Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a 2012 FPS that remains extremely popular, and the data for this Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination shows a system capable of delivering very high frame rates across all tested settings. The measured results place this pairing at rank 1586 out of 3719 tested combos, which puts it in the upper half of the database’s tested configurations. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and what the numbers suggest about the system’s strengths and limitations.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?

A: The combo is ranked 1586 out of 3719 tested combos, placing it in the 57th percentile of all tested configurations for this game.

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. The lowest average FPS is 187, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-12700K compare to its nearest CPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287. Its closest rival is the Intel Core i5-13600T with a score of 35305, which is a 0.1% difference. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428 (0.4% higher).

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and how does it relate to the measured results?

A: The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. These specifications support the high frame rates seen at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at 4K.

Q: What are the CPU’s core and thread counts?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K has 12 cores and 20 threads. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It has 25 MB of shared L3 cache.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best balance of high FPS and visual quality at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 540 avg FPS, which is 81 FPS lower than Medium (624 avg FPS) but still far above the 144 Hz threshold. The data suggests High preset provides a substantial visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a very high frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination at rank 1586 out of 3719 tested combos for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This position means the system outranks roughly 57% of all tested configurations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for the measured FPS across all resolution and settings combinations, not just peak performance.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 35287 places it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs tested by the database. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its score, indicating that the i7-12700K is tightly grouped with several other processors in raw compute performance. The closest competitor, the Intel Core i5-13600T, scores 35305, which is just 0.1% higher. This tight grouping suggests that CPU-bound scenarios in CS:GO will show very similar performance across these processors.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 17208 places it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with a score of 17083, which is 0.7% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 (1% lower), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019 (1.1% lower). On the higher side, the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468, which is 1.5% higher than the RTX 3070.

The combo rank of 1586 reflects how these two components work together in this specific game. CS:GO is known for being CPU-intensive at high frame rates, and the i7-12700K’s 84th percentile CPU score helps push the combination above many others that might have similar GPUs but weaker processors. The data indicates that this pairing is well-balanced for the game’s demands, though the GPU becomes more relevant at higher resolutions as the measured FPS numbers show.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, a 256-bit bus, and a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and the memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU’s influence growing as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 272 FPS (733 vs 461), which is a 37% drop. At 2560x1440, the same settings comparison shows a drop of 187 FPS (504 vs 317), or 37%. At 3840x2160, the drop is 111 FPS (298 vs 187), or 37%. This consistent 37% reduction from Low to Ultra across all resolutions suggests the GPU’s rendering load scales predictably with settings, while the absolute FPS values indicate the RTX 3070 is more than capable at lower resolutions.

The GPU’s memory subsystem becomes more critical at 4K, where the 8 GB capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for CS:GO’s relatively modest texture requirements. The data shows that at 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 187 at Ultra settings, which is still very playable, but the gap between Low (298 FPS) and Ultra (187 FPS) is 111 FPS. This spread indicates that the GPU is doing more work at 4K Ultra, and the frame rate reduction reflects the increased pixel count and shading load. The GPU’s 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate provide the raw throughput needed for high frame rates, but the 4K data suggests the GPU is becoming a more significant factor in the system’s overall performance at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 733 avg FPS on Low settings, 624 avg FPS on Medium, 540 avg FPS on High, and 461 avg FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 530 FPS and a maximum of 718 FPS, indicating a stable frame delivery with a 188 FPS range between the minimum and maximum.

At 2560x1440, the results are 504 avg FPS on Low, 429 avg FPS on Medium, 372 avg FPS on High, and 317 avg FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 365 FPS and a maximum of 494 FPS, a range of 129 FPS. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings shows a decrease of 229 FPS on Low (733 to 504), 195 FPS on Medium (624 to 429), 168 FPS on High (540 to 372), and 144 FPS on Ultra (461 to 317). These reductions are consistent with the increased pixel count of 1440p, which has about 78% more pixels than 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 298 avg FPS on Low, 254 avg FPS on Medium, 220 avg FPS on High, and 187 avg FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 216 FPS and a maximum of 292 FPS, a range of 76 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K results in decreases of 206 FPS on Low (504 to 298), 175 FPS on Medium (429 to 254), 152 FPS on High (372 to 220), and 130 FPS on Ultra (317 to 187). The 4K resolution has roughly 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p, and the FPS reductions reflect this increased load.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only one with reported minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 530 to 718 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 365 to 494 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 216 to 292 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the frame delivery becomes more consistent as the GPU becomes more heavily utilized, reducing the variance between minimum and maximum frame times.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, has dual-channel memory support, and provides 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes. Its integrated UHD Graphics 770 provides a fallback display output, though this system uses the discrete RTX 3070.

