CS2 Best Settings & Options Guide

CS2 is one of the most popular multiplayer shooters in the world. The time of CS:GO has already passed, and with the release of the new version of the game, users have many questions about the game settings and system requirements. In this guide, we will show you the best game settings for CS2.

Best CS2 Video Settings

Depending on the power of your PC, you can set different graphics settings in the game. However, the developers are still refining and optimizing CS2, and to prevent all kinds of lags, we recommend you set the following video settings:

Main Menu Background Scenery	Personal preference
Brightness	Set a comfortable value for you in the range of 105-115%. That will help you better see objects in dark areas of maps.
Aspect Ratio	Play with a ratio you are familiar with, the one you used in CS:GO.
Resolution	Use your monitor’s standard resolution. You can also lower this parameter for the sake of performance, but the visuals will be a little worse.
Display Mode	Use only fullscreen option
Refresh Rate	Use the maximum value available for your monitor
Laptop Power Saving	An option available only for laptops that reduces the amount of resources that the system allocates to the game in order to save energy. In any case, we recommend disabling it so as not to lose FPS.
Boost Player Contrast	Increases the contrast of player models for better visibility. We recommend enabling it.
Wait for Vertical Sync	Disable this option as it wastes a lot of PC resources and can cause input lag.
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode	Set the parameter recommended by the game, it will be indicated in the list with an * before the name.
Global Shadow Quality	Set the parameter to High or Very High. That will help you maintain an advantage in moments when the shadow of the player will be visible faster than the model itself.
Model/Texture Detail	Set the Medium parameter. This removes blur effects and improves the picture. You can also lower the parameter to increase FPS, but it will not be so significant.
Texture Filtering Mode	Use the option that the game offers (usually *Anisotropic 4x). This option does not have a special impact on performance, but on bilinear or trilinear you may experience lag.
Shader Detail	This is a feature that makes minimal cosmetic changes by playing with light and shadows. We recommend that you disable this feature.
Particle Detail	A function that is responsible for the quality of explosions and aftereffects. We strongly recommend disabling this setting to improve visibility behind molotov, smoke or HE-grenade dust.
Ambient Occlusion	Disable this function as it gives a minor visual effect of light interacting with objects, requiring a lot of PC resources.
High Dynamic Range	Set Performance option here. If you have a powerful GPU you can also turn the option on but this setting won’t give you any kind of advantage in game.
FidelityFX Super Resolution	This option helps improve performance when rendering at reduced resolutions, but this also comes at the cost of system resources. So, it’s better to disable this option.
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	This feature improves the response time of your PC. Although this comes at the cost of losing several frames, we recommend enabling it. If your PC is running at its limit and you cannot sacrifice a few frames, then it is better to disable this setting.

These game settings will provide you with the best performance with minimal frame loss. You can improve or decrease the parameter depending on the power of your hardware. Experiment a little and find a golden mean between performance and quality for yourself.

Although a decrease in graphics quality affects performance, it is not nearly as essential as resolution settings.

Best CS2 Resolution

In CS:GO, the vast majority of users used the 4:3 aspect ratio and the maximum available resolution. It was rare to meet those who played on full HD. With the release of CS2, things have changed a little.

Based on player feedback, the game with full HD feels much better than before. That is a very situational thing, and the answer is individual for everyone. Try experimenting and find the best resolution for yourself.

If you don’t have enough FPS, you can reduce the resolution. Accordingly, this will reduce the number of pixels the PC must process and increase performance. You can also try custom resolution. In this case, everything is limited only by your imagination.

The main thing is that your PC produces a sufficient number of frames in accordance with the refresh rate of your monitor.

Best Refresh Rate for CS2

Monitor refresh rate is one of the most important aspects of gaming and has a huge impact on a player’s performance. “The bigger, the better” rule works for this particular case, but there are still a few nuances that are worth knowing.

The most important thing you need to know about the refresh rate is that it will not work if the number of frames produced by your PC is less than the Hz value. If your PC does not produce the required amount of FPS, you will experience lags and tearing of the picture on the monitor.

Talking about a monitor for СS2, all are based on the performance of your PC. The minimum comfort level for 2023 is 144 Hz. That is also the best choice for those whose PC does not produce more than 160-200 FPS in the game. You can also afford it at 165 Hz, but you won’t see much difference.

The best monitor for CS2 at the moment is a monitor that has a 360 Hz refresh rate. All pro players at tournaments play on monitors with this refresh rate. Having such a device in your arsenal gives you a huge advantage in reaction over players whose monitor refresh rate is lower.

