Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 presents a striking imbalance in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where the legacy Source engine’s CPU-bound nature collides with one of the most powerful consumer GPUs ever made. The data shows this combo ranks 55th out of 1,605 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3.4% of all systems, yet the performance ceiling is clearly dictated by the processor, not the graphics card. This analysis breaks down exactly where the bottleneck manifests, which settings extract the most from the hardware, and what the measured FPS tells us about each component’s role.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic CPU-limitation pattern. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 1,074.9 FPS average, which drops to 902 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 532.3 FPS at 3840x2160. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16.1%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a massive 41.0%. This non-linear scaling is the signature of a system where the GPU only becomes the limiting factor at very high pixel counts.

At 1080p and 1440p, the RTX 5090 is largely idle, waiting for the i5-11400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads to feed it frames. The 902 FPS at 1440p Low versus 1,074.9 FPS at 1080p Low shows that even modest resolution increases start to engage the GPU, but the gap between 1440p High (663.5 FPS) and 4K High (389.7 FPS) is a 41.3% reduction, indicating that 4K is where the GPU finally becomes the dominant constraint.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 824.5 FPS at 1080p, 568.2 FPS at 1440p, and 336.1 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 31.1% is larger than the Low preset’s drop, showing that higher settings amplify the GPU’s workload even at lower resolutions. However, the 4K Ultra result of 336.1 FPS is still exceptionally high, proving that the RTX 5090’s raw compute power (104.8 TFLOPS FP32) can overcome the CPU bottleneck at that resolution, but not completely.

The conclusion is unambiguous: at 1080p and 1440p, the i5-11400F is the limiting component, holding back the RTX 5090 from reaching its full potential. Only at 4K does the GPU start to assert its dominance, and even then, the 336.1 FPS at Ultra shows the CPU still contributes meaningfully to the final result.

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

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers the highest measured average at 1,074.9 FPS, which is 11.6% faster than High (963 FPS) and 6.0% faster than Medium (1,014 FPS). This is the optimal choice for players seeking maximum frame rates, as the difference between Low and Medium is only 60.9 FPS, while Low versus Ultra is a 250.4 FPS gap. The data suggests that Low settings minimize CPU overhead, allowing the i5-11400F to stretch to its limits.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset (769 FPS) offers a better balance than Low (902 FPS) or High (663.5 FPS). The jump from Medium to High costs 105.5 FPS, while Medium to Low gains 133 FPS. Given that CS:GO is a fast-paced shooter where frame time consistency matters, the Medium preset at 1440p provides 769 FPS, which is still well above the refresh rate of any current monitor, making it a sensible choice for those who want slightly better visuals without sacrificing responsiveness.

At 4K, the High preset (389.7 FPS) is the sweet spot. It is 53.6 FPS slower than Medium (453.4 FPS) but 53.6 FPS faster than Ultra (336.1 FPS). The 4K Low preset (532.3 FPS) is the best for pure speed, but the visual degradation is significant. For most users, 4K High at 389.7 FPS represents the best compromise between image quality and performance, as the Ultra preset’s 336.1 FPS is still playable but shows diminishing returns.

The overall recommendation is to use Low settings at 1080p for maximum competitive advantage, Medium at 1440p for a balanced experience, and High at 4K for single-player or casual play where visual fidelity matters more than raw FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo’s rank of 55 out of 1,605 tested combinations places it in the top 3.4% of all systems tested for CS:GO. This is a remarkably strong position, but it is not because the RTX 5090 is fully utilized. The i5-11400F, which sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs, is the bottleneck that prevents this combo from reaching the top 10.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (avg score 17,189, 0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P (avg score 17,212, -0.2% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (avg score 17,215, -0.2% delta). These processors all have similar average benchmark scores, yet the i5-11400F’s combination of 6 cores, 12 threads, and a 4.40 GHz boost clock is sufficient to place this combo in the top 3.4% of CS:GO systems.

The RTX 5090, on the other hand, ranks at the 94th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the RTX 5090 D (avg score 84,241, 0.1% delta) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (avg score 84,171, 0.2% delta). The GPU’s massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are overkill for CS:GO, but the combo’s rank reflects the fact that the game is CPU-bound at most resolutions.

