CS: GO with 29 graphics cards in the benchmark

– BitcoinMinersHashrate tested the tactical shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (GO) in the benchmark with 29 graphics cards and 5 graphics units (iGPUs) integrated in CPUs. Both high-end as well as entry-level and older models take part in the comparison. The article is the fourth in a twelve-part benchmark series.

A series of articles with twelve games

In the standard test course for graphics cards, processors and even gaming notebooks, BitcoinMinersHashrate usually focuses on AAA games. In addition to their high popularity and modern technology, there is another reason for this: They generally allow comparable results over a long period of time. But even if the number of players is high, the highest have other titles.

We are talking about games that focus exclusively on multiplayer and whose goal is to reach as many players as possible. Battle royale shooters like Fortnite or PUBG as well as e-sports heavyweights like League of Legends or Counter-Strike are among them. Technically, they are usually designed to be simpler than the AAA offshoots and harder to benchmark consistently due to continuously provided updates. Nevertheless, millions of players around the world keep asking themselves: How fast is or would GPU XYZ be in this game? BitcoinMinersHashrate will now look into this question again in a twelve-part series of articles.

In all twelve games, 29 graphics cards and 5 GPUs integrated in processors in two different quality settings will have to endure benchmarks. From GeForce RTX 2080 Ti to Radeon RX 5700 XT and GeForce GTX 1650 as well as older representatives such as the Radeon R9 390, numerous price, performance and age groups are represented.

So that the overview is not lost, each game gets its own article. The following titles are on our agenda, the linked ones have already been tested:

• Apex Legends in the 2020 benchmark
• Counter-Strike: GO
• Destiny 2
• Dota 2
• Fortnite in the 2020 benchmark
• GTA V
• League of Legends
• Overwatch
• PUBG
• Rainbow Six Siege in the 2020 benchmark
• World of Tanks
• World of Warcraft

The fourth game, Valve's evergreen Counter-Strike: GO has to face the test. The remaining eight articles will appear over the next few weeks, there is no set rhythm.

Counter-Strike: GO: The fourth game in the benchmark

The Counter-Strike: GO by Valve, which is now available as a free 2-play game, was released on August 21, 2012 and has been continuously developed since then. However, the technology has remained virtually unchanged, the original source engine is used. Accordingly, the game's graphics are dusty, but still functional. CS: GO uses DirectX 9 as an API, which is hardly the case with other well-known titles.

The AMD and Nvidia graphics cards in the test

The 29 graphics cards are 13 3D accelerators from AMD and 16 from Nvidia. In addition, three APUs from AMD are represented and also two CPUs from Intel, each of which has to use the integrated graphics units for the benchmarks. In addition, there are tests with a very cheap CPU, each with an inexpensive Radeon or GeForce to show whether such a double team is worthwhile compared to a more expensive APU.

All GeForce and Radeon graphics cards adhere to the reference specifications, overclocked models for more performance do not take part in the comparison. How much faster they are can be seen in the many graphics card tests or the graphics card ranking on BitcoinMinersHashrate.

Driver and test system

Since the numerous benchmarks are created over a longer period of time, different drivers are used. The adrenaline 20.2.1 and the GeForce 442.19 were used for the tests of Counter-Strike: GO. The 26.20.100.7755 is installed for the Intel GPUs. The driver settings are left on the standard, only special optimizations like the theoretically possible adjustment of the maximum tessellation level with AMD are switched off.

An AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and the MSI MEG X570 Godlike with the X570 chipset of the same name are used as the test system. 16 gigabytes of RAM (2 × 8 GB, DDR4-3200-14-14-14-32-1T, single rank) are available to the system. Windows 10 1909 with all updates is installed.

Different resolutions and quality settings

To compare so many graphics cards from different performance classes in one article requires different quality settings, because it is clear that those with a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti can drive completely different resolutions and levels of detail than one with a GeForce GTX 1050. Nevertheless, the need for benchmarks that compare all GPUs is great. This series of articles offers both.

Firstly, BitcoinMinersHashrate divided the test field into three different performance classes. Each of them receives its own resolution and level of detail, which is appropriate for its representatives. The fastest performance class includes the Radeon RX 5700 XT and the GeForce RTX 2070 Super. In the middle class, for example, the GeForce GTX 1060 and the Radeon RX 580 have to duel, while typical representatives for the slowest class are the Radeon RX 390 and the GeForce GTX 970.

In the highest performance class, the goal was to achieve around 50 to 60 FPS on a Radeon RX 5700 XT in 3,840 × 2,160. One class below were 50 to 60 FPS in 2,560 × 1,440 with a GeForce GTX 1060, while in the slowest class 50 to 60 FPS in 1,920 × 1,080 were to be achieved with a Ryzen 5 3400G.

