Next Map DE_UNINSTALL, Good Bye CS2 🥲

Short Story I, like many of you, got introduced to the game on version 1.6. Back in school, we skipped classes and spent hours in "computer clubs." After many years, in the last few months of CSGO Empire, I had a chance to experience the beauty of the version.

Finally, once CS2 was released, I decided to dive into the game. At that time, I was playing on an RTX 4060 laptop, but after a couple of months, the performance dropped. I badly wanted a decent PC that would last me long and allow me to play without issues.

Upgrading My Setup I was inspired by the PCs used during PGL Copenhagen 2024 and decided to build something even more powerful. In November 2024, I built the following rig: * ASUS ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi AMD MB * RYZEN 9 7950X3D AM5 16 Cores Turbo 5.7GHz * NZXT Kraken 360 RGB AiO CPU Liquid Cooler * ZOTAC RTX 4080 Super Trinity White 16GB GPU * CORSAIR Vengeance RGB 64 GB 6000 MHz RAM * SAMSUNG 980 Pro 2TB M.2 NVME PCIe SSD * MSI MAG A850GL 80 Plus Gold Modular PSU * BenQ Zowie XL2566K (360Hz)

The Initial Experience The first thing I did was install Steam and launch CS2. No "power plan option" adjustments, no "NVIDIA graphics settings" tweaks—just 4:3 stretched with 4X MSAA. I saw 650-700 FPS on the top-right corner, with smooth gameplay and camera movement. I spent many hours enjoying the performance of my computer, got myself a red inventory, and even planned to start streaming and focusing on the game.

The Decline Then came January 29th... Season 2 rolled out, and everything changed. My FPS dropped by 200-300 FPS. Gameplay became laggy, and everything felt off. I literally spent 1 month trying to bring things back to normal: * NVIDIA settings * Updating BIOS * XPM/DOCP tweaks * Chris Titus * Affinity changes...and more—literally all the possible fixes from YouTube and forums. At some point, my FPS got a bit higher, but it still wasn't smooth like it used to be. The crosshair and camera movement felt terrible—it was like playing on a Core i3 with RTX 3060.

Seeking Help After struggling for a month, I went to a worldwide-known, leading PC repair and optimization store. They did all the possible tweaks and even cleaned my computer from dust. But when I came home, I still got 290 FPS, dropping to 240 and 187 FPS in 1280x960 resolution... Oh, Karl... Cache Map release made it even worse.. At that moment, I felt it was time to leave and never come back.

Testing Other Games I decided to check if my PC was really the issue. I installed: * Fortnite: 360 FPS on Ultra Settings * World of Tanks: 425 FPS on Ultra Settings (FHD) * Red Dead Redemption 2: Not only did I fall in love with the game, but I was amazed by how smoothly it ran on all Ultra settings with no lag or stuttering. My PC performed beautifully in these games on native resolution and Ultra settings.

The Difference in Performance The difference in performance between CS2 and other games was staggering. In Fortnite, World of Tanks, and Red Dead Redemption 2, I had smooth gameplay, with my PC properly utilizing both the CPU and GPU. Meanwhile, in CS2, I was struggling to hit 187 FPS at 1280x960 resolution.

Moreover, the amount of graphic and system settings in those 3 games completely surprised me. It was literally at least 4 times more than what CS2 offers. You can even choose the version of DirectX you want the game to be rendered on, along with many other settings that don’t even exist in CS2.

Final Thoughts The performance disparity is just too much. My PC was running perfectly in other games, but CS2 wasn't utilizing it properly, and the gameplay felt bad. At that point, I realized that it was time for me to step away from CS2.

Thank you for all the good times, and best of luck to those still playing! Hopefully, the game will improve in the future, but for now, I’m moving on.