Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an older title, but the data for the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination shows it remains exceptionally demanding on framerates, with the hardware pushing well beyond typical display refresh rates across all settings. The measured rows reveal a system that is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, while the GPU begins to assert its influence only at 4K. The performance envelope is wide, ranging from a minimum average of 165 FPS at 4K Ultra up to 646 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this pairing offers massive headroom for competitive play and high-refresh-rate monitors.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 demonstrates a classic shift in system bottleneck behavior. At 1080p, the average framerate across all settings is extraordinarily high, with the Low preset hitting 646 FPS. When moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS across all presets drops by approximately 31%, which is a substantial reduction but still leaves the system well above 280 FPS in the most demanding Ultra preset. This suggests that at 1440p, the processor is still the primary limiting factor, as the framerate remains high enough to mask the GPU's workload increase.

The transition from 1440p to 4K (3840x2160) reveals a more pronounced performance penalty. Comparing the High preset, the FPS falls from 328 to 194, a 41% decrease. This larger drop indicates that the GeForce RTX 4060 is now becoming the constraining component, as the pixel throughput demand at 4K finally exceeds what the processor can feed. The scaling from 1080p to 4K on the High preset is a 59% reduction in average FPS (from 476 to 194). This is a significant scaling factor that illustrates how the GPU's 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus interface are being taxed by the higher resolution, whereas the CPU's workload remains relatively constant.

The data for the Medium preset provides the only complete min/max FPS metrics in the dataset. At 1080p Medium, the average is 550 FPS with a minimum of 468 and a maximum of 633, a spread of 165 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 379 FPS with a min of 322 and max of 436. At 4K Medium, the average is 224 FPS with a min of 190 and max of 257. The min-to-max variance narrows as resolution increases, which is typical as the GPU's consistent rendering time begins to dominate over CPU scheduling variability. This pattern confirms that the i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads are sufficient to maintain high framerates, but the RTX 4060's performance ceiling is what ultimately governs the 4K experience.

Settings Recommendations

Considering the measured rows, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and the user's priority for framerate versus visual fidelity. At 1080p, the Ultra preset still delivers an average of 407 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. However, the jump from Ultra to High at 1080p yields a 17% increase in average FPS (from 407 to 476), with minimal visual difference in a competitive shooter. For players seeking the absolute smoothest experience, the Low preset at 1080p provides a 646 FPS average, which is a 36% improvement over High, but this comes at the cost of reduced visibility for distant enemies due to lower graphical detail.

At 2560x1440, the High preset stands out as the most balanced option. It delivers a 328 FPS average, which is 17% higher than the Ultra preset's 280 FPS. The difference between High and Medium at 1440p is 15% (328 vs 379 FPS), but the Medium preset's minimum FPS of 322 is still well above the 240 Hz refresh rate that many competitive monitors offer. For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset's 165 FPS average is playable, but the High preset at 194 FPS provides a better experience for fast-paced action. The Low preset at 4K yields 263 FPS, which is a 36% improvement over High, but this is excessive for most displays and sacrifices significant visual quality.

The analysis suggests that High settings offer the best compromise between visual clarity and performance headroom across all resolutions. The data shows that the delta between High and Ultra is consistent: 17% at 1080p (476 vs 407), 17% at 1440p (328 vs 280), and 18% at 4K (194 vs 165). This consistent percentage indicates that the Ultra preset applies a uniform additional load on the GPU, likely through increased shadow quality and post-processing effects, without a corresponding benefit in competitive gameplay. The Medium preset is the safest choice for maintaining minimum framerates above 190 FPS at 4K, but the High preset is recommended for its superior balance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination is ranked 2010 out of 3719 tested combos for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places the pairing in the 54th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating that it outperforms a slight majority of systems but is far from the top tier. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high absolute framerates, but it reflects the fact that many other combinations, likely with higher-end processors and GPUs, achieve even higher average FPS in this CPU-bound title.

The combo's ranking is influenced more by the CPU than the GPU. The i5-12400 has a percentile rank of 72 against all CPUs, which is significantly higher than the RTX 4060's percentile rank of 61 against all GPUs. This suggests that the processor is the stronger component relative to its peers, which is beneficial for a game like CS:GO that is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance. The CPU's benchmark scores support this: its 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257 are strong, and its PassMark single-thread score of 3456 is robust.

