Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces extraordinary frame rates in Counter-Strike 2, ranking first overall among 2,870 tested combinations. This combo delivers playable performance even at 4K Ultra settings, with the data showing average FPS figures that far exceed the refresh rate capabilities of most displays. The measured results across twelve resolution/settings configurations reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at lower resolutions but transitions to a more balanced profile at 4K, where the CPU's capability becomes increasingly relevant.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the Counter-Strike 2 experience with this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 814 FPS, while Medium delivers 676 FPS and High reaches 505 FPS. Even the demanding Ultra preset produces 392 FPS at this resolution, meaning every settings tier provides frame rates well above the 240-360 Hz refresh rates common in competitive gaming displays. The performance headroom is so substantial that players can prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing competitive responsiveness.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues with Low at 539 FPS, Medium at 448 FPS, High at 334 FPS, and Ultra at 260 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 380 and maximum of 515, indicating consistent frame delivery. This resolution represents the sweet spot for high-refresh competitive play, as even Ultra settings maintain an average above 240 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end gaming monitors. For players seeking maximum responsiveness, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance, delivering 448 FPS average while maintaining visual clarity for target acquisition.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape shifts considerably. The Low preset achieves 301 FPS, Medium reaches 250 FPS with a minimum of 213 FPS and maximum of 288 FPS, High produces 187 FPS, and Ultra drops to 145 FPS. For 4K displays with 144 Hz refresh rates, the High preset provides sufficient frame rates with better visual quality, while the Ultra preset remains playable at 145 FPS average. The data suggests that High settings at 4K represent the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance, as the 187 FPS average comfortably exceeds typical 144 Hz 4K display capabilities while maintaining enhanced graphical details.

The Medium preset's measured minimum FPS values deserve particular attention. At 1080p, the minimum of 575 FPS still exceeds any current display's refresh rate, while at 1440p the 380 FPS minimum provides substantial headroom. At 4K, the 213 FPS minimum remains above 144 Hz thresholds, though players with 240 Hz 4K displays might prefer the High preset for additional margin. Overall, the data indicates that this combination excels at competitive settings across all resolutions, with diminishing returns from lowering settings below Medium at 1080p and 1440p.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combination?

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 814, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this combo in Counter-Strike 2, with the Medium preset at 676 FPS and High at 505 FPS showing that even higher quality settings maintain exceptional performance at 1080p.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming at high refresh rates?

A: Yes, the data shows 4K High settings produce 187 FPS average, and even 4K Ultra maintains 145 FPS. The 4K Medium preset delivers 250 FPS with a minimum of 213 FPS, making it suitable for 240 Hz 4K displays. Only the 4K Ultra preset falls below 144 FPS, though 145 FPS still meets standard 144 Hz requirements.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest GPU rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, placing it 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, 1.6% below the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, 2.1% below the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, and 2.4% below the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB. It ranks in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's performance position relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70,163 average, which is 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.9% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and 1.0% below the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. It ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: Does the combo rank first among all tested configurations?

A: Yes, this combination of Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D holds the number one position out of 2,870 tested combos for Counter-Strike 2, indicating it delivers the highest measured performance in this game.

Q: What are the frame rate differences between resolution tiers?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 505 at 1080p to 334 at 1440p (a 33.9% reduction) and further to 187 at 4K (a 63.0% reduction from 1080p). At Low settings, the progression goes from 814 to 539 to 301 FPS, representing 33.8% and 63.0% drops respectively.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700KF with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves the top position among 2,870 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2, with a combo rank of 1. This placement indicates that no other CPU-GPU pairing in the benchmark database produces higher frame rates in this title. The combination of Intel's 20-core, 28-thread processor with NVIDIA's flagship Blackwell architecture GPU creates a system that leads the field in this competitive shooter.

The significance of this ranking becomes clearer when examining the individual component positions. The CPU sits in the 94th percentile among all processors, while the GPU occupies the 92nd percentile among all graphics cards. Neither component is the absolute highest-scoring in its respective category, yet their combination produces the best overall result in Counter-Strike 2 specifically. This suggests that the game's engine responds particularly well to this pairing's characteristics — the CPU's high single-thread performance and the GPU's massive compute resources complement each other effectively.

The gap between this combo and the rest of the field is substantial. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (814 FPS) approach the limits of what the game engine can deliver, indicating that the system is not the primary bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the 145 FPS average demonstrates that even the most demanding configuration remains highly playable. This top-tier ranking across all tested settings and resolutions confirms the combo's versatility in Counter-Strike 2, making it the reference point against which all other systems are measured.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance envelope is remarkable across all settings. The Low preset produces 814 FPS average, establishing the maximum performance ceiling for this combination. Medium settings deliver 676 FPS with a minimum of 575 FPS and maximum of 778 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings achieve 505 FPS average, while Ultra still maintains 392 FPS. These figures demonstrate that the system operates well beyond display refresh rate capabilities throughout the 1080p resolution tier, with even the most demanding preset providing nearly four times the frame rate of a standard 100 Hz display.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptional but shows the expected scaling. Low settings produce 539 FPS average, representing a 33.8% reduction from 1080p. Medium delivers 448 FPS with minimum and maximum values of 380 and 515 FPS respectively, maintaining the consistent frame delivery seen at 1080p. High settings achieve 334 FPS, while Ultra produces 260 FPS. All four settings tiers at 1440p exceed 240 FPS, making this resolution viable for the highest refresh rate gaming monitors currently available.

