Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces the highest average frame rates recorded in the database for this title. The measured results place this combination at the top of the tested combos, demonstrating exceptional performance across all resolution and settings configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data places this hardware pairing at rank 1 out of 2870 tested combos for Counter-Strike 2. This top-tier placement indicates that no other CPU-GPU combination in the database achieves higher average frame rates in this specific title. The ranking reflects the synergy between the 24-core Intel processor and the flagship NVIDIA graphics card.

The performance headroom over other systems is substantial. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 814 FPS average, a figure that dwarfs typical results for lower-ranked configurations. The gap between this combo and the 2870th-ranked system is massive, though the exact delta is not specified in the data. What is clear is that this pairing occupies the absolute ceiling of measured performance for Counter-Strike 2.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 95th among all processors and the GPU's 92nd percentile among all graphics cards corroborate the in-game ranking. While individual component percentiles are high, the combined result exceeds what either part achieves in isolation, suggesting strong mutual compatibility. The i9-14900K's nearest rivals in synthetic tests—the Core i9-14900KF at -0.3% and Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at -0.6%—show that the CPU is already near the top of the pack, and the RTX 5090 D's position relative to its nearest rivals (RX 6650M XT at +1.1%, RX 6850M XT at -1.6%) further confirms the GPU's high standing.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on settings optimization. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 814 FPS, while Medium produces 676 FPS, High yields 505 FPS, and Ultra drops to 392 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 138 FPS (17%), while the jump from Medium to High costs 171 FPS (25%). Moving from High to Ultra costs another 113 FPS (22%). For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, the Low preset offers the highest possible refresh rate support, though even Ultra at 392 FPS exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all consumer monitors.

At 1440p, the pattern holds with diminishing returns at higher settings. Low produces 539 FPS, Medium 448 FPS, High 334 FPS, and Ultra 260 FPS. The relative drops are similar to 1080p, with Medium being 17% slower than Low, High being 25% slower than Medium, and Ultra being 22% slower than High. The 1440p Ultra setting still maintains 260 FPS, which remains well above competitive thresholds.

For 4K, the trade-offs become more pronounced. Low delivers 301 FPS, Medium 250 FPS, High 187 FPS, and Ultra 145 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 17%, Medium to High is 25%, and High to Ultra is 22%. While 4K Ultra at 145 FPS is playable, the Medium preset at 250 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and speed. Given that even 4K Ultra exceeds 144 Hz, players with high-refresh 4K displays can comfortably use Medium or High settings. The data suggests that the Low preset is only necessary for extreme refresh rates (360 Hz or higher) at 1080p, where the 814 FPS result provides maximum headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important characteristics about the bottleneck distribution. At Low settings, the progression is 814 FPS (1080p), 539 FPS (1440p), and 301 FPS (4K). This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. The substantial decline indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU becomes increasingly limiting as resolution rises, though the absolute numbers remain extraordinarily high.

At Medium settings, the scaling is 676 FPS (1080p), 448 FPS (1440p), and 250 FPS (4K). The resolution penalty is 34% from 1080p to 1440p and 44% from 1440p to 4K—identical percentages to Low. This consistency suggests that the rendering workload scales linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a game like Counter-Strike 2 that does not heavily utilize ray tracing or other resolution-dependent effects.

High settings show 505 FPS (1080p), 334 FPS (1440p), and 187 FPS (4K). The drops are 34% and 44% respectively, matching the Low and Medium patterns. Ultra settings yield 392 FPS (1080p), 260 FPS (1440p), and 145 FPS (4K), with identical percentage decreases. The uniform scaling across all settings indicates that the CPU maintains sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at every resolution, and the GPU's rendering throughput is the primary limiter as resolution increases. The 4K-to-1080p ratio of roughly 2.7x (for Low) and 2.7x (for Ultra) confirms that pixel count drives the performance curve.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The maximum measured average is 814 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The second-highest is 676 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 539 FPS at 1440p Low.

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

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K with RTX 5090 D ranks 1st out of 2870 combos for Counter-Strike 2. This top position reflects the highest measured average frame rates in the database for this game.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest average is 145 FPS at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This remains well above typical display refresh rates and indicates that even the most demanding configuration is highly playable.

