Pro player calls out CS2 optimisation issues even with high end PCs
Counter-Strike 2 has been under the community's microscope since its announcement, with discussions around netcode and now, its system requirements and optimization taking up a large part of the discourse.
Just fresh off a victory at Thunderpick World Championship, pro player Russel "Twistzz" van Dulken took to Twitter to talk about the issues he has encountered with the game. Comparing two high-end setups, he surprisingly found vast differences between the two.
Experiencing inconsistencies across high-end setups
Twistzz compared two of his setups, one with an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D and an NVIDIA RTX 4090 OC, and another with an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and an RTX 4080 OC. Twistzz reported that the former provided a noticeably smoother experience, hinting at a potential disadvantage for players without access to the most well-adapted hardware.
"Another thing that is frustrating is how certain PC specs really do provide an advantage. You shouldn't have to have the best everything in order to have the best 'CS2 experience'," Twistzz tweeted. His experience raises questions about the game's optimization and whether it disproportionately favours players with not just more expensive hardware but also specific builds that do not cater to Counter-Strike 2’s current demands.
In a Reddit thread discussing the matter, users speculate that the AMD’s 3D CPUs best handle the game. User Kooless wrote: “I think the 3D cache on the 7900X3D really helps out with the 1% and .01% lows which equates to a noticeably smoother gameplay experience.”
Twistzz echoed the statement in his tweet, saying: “I was told that the 3D AMD chips make a big difference in reducing input lag.”
Ping woes result in gameplay issues
Twistzz also shared his experience with the game's performance over different network conditions. He described how varying ping levels dramatically affected gameplay consistency, with higher ping translating to a more significant disadvantage than he recalls experiencing in CS:GO.
"After playing the majority of the event with 40 - 50 ping, even sometimes 60 - 80 if I was unlucky, the game felt incredibly inconsistent, from movement to spraying/hitting opponents," Twistzz noted.
He shared a specific instance where he secured a kill without having a clear line of sight to the opponent, questioning whether this was due to his higher ping or an issue with the game's hitbox synchronization.
These concerns from Twistzz come amid ongoing discussions within the CS2 community about various aspects of the game's performance. Recently, another pro player, Robin "ropz" Kool, weighed in on the server tick rate debate, indicating that even offline, the difference between 64t and 128t is discernible in terms of consistent gameplay feedback.
The community has seen consistent feedback regarding aspects like the sub-tick system, which promises to make tick-rate issues obsolete for the shooter but, paradoxically, introduces a delay for the player on the receiving end.
Valve has allegedly contacted players across the scene to locate issues and get fixes on the way. With about half a year until the first Counter-Strike 2 Major and various other high-profile tournaments before then, the developer is on the clock to provide a competitive platform for the esports scene.
