Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers an exceptionally high-performance experience in Counter-Strike 2, ranking in the top 6.4% of all tested combinations. The data shows that even at 4K with Ultra settings, the combo maintains an average of 120 FPS, while dropping to Low settings at 1080p yields a massive 674 FPS average. This is a system built for maximal frame rates, with the CPU's 24 cores and 6.00 GHz boost clock proving more than adequate to feed the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM in a title that scales well across both components.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that Counter-Strike 2 is highly scalable with this hardware, and the optimal settings depend entirely on the user's display refresh rate and resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 674 FPS, which is excessive for virtually any consumer display. The Ultra preset at this resolution still yields 325 FPS, a figure that exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most specialized esports monitors. The data suggests that at 1080p, players can comfortably enable Ultra settings and still maintain frame rates far above competitive thresholds.

For 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 277 FPS, while Low settings reach 446 FPS. The Medium preset shows a min FPS of 315 and a max of 426, with an average of 371. These numbers indicate that High settings at 1440p provide an ideal balance for high-refresh-rate gaming, as the 277 FPS average leaves substantial headroom above typical 240 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 215 FPS, which remains playable but begins to approach the lower bounds of high-refresh-rate territory.

At 3840x2160, the picture shifts. High settings produce 155 FPS, Medium delivers 207 FPS with a min of 176 and max of 238, and Ultra falls to 120 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, as its 207 FPS average and 176 FPS minimum keep the experience smooth on 144 Hz displays. The Low preset at 4K reaches 249 FPS, but the visual fidelity loss in a competitive shooter is generally not worth the extra frames. The data supports a recommendation of Medium at 4K, High at 1440p, and Ultra at 1080p for most users, though competitive players may prefer lower settings for maximum frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, provides the graphical horsepower for these results. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Counter-Strike 2 at any resolution tested. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz, combined with 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, allow it to push high frame rates even at 4K.

The GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are key factors in the measured results. At 4K Low settings, the RTX 4080 achieves 249 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 674 FPS, demonstrating that the card is rarely the bottleneck in this title. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are present in the AD103 chip, but Counter-Strike 2's rendering workload does not heavily utilize these features, making the raw rasterization performance the primary driver of the observed frame rates.

The RTX 4080's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores within 0.1% in average benchmark performance, indicating that the two cards are essentially interchangeable in this context. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 1.1% higher, while the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD 8060S score 2.6% and 2.7% higher respectively, though these deltas are within the margin of benchmark variance. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it firmly in the upper tier of available hardware.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K, with its 24 cores and 32 threads, provides the processing foundation for this combination. Its Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process, features a boost clock of 6.00 GHz and a base clock of 3.20 GHz. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 80 KB of L1 and 2 MB of L2 per core, ensures that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's frame generation.

Benchmark results show the i9-14900K scoring 39399.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2262.5 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21697 and single-core of 2655. These figures place the CPU in the 95th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 79097. The nearest rival, the i9-14900KF, scores within 0.3%, while the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus trails by 0.6% and the AMD EPYC 7413 by 1.2%. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 1.7% lower.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is critical for maintaining high frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 674 FPS, a figure that would be impossible without a CPU capable of processing game logic and physics at extreme rates. The 6.00 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for a game that is known to be single-thread sensitive, though the 32 threads ensure that background tasks and streaming do not impact performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 237th out of 3719 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the top 6.4% of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the high-end nature of both components, though it also indicates that there are 236 combinations that achieve higher frame rates in this title. The rank is influenced by the fact that Counter-Strike 2 is a CPU-intensive game, and systems with even faster processors or more optimized memory configurations may edge out this combo.

The ranking position is consistent with the component-level data. The CPU's 95th percentile standing and the GPU's 86th percentile standing suggest that this combo should perform near the top of the charts, and the 237th rank confirms this expectation. The gap between the component percentiles and the combo rank can be attributed to the game's specific engine characteristics, which may favor certain CPU architectures or memory configurations not present in this pairing.

The measured FPS data reinforces the strong ranking. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 325 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it maintains 120 FPS. These numbers are competitive with the top-tier systems, though the 236 higher-ranked combos likely feature even more powerful CPUs or use overclocked memory configurations that push frame rates higher in this esports title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings provides an excellent balance, delivering 277 FPS average. For maximum frame rates, 1920x1080 with Low settings reaches 674 FPS, while 4K Ultra still maintains a playable 120 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 0.1% higher in average benchmark performance, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 1.1% higher, the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 2.6% higher, and the AMD 8060S scores 2.7% higher.

Q: Is the i9-14900K CPU a bottleneck at any settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 674 FPS, suggesting the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at extreme rates. The CPU's 6.00 GHz boost clock and 24 cores provide ample headroom for this title.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 4K with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 207 FPS average at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 176 FPS and maximum of 238 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 237th out of 3719 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6.4% of all systems benchmarked in Counter-Strike 2.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 315, with an average of 371 and maximum of 426.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo in Counter-Strike 2 is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces the highest average at 674 FPS. The Medium preset yields 560 FPS with a minimum of 476 and maximum of 644. High settings drop to 418 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 325 FPS. All of these figures are well above the refresh rates of standard gaming monitors, making 1080p a resolution where the system's performance is essentially unconstrained.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 446 FPS, Medium delivers 371 FPS with a min of 315 and max of 426, High produces 277 FPS, and Ultra drops to 215 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent scaling pattern, with each settings tier reducing the average by roughly 25-30%. The 1440p results indicate that this resolution is the practical sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming with this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 249 FPS, Medium delivers 207 FPS with a min of 176 and max of 238, High achieves 155 FPS, and Ultra falls to 120 FPS. The 4K results show that even at the highest resolution, the system maintains competitive frame rates. The Medium preset at 4K provides the best combination of visual quality and performance, with its 176 FPS minimum ensuring smooth gameplay during intense firefights.

The data across all resolutions and settings demonstrates that this combo scales predictably, with no anomalous drops or bottlenecks apparent in the measured results. The minimum FPS values, where recorded, indicate stable frame pacing even at Medium settings, which is critical for competitive play in Counter-Strike 2.