Counter-Strike 2

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this CPU/GPU combo achieves in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The best measured result is 321.1 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. That drops to 154.5 FPS at the same resolution when settings are raised to Ultra.

Q: How does the Core i7-14700F compare to its closest rival in synthetic CPU benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700F scores 54,097 average across all benchmark tests, which is 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54,450). It is also 1.1% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54,681) but 1.2% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53,469).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti sits in the 69th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 25,120 places it nearly even with the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25,180, 0.2% behind) and the RX 6600 (25,235, 0.5% behind).

Q: What is the best 4K setting for playable performance in this game?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 116.4 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 100 FPS. Medium hits 100.6 FPS, High drops to 72.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 59.4 FPS.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have, and what are its clock speeds?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It is built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture using a 10 nm process.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Low settings as the optimal choice for maximum performance across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Low produces 321.1 FPS, which is 50.2 FPS higher than Medium (270.9) and 166.6 FPS higher than Ultra (154.5). The gap widens at 2560x1440, where Low hits 216.1 FPS versus 177.4 FPS on Medium and 103.9 FPS on Ultra.

For 4K gaming, Low is the only viable preset for high-refresh displays, delivering 116.4 FPS. Medium manages 100.6 FPS, which remains smooth, but High (72.1 FPS) and Ultra (59.4 FPS) dip below the 100 FPS threshold that competitive players typically target. The data suggests that the performance cost of Ultra settings is steep: it reduces FPS by over 50% compared to Low at every resolution tested.

A balanced approach would be Medium at 1080p if visual fidelity matters, since 270.9 FPS still exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. However, for 1440p or 4K, Low is the recommended preset to maintain high frame rates. The performance deltas between presets are consistent, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck when settings climb, while the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads keep frame rates high at lower settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and its benchmark results show strong single-threaded and multi-threaded capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 5,003 in single-core and 35,443 in multi-core. This CPU ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,097.

Counter-Strike 2 relies heavily on CPU performance for game logic and draw calls, and the data reflects this. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 321.1 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is feeding the GPU efficiently. The i7-14700F's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (0.6% faster) and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D (1.1% faster), but the Intel chip holds its own with a 1.2% lead over the Xeon Phi 7290.

The 33 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 2 MB help maintain low latency, which is critical for a fast-paced FPS. The CPU's 10 nm process and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) round out a package that, in this game, appears to deliver enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3060 Ti until settings and resolution increase.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific pairing of the Core i7-14700F and RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1125th out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. That places it in the bottom third of all combinations, which may seem surprising given the high FPS numbers. The ranking context matters: the combo is likely competing against systems with higher-end GPUs that push even more frames at lower settings.

The rank of 1125 out of 1632 means that roughly 69% of tested combos outperform this one in this game. This is consistent with the GPU's 69th percentile ranking, suggesting the graphics card is the limiting factor for overall standing. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 94th percentile, indicating that the processor is not the weak link. In absolute terms, the combo still delivers excellent playable performance, but the rank reflects that many other builds achieve higher peak FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is an 8 GB GDDR6 card with a 256-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. It has a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, built on Samsung's 8 nm process with 17,400 million transistors. Its benchmark scores include 20,349 in Passmark G3D and 10,006 in GPU compute, placing it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes apparent as settings increase. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 166.6 FPS, and at 1440p it is 112.2 FPS. At 4K, the gap narrows to 57.0 FPS, but the absolute numbers drop sharply. The RTX 3060 Ti's nearest rivals are all AMD parts, with the RX 6700M just 0.2% behind, the RX 6600 0.5% behind, and the RX 580 2048SP 0.7% behind.

The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game at all tested settings, as even Ultra at 4K runs within the card's capacity. The 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate are the specifications that drive the measured performance, which shows a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher presets, particularly at 1440p and 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces 321.1 FPS on Low, 270.9 FPS on Medium, 200.7 FPS on High, and 154.5 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a steady decline as settings increase, with each step up costing roughly 50-70 FPS. The 1080p results are consistently above 150 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh monitors.

At 2560x1440, Low delivers 216.1 FPS, Medium drops to 177.4 FPS, High falls to 135.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 103.9 FPS. The pattern mirrors 1080p but with a 30-35% reduction in FPS at each setting level. Even Ultra at 1440p stays above 100 FPS, which is playable.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more pronounced. Low hits 116.4 FPS, Medium manages 100.6 FPS, High drops to 72.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 59.4 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium break the 100 FPS barrier, while High and Ultra require a more powerful GPU for competitive play. The data across all resolutions shows a consistent hierarchy: Low is always the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra in that order.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, 1080p produces 321.1 FPS, which falls to 216.1 FPS at 1440p (a 32.7% reduction) and 116.4 FPS at 4K (a 63.7% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline as pixel count increases indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at lower settings.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is less dramatic in absolute terms: 154.5 FPS at 1080p, 103.9 FPS at 1440p, and 59.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 38.4% of the 1080p Ultra result, showing that the RTX 3060 Ti cannot sustain high frame rates at maximum settings on high-resolution displays. The CPU's strong single-threaded performance (5,003 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that it is not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p where the GPU has less work to do.

The resolution scaling pattern suggests that for 1440p and 4K gaming, users should favor lower settings to maintain frame rates above 100 FPS. At 1080p, the combo has enough headroom to run any preset comfortably, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the determining factors. The data shows a clear case of GPU-limited performance at higher resolutions, with the CPU's 20 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock providing sufficient headroom throughout.