Best Graphic Settings for CS2

Having the best graphics settings for CS2 is incredibly important to maximize FPS and increase your chances of success. Counter-Strike 2 is a highly competitive game where every little detail matters.

The Blix team has created a detailed guide where you can find settings for different situations to get the most out of the game, no matter how powerful your computer is.

Highlights

• Information on the best graphics settings for low-end, mid-range, and powerful computers
• Details on what settings affect FPS

If you need more than graphics settings, check out our guide, Best CS 2 Settings: In-game, Graphics and System.

There was an update to CS2 recently. You can see more details in post X.

Release Notes for today are up: https://t.co/Uar02l4oYN

— CS2 (@CounterStrike) January 22, 2025

In-Game Graphics Settings in CS2

First of all, it is necessary to set general parameters for video, practically independent of PC performance and determined from the following considerations:

• The main menu’s background image consumes part of the video card memory, so choose cards with less detail (e.g., Office or Mirage).
• A higher brightness value is preferred because it improves the visibility of opponents.

• The screen aspect ratio, which is the ratio of horizontal to vertical picture size, determines the viewing angle:

• Regular – 4:3 – does not utilize the capabilities of a widescreen monitor but significantly (up to 60 frames per second) improves FPS;
• Widescreen—16:9, 16:10—expands the picture by 20% and enhances side vision, but it degrades the refresh rate.

We wrote about resolution in detail in the article Best Resolution for CS2.

• The display mode, which determines the possibility of applying a non-standard 4:3 format, can be:

• in a window (16:9 or 16:10 format);
• in a window without frames (16:9 or 16:10 format);
• Full screen (any format).

• The monitor largely determines the screen resolutions and is initially set by default and recommended:

• Set no higher than 1920:1080 to avoid degrading the number of playable frames;
• Do not reduce it below 1600:900 to prevent image degradation.

• The refresh rate is directly related to the monitor’s characteristics and should be set as high as possible but not less than 60 Hz.
• The power saving mode is automatically turned off for better performance.

After defining the basic video parameters, it is necessary to open the “Advanced Video” tab, allowing you to select individual settings depending on the performance of your computer.

We have an article Best Mouse For CS2: Market Review. It may help you decide on the best mouse for gaming.

Best Settings for Low-End PC

Even with a low-end PC, you can play CS2 and have fun. To increase FPS, you need to lower the graphics settings a lot. Below, we have given the optimal setting, but if you realize that your computer can handle more load, increase the values gradually.

• Boost Player Contrast: Enabled
• Wait for Vertical Sync: Disabled
• Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: 4X MSAA or 2X MSAA 
• Global Shadow Quality: Medium (or High)
• Model / Texture Detail: Low
• Texture Filtering Mode: Bilinear
• Shader Detail: Low
• Particle Detail: Low
• Ambient Occlusion: Disabled
• High Dynamic Range: Quality
• FidelityFX Super Resolution: Disabled
• Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: Enabled + Boost (for high-end PCs)

Shadows in Counter Strike 2 help to detect the enemy and can give away his position even before you see him on the screen. Therefore, Global Shadow Quality should be set to Medium or High if your computer allows it.

Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode is also necessary for a smooth picture. If you notice a severe FPS drop when you set it to 4X MSAA, switch this setting to 2X MSAA.

In some cases, you may also find our guide “How To Fix CS2 Stuttering?” helpful.

Settings for Medium and Powerful PCs

For gaming stations with medium performance, the following advanced settings can be used:

• Boost Player Contrast: Enabled
• Wait for Vertical Sync: Disabled
• Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: 2X MSAA
• Global Shadow Quality: Medium
• Model / Texture Detail: Medium
• Texture Filtering Mode: Trilinear
• Shader Detail: Low
• Particle Detail: Medium
• Ambient Occlusion: Disabled
• High Dynamic Range: Perfomance
• FidelityFX Super Resolution: Quality

Owners of the most productive gaming stations can afford corresponding advanced graphics settings:

• Boost Player Contrast: Enabled
• Wait for Vertical Sync: Disabled
• Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: 8X MSAA
• Global Shadow Quality: Very High
• Model / Texture Detail: High
• Texture Filtering Mode: Anisotropic 16X
• Shader Detail: High
• Particle Detail: Very High
• Ambient Occlusion: High
• High Dynamic Range: Quality
• FidelityFX Super Resolution: Disabled

Video Card Settings for CS2

If the general and advanced graphics settings in CS2 are not enough to make the game run smoothly without freezes, you should customize your graphics card.