At 3840x2160, the performance profile becomes more differentiated across settings. Low settings produce 301 FPS, continuing the scaling trend with a 63.0% reduction from 1080p. Medium achieves 250 FPS with a 213 FPS minimum and 288 FPS maximum, providing solid performance for high refresh rate 4K displays. High settings deliver 187 FPS, which remains well above 144 Hz thresholds. Ultra settings produce 145 FPS, exactly meeting 144 Hz requirements with minimal margin. The progression from Ultra to Low at 4K shows a 107.6% performance increase, highlighting the significant impact of settings adjustments at this resolution.

The minimum FPS data available for Medium settings across all resolutions reveals important consistency characteristics. At 1080p, the 575 FPS minimum represents 85.1% of the average, indicating excellent frame pacing. At 1440p, the 380 FPS minimum is 84.8% of the average. At 4K, the 213 FPS minimum is 85.2% of the average. This consistent ratio across resolutions suggests stable performance scaling without unexpected frame drops, which is critical for competitive gameplay where frame time consistency matters as much as average FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how this system's bottleneck shifts with resolution. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 814 at 1080p to 539 at 1440p, a 33.8% reduction, and then to 301 at 4K, a 63.0% reduction from 1080p. This pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU becomes an increasingly significant factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly but must wait for game logic updates. The 814 FPS figure at 1080p Low approaches the practical limit for Counter-Strike 2's engine, suggesting CPU-side constraints.

At High settings, the scaling shows a similar pattern with 505 FPS at 1080p, 334 FPS at 1440p (33.9% reduction), and 187 FPS at 4K (63.0% reduction). The consistency between Low and High settings scaling percentages indicates that the resolution-dependent scaling is largely independent of graphical settings. This uniformity suggests that the frame rate drop from resolution increases follows a predictable pattern, with each step up in resolution roughly halving the performance headroom available.

The 4K results provide the clearest evidence of the limiting component. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 145 FPS, while at 4K Low it achieves 301 FPS. The 107.6% improvement from Ultra to Low at 4K demonstrates that GPU load significantly affects performance at this resolution. Conversely, at 1080p, the improvement from Ultra (392 FPS) to Low (814 FPS) is 107.7%, indicating that the GPU still influences performance even at lower resolutions, though the absolute frame rates suggest the CPU is approaching its limits.

The scaling behavior points to a system that is balanced for 1440p and 4K gaming while being CPU-limited at 1080p. The 20-core, 28-thread Intel Core i7-14700KF with its 5.60 GHz boost clock provides the single-thread performance necessary to feed the RTX 5090 D at lower resolutions, but the data shows diminishing returns as resolution decreases. The 4K results, where the GPU's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth become fully utilized, represent the most balanced configuration for this pairing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings substantial processing capability to Counter-Strike 2, with 20 cores and 28 threads running at a 3.40 GHz base clock and 5.60 GHz boost clock. This Raptor Lake-R architecture processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process, delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167 and single-core score of 6,235. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Counter-Strike 2, which relies heavily on fast, responsive CPU processing for game logic, player positioning, and hit registration.

The CPU's benchmark profile shows strong multi-threaded capabilities with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21,462 and single-core score of 2,578. PassMark results demonstrate balanced performance across various workloads: multi-thread score of 52,425, single-thread score of 4,480, physics score of 2,961, and floating-point math at 134,393. The data compression score of 694,963 and integer math at 183,056 indicate strong general-purpose performance that translates well to game server and client workloads.

The 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide the memory hierarchy needed to maintain high frame rates in Counter-Strike 2's fast-paced gameplay. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70,163, places it just 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and 1.0% below the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. This tight grouping indicates that the i7-14700KF delivers competitive performance against the latest processors, though the measured game results show it excels in Counter-Strike 2 specifically.

At 1080p Low settings, the 814 FPS average suggests the CPU is the primary limiter, as the frame rate approaches engine limits. The CPU's high boost clock of 5.60 GHz provides the single-thread responsiveness needed for competitive play, while the 20 cores ensure that background tasks and game threads have sufficient resources. The measured results indicate that the i7-14700KF provides enough processing power to keep the RTX 5090 D well-fed at 1440p and above, with the CPU's influence becoming more apparent only at 1080p where frame rates exceed 800 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D represents the peak of the GeForce 50-series, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. The GPU contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, with 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units. This massive compute configuration delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate, and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate, providing the raw processing power that Counter-Strike 2 leverages for high-resolution rendering.

Memory bandwidth is a critical advantage for this GPU in Counter-Strike 2. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory operates across a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This enormous memory throughput ensures that texture streaming and geometry processing at 4K Ultra settings do not become bottlenecks, allowing the GPU to maintain 145 FPS even at maximum quality. The 1,760 MHz memory clock with 28 Gbps effective speed provides the data transfer rates necessary for high-resolution gaming.

The GPU's benchmark results confirm its position among the fastest available graphics cards. The PassMark G3D score of 44,065 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 demonstrate strong compute and graphics capabilities. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 reflects modern game engine performance. Despite these impressive numbers, the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile with an average score of 77,712, placing it 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and 1.6% below the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, indicating that the benchmark database's aggregate scoring doesn't fully capture its gaming performance.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the 145 FPS result shows the GPU handling the full graphical load, while at 1080p Low, the 814 FPS suggests the GPU is underutilized. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that even at 4K with high-quality textures, the GPU never waits for data, contributing to the consistent frame delivery shown in the Medium preset's minimum FPS values across all resolutions. The RTX 5090 D's capabilities make it the defining component for visual quality in this combination, though the CPU plays an equally important role in achieving the highest possible frame rates at competitive settings.