An identical setting for all benchmarks

However, in order to be able to compare all products directly with one another, there is a fourth series of tests that comes with a single comprehensive resolution and quality setting. It is a compromise that does not fully utilize high-end graphics cards and still completely overwhelms low-end APUs – but there is no other way to compare all 29 graphics cards and 5 iGPUs directly with each other.

The following quality settings were used for the four scenarios in Counter-Strike: GO.

As a test sequence, a 25-second run is selected on the map "cache" near the terrorist's launch site. The card itself is one of the most sophisticated in the game. However, there are no opponents or battles to be seen, the frame rates online are therefore lower, but the conditions remain.

Benchmarks in Full HD, WQHD and Ultra HD

Full HD with entry-level graphics cards & iGPUs

Counter-Strike: GO runs smoothly on a calculator; Or at least almost, because with an Athlon 3000G (Radeon Vega 3) or Core i3-9100 (UHD Graphics 630) the game with many details is not very fun. If you further reduce the details, you will also find a green branch in Full HD. Only with the Pentium Gold G5400 (UHD Graphics 610) players are not happy.

A Ryzen 3 2200G (Radeon Vega 8) can easily achieve more than 60 FPS in 1,920 × 1,080, with a Ryzen 5 3400G (Radeon Vega 11) almost 100 FPS. With a GeForce GT 1030 or a Radeon RX 550, the FPS increases only minimally, but the frame times significantly due to the stronger processor in the form of the Ryzen 7 3700X. And from a GeForce GTX 1050 or Radeon RX 560, even those who want to play with 144 FPS (and a 144 Hz display) will be happy.

WQHD with mid-range graphics cards

Speaking of 144 FPS: in 2,560 × 1,440, even with a quadruple MSAA, it easily achieves a GeForce GTX 1650 or a Radeon RX 570. Nvidia's older Pascal generation knows how to impress with the measurements. The GeForce GTX 1060 is 4 percent faster than the Radeon RX 590, the GeForce GTX 1070 is 6 percent faster than the Radeon RX Vega 56 – usually the other way around. It also suggests that new GPU architectures in Counter-Strike: GO are not an advantage, but this is not surprising given the age of the game. The Radeon RX 5500 XT with RDNA ends up where the graphics card always does. And the GeForce GTX 1660 Super with Turing is even behind the GeForce GTX 1070, although both models are usually the same speed.

Ultra HD with high-end graphics cards

144 FPS are also not a big challenge in 3840 × 2.160, even the Radeon RX 5600 XT and the GeForce RTX 2060 can easily do this. Nvidia's Pascal generation is also in top form in Ultra HD with the GeForce GTX 1080 and the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. It is worth noting that even in Ultra HD a CPU limit is slowly creeping in with the fast graphics cards. This can be seen in the frame times, because there the fastest 3D accelerators can hardly stand out from the slower offshoots. And it turns out that AMD graphics cards in the CPU limit cope a little better, because the Radeon VII has the same good frame times as the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and the Radeon RX 5700 XT better frame times than the GeForce RTX 2070 Super.

Full HD benchmarks across all classes

In the higher-level benchmarks in Full HD, a CPU limit sets in very early, even with eight times the MSAA, because from a Radeon RX Vega 56 or a GeForce GTX 1070 there are no more differences between the graphics cards. Starting with a Radeon RX 560 or GeForce GTX 1050, the tactical shooter can be played very well with the highest possible graphics settings in Full HD. If you can live with less than optimal frame times, you can also cope with a brisk AMD APU in CS: GO.

closing Remarks

Rainbow Six: Siege already does not place high demands on the graphics card, Counter-Strike: GO is then once again much more frugal. For the tactical shooter, it really doesn't need fast hardware to reach even three-digit frame rates. Even with a Ryzen 5 3400G without an integrated graphics card, the 100 FPS are in it. You can only look into the tube on the desktop with Intel graphics. CS: GO is playable with reduced details, but not more.

With the dedicated graphics cards, Nvidia's old Pascal generation is extremely strong. It is not surprising, however, that the eight-year-old free 2-play game cannot do anything with new GPU architectures such as Turing and RDNA. Nevertheless, it is astonishing how well Nvidia's old graphics card generation consistently performs in the game.

The following games have already been tested

Apart from Counter-Strike: GO, the following content has appeared in the article series so far:

Part 5: Destiny 2

The next game in this series will be Bungie's F2P shooter Destiny 2. As always, the editors would be happy to receive feedback in the forum on the series of articles.

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