CS2 system requirements

With another epic tournament behind us in the Austin Major, won by Team Vitality, it's well worth checking out the CS2 system requirements if you've been convinced to give this tactical team-based shooter a go.

As one of the longest-running series in the competitive scene, CS2 is still a popular as ever, with over 1.25 million average daily players. A big reason for this is that despite its upgrades over CS:GO, you won't need the best graphics card from our extensive buying guide to run the game, meaning just about anyone can play. If you're jumping in and want to skip the awkward trial-and-error phase of figuring out the best CS2 settings, we have you covered there, too.

Here are the CS2 system requirements in 2025:

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 to equip yourself with the hardware needed to run Half-Life: Alyx, one of the more demanding Source 2 games.

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 your frame rate 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 is being retained for future use or will be split off into its own standalone game, although a Legacy project is aiming to bring the game back soon.

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 our Counter-Strike 2 system requirements PC benchmark test to answer the question… Can I run CS2?

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