Reacting quickly is great, but you also need to hit and do it accurately, and for that also require a reliable device.

Best Mouse Settings for CS2

Aiming is an integral part of any shooter, and every gamer should know what sensitivity is suitable for him. If you are an experienced player of the Counter-Strike game series, then you can simply copy your previous sensitivity settings. It will be saved in your CS2 config.

If you are a beginner, then you should understand this topic in more detail. Setting up a mouse is a purely individual topic, but there are standards among players that will help you choose the sensitivity. The first thing you should pay attention to is DPI.

DPI, or dot per inch, is a value that shows how many pixels on the monitor your mouse passes when moving one inch. CS2 has an in-game sensitivity parameter that multiplies your DPI depending on the set value. The combination of these parameters determines the sensitivity of the mouse in the game.

You should also understand that the lower the sensitivity, the easier it is to aim, but the aiming process itself will take more time. It is vital to maintain a balance here. In this case, a good idea is to focus on the best players in CS2.

For the most part, CS2 pro players use a value of 400 or 800 DPI. The average sensitivity value that players use in the game varies from 1.04 (800 DPI) to 2.08 (400 DPI). Try different values between these parameters to choose a comfortable sensitivity for yourself. Once you find your sense, you will be surprised how much better your results will be.

The sensitivity of the senses may also change depending on your role in the team, for example, it is slightly higher for snipers.

Zoom Sensitivity Multiplier in CS2

This setting controls the sensitivity in the scope mode. If you are a riffler, we recommend specifying 1.00 in the value of this parameter, but if you are a sniper, you can increase this indicator to 1.20 points. That will slightly increase your aiming speed in the scope.

The aiming speed depends not only on the sensitivity but also on the device you are using.

Mouse Hz

Similar to a monitor, a gaming mouse has its own response time, also known as the polling rate. Just as in the case of a monitor, the shorter this response time, the faster your device will transmit information about movement to the PC. We recommend using a mouse with a polling rate of 1000 Hz or higher.

Since we touched on the devices, the keyboard settings are also worth mentioning.

Best CS2 Keyboard Settings

There are two types of keyboards: membrane and mechanical. Mechanical keyboards also have different types. You can find out more about this in our article about the best gaming keyboard. Be that as it may, a mechanical keyboard is best suited for gaming.

Setting up the keyboard is your personal preference. The main thing is that you feel comfortable pressing the buttons. It will be especially useful to set up separate binds for each grenade. That will help you save time for further actions in the round.

Another important detail in CS2 that requires adjustment is sound.

Best CS2 Audio Settings

The sound depends very much on the type of headphones you use. We recommend using gaming headphones if you play to improve your results. The game has settings that will help you improve the sounds in the game for better orientation:

Master Volume	Set the value so that the sound does not interfere with your thinking and playing. It must be loud enough to deafen opponents at a distance.
Audio Device	Here select Default device. The game will select the device that is selected in Windows.
EQ Profile	We recommend using Crisp, but if it seems too harsh to you, you can use Natural.
L/R Isolation	Using this option, you can make the sound like it was in CS:GO if you set the value to 100%. If you like the new sounds in CS2, then set the value to 0%.
Perspective Correction	We recommend setting the value to No. This will make it easier for you to understand which direction the sound is coming from.
Enable Voice	Choose the “Press to use” option to communicate with your teammates.
VOIP Volume	Set 100% here.
Streamline Push To Talk	We do not recommend enabling this function as it will interfere with your allies. You can enable it if you experience lags when using voice chat.
Play Audio When Game In Background	Here you can set any parameter at your discretion. Disabling this option does not affect the match acceptance sound when the game is minimized.
Main Menu Volume	On your preference.
Round Start Volume	Set the value to 0%, as this may prevent you from hearing an ally’s speech at the beginning of the round.
Round Start Volume	Set it to 0% because it only gets in the way during the round.
Round End Volume	It is better to turn this function down to 0% as it may prevent you from hearing a survivor of an enemy or a weapon that has flown away due to a bomb explosion.
MVP Volume	For this we set 0%. Just like mentioned above, this may prevent you from playing the round ending properly.
Bomb/Hostage Volume	Distracting sounds that provide no value. Set 0% for this option.
Ten Second Warning Volume	A useful setting that gives you information about how much time is left before the bomb explodes. Set the value from 10-20%, but not higher so as not to drown out other sounds.
Death Camera Volume	Turn the slider to 0%, as this may prevent you from hearing the direction of the opponent’s movement after death.
Mute MVP Music When Players On Both Teams Are Alive	We recommend setting the value to 0%. This will help you hear your opponent better when, for example, you save a weapon or, on the contrary, look for a survivor.

