CS2 Config Guide: Finding The Sweet Spot
Are you an avid player in CS2? Or just a beginner who wants to start their journey? Whatever your answer, finding the right CS2 config can become a real problem for all the options and tweaks you need to do before hitting a map. Moreover, if you don’t have a config that makes you feel comfortable, you can even lose matches. Since CS2 is the most popular shooter game in the world, and the pros and veteran players may have some advantage with their configs, let’s dive into what you can change to achieve better performance in every aspect of your game experience.
CS2 Config Settings: Basic Knowledge
Before we enter the detailed section of your CS2 config, we want to make sure you know what you will see when you enter your game's settings. First, you will see the settings menu with different options (News, Video, Audio, Game, and keyboard/mouse). Each of these options has a different configuration tree to maximize your PC's potential.
Video
In this tab, you will see different options you can change, such as brightness, aspect ratio, and resolution. However, you will find others, such as the main menu background scenery or the color mode. Depending on your peripherals, you will set this up, but since this is one of the most famous configs in CS2, you can copy it and try it out if that works for you:
Main menu background scenery: Your preference
Color mode: Computer Monitor
Brightness: 100%
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Resolution: 1920×1080
Display mode: Fullscreen
Refresh rate: Maximum possible (Typically 144hz or 240hz)
Laptop power savings: Disabled
Inside these CS2 configs, we recommend you maintain the color mode in ‘Computer Monitor’ to maintain the best color accuracy possible. Likewise, the display mode is the best way to take advantage of your monitor. Although some other configs allow you to make some changes like refresh rates that will be tied to your monitor, pro players at least use a 144hz screen, but the higher, the better.
It’s kind of the same story with the aspect ratio and resolution; for aspect ratio, you can use 16:10, or some players prefer using 4:3, but 16:9 or 16:10 would work fine in most cases. On the other hand, resolution is another story since most players don’t use Full HD settings (1920x1080). Some players prefer using 1680x1050, which corresponds with a 16:10 ratio, or the most popular among all players is 1280x960, which is 4:3. Another tip: if you are using a laptop, disable the laptop power saving, which will reduce the overall performance of your game.
If you want to get into the advanced video settings, you will find several options that are more related to textures, shaders, particles, and fidelity. We also have some recommendations, but you can try to move every setting to fit your play style. Here are our CS2 config recommendations:
Boost player contrast: Enabled
Wait for vertical sync: Disabled (It will cause input delay and lock FPS to refresh rate)
Current video values preset: Custom
Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: 4X MSAA (Lower values will provide minor FPS gain, but it will make your game have lower graphic quality)
Global Shadow Quality: High Or Medium (avoid Low)
Model / Texture Detail: Medium (Impact in FPS is minimal)
Texture Filtering Mode: Bilinear (Impact in FPS is minimal)
Shader Detail: High (Significant visual improvement for minimal FPS hit)
Particle Detail: Low (It will improve FPS for a lower graphic charge)
Ambient Occlusion: Medium (It can give you some advantage without sacrificing FPS)
High Dynamic Range: Quality – Minimal FPS impact, a significant visual upgrade over Performance
FidelityFX Super Resolution: Disabled (Highest Quality) (It causes smudged appearance; avoid changing to another option)
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: Enabled (If you are CPU-bound, use Boost)
Audio
To configure the audio, you must tweak it to help you hear your teammates and the steps of foes that walk around the map and near you. It’s an important section; you will see options like Master Volume and EQ Profile. If you want to squeeze all the potential of the audio, you can use as follows:
Master Volume: Your preference
Audio Device: Default Device
EQ Profile: Crisp
L/R Isolation: 50-80%
Perspective Correction: No
Enable Voice: Press to use mic
Streamlined Push to talk: Yes
Although some options, like master volume and audio device, will depend on your peripherals and your volume tolerance, we still recommend that you set it to over 70%. Remember to select your audio device to have the best experience possible. Moreover, one relevant change you should make is the EQ Profile, which has a higher frequency, resulting in louder sounds, as it will help you hear footsteps, dropped weapons, and gunfire. For L/R Isolation, the most common setting is 50%, but if you move it closer to 100%, you will lose the ‘middle’ audio, and everything you hear will come from your left and right. If you move the slide to 0%, the sound will be more natural, but you will lose valuable information.
Part of the new CS2 config setting is the Perspective Correction, which will help you reflect the audio more accurately from where it is coming from. If you are used to how CS:GO sounded, you can turn it off, but if you want a more immersive experience, give it a try.