NVIDIA Settings

If your computer is equipped with NVIDIA graphics card, you should do the following:

Go to the “Control Panel” by right-clicking on the desktop splash screen and selecting the appropriate context menu item. Go through the sections “3D Parameter Management“>> “Program Settings”>> “cs2.exe“.

Change the parameters listed below:

• Global Settings: Switch back
• Image Sharpening: off
• Ambient Occlusion: off
• Anisotropic Filtering: off
• Antialiasing – Gamma Correction: off
• Antialiasing – Mode: off
• Antialiasing – Transparency: off
• Background Application Max Frame Rate: off
• CUDA – GPUs: All
• DSR – Factors: Off
• Low Latency Mode: On
• Max Frame Rate: Off
• Multi-Frame Sampled AA(MFAA): Off
• Open GL Rendering GPU: On
• Power management mode: Prefer maximum performance
• Preferred refresh rate: Highest Available
• Shader Cache Side: Driver Default
• Texture filtering – Anisotropic sample optimisation: On
• Texture filtering – Negative LOD bias: Allow
• Texture filtering – Quality: High Performance
• Texture filtering – Trilinear optimisation: On
• Threaded optimisation: On
• Triple buffering: Off
• Vertical sync: Off

AMD Radeon Settings

Proceed to Gaming and select cs2.exe. Set the following parameters to get the maximum FPS:

Graphics

• Radeon Super Resolution: Disabled
• AMD Fluid Motion Frames – Manual: Disabled
• Radeon Anti-Lag: Enabled
• Radeon Chill: Disabled
• Radeon Boost: Disabled
• Radeon Image Sharpening: Disabled
• Radeon Enhanced Sync: Disabled
• Wait for Vertical Refresh: Always Off

Advanced

• Anti-Aliasing: Use application settings
• Anti-Aliasing Method: Multisampling
• Morphological Anti-Aliasing: Disabled
• Anisotropic Filtering: Disabled
• Texture Filtering Quality: Performance
• Surface Format Optimization: Enabled
• Tessellation Mode: Optimized
• OpenGL Triple Buffering: Disabled
• 10-Bit Pixel Format: Disabled

Best Graphic Settings for Max FPS in CS2

• Boost player contrast: Enabled
• Wait for vertical sync: Disabled – Can cause input delay and locks FPS to your refresh rate
• Current video values preset: Custom
• Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: 4X MSAA – Lower values provide minor FPS gain, but looks bad
• Global Shadow Quality: Medium – Or High, but avoid low
• Model / Texture Detail: Medium – Minimal FPS impact
• Texture Filtering Mode: Bilinear – Minimal FPS impact
• Shader Detail: Low – Improves FPS
• Particle Detail: Low – Improves FPS
• Ambient Occlusion: High or Medium – Can be advantageous with minimal FPS impact
• High Dynamic Range: Quality – Minimal FPS impact, big visual upgrade over Performance
• FidelityFX Super Resolution: Disabled (Highest Quality) – Avoid, causes smudged appearance
• NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: Enabled – If you are CPU-bound, use Boost

Disabling FidelityFX Super Resolution may seem to increase your game’s performance, but it does the opposite. This setting increases FPS by scaling the game. The Ultra Quality option will look the same as before, with a slight performance improvement. If you are experiencing FPS issues, consider using the Quality setting.

However, some players have reported increased input lag when using FidelityFX Super Resolution. It is safest to turn it off and use other settings to increase FPS in CS2.

Now, let’s discuss MSAA in CS2. If you have FPS issues, consider switching to 2X MSAA instead of 4X. Disabling MSAA may improve performance but make the game less visually pleasing.

Furthermore, higher MSAA settings provide better low framerates at 1%, and 4X offers a better balance.

Our testing found that the Model / Texture Detail setting has almost no effect on FPS. So, you can safely keep it at Medium or even high to enjoy more attractive skins without a noticeable impact on the frame rate. Particle and Shader detail can be set to Low, as these settings are purely visual and may affect FPS.

Based on our tests, the Texture Filtering Mode setting has minimal impact on FPS. Using Bilinear Mode will provide a low FPS boost with limited visual disadvantages. 

Additional Settings to Increase FPS in CS2

By activating the developer console by pressing the “~” key (by default), you can enter several performance-enhancing commands:

• fps_max 0 – disables FPS limits, allowing the game to maximize its capabilities;
• cl_showfps 1 – allows you to see FPS, lowering it when enabled;
• cl_showfps 0 – disables FPS detection;
• r_drawtracers_firstperson 0 – allows you to remove tracers when shooting;
• voice_modenable 1/0 – activate/deactivate voice chat;
• r_csgo_water_effects 0/1 – disables/activates water effects;
• r_Show_build_info false – removes information about the game version from the screen;
• speaker_config 2 – improves sound quality.