The importance of sound information in CS2 and the ability to navigate by them cannot be overestimated. By learning how to quickly react to sounds, you will win clutches and make the right decisions in a round much more often.

Sounds are a quite limited source of information in terms of space, but things you can`t hear, you can always see on the radar.

Best CS2 Radar Settings

Since the radar is a source of information, it should be as convenient as possible for the player. It should also be as informative as possible so that the player can know what to do in any part, even when teammates are silent.

Above, you can see an example of radar settings that, in our opinion, are the best. In addition to them, there are also console commands that can make the radar even more convenient. For example, reduce the points of allies and enemies. You can find out more about this in our article.

Since we have already come to setting up game tools, we can also help you to set up crosshair.

Best CS2 Crosshair Settings

The most important thing you need to know about setting up a scope is that you should be comfortable playing with it. Its color should not blend into the background of the map and be visible on the enemy model. Here is an example of setting up a convenient crosshair:

If you are just a beginner CS2 player, we do not advise you to play with a “dot type” crosshair. That is suitable for more experienced players who can shoot with any weapon. We recommend enabling the Deployed Weapon Gap setting for beginners. This function will automatically adjust the scope gap depending on the spread of the weapon.

If you have problems setting up your sight, you can always copy them and other settings from pro players.

What Settings Pro Players Use?

It’s worth noting right away that the settings for players are not the best and may not suit you. These people have been customizing every detail for many years, relying on their personal experience and preferences. Therefore, you should not mindlessly copy their settings and think that they will suit you and the result will appear on its own.

Since most scene players have been playing CS since the days of CS 1.6 and CS:GO, it is natural that the vast majority of them play with a 4:3 aspect ratio and 1280×960 resolution. The graphics settings are also approximately the same for pros. Everything unnecessary is removed, and only the important ones are left.

The crosshairs are also different, but most pro players do not use a dot in the center of the crosshair. The color of the crosshair is preferably blue, green, or another color that does not blend in with the color scheme of the map. The radar is configured approximately the same as we showed above.

As for setting up launch parameters, almost nothing has changed since the days of CS:GO.

Best launch options in CS2

To enter any of the launch parameters, you need to open the Steam application, then go to the Library, find CS 2 in the list of games on the left, right-click and select Properties. Then in the window that opens, in the General section at the bottom you can find Launch Options and a line for entering commands.

In the photo above you can see several commands that we recommend for use. The -novid command disables the preview video when starting the game. In order to direct as many of your hardware resources as possible to CS2, you can enter the -visoko command, which will set the game to high priority in the system. 

If your PC is not powerful enough, you can slightly reduce the load by entering the command -nojoy and +violence_hblood 0 into the launch parameters. The first disables joystick support, the second completely removes blood effects from the game. This will slightly reduce the load on RAM and increase FPS.

In addition to game settings, there are also Windows system settings that will also help you improve performance.

Windows Graphics settings for CS2

In this section we will talk about optimizing the operation of Windows and system functions that improve performance. You should start with such a function as Game Mode Settings. Microsoft has improved this feature over time and now it works great. We recommend enabling it to focus PC resources on the game.

Also, if you have an Nvidia graphic card of 1000 series or higher, you should enable the Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling feature. It is located in the Related settings tab as indicated in the photo above. This function will give a 3-5% increase in video card performance. If you are looking for the best GPU for СS2, then we suggest you read our article on this topic.

In the same window, in the Game Bar tab, disable this function since CS2 does not use it and it only loads the system. We also recommend disabling Background recording in the Capture tab as it mercilessly consumes the resources of your CPU and RAM.

To Sum Up

Valve has added a ton of QoL updates to CS2 (and who knows what else is to come), so CS2 doesn’t require as much effort to get it up to playable state as its predecessor did, but it’s always a good idea to really get the settings right before you go climb the career ladder.

CS2 is, of course, recently released, so nothing you see in this guide is set in stone. This guide is a work in progress and will be continually updated to reflect changes in the game, so stay tuned if you want to know what the best competitive settings for CS2 are.

After the official release of CS2, new settings and console commands were added to the game. To keep up to date with the latest updates to CS2, follow the news on our blog.

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