Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 shows that all four settings presets deliver exceptionally high frame rates at every resolution. At 1920x1080, even the most demanding Ultra preset produces an average of 407.6 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of typical gaming monitors. The Low preset reaches 647.4 FPS, while High and Medium sit between them at 476.9 and 553.0 FPS respectively.

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p offers the highest frame rate headroom, which matters in a fast-paced FPS where input latency and frame pacing directly affect aiming precision. However, the data also indicates that High settings at 1080p still deliver 476.9 FPS, a figure well above what most displays can show. The choice between High and Low thus becomes a trade-off between visual fidelity and raw FPS headroom, with both being viable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats but with lower absolute numbers. Low produces 443.6 FPS, High drops to 326.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 279.1 FPS. At 3840x2160, the spread narrows considerably: Low yields 264.2 FPS, High 194.4 FPS, Medium 223.0 FPS, and Ultra 163.2 FPS. The data suggests that High settings provide a balanced experience across all resolutions, maintaining frame rates above 194 FPS even at 4K, while still offering better visual quality than Low.

Given that CS:GO is a competitive shooter where frame rate consistency matters more than graphical flourishes, the High preset appears to be the optimal default. It stays above 190 FPS at every resolution, which comfortably exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors, while providing superior image quality compared to Low. Players with 360Hz displays might prefer Low at 1080p, but for the majority, High offers the best compromise between responsiveness and visual clarity.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in CS:GO?

A: The highest measured average is 647.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Low in terms of performance?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 407.6 FPS compared to Low's 647.4 FPS, representing a roughly 37% reduction in frame rate. At 4K, the gap narrows: Ultra produces 163.2 FPS versus 264.2 FPS for Low.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in CS:GO?

A: Yes, the data shows playable frame rates at 3840x2160 across all presets, with the lowest average being 163.2 FPS on Ultra and the highest being 264.2 FPS on Low.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor?

A: Even the most demanding preset (Ultra) at 4K produces 163.2 FPS, which exceeds 144Hz. At 1080p and 1440p, all presets exceed 279 FPS, so any setting will comfortably drive a 144Hz display.

Q: Does the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM limit performance in this game?

A: The measured data shows no VRAM-related bottlenecks, as even the highest preset at 4K maintains 163.2 FPS. CS:GO is not VRAM-intensive, and the card's 8 GB capacity appears sufficient for all tested configurations.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for CS:GO?

A: It ranks 940th out of 1605 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the distribution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is a mid-range Ada Lovelace GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, offering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 2460 MHz, and the card features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The GPU's measured performance in CS:GO is substantial: at 1080p Low, it pushes 647.4 FPS, and even at 4K Ultra it maintains 163.2 FPS.

The data reveals that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate difference between Low (647.4 FPS) and Ultra (407.6 FPS) indicates that the GPU is still capable of higher output, but the CPU may be constraining performance. The 10-core i5-14400F with a 4.70 GHz boost clock is a strong processor, yet CS:GO's engine relies heavily on single-thread performance. The GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is more than adequate for this game's graphics load.

At 4K, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The gap between Low (264.2 FPS) and Ultra (163.2 FPS) widens compared to 1080p, showing that higher resolutions increase the GPU's workload. The 8 GB VRAM is not a concern here, as the game's texture requirements are modest. The RTX 4060's 272.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient, as frame rates remain high even in the most demanding scenario.

The RTX 4060's percentile ranking of 66 among all GPUs places it in the upper two-thirds of the performance distribution. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321 average score) and Intel Arc B580 (23021), have similar average scores, yet the measured FPS in CS:GO shows this specific combo achieving frame rates that rival much more expensive hardware. The data implies that CS:GO is not a demanding GPU workload, allowing this mid-range card to deliver exceptional results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are: Low 647.4 FPS, Medium 553.0 FPS, High 476.9 FPS, and Ultra 407.6 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with each preset tier reducing performance by roughly 70-80 FPS. This linear scaling suggests the GPU is handling the increased graphical load without hitting any hard bottlenecks.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are: Low 443.6 FPS, Medium 378.3 FPS, High 326.3 FPS, and Ultra 279.1 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 31% for Low, 32% for Medium, 32% for High, and 32% for Ultra. This consistent relative reduction indicates that resolution scaling is predictable and primarily GPU-bound.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 264.2 FPS, Medium 223.0 FPS, High 194.4 FPS, and Ultra 163.2 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 40% for Low, 41% for Medium, 40% for High, and 42% for Ultra. This larger percentage decline compared to the 1080p-to-1440p transition suggests that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at 4K, though it still delivers highly playable frame rates.