Q: Are there measurable minimum FPS values available?

A: The data includes minimum FPS only for Medium settings: 575 FPS at 1080p, 380 FPS at 1440p, and 213 FPS at 4K. All other settings rows do not report minimum FPS values.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79097, which is 0.3% below the Core i9-14900KF (79371) and 0.6% below the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (79574). It outperforms the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (77740) by 1.7%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile and average score?

A: The RTX 5090 D achieves a 92nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 77712. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76904 (1.1% lower), while the RX 6850M XT scores 78940 (1.6% higher).

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D brings substantial resources to Counter-Strike 2. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is far beyond what this game requires. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clock speeds, combined with 21,760 shading units, deliver 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

The GPU's synthetic benchmarks show a Passmark G3D score of 44065 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326. Geekbench scores include 310674 in OpenCL and 376915 in Vulkan. These numbers place the RTX 5090 D in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. In Counter-Strike 2 specifically, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 145, which is only 36% of the 1080p Low result. This indicates that while the CPU handles the game's simulation and draw call overhead, the GPU's fill rate and shader throughput become the limiting factor at 4K.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% lower score) and RX 6850M XT (1.6% higher score), though these comparisons do not reflect in-game Counter-Strike 2 performance. The RTX 5090 D's high pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s contribute to its ability to maintain high frame rates even at 4K, where the measured 301 FPS at Low settings demonstrates considerable headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K provides the computational foundation for this combo. With 24 cores and 32 threads, the processor runs at a base clock of 3.20 GHz and boosts to 6.00 GHz. The Raptor Lake architecture includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This cache hierarchy is critical for Counter-Strike 2, which benefits from low-latency access to frequently used game data.

The CPU's synthetic performance is strong across multiple benchmarks. Cinebench R23 scores include 39399.5 in multi-core and 2262.5 in single-core. Geekbench results show 21697 multi-core and 2655 single-core. Passmark scores include 58674 for multi-thread and 4697 for single-thread. These results place the i9-14900K in the 95th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 79097.

The CPU's role in Counter-Strike 2 is evident from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 814 FPS, which is 2.7 times the 4K Low result of 301 FPS. This large gap suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at very high frame rates, and the GPU's rendering speed is the primary constraint even at lower resolutions. The uniform percentage drops (34% from 1080p to 1440p, 44% from 1440p to 4K) across all settings indicate that the CPU does not become a bottleneck at any tested configuration.

The i9-14900K's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Core i9-14900KF (0.3% higher), Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (0.6% higher), and AMD EPYC 7413 (1.2% higher). The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 1.7% lower. These small deltas suggest that the CPU is near the top of the performance curve, and the 14900K's 6.00 GHz boost clock likely provides an advantage in Counter-Strike 2's single-threaded aspects.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of performance across all configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low averages 814 FPS, Medium averages 676 FPS (minimum 575, maximum 778), High averages 505 FPS, and Ultra averages 392 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 422 FPS, representing a 52% reduction at the highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 539 FPS, Medium 448 FPS (minimum 380, maximum 515), High 334 FPS, and Ultra 260 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 279 FPS, a 52% reduction that mirrors the 1080p pattern. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 380 FPS, which remains well above 240 Hz refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 301 FPS, Medium 250 FPS (minimum 213, maximum 288), High 187 FPS, and Ultra 145 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 156 FPS, again a 52% reduction. The 4K Medium minimum of 213 FPS is notable, as it exceeds the 144 Hz threshold with substantial margin.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently shows the tightest FPS range based on available min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the range is 575-778 FPS (203 FPS spread). At 1440p Medium, it narrows to 380-515 FPS (135 FPS spread). At 4K Medium, it tightens further to 213-288 FPS (75 FPS spread). This data suggests that higher resolutions reduce frame time variance, likely because the GPU's workload becomes more consistent relative to CPU-side fluctuations. The absence of min/max data for Low, High, and Ultra presets limits further comparison, but the available Medium data provides insight into the combo's stability characteristics.