The foundation of smooth CS2 gameplay is getting display sync and NVIDIA Reflex right, and Valve has an official recommendation for exactly that. This guide covers what Valve recommends, what to do without G-Sync, which graphics options actually affect your game, how to choose a resolution and where to set your FPS cap. It applies to the PC version of CS2 as of 19 October 2026. Valve’s recommendations are marked as official; everything else is advice that independent gaming outlets agree on.
What Valve recommends: G-Sync, V-Sync and Reflex together
Got a G-Sync monitor and an NVIDIA card? Then Valve’s official advice is simple: turn on G-Sync, V-Sync and NVIDIA Reflex together. The game detects when G-Sync is on without V-Sync or Reflex and shows you a settings recommendation.
You can check your G-Sync status in the video settings. Under Advanced there’s a Frame Pacing section that shows whether G-Sync is active with your current display settings, along with the FPS caps for in-game and menus.
- Open Settings → Video → Advanced.
- In the Frame Pacing section, check the NVIDIA G-Sync row.
- Turn on V-Sync and NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency.
- If the game offers a settings recommendation, you can accept it.
Without G-Sync: Reflex on, V-Sync off
If you don’t have G-Sync, outlets agree on the opposite approach to V-Sync. Turning V-Sync off means lower input lag, at the cost of occasional screen tearing.
Outlets recommend keeping NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency on, set to “Enabled + Boost”. According to NVIDIA, Reflex cuts latency in CS2 by up to 35%, though the real difference depends on your system.
Graphics options that matter
Not every graphics option is worth tweaking. These three have a clear effect on gameplay or smoothness, and outlets agree on them:
| Option | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Boost Player Contrast | On | player models stand out more from the background |
| FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) | Off | some players report higher input lag |
| MSAA | 4x as a compromise, 2x or off for more FPS | less anti-aliasing adds FPS but looks worse |
For shadows, ambient occlusion and texture, shader and particle detail, outlets disagree, so we don’t give a single right value here. Try what your system can handle and watch your FPS while you do.
Resolution and aspect ratio
4:3 stretched at 1280×960 is popular with pro players and gives you more FPS. It’s still a matter of taste, though. Your monitor’s native 16:9 resolution is the safe choice you can’t go wrong with.
Since 14 August 2025 you can change resolution and aspect ratio in fullscreen windowed mode too.
FPS cap and how to monitor it
You can set frame caps straight from the menu in the Frame Pacing section: “Maximum FPS In Game” for matches and “Maximum FPS In Menus” for menus. The same values are controlled by the console commands fps_max and fps_max_ui, and fps_max 0 removes the cap entirely.
Since 14 August 2025 fps_max can’t be changed while you’re connected to a server, so set your cap before the match. To see your current FPS, use cl_showfps 1 or the Telemetry diagnostic HUD, which you enable in Game Settings and which shows FPS, ping and network state. How to enable the console and other useful commands are in our console commands guide.
CPU: CPU Cores Usage Preference
Since 19 December 2024 the settings include a CPU Cores Usage Preference option (see the patch notes). It controls how the game uses the performance and efficiency cores of your processor, which matters on CPUs that have both types of core.
What isn’t worth it
- Miracle launch options. Guides are full of launch parameters that supposedly add FPS. According to our sources, only
-novidhas a verified effect, and all it does is skip the intro video. - FPS charts for specific graphics cards. How many frames a given card delivers depends on the system and the patch. Valve only lists minimum requirements and doesn’t publish recommended ones.
- Changing your FPS cap mid-match. Since 14 August 2025 you can’t do it on a server, so set it beforehand.
To check whether your PC can run CS2 at all: for Windows, Valve lists Windows 10, a CPU with 4 hardware threads (Intel Core i5 750 or better), 8 GB of RAM, a graphics card with 1 GB of memory and DirectX 11 with Shader Model 5.0, and 85 GB of free space. Details including Linux and Steam Deck are in our system requirements guide. Once your picture is dialled in, move on to your crosshair settings. New to the game? Start with what CS2 is.
Join our Discord to compare settings with other players and ask what works on a similar setup: Discord GamersTogether.
FAQ
If you have G-Sync, yes: Valve recommends turning on G-Sync, V-Sync and NVIDIA Reflex together. Without G-Sync, outlets advise turning V-Sync off for lower input lag.
Outlets recommend Reflex Low Latency set to “Enabled + Boost”. According to NVIDIA it cuts latency in CS2 by up to 35%, but it depends on your system.
1280×960 at 4:3 gives you more FPS and pros like it, but it’s a matter of taste. Native 16:9 is the safe choice.
Since 14 August 2025 fps_max can’t be changed while connected to a server. Set it beforehand or use the “Maximum FPS In Game” slider in the Frame Pacing section.
Outlets advise keeping FidelityFX Super Resolution off, because some players report higher input lag with it.
Information verified on 19 October 2026. Find more guides in our CS2 guides and the latest updates in CS2 news.