CS2 Pro Graphics Settings

If you found nothing suitable in our customization picks, the CS2 pro scene player customizations will help you. Experimenting with your settings and feeling like a champion is not a bad option.

m0NESY Settings

In June 2024, Ilya m0NESY won for G2 at IEM Dallas and earned the MVP medal. In September 2024, Ilya won the Blast Premier Fall Final and earned an MVP medal. In November 2024, Ilya and G2 Esports took first place at the BLAST Premier World Final, where he earned his fourth MVP medal from HLTV.

There was an interesting Update On m0NESY BLAST Situation associated with it.

Video settings
Resolution	1280×960
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Scaling Mode	Stretched
Color Mode	Computer Monitor
Brightness	93%
Display Mode	Fullscreen
Advanced Video Settings
Boost Player Contrast	Enabled
Wait for Vertical Sync	Disabled
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode	8x MSAA
Global Shadow Quality	High
Model / Texture Detail	Low
Dynamic Shadows	All
Texture Filtering Mode	Bilinear
Shader Detail	Low
Particle Detail	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Disabled
High Dynamic Range	Quality
FidelityFX Super Resolution	Disabled
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	Disabled

donk Settings

Team Spirit player Danil donk Kryshkovets was named the Most Valuable Player at the end of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 in CS2. This is his first MVP medal at the Major and the sixth in his career. Read more about this pro player in our article Who is Donk? Player Career and His Settings in CS2.

Video settings
Resolution	1280×960
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Scaling Mode	Stretched
Color Mode	Computer Monitor
Brightness	94%
Display Mode	Fullscreen
Advanced Video Settings
Boost Player Contrast	Enabled
Wait for Vertical Sync	Disabled
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode	8x MSAA
Global Shadow Quality	High
Model / Texture Detail	Low
Dynamic Shadows	All
Texture Filtering Mode	Trilinear
Shader Detail	Low
Particle Detail	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Disabled
High Dynamic Range	Quality
FidelityFX Super Resolution	Disabled
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	Disabled

ZywOo Settings

The player received 20 HLTV MVP awards. In addition, ZywOo was the MVP of ESL Pro League Season 19 in May 2024, although Vitality lost the final. 

Video settings
Resolution	1280×960
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Scaling Mode	Stretched
Color Mode	Computer Monitor
Brightness	103%
Display Mode	Fullscreen
Advanced Video Settings
Boost Player Contrast	Enabled
Wait for Vertical Sync	Disabled
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode	4x MSAA
Global Shadow Quality	High
Model / Texture Detail	High
Dynamic Shadows	All
Texture Filtering Mode	Anisotropic 4x
Shader Detail	High
Particle Detail	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Medium
High Dynamic Range	Quality
FidelityFX Super Resolution	Disabled
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	Enabled

ropz Settings

Recent news about this player was on our portal: Ropz Might Join Vitality.

Video settings
Resolution	1920×1080
Aspect Ratio	16:9
Scaling Mode	Native
Color Mode	Computer Monitor
Brightness	100%
Display Mode	Fullscreen
Advanced Video Settings
Boost Player Contrast	Enabled
Wait for Vertical Sync	Disabled
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode	2x MSAA
Global Shadow Quality	High
Model / Texture Detail	Low
Dynamic Shadows	All
Texture Filtering Mode	Bilinear
Shader Detail	Low
Particle Detail	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Medium
High Dynamic Range	Quality
FidelityFX Super Resolution	Disabled
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	Enabled

w0nderful Settings

Video settings
Resolution	1280×960
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Scaling Mode	Stretched
Color Mode	Computer Monitor
Brightness	101%
Display Mode	Fullscreen
Advanced Video Settings
Boost Player Contrast	Enabled
Wait for Vertical Sync	Disabled
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode	8x MSAA
Global Shadow Quality	High
Model / Texture Detail	Low
Dynamic Shadows	All
Texture Filtering Mode	Bilinear
Shader Detail	Low
Particle Detail	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Disabled
High Dynamic Range	Quality
FidelityFX Super Resolution	Disabled
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	Disabled

Conclusion

This is a balanced and optimized set of graphics settings for CS2, which will allow you to increase FPS without making your CS2 images ugly. You can apply pro player settings or share your best settings with us.

But besides experimenting with settings, don’t forget about the console commands that can help you too.