Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a competitive first-person shooter that responds dramatically to both CPU and GPU capabilities. The measured data for the Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti shows a system that scales cleanly across resolutions, though the magnitude of those scaling steps reveals the underlying workload balance. At 1080p, the frame rates are astronomical, indicating that the CPU is doing the heavy lifting; at 4K, the GPU takes over, and the frame rates drop to levels that still exceed the needs of most high-refresh-rate monitors but are far closer to conventional GPU-bound territory.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a stark and predictable decline in average frame rates, and the pattern of that decline identifies the primary bottleneck at each step. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 398.1 at 1080p to 267.9 at 1440p, a reduction of roughly 33%. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the average drops further to 146.9, a 45% decrease from the 1440p figure. This accelerating decline is classic GPU-bound behavior: as the pixel count increases, the graphics card’s fill-rate and shading capacity become the limiting factor, and the CPU has ample headroom.

The Low settings data reveals a similar but more extreme pattern. At 1080p Low, the system produces an average of 644.6 FPS, which is an enormous number that strongly suggests the CPU is the primary constraint at this resolution. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 425.5 FPS, and at 4K Low, the average is 239.9. The scaling factor from 1080p to 1440p is about 0.66, and from 1440p to 4K is about 0.56. These ratios are not linear with pixel count, indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU is starting to become a meaningful contributor at 1440p and is the dominant limiter at 4K.

The spread between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases, which is a further sign of the shifting bottleneck. At 1080p, the gap between Low (644.6 FPS) and Ultra (308.4 FPS) is 336.2 FPS, showing that the CPU can push far more frames than the GPU can render at higher detail levels. At 4K, that gap collapses to 126.1 FPS (239.9 Low vs 113.8 Ultra), meaning the GPU is saturated regardless of settings. The data shows that this combination is highly responsive to resolution changes, with the CPU delivering exceptional performance at lower resolutions and the RTX 5070 Ti becoming the governing component as pixel counts rise.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest recorded average is 644.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data that exceeds 600 FPS.

Q: How much slower is 4K Ultra compared to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra average is 113.8 FPS, while the 1080p Low average is 644.6 FPS. This represents a reduction of 530.8 FPS, or approximately 82% lower performance.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 Ti the limiting factor at 1080p High?

A: No, the data suggests otherwise. At 1080p High, the average is 398.1 FPS, and at 1440p High, it is 267.9 FPS. The relatively modest drop when moving to 1440p indicates the CPU is still feeding the GPU adequately, but the massive jump to 644.6 FPS at 1080p Low shows the CPU can produce far more frames than the GPU can render at higher settings.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium setting averages 355.8 FPS, while High averages 267.9 FPS. The difference is 87.9 FPS, favoring Medium.

Q: Does the combo hit 240 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. The 4K Low average is 239.9 FPS, which is just under the 240 FPS threshold. All other 4K settings (Medium, High, Ultra) fall below 200 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance relate to the high FPS numbers?

A: The Core i7-14700F scores 5003 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 2711 in Geekbench single-core. These strong single-thread scores align with the high average frame rates observed at 1080p, where the CPU’s per-core throughput is crucial for maintaining frame pacing in a game like Counter-Strike 2.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti’s specifications directly inform the frame rate behavior observed in the measured data. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 8960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. Its boost clock is 2452 MHz, and it is paired with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s. These figures indicate a high-end part capable of handling massive pixel throughput, which is consistent with the 4K results.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 113.8, which is a demanding workload for any GPU. The RTX 5070 Ti’s pixel rate is 235.4 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 686.6 GTexel/s, providing the raw resources needed to sustain this level of performance. However, the data shows that at 4K, the frame rate is highly sensitive to settings: Low (239.9 FPS) is more than double Ultra (113.8 FPS). This sensitivity suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, and its performance scales predictably with the shading and texture load.

The GPU's memory capacity of 16 GB is not a limiting factor in this game’s measured results, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS does not indicate a lack of memory causing stutters or severe drops. The 896.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the data throughput required by Counter-Strike 2 at these settings. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 52086, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, has an identical average score of 52085 with a delta of 0%. This indicates that the RTX 5070 Ti is a top-tier performer, which aligns with its ability to produce playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low averages 644.6 FPS, Medium 536.7 FPS, High 398.1 FPS, and Ultra 308.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a drop of 336.2 FPS, meaning Ultra is roughly 52% slower than Low. This is a significant penalty, but even the lowest 1080p number (308.4 FPS) is far above the refresh rate of any mainstream monitor.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. Low averages 425.5 FPS, Medium 355.8 FPS, High 267.9 FPS, and Ultra 204.3 FPS. Compared to 1080p, the performance at each settings tier is reduced by approximately one-third. The Ultra setting at 1440p is the first configuration to dip below 250 FPS, but it still provides a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate displays.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low averages 239.9 FPS, Medium 200.8 FPS, High 146.9 FPS, and Ultra 113.8 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 39.1 FPS, from Medium to High is 53.9 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 33.1 FPS. The most substantial drop is between Medium and High, indicating a major increase in shading complexity at that tier. The 4K Ultra result of 113.8 FPS is the lowest recorded number in the entire dataset, but it remains above 100 FPS, which is still suitable for most gaming scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti combination holds a rank of 147 out of 1632 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the top 9% of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the game’s sensitivity to both CPU and GPU performance. The rank reflects the combo’s ability to achieve extremely high frame rates at lower resolutions while still maintaining competitive performance at 4K.

The CPU’s benchmark data supports this ranking. The i7-14700F scores 35443 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 5003 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 54097. It sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, has an average score of 54450, a delta of -0.6%, meaning the i7-14700F is essentially equivalent in overall compute performance. This high CPU standing contributes to the excellent 1080p results, where the processor’s strong single-threaded performance helps drive frame rates past the 600 FPS mark.

The GPU’s ranking is also notable, as it sits in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU results in a balanced system that does not exhibit severe bottlenecking in either direction. The rank of 147 out of 1632 indicates that while there are other combos that score higher, this pairing is well above the median and is capable of delivering a top-tier esports experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its high boost clock and strong single-core performance are directly relevant to Counter-Strike 2, a game that relies heavily on CPU throughput for game logic, physics, and draw call submission. The processor’s Geekbench single-core score of 2711 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5003 are among the top figures, aligning with the game’s demand for rapid per-thread execution.

The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enormous numbers of frames at 1080p. The 644.6 FPS average at Low settings is a clear indicator that the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution, as the GPU is rendering frames as fast as it can while the processor handles the rest. The i7-14700F’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache also helps in maintaining high frame rates by reducing memory latency for frequently accessed game data.

The CPU’s TDP is 65 W, which is a modest figure for a 20-core part, but its boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that it can deliver peak performance when needed. The processor’s average benchmark score of 54097 places it just behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, with a delta of -0.6%, showing that it is a direct competitor in terms of raw compute. In the context of Counter-Strike 2, the CPU’s role is to maintain frame pacing and ensure that the GPU is never starved of data. The data confirms that this processor performs that role admirably, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p and the relatively graceful degradation of performance as resolution increases.