Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a esports title where frame rate often trumps visual fidelity, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 shows a system that is decisively GPU-limited at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops. The measured FPS across the three resolutions reveals a pattern of diminishing returns when lowering settings at 1080p, suggesting the processor is nearing its ceiling. This analysis examines the resolution scaling, the specific FPS numbers, and the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping this combo's performance profile.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and finally to 3840x2160 shows a clear and expected decline in average frame rates, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly depending on the quality preset. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 674 at 1080p to 446 at 1440p—a reduction of 228 FPS, or roughly 34%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the average falls further to 249 FPS, another 44% drop. This steep curve at Low settings indicates that the GPU is being given progressively more work, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it frames at 1080p, resulting in an exceptionally high frame rate that the graphics card cannot sustain as pixel count rises.

At the High preset, the scaling is less dramatic but still substantial: 418 FPS at 1080p, 277 FPS at 1440p, and 155 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 34% (1080p to 1440p) and 44% (1440p to 4K), which are nearly identical to the Low preset's relative declines. This consistency suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter in both cases, as the workload per pixel scales with resolution, and the CPU has enough headroom to maintain a high input rate. The fact that the relative drop is similar between Low and High implies that the game's engine is not introducing a CPU bottleneck at these settings, even at 4K where the average FPS is still a very playable 155.

The most telling data point for identifying the limiting component comes from the Medium preset, which is the only one with reported min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 560 FPS with a min of 476 and max of 644. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 371 FPS (min 315, max 426), and at 4K Medium, it falls to 207 FPS (min 176, max 238). The spread between min and max FPS is roughly 168 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck, smoothing out the frame time variance that the CPU would otherwise introduce. At 1080p, the wide spread suggests the CPU is struggling to keep up with the GPU's demand for frames, leading to more variable delivery.

Comparing the Ultra preset numbers reinforces this interpretation. At 4K Ultra, the average is 120 FPS, which is 35 FPS lower than 4K High. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 215 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it is 325 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 1080p at Ultra yields a 110 FPS increase (from 215 to 325), which is a 51% improvement. This is a larger relative gain than seen at Low or High settings, implying that at Ultra, the GPU is so heavily loaded that reducing resolution provides a disproportionate benefit, further confirming that the graphics card is the dominant constraint at all resolutions except perhaps the extreme 1080p Low case.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: The highest average FPS is 674, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is significantly higher than the 446 FPS at 1440p Low, demonstrating that the CPU can push very high frame rates when the GPU workload is minimal.

Q: How does the combo rank against other tested configurations in Counter-Strike 2?

A: This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 237th out of 3719 tested combos in this game. This places it in the top 6.4% of all tested systems, indicating a high-performing setup for this title.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 674 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 325 FPS. This represents a 349 FPS difference, meaning Ultra delivers roughly 52% of the frame rate of Low at the same resolution.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209). However, it is 1.1% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X and 2.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB.

Q: Is the CPU's multi-threaded performance close to its rivals?

A: Yes, the Core Ultra 5 235's average benchmark score is 46062, which is only 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030) and 0.2% higher than both the AMD EPYC 4364P (45970) and AMD EPYC 7303 (45960). It is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098).

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded, and under what conditions?

A: The lowest average FPS is 120, recorded at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is still a playable frame rate for most users, but it is 129 FPS lower than the 4K High preset (155 FPS).

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo rank of 237 out of 3719 tested combinations places this system in the 93.6th percentile for Counter-Strike 2 performance. This is a strong result, but it is not at the very top, which suggests that while the RTX 4080 and Core Ultra 5 235 are both high-end parts, there are other configurations that extract more performance from the game. The rank implies that 3482 other tested combos are slower, while 236 are faster. Given that the RTX 4080 is an end-of-life product and the Core Ultra 5 235 is a recent desktop CPU, this rank reflects a balanced pairing rather than an extreme overclocking or multi-GPU setup.

The data suggests that the rank is likely influenced by the CPU's single-thread performance and the GPU's raw throughput. The Core Ultra 5 235 has a passmark single-thread score of 4516, which is competitive with its nearest rivals, but the game may favor higher core clocks or different cache architectures. The RTX 4080's percentile of 86 against all GPUs is slightly lower than the CPU's percentile of 89, indicating that the GPU is relatively weaker in the broader benchmark landscape. This could explain why the combo does not rank higher, as the GPU may be the limiting factor in achieving top-tier frame rates, particularly at 1080p where the CPU has more headroom.