The rank of 55 means that 1,550 other combos are slower, including many with more powerful CPUs. This indicates that while the i5-11400F is not the fastest processor available, its single-thread performance (2,029 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is strong enough to keep CS:GO frame rates extremely high, even if it cannot fully feed the RTX 5090.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 1,074.9 FPS, Medium 1,014 FPS, High 963 FPS, and Ultra 824.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 60.9 FPS, Medium to High is 51 FPS, and High to Ultra is 138.5 FPS. The Ultra preset’s large drop suggests it introduces effects that heavily tax the CPU, likely due to increased draw calls and physics calculations.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 902 FPS for Low, 769 FPS for Medium, 663.5 FPS for High, and 568.2 FPS for Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 37.0% reduction, which is slightly less than at 1080p (23.3% reduction from Low to Ultra). This indicates that the GPU is starting to take on more of the workload at 1440p, but the CPU still provides the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 532.3 FPS (Low), 453.4 FPS (Medium), 389.7 FPS (High), and 336.1 FPS (Ultra). The reduction from Low to Ultra is 36.9%, which is nearly identical to the 1440p scaling. This consistency suggests that at 4K, the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of VRAM and 512-bit memory bus are sufficient, and the frame rate is now limited by the combination of CPU and GPU processing power.

The most telling data point is the 1080p Low result of 1,074.9 FPS versus the 4K Low result of 532.3 FPS. This 50.5% reduction in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K highlights the GPU’s role, but the fact that 4K Low still exceeds 500 FPS demonstrates that the RTX 5090 is barely challenged by CS:GO’s graphics workload.

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

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in CS:GO?

A: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p the CPU is the limiting factor. The 1,074.9 FPS at 1080p Low versus 902 FPS at 1440p Low shows a 16.1% drop, which is modest, but the fact that the RTX 5090 cannot push beyond 1,074.9 FPS at 1080p indicates the CPU is capping performance.

Q: What is the best preset for competitive play at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 1,074.9 FPS, which is 60.9 FPS faster than Medium (1,014 FPS) and 250.4 FPS faster than Ultra (824.5 FPS). For maximum frame rate, Low is the clear choice.

Q: How does the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of VRAM affect CS:GO performance?

A: CS:GO is not a VRAM-intensive game, and the 32 GB of GDDR7 memory has no measurable impact on the measured FPS. The GPU’s 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute are more relevant, but the game is CPU-bound at most resolutions.

Q: What rank does this combo achieve among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 55th out of 1,605 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3.4% of systems. This is driven by the RTX 5090’s high GPU percentile (94th) and the i5-11400F’s 75th percentile CPU score.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a meaningfully better experience than High?

A: No. At 4K, Ultra averages 336.1 FPS versus 389.7 FPS for High, a 53.6 FPS difference. At 1080p, the gap is 138.5 FPS (824.5 vs 963), but both are far above any monitor refresh rate, so the visual improvement is not justified.

Q: How does the i5-11400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals in the database?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17,181, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17,189, 0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P (17,212, -0.2% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17,215, -0.2% delta). These CPUs are effectively tied in raw performance.

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

The Intel Core i5-11400F features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 80 KB of L1 cache per core are modest by modern standards, but CS:GO is a game that relies heavily on single-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,029 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 868 demonstrate that the i5-11400F has competitive single-thread speed.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 1,074.9 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame generation capacity. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,691 and 4-thread score of 3,171 suggest that the game can leverage a few cores, but the 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient for CS:GO’s engine, which is not heavily multithreaded.

The CPU’s 65W TDP and 14 nm process node are outdated compared to the GPU’s 5 nm node, but this does not affect gaming performance. The PassMark single-thread score of 2,981 and Geekbench single-core score of 1,979 confirm that the i5-11400F is a capable processor for CS:GO. However, the 4.40 GHz boost clock is the key spec, as it determines how fast the CPU can process the game’s logic and draw calls.

The bottleneck is evident when comparing 1080p Low (1,074.9 FPS) to 1080p Ultra (824.5 FPS). The 23.3% drop indicates that the CPU is struggling with the additional workload of Ultra settings, not the GPU. This is a classic sign of a CPU that is too slow to fully feed a flagship GPU, even in a game as old as CS:GO.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a beast of a GPU, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, a 512-bit bus width, and 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with 21,760 shading units, deliver 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. These specs are overkill for CS:GO, which was released in 2012 and does not require anywhere near this level of hardware.

The GPU’s role in this combo becomes apparent only at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 336.1 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 824.5 FPS shows a 59.2% reduction, which is primarily due to the GPU’s workload at higher resolutions. The 4K Low result of 532.3 FPS is 50.5% lower than 1080p Low, confirming that the GPU is finally the limiting factor at 4K.

The RTX 5090’s 32 GB of VRAM is never a constraint in CS:GO, as the game’s textures are small and the 512-bit bus provides more than enough bandwidth. The PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 14,411 are impressive, but they do not translate to proportional gains in CS:GO because the game is not graphically demanding.

The GPU’s 575W TDP and 950W suggested PSU are irrelevant to the measured FPS, but they indicate the power required to sustain those clock speeds. The 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs are more than sufficient for CS:GO’s rendering pipeline, and the 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate ensures that even at 4K, the GPU can fill frames quickly. However, the data shows that the i5-11400F prevents the RTX 5090 from reaching its full potential in CS:GO, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is effectively idle.