Sorting out the best video settings for Counter-Strike 2 will give you the best performance without compromising the visual experience.
Counter-Strike 2 is an overhaul of the decade-old CS:GO. The visual improvements alone now take a bigger toll on your PC. Accordingly, previous settings in CS:GO made greater
If you are just jumping into the game, you might want to adjust your video settings to best suit your experience. Luckily, we have you covered. We will go through our take on the best video settings for Counter-Strike 2
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Best Video Settings in CS 2
Optimization is key for any competitive shooter. While the game itself does a great job of achieving parity with video settings, the community is still finding ways to improve your settings to maximize both FPS and input lag. Here is our take on what will be the best settings for maximizing FPS.
Video Settings
Starting out, you will have to adjust some general video settings. These are more macro settings than adjusting the fundamentals of the game’s graphics. Our recommended settings are as follows:
| Category | Optimal Settings | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Main Menu Background Scenary | Any | The background scene is only applicable to the main menu |
| Color Mode | Computer Monitor | Applicable for Color Accuracy |
| Brightness | 40% | It can vary from player to player. |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 | While recommended, this will depend on the player’s preference. |
| Resolution | Native | Similarly, it depends on the player’s preferences. The native resolution is a solid choice. |
| Display Mode | Fullscreen | – |
| Refresh Rate | Highest Available | Using the highest available refresh rate your monitor allows is optimal if your computer can match the required FPS. |
| Laptop Power Savings | Disabled | – |
Advanced Video Settings
Besides the general settings, Counter-Strike 2 has more in-depth settings to help you fine-tune your game even more. Here are our recommended settings.
| Category | Optimal Settings | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Boost Player Contrast | Enabled | Increases visibility of players in the background |
| Wait for Vertical Sync (V-Sync) | Disabled | – |
| Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode | 2X MSAA | Eliminates jagged edges and makes textures appear smoother at a distance. |
| Global Shadow Quality | High | High or Very High shadows show enemy player’s shadows in the game. |
| Model/Texture Detail | Low | A lower setting will worsen the look of models like your weapon but increase the FPS. |
| Shader Detail | Low | Shaders will reduce details from lighting on the map. Lowering will increase performance. |
| Particle Detail | Low | Controls particle effects and shadows |
| Ambient Occlusion | Disabled | Applies to shadows and lighting. |
| High Dynamic Range (HDR) | Performance | Controls the range of brightness for the light and dark pixels. |
| FidelityFX Super Resolution | Disabled (Highest Quality) | It renders at a lower resolution and upscales the image. |
| Nvidia Reflex Low Latency* | Enabled + Boost | *Available for only Nvidia Cards |
Best Video Settings for Performance and Clarity
The goal is to have the best settings that perfectly balance fps, visuals, and performance. To this end, there are countless discussions as to what the best settings are for any player. Reddit user u/Piwielle did his in-depth research about which settings impact the input lag and gave out his opinion on what could be the best settings to maximize performance without sacrificing visual clarity.
We would still highly recommend disabling FidelityFX, as it is not worth reducing the visual masterpiece that is Counter-Strike 2. Some of these settings can be tuned higher to make the game look more beautiful with minimal performance loss. However, for maximum performance, you could lower all of the values to the lowest settings.
Some key takeaways from his analysis can be summarized as follows:
- Differences hold up in both 1080p testing and 720p testing
- Using V-Sync or G-Sync will always increase input lag substantially.
- There is no noticeable difference between playing on fullscreen vs. playing in windowed modes.
Read More: How to Reduce Overly Saturated Brightness in Counter-Strike 2
There you have it! Try these settings, and you should notice a significant improvement in your game’s visuals. Don’t be hesitant to experiment with the settings, as everyone’s PC specs will be different. Good luck!