Game
Instead of being one setting, they are a bunch of many, and they will cover different sections of CS2. However, most of these settings will be on you since they won’t have a direct impact on your gameplay; still, some will be advantageous during your match. Still, these CS2 configs are more of a suggestion than something written in stone.
Max Acceptable Matchmaking Ping: 100 (Anything higher than this will cause problems in your matches)
Max Acceptable Game Traffic Bandwidth: Unrestricted
Community Notification location: Top right
Enable Developer Console (~): Yes
Install Counter-Strike Workshop tools: No
HUD:
Hud scale: 0.90
Hud color: Your preference
Team
Show Team Positions in Hud: Show location and equipment
Show teammate colors in competitive: Show colors
Use teammate colors on ID: Your preference (most players use ‘No’)
Friends lobby default permissions: Friends need invites
Looking to play when Counter-Strike starts: Remember last state
Communication
Player pings: Display and sound
Mute enemy team: No
Mute all but friends: No
Hide Avatar Images: Your preference
Clean player names: Your preference
Radar / Tablet
Radar centers the player: Yes
Radar is rotating: Yes
Radar Hud size: 1
Radar Map zoom: 0.60
Toggle shape with scoreboard: Yes
CS2 Pro Config
If you want to start playing like a pro, you must replicate how they usually set their configs in CS2. However, this is not the norm but a suggestion. Finding a configuration that works for you is better than replicating what any pro is doing, but you can use it as a guide to build the perfect config for your play style.
Crosshair
Although the default crosshair in CS2 is better than the one in CS:GO, most players still choose to change their crosshair. Of course, you can play and make some tweaks to create your personalized crosshair and find the perfect one for your play style. Still, you can try some of the most popular ones from the pros:
s1mple: CSGO-MQfzY-jnHyz-Whzv3-USwcf-2pFKO
ZywOo: CSGO-s5Qbj-nvF89-cJjDd-mRdSG-5Yt4N
donk: CSGO-wAD3c-ykt5L-zvZ98-vBisR-6sWPA
mONESY: CSGO-wAD3c-ykt5L-zvZ98-vBisR-6sWPA
dev1ce: CSGO-h4jh5-OoooO-w5Qic-2jKvV-pbywQ
ropz: CSGO-nCfX7-54ue9-aC5eV-6Womf-Q6izO
sh1ro: CSGO-AZQd3-kDODr-psst2-hWv7L-TpNkO
blameF: CSGO-eXcwf-HckiN-8My9W-4yq2Q-7WiGH
ELiGE: CSGO-uH4Hk-Rtekt-pRJNw-ZGAD3-4BPYE
To use any of these crosshairs, you must go to Game Settings, then ‘Crosshair’, paste the code using the Share and Import button, and finally click on ‘Import’ to complete this CS2 Config.
Mouse
Other vital configs to consider in CS2 are mouse ones. Of course, the type of mouse you use can affect your gameplay. However, you can still achieve great moments during your matches with any mouse that uses the usual settings:
DPI: 400, 800 or 1600 (most players use 400-800)
eDPI (Effective DPI): 700-1200
Sensitivity: 0.8 - 1.2
Hz: 1000 - 4000 hz
Most pro players swing between these ranges, and depending on the mouse they use, each can adjust the setting and find the best CS2 config for them. We recommend you check different settings for your mouse until you find what will work best for you in your role. You can even tweak it if you need a little fix when you gain more experience or change your peripherals.
Config CS2 FAQ
Finding the proper CS2 config can take time, but with some patience and practice, you will master your settings. However, we understand that some questions may arise about this topic. Don’t worry; we will help you clear any doubts you may have. So, let’s begin!
Where is the CS2 config file?
If you want to locate your config, you must follow the route to find the file you need. Usually, you will need to open the local disk inside the Steam Folder under the Global Offensive’s files. The route will be like this:
Steam' -> 'steamapps' -> 'common' -> 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive' -> 'game' -> 'csgo' -> 'cfg'
How do I import a config into CS2?
Once you locate the local folder in your Steam user data, right-click in CS2 in your Steam Library, find Properties, go to general, launch option, and add +exec Name.cfg to the launch option. You will find your configs in the Steam folder under Global Offensive’s files.
CS2 Config Guide Conclusion
If you want to find the perfect config in CS2, it can prove to be a long journey until you find what works best for you. The best thing you can do is tweak the settings and try every change inside the game until you feel comfortable enough to get used to it. CS2 is constantly evolving and updating, so your configs must be in a continuous process of adjustment. We would like to help you, so if you want to find more guides like this, you can check our blog section. Likewise, you can buy a CS2 account on our web page with unique cosmetics and items to make your way into the maps with style. That’s all for now, see you in our next blog.
