Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a CPU-sensitive FPS, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF provides the foundational processing power for this combo. This processor features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz that boosts up to 5.60 GHz. It is built on Intel's 10 nm Raptor Lake architecture and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In general synthetic benchmarks, this CPU holds a 96th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70104. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, scores nearly identically at 70074, a delta of 0 percent. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is slightly ahead at 70420, a 0.4 percent advantage, while the AMD EPYC 9115 trails by 0.3 percent at 69887. The data suggests the 14700KF's high core count and boost clock are well-suited for Counter-Strike 2's engine, which can leverage multi-threading for game logic and rendering tasks.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 35 out of 1632 tested combinations. This places the system in the top 2.1 percent of all recorded pairings for Counter-Strike 2, indicating that this hardware combination delivers near-top-tier performance. The ranking reflects the synergy between the powerful CPU and the flagship GPU, resulting in frame rates that are competitive with the best systems tested. This high placement is expected given that the RTX 4090 alone holds a 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, and the 14700KF's 96th percentile CPU ranking. The combination of two components at the top of their respective performance curves naturally pushes the overall combo to the upper echelon of the database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions, which highlights the changing role of the CPU and GPU as workload shifts. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 463.3 FPS. When the resolution increases to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the frame rate drops by 33 percent to 309.1 FPS. Moving further up to 3840x2160 High, the frame rate falls another 45 percent to 170.8 FPS. This scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly, but the CPU's ability to feed the game engine becomes the limiting factor. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the limiting factor shifts to the graphics card. The performance gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution, suggesting that the GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are critical for handling higher detail levels at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide spread across settings. Low settings yield an average of 747.2 FPS, Medium produces 619 FPS, High drops to 463.3 FPS, and Ultra settles at 360.4 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 17 percent reduction, while the step from High to Ultra is a 22 percent reduction, indicating that each settings tier imposes a measurable cost. At 2560x1440, the pattern continues with Low at 492.6 FPS, Medium at 408.4 FPS, High at 309.1 FPS, and Ultra at 240.8 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, roughly 34 percent for Low and 41 percent for Ultra. At 3840x2160, the numbers are 279.1 FPS for Low, 231.4 FPS for Medium, 170.8 FPS for High, and 130.9 FPS for Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured point below 144 FPS, suggesting that even this high-end system begins to show strain at maximum detail and resolution. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases, from a 51 percent difference at 1080p to a 53 percent difference at 1440p and a 53 percent difference at 4K, indicating that resolution scaling affects all settings similarly.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the primary driver of high frame rates at higher resolutions. This GPU is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node and features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units. It operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for handling the texture and geometry data in Counter-Strike 2 at 4K. In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4090 scores 38194 in Passmark G3D and 26613 in Passmark GPU Compute, with a 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66733 in the average benchmark, a 0.4 percent difference, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is 0.9 percent ahead at 67097. The GPU's performance is evidenced by the 4K High result of 170.8 FPS, which is only 37 percent lower than the 1080p High result, despite a 4x increase in pixel count. This suggests the RTX 4090's raw compute and memory bandwidth are sufficient to keep up with the CPU's output even at high resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play at 1920x1080, the Low preset at 747.2 FPS offers the highest refresh rate headroom, but even the High preset at 463.3 FPS exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The Ultra preset at 360.4 FPS is still exceptionally smooth. At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 492.6 FPS is optimal for maximum frame rates, while High at 309.1 FPS provides a balance of visual fidelity and performance that is well above the 240 Hz threshold. The Ultra preset at 240.8 FPS is also viable for high-refresh 1440p displays. For 4K gaming at 3840x2160, the data shows that the Medium preset at 231.4 FPS is the sweet spot, delivering smooth gameplay without the heavy cost of High at 170.8 FPS or Ultra at 130.9 FPS. The Low preset at 279.1 FPS is the best choice for players prioritizing maximum frame rates on 4K displays. The measured rows indicate that the High preset at 4K is a significant step down from Medium, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects, such as advanced shadows and reflections, place a disproportionate load on the GPU. For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1440p or 4K provides a strong balance, while the Low preset at 1080p is the choice for esports-level frame rates.