The GPU's lower relative ranking is mitigated by the game's low graphical demands. The RTX 4060's PassMark G3D score of 19545 places it near the AMD Radeon HD 7790 in the benchmark database, with a delta of -0.2%, which is a negligible difference in synthetic tests. However, in actual CS:GO gameplay, the RTX 4060's modern architecture and higher memory bandwidth (272.0 GB/s) provide a substantial advantage over older cards. The combo's rank of 2010 out of 3719 indicates that there are 1709 combinations that perform better, many of which likely feature CPUs with higher boost clocks or more cores, as the game can utilize multiple threads for rendering and physics.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 476 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, with no minimum or maximum values recorded for that specific row.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 sufficient for 4K gaming in CS:GO?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 194 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings, and 165 FPS at Ultra, both of which are playable, though not as high as lower resolutions.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in the benchmark database?

A: The i5-12400's average benchmark score is 18683, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 7643's score of 18697, making them statistically identical in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The highest average FPS is 646, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The highest maximum FPS recorded is 633, from the 1080p Medium preset.

Q: Does the GPU's memory capacity affect performance at 4K?

A: The RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The data shows a significant FPS drop from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the memory bandwidth and capacity are being stressed at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: The combination is ranked 2010 out of 3719 tested combos, placing it in the 54th percentile of all configurations tested in the database.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the secondary limiting factor in this configuration, as its performance becomes relevant only at 4K resolution. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s, which is adequate for CS:GO's modest texture requirements but explains the performance scaling pattern. The card's base clock of 1830 MHz and boost clock of 2460 MHz are relatively high, and its FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS is more than sufficient for this game's DirectX 9-era rendering pipeline.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a mixed picture. Its PassMark G3D score of 19545 places it in the 61st percentile against all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon HD 7790 at a delta of -0.2%. This suggests that in raw synthetic performance, the RTX 4060 is not dramatically ahead of much older hardware. However, the GPU's modern features, including 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, are irrelevant for CS:GO but contribute to its overall benchmark scores. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 48643 indicate strong API support, which is beneficial for other titles.

In the context of CS:GO, the GPU role is to keep up with the CPU's framerate generation. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as the framerate scales linearly with settings. At 4K, the GPU's workload increases by 4x the pixel count, causing the average FPS to drop by 59% from 1080p High to 4K High. This drop is more severe than the resolution scaling alone would suggest, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth is being saturated. The RTX 4060's 8 GB capacity is not a limitation at these settings, as the game's memory footprint is well below that, but the 128-bit bus width is the constraining factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is the primary performance driver in this configuration. With 6 cores and 12 threads, base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this Alder Lake processor delivers exceptional single-thread performance that is critical for CS:GO. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core ensure that game assets and physics calculations are handled with minimal latency. Its PassMark single-thread score of 3456 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257 demonstrate its strength in this area.

The CPU's benchmark data shows it is a well-rounded performer. Its 3DMark max threads score of 5890 and Geekbench multicore score of 8564 indicate that multi-threaded workloads are also handled competently, though CS:GO primarily relies on a few threads. The i5-12400's percentile rank of 72 against all CPUs places it well above average, and its average benchmark score of 18683 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7643's score of 18697, with a delta of -0.1%. This parity with a high-end server processor in synthetic tests is notable, but in gaming, the i5-12400's higher boost clock provides an advantage.

The CPU's role in this game is evident from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the framerate is limited by the CPU's ability to process game logic and issue draw calls, as evidenced by the 646 FPS at Low settings. The fact that increasing resolution from 1080p to 1440p only reduces average FPS by 31% (across all settings) while increasing pixel count by 78% shows that the CPU is still the bottleneck at 1440p. The CPU's 65 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a flexible choice, and its Intel Socket 1700 compatibility ensures broad motherboard support. The i5-12400's performance in this game is decisively ahead of its nearest rivals, confirming that it is the ideal partner for a mid-range GPU in a competitive FPS title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combination provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are 646 for Low, 550 for Medium, 476 for High, and 407 for Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data, showing a range of 468 to 633 FPS. This indicates that the average of 550 FPS is representative of consistent performance, with the minimum still being exceptionally high.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values drop to 445 for Low, 379 for Medium, 328 for High, and 280 for Ultra. The Medium preset again provides min/max data, with values of 322 minimum and 436 maximum. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is 31% for Low (646 to 445), 31% for Medium (550 to 379), 31% for High (476 to 328), and 31% for Ultra (407 to 280). This consistency across all presets confirms that the performance scaling is purely resolution-driven and not affected by graphical settings.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 263 for Low, 224 for Medium, 194 for High, and 165 for Ultra. The Medium preset's min/max data shows 190 to 257 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe: 41% for Low (445 to 263), 41% for Medium (379 to 224), 41% for High (328 to 194), and 41% for Ultra (280 to 165). This consistent 41% drop from 1440p to 4K, compared to the 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p, highlights the GPU's increasing workload. The overall spread from the fastest measured config (1080p Low at 646 FPS) to the slowest (4K Ultra at 165 FPS) is a 74% reduction, illustrating the massive performance range this hardware can deliver.