How to Increase FPS in CS2 (Best Settings 2026)

6 min read

Counter-Strike 2 runs on Source 2, which is a lot heavier than CS:GO was — so settings copied from old CS:GO configs often don't help. The good news: a handful of video settings account for most of the FPS, and none of them cost you visibility of enemies.

CS2 video settings for FPS (Settings → Video → Advanced Video)

1. 1

   Keep Boost Player Contrast enabled

   It makes enemies easier to see. It costs a little FPS, but visibility is worth it in a competitive shooter.

2. 2

   Turn off Wait for Vertical Sync

   V-Sync adds input lag. With G-Sync/FreeSync, cap FPS a few frames below your refresh rate instead.

3. 3

   Lower the heavy options

   Set Model/Texture Detail, Shader Detail and Particle Detail to Low, Texture Filtering to Bilinear, and disable Ambient Occlusion. These cost frames and give no competitive advantage.

4. 4

   Choose anti-aliasing and shadows deliberately

   MSAA 2x or 4x keeps edges readable; None is fastest. Many players keep Global Shadow Quality higher because shadows can reveal enemy positions — lower it only if you really need the frames.

5. 5

   Enable NVIDIA Reflex

   Set NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency to Enabled (or Enabled + Boost). Lower latency, no FPS cost.

Skip the old launch options

Most CS:GO-era launch options like -high or -threads either do nothing in CS2 or can make things worse. You don't need a long launch-option string for good FPS — the settings above and a clean Windows setup matter far more.

Fixing CS2 stutter

• Update your GPU driver straight from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel.
• Install CS2 on an SSD, not a hard drive — map and asset loading hitches badly on an HDD.
• Make sure your RAM runs at its rated speed (XMP/EXPO enabled in the BIOS); many PCs ship at a slower default.
• Close background apps and overlays, and use a High Performance power plan.