Playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with comfort is vital, and to do that, hundreds of frames per second are needed. Such conditions maximize the smoothness and responsiveness of the gameplay. CS.MONEY Blog tries to answer a very common yet complicated question: how difficult is it to achieve top FPS numbers, and how much of a hardware investment would it be? And surely, which GPU works well for CS:GO?
Lower comfort level
Before we start sorting video cards and GPUs and start giving recommendations, let’s define the criteria for a comfortable game. During the evaluation process, there will be several conditions. First, 1080p or 1440p resolution. It’s not just a top pick: these two are popular solutions for screens with a 144Hz refresh rate. Speaking of 144Hz, it is the second criterion. By this, we mean that players use monitors with 144Hz refresh rate, and therefore they need at least 200, even 300 frames per second. Third, all settings will be set to maximum. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will soon celebrate its 10th anniversary, and playing at max settings is one of the few ways to make CS:GO look decent by today’s standards.
Budget GPUs are fine
In order to get a stable number of 300 frames per second, a modern entry-level gaming graphics card is enough. For example, Nvidia GTX 1660 or Nvidia GTX 1660 Super, as well as RX 6500 XT. These video cards cover CS:GO’s system requirements and can make about 300 frames per second even with 4X or 8X MSAA.
NB: for other popular AAA games achieving such a number of frames per second will be problematic. However, the already mentioned graphics cards are enough for comfortable 1080p and 60fps in games such as Red Dead Redemption 2, Mafia Definitive Edition, or Call of Duty Warzone.
So if you have a 1080p or 1440p resolution monitor, you can safely take an entry-level GPU for CS:GO. In the current situation, it will be enough for you to play the game for many years, and besides, you will be able to launch most new games this and next year without any problems.
Do Older GPUs Need Updating?
It might be worth upgrading the hardware if you already have a PC. However, you first need to figure out what you need to replace. So, if you have Nvidia 10 series graphics card, GeForce GTX 1060 or GeForce GTX 1070, as well as Radeon RX 400 series graphics cards, you are already on the verge of a needed upgrade. The younger models of both series barely reached 200 frames per second, even at release.
It is obvious that older GPUs need to be updated. With more recent video cards, it’s the same situation: younger models will dance around 200 frames per second. Older models will be able to take the bar at 300 and even 400 frames per second without any problems. You may have a modern video card, but squeezing a hundred FPS is hard. In this case, the problem may be in other components, such as the CPU, but this is a topic for a separate post.
Why Do Pros Have Overpriced GPUs Then?
The answer is simple: the more FPS, the better. We’ve set the lower limit at the very beginning intentionally. So if you can get the coolest GPU on the market and place it into your PC case, just do it. But don’t expect it to transform the game magically. The thing is that by increasing the number of frames per second, each subsequent additional frame will have less effect on the perception of the picture.
Going from 30fps to 60fps will feel like an incredible leap. From 60 to 120, in general, too. But the transition from 300 to 400 will already be virtually invisible. Not even speaking of 500 to 900. The number in net_graph seems to have almost doubled, but it’s impossible for your eyes to see the difference. But additionally, decent hardware will allow you to stream without additional devices or troubles. Or play any newest AAA games on max. Therefore, it’s always good to have excessive resources.
Separate GPUs are expensive; is there a cheaper option?
When building a PC to play CS:GO, you can cut costs and look at CPUs with integrated graphic cards. By digging into the settings, you can squeeze out more than 150 frames per second from such, as in, for example, AMD Ryzen 5 5600G has. It will be enough.
However, in this configuration case, you can forget about AAA games and even about having the best graphics in CS:GO. All the settings will have to be set on low, squeezing out some more FPS. In addition, such hardware is not enough to unlock the potential of 144Hz framerate screens. In general, an attempt to save money will result in severe performance limitations.
Summing it all up, to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with comfort, you need at least 200, preferably 300 frames per second. This number is easy to achieve even on five-year-old GPUs. If you have one, it’s enough for now, although it is worth considering an upgrade in the coming years. If you’re buying a new one, a low-end GPU is enough for CS:GO. Finally, if you need to save money, look closely at processors with integrated GPUs made by AMD. They can provide enough power for a more or less comfortable game.
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