Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested configurations in Counter-Strike 2?

A: This pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1510th out of 2870 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. That places it in the 52nd percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly half of the tested configurations deliver higher frame rates and half deliver lower ones.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 17639, which sits within 0.7% of three AMD rivals. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (0.3% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (0.5% lower). The closest competitor, the AMD Radeon Pro 460, scores 17509, which is 0.7% below the RTX 4060.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 382 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 317 FPS average, High delivers 237 FPS, and Ultra delivers 184 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How much performance does the combo lose when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 237 FPS at 1920x1080 to 157 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 88 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 63% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What are the CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003. Its closest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K at 83807 (0.2% lower). The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090 (1.1% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980 (1.2% lower). The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072, which is 1.3% higher.

Q: Does the RTX 4060 have sufficient VRAM for Counter-Strike 2 at high resolutions?

A: With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, the RTX 4060 maintains playable frame rates even at 4K. The measured data shows 88 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold despite the modest memory configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 serves as the rendering engine for this pairing, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node at TSMC. The GPU packs 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster operation pipelines, with 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores available for accelerated workloads. The chip operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and boosts to 2460 MHz, with memory running at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) across 8 GB of GDDR6.

The GPU's memory subsystem is modest by modern standards — 8 GB on a 128-bit bus produces 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For Counter-Strike 2, this configuration proves sufficient across all tested settings and resolutions. The measured data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains an average of 68 FPS, suggesting the 8 GB frame buffer does not become a bottleneck at this game's texture and geometry demands.

The RTX 4060's compute throughput is rated at 15.11 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, with pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s. These specifications align with the observed performance scaling: the GPU handles 1080p Low at 382 FPS, demonstrating that the pixel and texture pipelines are not saturated at lower resolutions. The card's 115 W TDP and dual-slot form factor indicate an efficiency-focused design, with a 300 W suggested PSU requirement.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all AMD products, with the Radeon HD 7790 edging ahead by 0.2% and the Radeon 780M trailing by 0.3%. The RTX 4060's production status is end-of-life, with a launch MSRP of 299 USD.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across presets, with the optimal choice depending on the target display resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 382 FPS average, which far exceeds the refresh rate capabilities of virtually all monitors. The Medium preset drops to 317 FPS average (270 FPS minimum, 365 FPS maximum), still providing headroom for high-refresh displays. High settings at 1080p produce 237 FPS, while Ultra yields 184 FPS.

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset offers the maximum frame rate advantage, but the Medium preset represents the best balance — the 317 FPS average with a 270 FPS minimum ensures consistent frame pacing even in demanding scenes. The jump from Medium to High costs 80 FPS on average (317 to 237), which is a substantial reduction for visual improvements that may be marginal in a fast-paced FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 253 FPS average, which remains competitive for high-refresh monitors. Medium delivers 210 FPS (179 minimum, 242 maximum), while High drops to 157 FPS and Ultra falls to 122 FPS. For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset provides the best experience, maintaining an average above 200 FPS while offering improved visual fidelity over Low.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. Low settings produce 141 FPS average, Medium delivers 117 FPS (100 minimum, 135 maximum), High drops to 88 FPS, and Ultra falls to 68 FPS. For 4K displays, the Low preset is the only option that maintains triple-digit frame rates, while Medium remains playable at 117 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 4K fall below the 100 FPS threshold, making them less suitable for competitive play.

The data suggests that Counter-Strike 2 players should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. The Low preset at any resolution delivers the highest average FPS, but the Medium preset offers a reasonable compromise for those seeking improved visuals without sacrificing competitive performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1510th out of 2870 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2. This places the combo in the 52nd percentile, indicating a below-median standing among all tested systems for this specific game.

The CPU component of this pairing is exceptionally strong. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807 (0.2% lower), while the AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090 (1.1% lower) and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980 (1.2% lower). The AMD EPYC 7F72 outperforms it by 1.3% with a score of 85072.

