Counter-Strike 2

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this CPU/GPU combo achieves in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The best measured result is 745 FPS on average at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 359 FPS at the same resolution when Ultra settings are enabled.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmark score?

A: The Core Ultra 5 235 scores 46,062 on average. This is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46,030), 0.1% behind the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46,098), and 0.2% ahead of both the AMD EPYC 4364P (45,970) and AMD EPYC 7303 (45,960).

Q: Is the RTX 4090 significantly faster than its closest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4090 averages 60,347 in benchmark scores. The Intel Arc Pro A60 is essentially tied at 60,326 (0.0% delta), while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 trails by 0.3% at 60,140. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% faster at 61,896, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 is 2.9% slower at 58,657.

Q: What is the lowest measured average FPS for this combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The lowest average is 133 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. Even at this demanding configuration, the frame rate remains comfortably above typical display refresh rates.

Q: Does lowering resolution from 1440p to 1080p provide a large performance jump?

A: Yes. At High settings, moving from 2560x1440 (306 FPS average) to 1920x1080 (462 FPS average) yields a 51% increase. At Low settings, the jump is from 493 FPS to 745 FPS, a 51% improvement as well.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested CPU/GPU combinations in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The combo ranks 109th out of 2,870 tested combinations. This places it in the top 4% of all tested systems for this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock runs at 3.40 GHz with a boost clock up to 5.00 GHz. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core, with 192 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is substantial because the game's engine frequently relies on high single-thread performance for simulation and input processing. The Core Ultra 5 235 scores 2,085 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4,516 in Passmark single-thread, indicating strong per-core capability. This helps explain why the combo achieves 745 FPS at 1080p Low settings — a scenario where the GPU is not the bottleneck and the CPU's throughput determines the ceiling.

The processor's multi-threaded performance is also relevant for background tasks and game server processing. It scores 14,769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 37,816 in Passmark multithread. The CPU sits at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors in the database. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-13900HX, scores nearly identically at 46,098 versus 46,062 average, a delta of just -0.1%. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 is 0.1% behind, and the AMD EPYC 4364P and EPYC 7303 are both 0.2% behind.

For Counter-Strike 2, the data shows a clear pattern: at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU's single-thread speed becomes the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 745 FPS average is only achievable because the processor can feed frames quickly enough. At 4K Ultra, the CPU's workload is lighter relative to the GPU, and the average drops to 133 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The 14-thread count without hyper-threading means each thread gets dedicated execution resources, which can be advantageous for latency-sensitive games like Counter-Strike 2 where frame pacing matters more than raw core count.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, along with 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The card operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. Memory consists of 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's floating-point performance reaches 82.58 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16.

In Counter-Strike 2, the RTX 4090's enormous memory bandwidth and compute resources ensure that the GPU rarely becomes the bottleneck until resolution and settings are pushed to their limits. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo still maintains 133 FPS average, which is playable for competitive scenarios. At 2560x1440 High, the average jumps to 306 FPS, and at 1920x1080 High, it reaches 462 FPS. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its high-end positioning, though its nearest rivals in the database include workstation-class cards like the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, which is 2.5% faster in synthetic scores, and the Intel Arc Pro A60, which is essentially tied.

The GPU's 24 GB VRAM is far beyond what Counter-Strike 2 requires at any tested setting, meaning memory capacity is not a limiting factor in any of the measured rows. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) combined with the 384-bit bus provides the bandwidth needed to sustain high frame rates even at 4K. The card's pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for the game's rendering demands.

Benchmark results indicate that the RTX 4090's performance scales predictably with settings. From Low to High at 1080p, the average FPS drops from 745 to 462, a 38% reduction. From High to Ultra at 1080p, the drop is from 462 to 359, a 22% reduction. These figures show that the GPU handles the increased shading and texture work efficiently, but the game's engine still benefits from higher settings only up to a point where CPU limitations begin to dominate.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across settings and resolutions. For competitive play where maximum frame rates are paramount, Low settings at 1920x1080 deliver the highest average at 745 FPS. This configuration minimizes GPU load and allows the CPU to push frames as fast as possible. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is substantial: 745 versus 619 FPS average, a 20% reduction. At 1440p, Low yields 493 FPS average versus 410 FPS for Medium, a 20% reduction as well.

