Counter-Strike 2 Official System Requirements Guide

To answer your search directly: Counter-Strike 2 requires a minimum of 64-bit Windows 10, a 4-thread CPU (Intel Core i5-750 or higher), 8 GB RAM, a 1 GB VRAM GPU with DirectX 11 & Shader Model 5.0, and 85 GB available storage space.

Valve deprecated 32-bit Windows operating systems and legacy DirectX 9 support in CS2. The official hardware specifications recorded on Steam are detailed below for both Windows and Linux platforms.

1. Windows Minimum System Requirements

The minimum desktop specification for Windows requires 64-bit Windows 10. Processors must feature at least 4 hardware CPU threads, with Valve citing the Intel Core i5-750 as the baseline requirement. System memory must be at least 8 GB RAM.

For graphics, your GPU must possess at least 1 GB VRAM and support DirectX 11 and Shader Model 5.0. DirectX Version 11 is required. Available storage space must be 85 GB or greater, with SSD installation strongly advised for fast map loading.

2. SteamOS + Linux System Requirements

Official Linux platform support begins at Ubuntu 20.04 or newer Linux distributions alongside SteamOS. CPU demands match Windows at 4 hardware threads (Intel Core i5-750 baseline), and system memory remains at 8 GB RAM.

Graphics support requires AMD GCN+ or NVIDIA Kepler+ architecture cards running up-to-date Vulkan drivers. Valve explicitly flags a sound card as Highly Recommended under Linux specifications. Storage demands remain 85 GB available space.

3. Competitive Performance Recommendations

Achieving competitive 144 FPS or 240 FPS+ stability in 5v5 Premier matches requires hardware exceeding the minimum baseline.

We recommend an Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 5700X paired with 16 GB dual-channel RAM. For graphics, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 with 8GB VRAM installed on an NVMe M.2 SSD delivers optimal performance.

4. In-Game Settings & Latency Optimization

After launching CS2, set NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency to "Enabled + Boost" in the video settings menu to minimize latency from mouse click to weapon discharge.

Keep Global Shadow Quality set to "High" to spot enemy shadows around corners before making contact. Ensure your graphics drivers are updated to the latest release supporting Source 2 Vulkan and DX11 pipelines.