What are CS2 system requirements? Valve appears to have pushed past the rocky launch of CS2 as the popular team-based shooter and its popularity are back on the rise. Better still, we have the first CS2 major to look forward to very soon, but will you be able to play like your favorite pros, or will you need some hardware upgrades?
In our CS2 review, we called out some of the most welcome upgrades versus the now-outdated Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which has since disappeared from Steam entirely. You won’t need the best graphics card to get CS2 running, but it might help with maxing out your fps.
The Counter-Strike 2 minimum requirements are currently on par with the specs set for Global Offensive, over 10 years ago. Despite this, the best thing you can do to ensure you meet the CS2 requirements is equip yourself with the hardware needed to run Half-Life: Alyx, one of the more demanding Source 2 games.
Here are the CS2 system requirements:
| Windows | SteamOS + Linux | |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Ubuntu 20.04 |
| CPU | A 4-core CPU, equal to or better than the Intel Core i5 750 | A 4-core CPU equal to or better than the Intel Core i5 750 |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB |
| GPU | A video card with at least 1GB of memory and DirectX11 compatible, with Shader Model 5.0 support | Nvidia Kelper+ AMD GCN+ |
| Storage | 85GB | 85GB |
These read like placeholder specifications, and we expect firmer and more accurate ones to be released in the coming days.
Despite the lack of true system requirements, it’s worth noting that opting for an Nvidia GeForce graphics card such as the GTX 1060 or newer will allow you to make use of Nvidia Reflex. This tool minimizes your system’s latency, so your PC doesn’t get in the way of landing that clutch AWP flick. Remember, frames win games and you’ll want to climb the CS2 ranks as quickly as possible.
We don’t expect Valve will release official Counter-Strike 2 recommended specs, as the company has omitted them from their most recent releases. Even so, we suggest opting for more powerful hardware in order to boost fps on both the minimum and average fronts.
GPUs like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT will provide a suitable performance bump, while newer processors will keep frame rates consistent with a higher ceiling. 16GB of RAM is also becoming the standard these days, so it’s reasonable to assume CS2 will perform much better with the increased memory compared to the 8GB it states is the minimum.
Finally, the Counter-Strike 2 download size has come in considerably higher than we had expected, with 85GB of storage required. Considerable graphical overhauls are responsible for this, but it remains to be seen whether CS:GO files are being retained for future use, or will be split off into its own standalone game.
Now that the Counter-Strike 2 release date has arrived, you can jump into the new and improved servers and start blaming everything but your own skill level for blowing your clutches. If you need a helping hand, we’ve covered the best CS2 settings to get you started.
If you’re itching to find out more about CS2, you’ll want to check out our Counter-Strike 2 maps list to see if your favorite danger zone is still a thing.
Take the Counter-Strike 2 system requirements test over on PCGameBenchmark to answer the question… Can I run CS2?