The minimum and maximum FPS values are not provided in the data, so the analysis relies solely on averages. The consistent pattern across resolutions and presets indicates a stable performance profile without sudden dips, which is desirable for a competitive shooter where frame pacing consistency is critical.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, average FPS drops significantly. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (647.4 FPS) to 1440p (443.6 FPS) represents a 31.5% decrease, and from 1440p to 4K (264.2 FPS) a further 40.4% decrease. At Ultra settings, the drops are similar: 31.5% from 1080p (407.6 FPS) to 1440p (279.1 FPS), and 41.5% from 1440p to 4K (163.2 FPS).

This scaling behavior indicates that the system transitions from CPU-limited at 1080p to GPU-limited at 4K. At 1080p Low, the CPU's single-thread performance (evidenced by Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093) appears to cap the frame rate around 647 FPS. The GPU has headroom that is not being utilized. As resolution rises, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and frame rates scale more predictably with the pixel count.

The fact that the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is larger than from 1080p to 1440p suggests that the RTX 4060's memory bandwidth (272.0 GB/s) and rasterization throughput become limiting factors at higher pixel counts. The 128-bit memory bus, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, narrows the performance ceiling at 4K. However, even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains 163.2 FPS, which is still well above the 144Hz threshold commonly used in gaming.

The data implies that for players using 1080p or 1440p monitors, the CPU is the primary constraint, and upgrading the GPU would yield minimal gains. For 4K users, the GPU becomes more relevant, but the RTX 4060 still delivers exceptional performance in this game. The resolution scaling pattern is consistent across all four presets, showing that the game's engine scales predictably with pixel count.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. It features 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 21914, single-core 3093, and Geekbench multi-core 11209 with single-core 2333. Its percentile ranking of 88 among all CPUs places it in the top 12%.

In CS:GO, the CPU's role is critical because the game's engine is known for being CPU-bound at high frame rates. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 647.4 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this engine. The single-core performance, measured at 3093 in Cinebench R23, is what drives CS:GO's game logic, physics, and entity updates. The 4.70 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded workloads are processed quickly.

The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for CS:GO, which typically utilizes only a few threads. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at higher resolutions, as frame rates drop proportionally with pixel count. However, at 1080p, the CPU's ceiling becomes apparent: the difference between Low (647.4 FPS) and Ultra (407.6 FPS) is 239.8 FPS, suggesting the GPU is still providing headroom even at Ultra, but the CPU may be limiting the absolute maximum.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513 average score, 0% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, 0.2% delta), show that the i5-14400F is competitive in general benchmarks. In CS:GO specifically, the measured FPS indicates that this CPU is well-matched to the RTX 4060, neither overwhelming nor underwhelming the GPU. The 65W TDP suggests efficient operation, and the L3 cache size of 20 MB helps with game data locality.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 940th out of 1605 tested combos in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places it in the 58.6th percentile of all systems tested, meaning it outperforms the majority of configurations. Given that the CPU ranks in the 88th percentile and the GPU in the 66th percentile among their respective categories, the combo ranks slightly lower than the CPU's strong standing, reflecting the GPU's more modest position.

The rank of 940 suggests that while this system delivers excellent absolute performance (as evidenced by 647.4 FPS at 1080p Low), many other combos in the database achieve even higher frame rates. This is likely due to CS:GO's CPU-bound nature at lower resolutions, where processors with higher single-thread performance can push frame rates further. The i5-14400F's single-core score of 3093 in Cinebench R23 is strong but not top-tier, and the data implies that higher-clocked CPUs (such as those with 5.0+ GHz boost clocks) would rank higher.

The GPU's percentile of 66 is the limiting factor for the combo's overall rank. While the RTX 4060 performs admirably in CS:GO, its average benchmark score of 23181 is close to rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338). The data suggests that the combo's rank would improve with a more powerful GPU, but at 4K Ultra, the RTX 4060 still delivers 163.2 FPS, which is far above playable thresholds.

In the context of the full database, this combo represents a mid-to-upper-tier configuration that excels in CS:GO specifically. The rank of 940 out of 1605 implies that roughly 665 combos perform better, likely featuring higher-end CPUs and/or GPUs. However, for the price point and power efficiency (CPU at 65W, GPU at 115W), the measured FPS demonstrates that this system is more than capable of competitive play at any resolution, with headroom to spare for high-refresh-rate monitors.