The GPU, however, provides a significant performance ceiling. The RTX 4060 ranks in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals are all AMD products within a tight 0.7% band: the Radeon HD 7790 at 17666, the Radeon 780M at 17588, the Radeon Pro 560 at 17551, and the Radeon Pro 460 at 17509.

The disparity between the CPU's top-tier ranking and the GPU's mid-range ranking explains the combo's position at 1510th. In a game like Counter-Strike 2, which is CPU-sensitive at lower resolutions, the strong processor boosts the combo's performance at 1080p. However, at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the RTX 4060's mid-range standing constrains overall results.

The combo's rank relative to other tested systems suggests that many configurations with lower-tier CPUs but higher-tier GPUs achieve better overall performance in this game. The data indicates that Counter-Strike 2's performance scaling favors GPU strength at higher resolutions, where the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become the determining factors.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this combo's performance scales across resolutions, providing insight into which component limits performance at each setting level.

At Low settings, the frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K is: 382 FPS at 1920x1080, 253 FPS at 2560x1440, and 141 FPS at 3840x2160. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 129 FPS (34%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 112 FPS (44%). The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 241 FPS (63%).

At Medium settings, the progression is: 317 FPS at 1920x1080, 210 FPS at 2560x1440, and 117 FPS at 3840x2160. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 107 FPS (34%), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 93 FPS (44%). The total reduction is 200 FPS (63%).

At High settings, the progression is: 237 FPS at 1920x1080, 157 FPS at 2560x1440, and 88 FPS at 3840x2160. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 80 FPS (34%), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 69 FPS (44%). The total reduction is 149 FPS (63%).

At Ultra settings, the progression is: 184 FPS at 1920x1080, 122 FPS at 2560x1440, and 68 FPS at 3840x2160. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 62 FPS (34%), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 54 FPS (44%). The total reduction is 116 FPS (63%).

The consistent 34% and 44% drops across all settings presets indicate that resolution scaling is uniform regardless of quality level. This pattern suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at all resolutions — the CPU, which ranks in the 96th percentile, is not constraining performance at any point. The RTX 4060's 8 GB memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become the bottleneck as pixel count increases.

The 63% total reduction from 1080p to 4K is substantial, reflecting the GPU's mid-range positioning. A higher-tier GPU would likely show a more gradual scaling curve, as the CPU would continue to feed frames effectively at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080

At the most common competitive resolution, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset produces an average of 382 FPS, which represents the maximum performance ceiling for this pairing. The Medium preset delivers 317 FPS average, with a minimum of 270 FPS and maximum of 365 FPS.

The High preset at 1080p achieves 237 FPS average, while the Ultra preset drops to 184 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 198 FPS, or 52% of the Low preset's performance. The Medium preset's minimum of 270 FPS ensures that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate remains well above 240 Hz display refresh rates.

2560x1440

At 1440p, the combo maintains competitive frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 253 FPS average, which remains suitable for high-refresh gaming. The Medium preset delivers 210 FPS average, with a minimum of 179 FPS and maximum of 242 FPS.

The High preset at 1440p achieves 157 FPS average, while the Ultra preset delivers 122 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets at approximately 34%, indicating that the GPU's pixel throughput is the scaling factor. The Medium preset's 179 FPS minimum still provides smooth gameplay for most competitive scenarios.

3840x2160

At 4K resolution, the combo's performance drops significantly, with the GPU becoming the clear bottleneck. The Low preset delivers 141 FPS average, which remains playable for many titles. The Medium preset produces 117 FPS average, with a minimum of 100 FPS and maximum of 135 FPS.

The High preset at 4K achieves 88 FPS average, while the Ultra preset falls to 68 FPS. Both of these settings remain above the 60 FPS threshold for basic playability, but they lack the headroom required for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset's 100 FPS minimum ensures consistent frame delivery, making it the preferred choice for 4K gaming with this combo.

The measured data shows a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at every resolution, with frame rates that remain competitive for the respective display class. The Low preset maximizes frame rate but sacrifices visual fidelity, while High and Ultra presets provide diminishing returns for significant performance costs.