Start 1
Turn mouse acceleration off
Uncheck Enhance pointer precision, set the pointer-speed slider to the middle notch, and turn acceleration and angle snapping off in the mouse software.
Start 2
Fullscreen, and the real refresh rate
Video, then confirm the refresh line matches the monitor. Borderless adds a compositor in the path. Fullscreen is the low-delay mode.
Start 3
Multisampling off, or CMAA2
4x and 8x MSAA are among the most expensive lines in the menu. CMAA2 cleans edges for much less. None is the max-FPS pick.
Start 4
NVIDIA Reflex on, V-Sync off
On + Boost if you have an NVIDIA card and spare frames. AMD players use Anti-Lag in the AMD software. V-Sync stays off.
The picture settings
CS2 is often limited by the CPU in a full server and by the GPU when the resolution or anti-aliasing is high. The menu does not tell you which. Cap nothing yet. Stand in a smoke on a busy server, read the FPS, then drop MSAA and shadow quality. Whichever move lifts the busy number is your bottleneck.
Boost Player Contrast is free visibility. Leave it on. FidelityFX Super Resolution renders fewer pixels and softens players at range. Leave it off unless you cannot hold your monitor’s refresh any other way.
- Boost Player ContrastEnabled
- Wait for Vertical SyncDisabled
- Multisampling Anti-AliasingCMAA2 or None
- Global Shadow QualityLow, or Medium if frames allow
- Dynamic ShadowsAll
- Ambient OcclusionDisabled
- NVIDIA ReflexEnabled + Boost
- FidelityFX Super ResolutionDisabled
A competitive picture. Shadow quality is the one row you may raise if the PC still holds its refresh in a fight.
| Setting | Set it to | Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Display modeThe short path to the monitor. Borderless is convenient and slightly slower to respond. | Fullscreen | LargeThe short path to the monitor. Borderless is convenient and slightly slower to respond. |
| MultisamplingMSAA multiplies the cost of the edges. 4x and 8x are where a strong GPU goes to die in this game. | None or CMAA2 | LargeMSAA multiplies the cost of the edges. 4x and 8x are where a strong GPU goes to die in this game. |
| Global Shadow QualityLow is the frame pick. Medium or High keeps more shadow detail. It does not create enemy information that Low with Dynamic Shadows All is missing at close range, but it is the first thing to give back if you have frames to spare. | Low or Medium | LargeLow is the frame pick. Medium or High keeps more shadow detail. It does not create enemy information that Low with Dynamic Shadows All is missing at close range, but it is the first thing to give back if you have frames to spare. |
| Dynamic ShadowsThis is the switch that keeps player shadows. Sun Only saves a little and throws away shadows from other lights. | All | SomeThis is the switch that keeps player shadows. Sun Only saves a little and throws away shadows from other lights. |
| Model and texture detailPolish. Raise it only after the frame rate in a fight is already above the monitor. | Low or Medium | SomePolish. Raise it only after the frame rate in a fight is already above the monitor. |
| Texture filteringSharper floors at a small cost. 16x is fine if you are not hunting frames. | Anisotropic 4x | SmallSharper floors at a small cost. 16x is fine if you are not hunting frames. |
| Shader detailEffects quality. Low is the FPS pick and the picture stays readable. | Low | SomeEffects quality. Low is the FPS pick and the picture stays readable. |
| Particle detailSmokes and molotovs get simpler, which is both faster and easier to see through. | Low | SomeSmokes and molotovs get simpler, which is both faster and easier to see through. |
| Ambient occlusionContact shadows in corners. It does not show enemies. It does cost frames. | Disabled | LargeContact shadows in corners. It does not show enemies. It does cost frames. |
| High dynamic rangePerformance is a little faster and grainier. Quality is the cleaner picture. This is not the same thing as an HDR monitor. | Quality, or Performance | SmallPerformance is a little faster and grainier. Quality is the cleaner picture. This is not the same thing as an HDR monitor. |
Raw input, zoom, and acceleration
CS2 reads the mouse with raw input, and that is already on. You do not need a launch option to force it. The console command is m_rawinput 1 if you want to see it. Leave it there. With raw input on, Enhance pointer precision in Windows does not change your aim in the match. Turn that Windows checkbox off anyway, using the steps in the Windows guide, so the desktop and every other game behave.
