Counter-Strike 2 Best Settings [Graphics, Audio, Gameplay]

Counter-Strike 2 is built using a new engine that demands more performance than its predecessor. Therefore, you might face some performance issues when playing on older hardware. 

Video Settings

Main Menu Background Scenery	Dust-II (Personal Preference)
Brightness	100%
Aspect Ratio	Widescreen 16:9
Resolution	1920×1080
Display Mode	Fullscreen
Refresh Rate	120Hz
Laptop Power Savings	Disabled

The primary video settings in Counter-Strike 2 don’t need many changes. They are mostly set by default according to your hardware. You can set the background menu scenery to your own liking.

Things like Aspect Ratio, Resolution, and Refresh Rate completely depend on your monitor or display device that you are using. Commonly, people prefer widescreen 16:9 or 16:10 displays with a resolution of 1920×1080 at 60Hz, but competitive gamers go for even higher resolution and refresh rates like 240Hz. However, you should ideally set it to your display’s capability.

For laptop users, you must disable the Laptop Power Savings as it might cause performance issues by limiting the power consumption. The brightness option is according to your own environmental conditions, where you can easily see the objects on the screen.

Advanced Video Settings

Settings	Low-End Systems	High & Mid End Systems
Boost Player Contrast	Enabled	Enabled
Wait for Vertical Sync	Disabled	Disabled
Current Video Values Preset	Custom	Custom
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode	None	4x MSAA
Global Shadow Quality	Low	Medium
Model / Texture Detail	Low	Medium
Texture Filtering Mode	Bilinear	Bilinear
Shader Detail	Low	Medium
Particle Detail	Low	Medium
Ambient Occlusion	Disabled	Medium
High Dynamic Range	Performance	Quality
FidelityFX Super Resolution	Disabled (Highest Quality)	Balanced
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	Enabled	Enabled

The Advanced Video Settings handle the in-depth and complex graphic options like textures and anti-aliasing. You must keep them low or balanced to maximize the performance and FPS boost at the cost of aesthetics and quality.

Advanced Video Settings Explained

• Boost Player Contrast makes it easier to spot enemies. You can turn it off, but I prefer you to keep it on.
• Wait for Vertical Sync basically matches your FPS with your screen’s refresh rate. It might cause the game to become a little smoother, but it also gives input lag. Hence, I suggest it remains off.
• Current Video Values Preset is the general advanced video preset for various graphic quality options. Set it to Custom to make changes in the coming sections.
• Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode (MSAA) is an anti-Aliasing mode that softens the edges to make them look better. A higher value will result in performance issues; therefore, I go for a moderate one.
• Global Shadow Quality determines the overall shadow quality of the various objects. Higher values result in more power and resource consumption.
• Model / Texture Detail defines the quality of detail of the environment and objects. It’s one of the things that puts the most toll on your hardware; hence, it’s better to keep it at Low or Medium.
• Texture Filtering Mode adds to the details and makes them look better by smoothing out edges. Bilinear Texture Filtering puts the least stress, improving the performance.
• Shader Detail and Particle Detail are similar to the Texture Quality and enhance the complete outlook of the scene. Keep them low to avoid any delays or FPS drop.
• Ambient Occlusion affects the lighting conditions of the scenery.
• High Dynamic Range adjusts the brightness to give better colors but degrades performance.
• FidelityFX Super Resolution makes the scenes look better by virtually upscaling the resolution of a lower-res frame. It doesn’t increase or decrease FPS.
• NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency decreases the system’s latency, which results in faster and smoother response time.

Audio Settings

Master Volume	100% (Personal Preference)
Audio Device	Default Device
EQ Profile	Natural
L/R Isolation	0%
Perspective Correction	Yes
Enable Voice	Press To Use Mic (Personal Preference)
VOIP Volume	100%
Streamlined Push To Talk	Yes
Play Audio When Game In Background	No

The general Audio Settings are according to your own taste and sound device. The important things to check include the Stereo mode and L/R Isolation. It allows you to pinpoint the location of the source accurately by hearing. On the other hand, Mono will distribute the loudness on both ear sides, making it difficult to find the source.

You can check the Mono and Stereo modes from the Windows Settings if the in-game ones are already enabled, and directional sounds are not working correctly. You should keep the music levels low if you don’t like it. However, you must keep the “Ten Second Warning” volume for the bomb at a decent level so it is not too loud to suppress others.

Game Settings

Max Acceptable Matchmaking Ping	100
Max Acceptable Game Traffic Bandwidth	Unrestricted
Community Notification Location	Top-Right (Personal Preference)
Community Notification Horizontal Offset	0
Community Notification Vertical Offset	0
Enable Developer Console (~)	Yes
Install Counter-Strike Workshop Tools	Unrestricted

For the best experience, set the Max Acceptable Matchmaking Ping to 100 or less; any higher will result in delays during the matches, and you will most likely miss your shots. The Max Acceptable Game Traffic Bandwidth must be Unrestricted so there isn’t any lag. You should enable Developer Console if you wish to make any changes to the configuration files manually. However, I don’t recommend it for new players.

Item Settings

Quick Graffiti (Apply With Key Release)	Yes
Auto Re-Zoom Sniper Rifle After Shot	No
Auto Re-Zoom Sniper Rifle After Shot	No
Detach Silencer on M4A1-S and USP-S	Disabled
Viewmodel Position	Desktop
Always Show Inventory	Yes
Open Buy Menu With Use Key	Yes
Buy Menu Number Keys	Number Keys Buy Items
Buy Menu Donation Keys	Left Control
Last Weapon on Radial Weapon Tap	Yes

Many of these depend on your taste, so you can play around and see which suits you the most. I suggest you keep the option “Detach Silencer on M4A1-S and USP-S“ at Disabled as you might misclick and remove the silencer. Moreover, it is not advantageous to remove it anyway.

Keyboard / Mouse Settings

Reverse Mouse	No
Duck Mode	Hold
Walk Mode	Hold
Zoom Button Hold	Repeat Disabled
Mouse Sensitivity	1.00 (Personal Preference)
Zoom Sensitivity Multiplier	1.00 (Personal Preference)

The Keyboard and Mouse settings, along with the key bind, depend on your own preference. Most players prefer to keep the Walk and Duck keys on HOLD, but you can change it otherwise if it doesn’t suit you well. The same goes for the Zoom Button Hold, which will switch the Zoom/ADS if you hold its key.

Sensitivity & DPI

Sensitivity and DPI are some of the most essential settings in Counter-Strike 2. They determine your mouse’s movement speed, which will help in aiming.

DPI means Dot Per Inch, the effective speed your mouse covers on the mouse pad. A higher DPI means more speed, but it is also difficult to aim accurately. Gaming mice have the option to change their DPI according to their choice.

More importantly, eDPI or effective DPI is the thing you should pay attention to. To get your eDPI, multiply your sensitivity with your mouse’s DPI. Most pros use eDPI in the range of 800 to 1200; you must choose one and then stick to it to make the aim consistent.

I suggest you set your mouse’s DPI to 1600 and in-game sensitivity to 0.5 for an eDPI of 800. This is best for beginners, but if you feel it is too low, increase the in-game sensitivity to 0.6 and get 960 eDPI. Furthermore, you can fine-tune it to fit your mousepad’s length and practice to get consistent and accurate aim.

Verdict

In this guide, I discussed the best settings for Counter-Strike 2 for optimal performance. These ensure you don’t get any FPS drops, lags, or delays during the matches on any system. You can test them out and even increase a few if your hardware supports it.

For more on Counter Strike 2:

• Counter Strike 2 Achievements Guide
• 9 BEST Skins In Counter Strike 2