What's the cheapest PC that can run Counter-Strike 2?

A AMD Ryzen 5 7600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB build at around £799. That hits 1080p/60 on high settings.

Is Counter-Strike 2 CPU-heavy or GPU-heavy?

Counter-Strike 2 is primarily GPU-bound. Prioritise the graphics card; a mid-range CPU like the Ryzen 5 7600 will keep up at 1080p/60.

Do I need ray tracing for Counter-Strike 2?

Counter-Strike 2 does not require ray tracing. Any current-generation GPU will deliver the intended visual experience.

How much RAM do I need?

For Counter-Strike 2, 32GB is the sensible answer in 2026. 16GB still works for the budget tier but limits future-proofing.

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Best gaming PC for Counter-Strike 2 (2026)

For Counter-Strike 2 at 1080p/60 in 2026, you need at minimum a AMD Ryzen 5 7600 paired with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB and 16GB of RAM (around £799). For 1440p high settings, step up to a AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super 12GB — about £1,299.

The four PC tiers we'd build for Counter-Strike 2

Budget

£799

1080p · 240fps

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD

CS2 is the most-tested esports title on the planet, and the budget tier still pushes 240fps at 1080p on competitive settings. The Ryzen 7600's single-thread performance matters more than the GPU here.

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Mid-tier

£1,299

1080p · 360fps

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super 12GB
RAM: 32 GB
Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD

For high-refresh 1080p competitive play. The 9800X3D is the meaningful upgrade — CS2 is CPU-bound at high refresh rates and the X3D cache adds 20%+ in 1% lows. Pair with a 360Hz monitor.

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High-end

£1,799

1440p · 240fps

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB
RAM: 32 GB
Storage: 2TB NVMe SSD

1440p competitive at 240Hz with smoke and grenade visuals untouched. The high tier is more about input-to-display latency than raw framerate — pair this with a fast 1440p OLED for the best result.

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Enthusiast

£2,499

1440p · 540fps

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB
RAM: 32 GB
Storage: 2TB NVMe SSD

Pro-level: 1440p at the limits of 540Hz monitors. CS2 doesn't need the 5090 — there's no GPU work left to do. Save the difference and buy a 540Hz panel.

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What Counter-Strike 2 actually demands from your PC

Steam's recommended spec for Counter-Strike 2 is unspecified with —GB RAM and a mid-range CPU. That spec was written for the Valve team's internal "minimum acceptable" target, not for a buyer in 2026 planning to keep this PC for the next four years.

GPU-bound title: Framerate scales directly with GPU power. If you have a fixed budget, prioritise the graphics card and accept a mid-range CPU.

What you can skip vs what matters

Worth spending on: GPU first, then a fast NVMe SSD (most modern games benefit from sub-3000MB/s sustained reads), then RAM at the tier amount.
Worth skipping at this budget: RGB lighting, exotic cooling, brand-name PSUs above 850W (unless you're building enthusiast tier), and motherboards with more than 4 M.2 slots.
Don't compromise on: The PSU. A reliable 750W gold-rated unit will outlast two GPU upgrades.

Frequently asked questions

What's the cheapest PC that can run Counter-Strike 2?: A AMD Ryzen 5 7600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB build at around £799. That hits 1080p/60 on high settings.
Is Counter-Strike 2 CPU-heavy or GPU-heavy?: Counter-Strike 2 is primarily GPU-bound. Prioritise the graphics card; a mid-range CPU like the Ryzen 5 7600 will keep up at 1080p/60.
Do I need ray tracing for Counter-Strike 2?: Counter-Strike 2 does not require ray tracing. Any current-generation GPU will deliver the intended visual experience.
How much RAM do I need?: For Counter-Strike 2, 32GB is the sensible answer in 2026. 16GB still works for the budget tier but limits future-proofing.