Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 produces exceptionally high frame rates in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a game that is notorious for favoring CPU performance. Across all tested configurations, the combination never drops below 187 FPS on average, indicating that the system is overwhelmingly capable of driving high-refresh-rate displays. The data reveals a clear hierarchy where performance scales primarily with resolution and, to a lesser extent, with graphical settings, with the most significant bottleneck shifting from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced inverse relationship between resolution and average frame rate, a pattern that underscores the varying workload distribution between the processor and graphics card. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 733 FPS, which is the peak performance recorded in this dataset. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings, the average drops to 504 FPS, a decrease of approximately 31%. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls further to 298 FPS, representing a 59% reduction from the 1080p figure. This steep decline with increasing resolution indicates that the RTX 3070 becomes a more significant limiting factor as pixel count rises, though it remains far from being a weak link.

The scaling pattern shifts when examining higher settings. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 461 at 1080p to 317 at 1440p, and then to 187 at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is 31%, which is similar to the Low setting drop, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 41%. This suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is already working harder, and the transition to 4K amplifies its workload more substantially. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases; at 1080p, the difference is 272 FPS, at 1440p it is 187 FPS, and at 4K it is 111 FPS. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are being saturated, while at 1080p, the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. In the context of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and draw call processing, this CPU’s specifications are highly relevant. The processor’s benchmark scores reflect strong single-core capability; it achieves a 3dmark_single_thread score of 688 and a passmark_single_thread score of 2541. These scores place the CPU in the 68th percentile among all tested CPUs, indicating it is a solid performer for the game’s engine.

The data strongly suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. With a 6-core, 12-thread configuration, the processor is capable of handling the game’s threading, but the frame rates at 1080p Low (733 FPS) versus 4K Low (298 FPS) demonstrate that the CPU’s output is the ceiling. At 1080p, the GPU is not being fully utilized, as the CPU cannot generate frames faster than 733 FPS. This is further evidenced by the fact that the 3dmark_2_threads score of 1350 and 3dmark_4_threads score of 2560 are significantly lower than the max threads score of 4735, showing that the CPU’s performance scales with thread count, but the game likely does not utilize all 12 threads effectively. The high frame rates at 1080p are a direct result of the CPU’s strong single-thread performance, but the data indicates that upgrading the CPU would yield diminishing returns beyond the already impressive 733 FPS average, as the game’s engine may have its own frame rate limits.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, built on the Ampere architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, is a high-end graphics card that provides ample bandwidth for this game. Its memory configuration, with a 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, ensures that texture streaming and data transfer are not bottlenecks. The GPU’s base clock of 1500 MHz and boost clock of 1725 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, deliver substantial raw compute power, as evidenced by its passmark_g3d score of 22214 and 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 3162. This places the GPU in the 61st percentile among all tested GPUs, making it a strong performer for modern titles.

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the GPU’s role becomes more prominent at higher resolutions. The data shows that from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by about 31% across all settings, but from 1440p to 4K, the drop is more substantial, averaging around 41%. This indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder at 4K, where its pixel fill rate and texture processing capabilities are more heavily taxed. The RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s textures, as even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains an average of 187 FPS, showing no signs of memory capacity issues. The GPU’s performance is also reflected in its ability to handle the game’s settings; switching from Low to Ultra at 4K reduces the average FPS from 298 to 187, a 37% decrease, which is a logical trade-off for visual fidelity. The GPU’s role is secondary to the CPU at lower resolutions, but at 4K, it becomes the primary component determining frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 733, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 187 FPS, which is the lowest average in the dataset but still well above standard refresh rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p. The average FPS of 733 at Low settings is extremely high, suggesting the CPU is reaching its frame generation limit, as the GPU has more headroom at this resolution.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 504 at Low settings to 317 at Ultra settings, a difference of 187 FPS.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 200 FPS on average?

A: Yes, only at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, where the average FPS is 187. All other tested configurations maintain averages above 200 FPS.

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

A: The combo ranks 1586 out of 3719 tested combinations, placing it in the upper half of all systems tested for this game.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers the best performance with an average of 733 FPS. This setting is optimal for competitive play where responsiveness is paramount, and the data shows that it offers a 272 FPS advantage over the Ultra preset at the same resolution. However, for a balance between visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1080p is a strong choice, providing an average of 624 FPS with a minimum of 530 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes.

At 1440p, the Medium preset offers an average of 429 FPS with a minimum of 365 FPS, which is still exceptionally high and suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Low preset at 1440p yields 504 FPS, but the visual trade-off may not be worth the 75 FPS gain over Medium. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is recommended, as it achieves 298 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset drops to 187 FPS, which is still playable but may feel less responsive on 240Hz displays. The data suggests that for most users, the Medium preset at 1440p provides the best balance, as it maintains high frame rates while offering improved visual fidelity over Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 461 at Ultra to 733 at Low. The Medium setting records an average of 624 FPS, with a minimum of 530 and a maximum of 718, showing slight frame time variance but no significant dips. At 2560x1440, the averages are 317 (Ultra), 372 (High), 429 (Medium), and 504 (Low). The Medium setting at 1440p has a minimum of 365 FPS and a maximum of 494 FPS, indicating consistent performance. At 3840x2160, the averages are 187 (Ultra), 220 (High), 254 (Medium), and 298 (Low). The Medium setting at 4K has a minimum of 216 FPS and a maximum of 292 FPS, which is a wider range but still well within playable territory.

The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS decreases, but the relative difference between settings narrows. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 272 FPS, at 1440p it is 187 FPS, and at 4K it is 111 FPS. This indicates that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s frame generation capability is more than sufficient at 4K. The High settings provide a middle ground, with averages of 540 FPS at 1080p, 372 FPS at 1440p, and 220 FPS at 4K. Overall, the combo demonstrates that it can handle any resolution and setting combination with playable frame rates, with the only compromise being at 4K Ultra where the average drops below 200 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1586 out of 3719 tested combinations in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places the combo in the 57th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it performs better than a majority of other configurations. The CPU’s percentile of 68 among all CPUs and the GPU’s percentile of 61 among all GPUs both contribute to this solid ranking, though the CPU’s higher percentile suggests it is a relatively stronger component in this pairing.

In terms of rival components, the CPU’s nearest rival is the Intel Xeon 6756E, which has an average benchmark score of 14163, just 0.2% lower than the i5-10400F’s 14185. The AMD EPYC 7552 is 0.5% behind, while the Intel Core 7 160UL is 0.3% ahead. This shows that the i5-10400F is closely matched with these other processors in general benchmarks, though its specific gaming performance may vary. The GPU’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which scores 17083, 0.7% lower than the RTX 3070’s 17208. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 is 1% behind, and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M is 1.1% behind, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c is 1.5% ahead. This indicates that the RTX 3070 is a strong performer relative to its peers, but its ranking in this game is slightly lower than its general benchmark percentile, likely due to the game’s CPU-bound nature at lower resolutions.