In CS:GO, which is heavily CPU-bound at high frame rates, the i7-12700K’s performance is critical. The CPU’s single-thread benchmark scores are particularly relevant: a 3DMark single-thread score of 1043, a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5, and a Geekbench single-core score of 2308. These scores indicate strong per-core performance, which is essential for CS:GO’s game logic and physics calculations. The PassMark single-thread score of 4013 further confirms this, and the CPU’s 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects its overall capability.

The multi-threaded results also support the system’s performance in CS:GO, though the game does not heavily utilize many cores. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 19784, and the Geekbench multi-core score is 15790. The 3DMark 16-thread score is 9276, while the max-thread score is 9979. These numbers show that the CPU has substantial headroom for background tasks and streaming, but the game’s frame rate is more dependent on single-thread performance.

The CPU’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz is the key factor for CS:GO’s frame rate ceiling. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (733 avg FPS) and High (540 avg FPS) suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU at very high rates, but the data also shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 187, which is 74% lower than the 1080p Low result, indicating that the GPU is now the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for settings selection at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 460 FPS, which far surpasses any common display refresh rate. The High preset at 540 avg FPS offers the best visual quality while still delivering more than enough frame rate for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 461 avg FPS provides a marginal visual improvement over High but costs 79 FPS, making High the better choice for most players.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 372 avg FPS, which is well above the 240 Hz threshold and provides ample headroom for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 317 avg FPS is also very playable, but the 55 FPS difference between High and Ultra represents a 15% performance cost for what is often a subtle visual improvement in CS:GO. The Medium preset at 429 FPS is the safest choice for maintaining maximum frame rate stability, as its reported minimum of 365 FPS ensures no drops below 360 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 220 avg FPS is the recommended choice for players with 144 Hz 4K displays. The Ultra preset at 187 avg FPS is still playable but approaches the 144 Hz threshold more closely, leaving less headroom for frame time spikes. The Medium preset at 254 avg FPS provides the best frame rate headroom at 4K, with a minimum of 216 FPS that keeps the experience smooth. For competitive play at 4K, the Low preset at 298 avg FPS is the best option if maximum frame rate is the priority, but High offers a better balance of visual fidelity and performance.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only one with reported minimum FPS data, which suggests it provides the most consistent frame delivery. The data shows that High settings are the sweet spot for most users, offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining frame rates that are at least 220 FPS at 4K and 372 FPS at 1440p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the system’s performance scales from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 733 at 1080p to 504 at 1440p (a 31% reduction) and then to 298 at 4K (a 59% reduction from 1440p). At High settings, the progression is 540 at 1080p, 372 at 1440p (a 31% reduction), and 220 at 4K (a 41% reduction from 1440p). At Ultra settings, the drop is 461 at 1080p, 317 at 1440p (a 31% reduction), and 187 at 4K (a 41% reduction from 1440p).

The consistent 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p across all settings indicates that the limiting component is scaling uniformly with pixel count. The reduction from 1440p to 4K is larger, ranging from 41% at High and Ultra to 59% at Low. This larger drop at Lower settings suggests that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at 4K, especially when the CPU is not as heavily tasked by lower settings.

The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiting component, as the FPS is very high and the GPU has headroom. At 1440p, the system is more balanced, with the FPS still high but the GPU starting to take on more work. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, as evidenced by the larger FPS drops from 1440p and the narrowing of the FPS gap between resolutions. The transition point appears to be around 1440p, where the system moves from being CPU-limited to GPU-limited, with the 4K results confirming that the RTX 3070’s capabilities are the primary constraint at that resolution.