Best Settings for FPS in CS2

In Counter-Strike 2, timing is everything. A few milliseconds can be the difference between winning or losing each round. Adopting the settings below for maximum FPS is the easiest way to improve your overall performance. In this article, we’ll first cover why FPS is important for your games, then the basic hardware requirements to run CS2, and conclude by going in-depth into the best video settings for CS2.

What is FPS, and Why is it Important?

FPS, standing for frames per second, is the number of frames (pictures) your monitor displays each second. Higher FPS results in a higher refresh rate of information, which is critical to games like CS2, allowing you to react to situations faster. Higher FPS also decreases your perceived input lag, as controls you make will be more quickly reflected on your screen. Most people aim for an FPS of at least 144, matching the refresh rate of many modern gaming monitors, though it’ll be even better if your monitor does support a higher refresh rate.

Basic Hardware Requirements for CS2

Here are the bare minimum hardware requirements you need to run CS2, as stated by Valve.

Operating system – Windows® 10

• CPU- 4 hardware CPU threads – Intel® Core™ i5 750
• Memory – 8 Gigabytes of RAM.
• GPU – Must be at least 1 GB and should be DirectX 11-compatible with support for Shader Model 5.0
• DirectX – Version 11.
• Storage – 85 Gigabytes free

Consider upgrading for better performance if any of your PC components are outdated.

Settings Optimization for FPS

In Game Settings

The following settings are adjusted within CS2’s game settings UI under the respective categories. These game settings are aimed to maximize FPS, so beware that video quality will be sacrificed in some settings.

Video Settings

• Resolution – Lowering resolution can significantly increase FPS, as your computer generates fewer pixels. Common resolutions to use are 1280×720 or 1024×768. The default resolution is 1920×1080.
• Aspect Ratio – Many, including professional players, prefer an aspect ratio of 4:3, which can boost FPS.
• Display Mode – Fullscreen is the best for performance, as it dedicates all system resources to the game. However, fullscreen sacrifices ease of access to other applications.
• Laptop Power Savings: Disabled – This ensures your system operates at maximum performance, increasing FPS.
• Refresh Rate – Select the default for your monitor.

Advanced Video Settings

As a rule of thumb for these settings, the lower the graphics settings, the higher your FPS will be. Most of these game settings sacrifice your graphics settings for FPS.

• Boost Player Contrast: Enabled. Keep this setting enabled. Boost player contrast allows you to distinguish player models from backgrounds. Disabling boost player contract will not significantly increase FPS.
• Wait For Vertical Sync: Disabled. Disable this setting to minimize input lag. Vertical sync, or V-Sync, can reduce screen tearing but add input lag.
• Current Video Values Preset: Custom. Toggling “current video values preset” allows you to customize the settings below.
• Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: None or 4X MSAA. Multisampling anti-aliasing mode reduces models’ jagged edges but is very resource-intensive. To maximize FPS, toggle this to none or, at the bare minimum, 4X MSAA.
• Global Shadow Quality: Low. Set global shadow quality to low for max FPS. If you have some extra FPS, consider setting global shadow quality to high or very high, as it provides a competitive advantage by allowing you to see enemy shadows more clearly on walls and the ground. This is up to personal preference if you want better video settings or FOV.
• Model / Texture Detail: Low. Set this to low. Model and texture detail increases the clarity of your video but at the cost of FPS.
• Texture Filtering Mode: Bilinear. Texture filtering mode reduces objects’ jagged edges, offering marginally better visual improvements at the cost of performance.
• Shader Detail: Low. Shader detail increases visual complexity. Setting shader detail low will lead to low particle detail, freeing up GPU activity.
• Particle Detail: Low. As with model/texture detail, setting this too low decreases the load on your GPU.
• Ambient Occlusion: Disabled. Ambient occlusion is another setting for shader detail, specifically the soft shadows on models. Turning off this setting will free up GPU activity.
• High Dynamic Range: Performance. High dynamic range allows for a wider range of colors and brightness levels, which can increase contrast. Disabling high dynamic range will boost FPS.
• FidelityFX Super Resolution: Enabled. Turning this setting (CAS) provided by AMD increases FPS and overall performance at minimal cost.
• NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: Enabled. Enabling NVIDIA reflex low latency will decrease your FPS and perceived input lag. For the best performance, enable this setting.

NVIDIA and AMD Control Panel Settings for FPS

1. NVIDIA Control Panel:

• Manage 3D Settings: Set “Power Management Mode” to “Prefer Maximum Performance“
• Texture Filtering – Quality: Higher Performance
• Vertical Sync: Force off to reduce input lag

2. AMD Radeon Settings:

The settings below are found under this directory – Radeon Settings > Gaming > Global Settings:

• Anti-Aliasing Mode: “Use Application Setting“
• Texture Filtering Quality: Performance
• Wait for Vertical Refresh: Always Off

Windows and General PC Settings for FPS

• Game Mode: Enabled – This setting is found under this directory – Windows Settings > Gaming > Game Mode
• Background Apps: Closed – This is perhaps the easiest way to free up your PC to focus solely on the game. By closing apps such as Discord, your game will run much smoother. You can check for all background applications by searching for the control panel in the Windows search bar or by clicking the little carrot (^) on the right side of your Windows taskbar.
• Power Mode: Best Performance – You can change this setting by clicking the battery icon on the right side of your Windows taskbar. Whether you’re on battery or plugged in (plugging your computer in will also increase performance), toggling this setting to best performance will increase FPS in CS2. Beware that you will run through your battery life faster. Your computer may automatically go to laptop power savings with a low battery.
• Update Drivers—Updating your drivers will ensure that your systems run on the best software possible. To do this, simply check your devices’ websites to ensure that drivers are up to date.
• Overclocking – If you’re comfortable, overclocking your CPU and GPU will provide additional performance by directing more power to the components.
• SSD Optimization – Make sure that CS2 is installed on your fastest SSD and not a backup one if you have one. This will ensure much faster loading times and smoother performance.
• Clean your PC! – Any dust blocking your fans can easily block airflow to and from components in your PC, increasing temperature and decreasing FPS. Unlocking the maximum FPS in CS2 may be as easy as cleaning the dust on fans.

Wrapping Up!

The comprehensive list of settings found in this article is meant to lead to max FPS so that you have an enjoyable and optimized gaming experience. Fine-tuning other settings is just as crucial for CS2, so refer to our other articles on SkinLords, such as optimizing your viewmodel and in-game sensitivity!