Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 51 out of 1605 tested combinations in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places the pairing in the top 3.2% of all configurations tested in this title, a position that reflects the extreme headroom both components bring to a game that is notoriously sensitive to frame pacing. The data indicates that this is a configuration built for maximum competitive output, with the measured frames per second (FPS) reaching figures that far exceed the refresh rates of even the fastest consumer displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The rank of 51 out of 1605 combos is a definitive statement of performance. It means that only 50 other CPU-GPU pairings in the database produced higher average frame rates in CS:GO. Given the age of the game engine relative to these modern components, the bottleneck is almost entirely removed, allowing the hardware to operate near its theoretical limits. The CPU’s individual percentile of 93 against all processors and the GPU’s percentile of 91 against all graphics cards both support this, showing that the pairing consists of two top-tier parts that are not holding each other back. The average benchmark scores for the i7-13700K (47282) and the RTX 4090 (66473) are among the highest in their respective categories. When compared to the nearest rivals in the database, the i7-13700K sits within a razor-thin margin of its closest competitor, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, with a delta of -0.1%, and is just 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900F. This suggests that the processor is performing precisely as expected, with no anomalies in its synthetic scores that would predict a lower in-game result.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 1265.9, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How much does the RTX 4090's performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 929.8 at 1920x1080 to 376.3 at 3840x2160, representing a significant reduction of 553.5 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data strongly indicates the CPU is the limiting factor, as the average FPS of 1265.9 is the highest in the entire dataset, showing that the GPU is capable of rendering frames far faster than the current test scenario allows.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 871.2 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 545.4 FPS. This is a difference of 325.8 FPS, showing a 37.4% reduction in frame rate when moving to the highest preset.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 51 out of 1605 tested combos in the database for CS:GO, placing it in the top 3.2% of all configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 324.4, which is still exceptionally high and above the threshold for most high-refresh-rate 4K monitors.

Resolution Scaling

Analyzing the measured FPS across resolutions reveals a classic scaling pattern, but with an unusual starting point. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 1265.9. This is the absolute ceiling for this combo in this game, suggesting that the CPU's single-thread performance is the primary constraint at this point. Moving to 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average FPS drops to 871.2, a decrease of 394.7 FPS. This significant drop indicates that the GPU is beginning to take on more work, but it is still not fully saturated. The final step to 3840x2160 with Low settings yields 515.3 FPS, a further drop of 355.9 FPS. This pattern shows a clear shift in the bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases.

At higher settings, the scaling is more predictable. For instance, at Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 794.1 at 1080p to 545.4 at 1440p, and then to 324.4 at 4K. The relative drop between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 469.7 FPS, which is a 59.2% reduction. This is a larger percentage drop than at Low settings, confirming that the GPU is the dominant constraint when the visual load is maximized. The data shows that the RTX 4090 has enough raw power to maintain playable frame rates even at 4K, but the i7-13700K is clearly the component that allows the extreme triple-digit frame rates at lower resolutions to be achieved.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides average FPS for four presets at three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings average 1265.9 FPS, Medium settings average 1075 FPS, High settings average 929.8 FPS, and Ultra settings average 794.1 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decrease of 471.8 FPS, which is a 37.3% performance penalty for maxing out the visual quality. The step from Low to Medium is a drop of 190.9 FPS, while the step from Medium to High is 145.2 FPS, and the step from High to Ultra is 135.7 FPS. This shows that each preset step has a meaningful, but diminishing, impact on frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are 871.2 for Low, 740.4 for Medium, 639.3 for High, and 545.4 for Ultra. The total drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 325.8 FPS. At 3840x2160, the figures are 515.3 for Low, 437 for Medium, 376.3 for High, and 324.4 for Ultra. The total drop at 4K is 190.9 FPS. The data shows that the absolute difference between the Low and Ultra presets shrinks as resolution increases, because the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the relative cost of the higher settings becomes more uniform across the board.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. For a game like CS:GO, which is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance, the high boost clock is crucial. The benchmark data shows a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1136 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 5505, both of which are exceptional figures. These scores directly translate to the game's ability to process the main game loop and render draw calls quickly. The processor’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache is also a factor, as it helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores.

The role of the CPU is most evident in the 1080p Low setting result. With an average FPS of 1265.9, the RTX 4090 is clearly not the limiting factor; the CPU is pushing frames as fast as it can process the game's logic. The 3dmark_max_threads score of 12412 indicates that the processor has substantial multi-threaded capability, but CS:GO's engine does not scale perfectly with all 16 cores. The single-thread and 2-thread scores (1136 and 2262, respectively) are more indicative of the performance in this title. The data shows that the i7-13700K provides the necessary single-core strength to achieve frame rates that are over double what most high-refresh-rate monitors can display, making the CPU the star of the show at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Given the objective of achieving the highest possible frame rate, the data points to a clear winner. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields 1265.9 FPS, which is 171.8 FPS higher than the Medium preset and 336.1 FPS higher than the High preset. For competitive play, where every frame counts, the Low preset is the optimal choice. The performance gain from reducing settings is substantial, and the visual difference in a fast-paced FPS is often negligible for the player.

For users with higher-resolution monitors, the recommendation shifts based on the target refresh rate. At 2560x1440, the Low preset provides 871.2 FPS, which is still far beyond any current display's capabilities. However, the Medium preset at 740.4 FPS or even the High preset at 639.3 FPS are also excellent choices if a user prefers better visual fidelity, as they still provide ample headroom for a 360 Hz or 500 Hz monitor. At 3840x2160, the Low preset maintains 515.3 FPS, but the Ultra preset drops to 324.4 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium or High presets (437 and 376.3 FPS, respectively) offer a good balance, ensuring the frame rate remains well above 360 FPS. The data indicates that only at 4K does the GPU become the primary bottleneck, allowing the user to increase settings without sacrificing the triple-digit frame rates that define this combo's performance.