-thread speed.

Q: Does the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: The 32 GB VRAM is far more than Counter-Strike 2 needs — even at 4K Ultra, the game's requirements are modest. The GPU's 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures no texture streaming bottlenecks at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 772.5, Medium 640.7, High 478.2, and Ultra 370.8. The progression shows a 17% drop from Low to Medium, a 25% drop from Medium to High, and a 22% drop from High to Ultra. The 1080p results are the highest in the dataset, confirming the CPU's dominance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 509.1, Medium 426.2, High 316.7, and Ultra 247.7. The percentage drops are similar to 1080p: 16% from Low to Medium, 26% from Medium to High, and 22% from High to Ultra. The absolute numbers are roughly 34% lower than 1080p for each setting, consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 285.8, Medium 235.7, High 180.6, and Ultra 139.9. The drop from Low to Medium is 18%, Medium to High is 23%, and High to Ultra is 22%. Compared to 1080p, the 4K results are 63% lower for Low, 63% lower for Medium, 62% lower for High, and 62% lower for Ultra. This consistency across settings indicates the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven.

The full dataset shows that Ultra settings consistently reduce frame rates by roughly 52% compared to Low at every resolution — 370.8 vs 772.5 at 1080p, 247.7 vs 509.1 at 1440p, and 139.9 vs 285.8 at 4K. This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects (shadows, reflections, anti-aliasing) impose a similar relative cost regardless of resolution, while the absolute frame rate is determined by the pixel count and the CPU's ability to feed the GPU.