For players who prioritize visual quality without sacrificing responsiveness, Medium settings present the best balance. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 619 FPS average with a minimum of 526 FPS and a maximum of 712 FPS. The minimum frame rate is particularly important for maintaining smoothness during intense firefights. At 2560x1440, Medium produces 410 FPS average with a minimum of 348 FPS and a maximum of 471 FPS. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 229 FPS with a minimum of 195 FPS and a maximum of 263 FPS.

High settings are viable for those who want improved visuals while still maintaining high refresh rates. At 1080p, High achieves 462 FPS average; at 1440p, 306 FPS average; and at 4K, 171 FPS average. Ultra settings are only recommended at 1080p or 1440p for players with high-refresh monitors, delivering 359 FPS and 238 FPS respectively. At 4K Ultra, the 133 FPS average is playable but may not satisfy competitive players who demand the highest frame rates.

The data suggests that Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot for most users with high-refresh displays, offering 410 FPS average with a 348 FPS minimum. This combination provides enough graphical fidelity to discern enemy models clearly while maintaining frame rates well above 240 Hz thresholds. For those with 4K displays, Medium at 3840x2160 with 229 FPS average is the recommended starting point, as it keeps the minimum above 195 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 109th out of 2,870 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2. This places the combo in the top 3.8% of all systems tested, indicating exceptional performance for this game. The ranking reflects the balanced pairing of a high-end CPU and flagship GPU, with neither component significantly bottlenecking the other in most configurations.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest that this combo is well matched. In Counter-Strike 2, where frame rates are extremely high, the CPU's single-thread performance is critical, and the Core Ultra 5 235 delivers with a 5.00 GHz boost clock and strong single-core benchmarks. The GPU's role becomes more prominent at higher resolutions, where the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensure consistent frame delivery.

Compared to the combo's nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the differences are minimal. The Core Ultra 5 235 is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i9-13900HX in average score, a margin that translates to negligible differences in real-world gaming. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 is 0.1% behind the Core Ultra 5 235, and the AMD EPYC processors are 0.2% behind. These sub-1% deltas indicate that the CPU choice is not the differentiator in this combo's ranking.

The ranking of 109th out of 2,870 suggests that there are 108 combinations that perform better, likely featuring even faster CPUs or more optimized pairings. However, the absolute performance numbers are so high that the practical difference between rank 109 and rank 1 is likely to be small in Counter-Strike 2, where the game's engine caps out at very high frame rates. The data shows that this combo can exceed 700 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far beyond the refresh rate of any commercially available monitor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 745 FPS. Medium settings yield 619 FPS average with a minimum of 526 FPS and a maximum of 712 FPS. High settings achieve 462 FPS average. Ultra settings result in 359 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 52% reduction in average frame rate, with the largest single-step drop occurring from Low to Medium (17%) and from High to Ultra (22%).

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 493 FPS. Medium settings produce 410 FPS average with a minimum of 348 FPS and a maximum of 471 FPS. High settings achieve 306 FPS average. Ultra settings result in 238 FPS average. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings reduces average FPS by 34% at Low (745 to 493), 34% at Medium (619 to 410), 34% at High (462 to 306), and 34% at Ultra (359 to 238). This consistent 34% reduction indicates that the GPU's workload scales uniformly with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the combo still delivers playable frame rates. Low settings average 276 FPS. Medium settings produce 229 FPS average with a minimum of 195 FPS and a maximum of 263 FPS. High settings achieve 171 FPS average. Ultra settings result in 133 FPS average. Moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings reduces average FPS by 44% at Low (493 to 276), 44% at Medium (410 to 229), 44% at High (306 to 171), and 44% at Ultra (238 to 133). The larger percentage drop from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p reflects the 4K resolution's higher pixel count (8.3 million versus 3.7 million), which is a 2.25x increase in pixel throughput.

The Medium settings rows provide the only minimum and maximum frame rate data in the measured set. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 526 FPS and maximum of 712 FPS indicate a variance of 186 FPS, or 30% above the minimum. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 348 FPS and the maximum is 471 FPS, a variance of 123 FPS, or 35% above the minimum. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 195 FPS and the maximum is 263 FPS, a variance of 68 FPS, or 35% above the minimum. This consistent variance pattern suggests the game's frame pacing remains stable across resolutions.

The data shows that the combo maintains over 100 FPS average in every tested configuration, including the most demanding 4K Ultra setting. At 1080p and 1440p, all settings except 4K Ultra exceed 238 FPS average, making the system suitable for high-refresh monitors up to 360 Hz. The minimum frame rates at Medium settings across all resolutions (526, 348, and 195 FPS) are all above common display refresh rates, indicating smooth gameplay without noticeable stutter.