For a smooth and clear gameplay experience in Counter-Strike 2, the right settings are crucial. With the best CS2 settings, you’ll get high FPS and a crisp image that makes spotting enemies easier. So, what are the ideal settings? The CS.MONEY Blog dives into the details.
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What Are the Best Settings for CS2?
Graphics settings in CS2 are divided into two menu sections. The first section includes general settings like resolution and brightness. Here are the best settings for CS2:
- Resolution – Use your native screen resolution for maximum clarity or 4:3 stretched resolutions like 1280×960 for stretched player models.
- Refresh Rate – Set to the highest your monitor supports.
- Brightness – Can be left at default or reduced to 85% for more vibrant colors.
If you’re using your monitor’s native resolution, you can enable borderless windowed mode for convenience.
The second section has more detailed graphics settings. Some affect performance, while others impact gameplay. Here’s what to adjust:
- Enhanced Player Contrast – Makes enemies stand out. Enable it.
- Vertical Sync (V-Sync) – Adds input lag. Disable it.
- Max FPS in-game and in-menu – Set both sliders to 0 (unlimited) or double your monitor’s refresh rate. For a 144Hz monitor, set it to 300 FPS.
- NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency – Reduces input lag but slightly lowers FPS. Enable it.
Below, you’ll find grouped graphics settings that significantly affect performance:
- Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode – Smooths edges and removes jagged lines. Set to 2xMSAA or 4xMSAA.
- Shadow Quality – Affects how detailed shadows appear. Set to Low or Medium for better FPS.
- Dynamic Shadows – Determines how player shadows are cast. Enable it.
- Model and Texture Detail – Affects in-game texture quality. Set to High.
- Texture Filtering Mode – Controls how sharp textures appear, especially at angles. Use any Anisotropic option.
- Shader Detail – A cosmetic setting that affects skin appearance. Set to High so skins look great.
- Particle Detail – Used for effects like grenade explosions. Set to Low.
- Ambient Occlusion – Determines how objects interact with lighting. Disabling it improves FPS.
- High Dynamic Range – We didn’t notice any effect on visuals or performance. Set to Performance mode.
- FidelityFX Super Resolution – AMD’s upscaling technology. Increases FPS but reduces image quality. Disable it.
These are the best settings for CS2. With them, the game will look good, all critical elements (like enemy shadows) will be present, and your FPS won’t suffer.
Best Graphics Settings for Low-End PCs
Counter-Strike 2 can be bottlenecked by either the CPU or GPU. If it’s a CPU issue, upgrading is the best solution. However, if your GPU is the problem, tweaking the settings can help. Here are the best CS2 settings for weak PCs:
- Set all graphics settings to Low.
- Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode – Use CMAA2 instead of 4xMSAA. It smooths the image less effectively but has minimal impact on performance.
- Dynamic Shadows – All. This setting provides a competitive advantage. Change it only if absolutely necessary.
If you’re still struggling, test these final settings to adjust is screen resolution. You have two options:
- Lower the resolution – Instead of 1920×1080, use 1280×720 or 1024×768. This will boost FPS significantly but make the game more pixelated.
- Use FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) on Quality mode – While we don’t generally recommend this feature, it may be a good option for some players.
With these CS2 graphics settings, you’ll maximize FPS without sacrificing essential gameplay elements, even on low-end PCs.
Setting up Counter-Strike 2 properly is an important step. Pay attention not only to graphics but also sound settings. We have a separate guide covering the best audio settings in CS2—make sure to check it out!
