I recently built a PC with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Radeon RX 9070 XT, 32 GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, and a 1440p 240 Hz monitor. In CS2, I average around 300–350 FPS, with dips to about 200 FPS. My brother's PC has the same CPU and RAM but an RTX 4070 and a 1080p 165 Hz monitor, and it averages roughly 500–600 FPS.
We both played at stretched 4:3 1280×960 on the lowest settings, and changing my resolution between 1280×960 and 2560×1440 did not noticeably change my FPS. My DisplayPort cable is connected to the GPU, EXPO is enabled, and I have no significant background applications running. Windows, chipset, BIOS, and GPU drivers are up to date.
I'm also concerned that my CPU reaches about 95°C in Cinebench, while my brother's reaches only around 78°C despite us getting similar scores. Neither system is overclocked or undervolted. Could the higher temperatures, cooler installation, drivers, or another hardware setting explain the lower CS2 performance?
3 Answers
Try Vulkan as a quick test, although it may not improve performance for everyone. Since you already saw similar FPS at 1280×960 and 1440p, the next useful step is monitoring GPU usage, CPU effective clocks, per-core utilization, and frametime graphs during a match. If GPU usage is low and the CPU is downclocking or thermally limited, the issue is likely platform, cooling, BIOS, or software related rather than the monitor resolution.
A 9800X3D should perform very well in CS2, so the CPU cooler mounting is worth checking carefully. If the cooler’s standoffs or mounting hardware are oriented incorrectly, it can look installed while making poor contact. Remove the cooler and verify the mounting instructions, then repaste with a normal-sized amount. A temperature around 95°C under Cinebench is quite high, even if the benchmark score is similar.
Since changing resolution barely affects the frame rate, this probably isn’t mainly a GPU-resolution issue. Check that Windows hasn’t replaced or layered its own display driver over the AMD driver, and consider doing a clean AMD driver installation. Also compare the exact in-game settings, launch options, BIOS settings, and power plans on both systems.
Both systems are using the lowest settings, EXPO is enabled, and I’ve already installed the latest drivers. I also tested several resolutions with almost no FPS difference.
I tested the Vulkan launch option and it didn’t make a noticeable difference.