Compared to the nearest rival combos, the performance delta is small. The CPU is nearly identical in average score to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (within 0.1%), and the GPU is within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER. This suggests that swapping the CPU or GPU for a very similar part would not yield significant changes in Counter-Strike 2 performance. The rank of 237 is therefore a reflection of the specific combination's ability to maintain high frame rates, and it places this system well above the median tested configuration, which would be around rank 1860.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 674 for Low, 560 for Medium, 418 for High, and 325 for Ultra. The Medium preset also reports a min FPS of 476 and a max FPS of 644, providing a range of 168 FPS. This wide range indicates that frame pacing is not perfectly consistent at this resolution, likely due to CPU limitations. The jump from Low to Medium is a 114 FPS drop, while from Medium to High is a 142 FPS drop, and from High to Ultra is a 93 FPS drop. The diminishing returns from High to Ultra suggest that the GPU is becoming more saturated, but the CPU is still able to provide a high enough frame rate to keep the average above 300 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 446 for Low, 371 for Medium, 277 for High, and 215 for Ultra. The Medium preset shows a min of 315 and a max of 426, a spread of 111 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p. This narrowing spread supports the theory that the GPU is taking on more of the workload, reducing the CPU's influence on frame time variance. The difference between Low and Medium at 1440p is 75 FPS, while Medium to High is 94 FPS, and High to Ultra is 62 FPS. The relatively smaller gap between High and Ultra at 1440p compared to 1080p (62 FPS vs 93 FPS) indicates that the resolution increase is already putting more pressure on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 249 for Low, 207 for Medium, 155 for High, and 120 for Ultra. The Medium preset reports a min of 176 and a max of 238, a spread of 62 FPS, which is the narrowest of all resolutions. This confirms that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant bottleneck, as the frame rate is more stable and the CPU is no longer causing large fluctuations. The drop from Low to Medium is 42 FPS, Medium to High is 52 FPS, and High to Ultra is 35 FPS. Notably, the 4K Ultra average of 120 FPS is exactly half of the 1080p Ultra average of 325 FPS, showing a linear scaling with pixel count for the most demanding preset.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. Its cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 14769 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2085 in singlecore, which places its average benchmark score at 46062, ranking it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. This is a strong multi-threaded performer, but Counter-Strike 2 is a game that typically favors single-thread performance over many cores.

The passmark single-thread score of 4516 is the same as the passmark_singlethread score, indicating that the CPU's architecture is well-suited for high-frequency workloads. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz is particularly relevant for a game like Counter-Strike 2, where frame rates can exceed 600 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 674, which is a very high number that suggests the CPU is still the limiting factor at this setting, as the GPU is not fully utilized. The wide frame time spread at 1080p Medium (min 476, max 644) further indicates that the CPU's ability to feed the GPU is inconsistent at high frame rates.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 5 235 is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, Intel Core i9-13900HX, and AMD EPYC 4364P, all within 0.2% of each other. This means that for this game, the choice between these CPUs would likely result in similar frame rates. However, the Core Ultra 5 235's 14 threads (which equal its core count, meaning no hyper-threading) may limit its performance in heavily threaded scenarios, but Counter-Strike 2 does not appear to be one of them based on the measured FPS. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s and dual-channel DDR5 support are sufficient to avoid a memory bottleneck at the frame rates observed.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For players targeting the highest possible frame rates on a high-refresh-rate monitor, the Low preset at 1080p offers the best raw performance, with an average of 674 FPS. This is the only setting that breaks the 600 FPS barrier, and it provides a significant margin over the next best, which is Medium at 560 FPS. However, the Low preset may sacrifice visual quality, and the data shows that the jump to Medium at 1080p still yields 560 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. The Medium preset's min FPS of 476 is also higher than the average of the High preset (418 FPS), making it a better choice for maintaining a stable frame rate without the visual compromises of Low.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides an average of 371 FPS with a min of 315, which is suitable for 240 Hz or 360 Hz monitors. The High preset at 277 FPS is still very playable, but the 94 FPS difference between Medium and High suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for balancing performance and visual fidelity at this resolution. For 4K gaming, the Low preset's 249 FPS is the only setting that exceeds 240 FPS, but the Medium preset at 207 FPS (min 176) is a more balanced option for a 144 Hz or 165 Hz display, as it provides a higher level of detail with a frame rate that is still well above 144 FPS.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for competitive play, as it drops to 120 FPS at 4K and 215 FPS at 1440p, which may introduce input lag on high-refresh-rate panels. However, for single-player or casual play, the Ultra preset at 1080p (325 FPS) offers the best visual experience while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds most monitors' refresh rates. The data shows that the Medium preset is the most versatile across all resolutions, providing the best balance of high average FPS and a relatively stable min FPS, making it the recommended starting point for most users.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is based on the AD103 chip with the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. Its base clock is 2205 MHz and boost clock is 2505 MHz, with a memory clock of 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). The GPU has 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, and it scores 34457 in the passmark G3D benchmark, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 54247, which is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 674 is likely limited by the CPU, as the RTX 4080 is far more capable than what is required for that workload. However, as the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU's rendering load grows, and the average FPS drops accordingly. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game at any setting, as Counter-Strike 2 is not a VRAM-intensive title, and the data shows no sign of a memory capacity bottleneck. The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is also ample for the frame rates observed.

The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz is a key factor in its ability to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where the average at High settings is 155 FPS. The measured data shows that the RTX 4080 is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where it delivers 120 FPS, which is 35 FPS lower than at 4K High. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU's shading units and texture mapping units. The GPU's performance is comparable to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is only 0.1% faster in synthetic benchmarks, indicating that in real-world gaming, the two would produce nearly identical frame rates.