Zoom sensitivity is a separate multiplier, not acceleration. zoom_sensitivity_ratio_mouse defaults to 1, which means the AWP and the scout feel like your hipfire sens. Lower it only if you want the scope slower. It does not raise FPS and it does not “stabilize” a flick.
Your eDPI is DPI times in-game sensitivity. 800 DPI at 1.0 is the same turn as 400 DPI at 2.0. Pick a pair and stop changing both in the same week. The pros on this site publish the pair they use. Copying the number is optional. Copying it while Windows acceleration is still on means you did not copy it.
If an autoexec still sets m_customaccel, m_mousespeed, or m_mouseaccel1, delete those lines. They are the old acceleration commands. They belong at 0, and a current CS2 install does not need them written down at all.
| Setting | Set it to | Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Enhance pointer precisionIgnored in the match because of raw input, and still wrong everywhere else. | Off | LargeIgnored in the match because of raw input, and still wrong everywhere else. |
| m_rawinputThe default. Do not set it to 0. | 1 | LargeThe default. Do not set it to 0. |
| Pointer speed notchThe one-to-one Windows scale. | Center, 6 of 11 | SomeThe one-to-one Windows scale. |
| Mouse software acceleration and angle snapThese apply before the game sees the movement. | Off | LargeThese apply before the game sees the movement. |
| Polling rateHigher is optional. Drop back if the frame time gets worse. | 1000 Hz | SmallHigher is optional. Drop back if the frame time gets worse. |
The full Windows click path is in the Windows guide, under Mouse.
Resolution, stretch, and fps_max
A lower resolution raises FPS because the GPU shades fewer pixels. 1280×960 is fewer pixels than 1920×1080. Stretching that 4:3 image across a 16:9 monitor does not add pixels. It only changes how wide the world looks. If you stretch because you like the models, do it. If you stretch because you think the stretch itself creates frames, it does not. The lower resolution did.
Set the scaling in the GPU control panel so the display fills the screen (GPU scaling, full-screen, or the AMD equivalent) if the game is letterboxed when you pick a 4:3 mode.
With Reflex or Anti-Lag on, leave the frame cap unlimited (fps_max 0) unless the frame time is bouncing. A cap a little under your worst fight, set in the console or the video menu, is for a PC whose FPS swings. An unstable 400 feels worse than a flat 240. fps_max_ui can stay at 120 or so. The menu does not need 500 frames.
Launch options are mostly folklore now. Leave them empty. -high, processor affinity, and third-party “FPS configs” fight the game and, in the worst packs, trip anti-cheat. Change the video menu instead.
NVIDIA, AMD, and the control panel
If Reflex is on inside CS2, the NVIDIA control panel’s Low Latency Mode is not the boss. The game is. Set the control panel to Application controlled or On, not a stack of overrides. Power management can be Prefer maximum performance for CS2 only. A global maximum-performance rule keeps the card awake on the desktop for no reason.
AMD Software: enable Anti-Lag or Anti-Lag 2 for CS2, and Radeon Boost off. Chill off while you are testing, or it will cap you and confuse the result. Image sharpening is optional and can make edges noisy. Leave it off until the frame rate is settled.
Audio settings that stay out of the way
In CS2’s audio menu, set the device to your headset and the mode to headphones if you are on headphones. Speakers and a virtual surround stack smear footsteps. EQ profiles in the menu are taste. A flat profile is the one to test first, because a bass boost hides the higher tick of a step.
Close other apps that have taken exclusive control of the device. A Discord stream, a browser tab with a video, and a DAC’s own spatial plugin can all be on at once. Pick the game’s headphone mode or one spatial plugin, not three.
Leave these alone
Copied autoexecs that set fps_max, mat_queue, and rate
rate 786432 is already the modern default. Old CS:GO cvars are ignored or harmful. A pro’s config is their feel, not a performance patch.
4x MSAA because a video said it looks clearer
It does look smoother. It is also one of the first settings to cut when a fight drops frames. Try CMAA2 before you pay for 4x.