CSGO Launch Options – In-depth Guide
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As the name obviously implies, in this article we will take a closer look at the topic of CSGO launch options. We will talk about the utilization of CS GO launch options, what settings should be taken into consideration and why people do it in the first place.
First, what exactly CSGO launch options are? Well, they are a set of predefined commands or settings that are applied whenever you launch Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The range of things you can do with launch options CSGO allows for is quite wide. You can do things like define or change your client’s tick rate, enable the command console, change language, define the display settings and much more.
As any PC is different, so tastes between players differ. Although CSGO launch options won’t allow you to change every aspect of the game, for example, the wide range of the launch options will help you make sure that every time you launch CSGO your game will have all necessary settings already applied, ready to work the way you intended it to work.
How can you add CSGO launch options?
Setting your CSGO launch options is quite easy. Open Steam desktop application and log in to it. Then, go to your game Library and find CSGO from the list. Right-click on CSGO and choose Properties from the dropdown menu. A window with all different settings will open. Click on the “Set launch options…” located under the General tab. This will open a small window with a single text line. This is where you should input the CS GO launch options you want to the game to run on start.
Basic CSGO launch options
The following CSGO launch options are one of the most basic, yet one of the best CSGO launch options to know about and use, especially if your system for some reason likes to change display settings from time to time. On the other hand, some of them aren’t really that important, as most of the settings stay saved in config file anyway which renders these launch options as unneeded.
-console
Adding this CSGO launch option will open the console automatically when you start your game. However, we feel there is no need to specify this launch option, especially in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. You see, in contrast to Counter-Strike: Source, where the toggle key didn’t work properly, in CSGO you can easily enable command console in-game settings menu or through your auto exec.
-language French
This is a very helpful launch option in case you want to run your CSGO in a specific language that is coincidentally not the same one set as your primary language in Steam. After all, Steam usually automatically picks the language of the game basing upon your Steam app settings. Of course, you can always change the -language French for -language English or any other language that has a valid, working version.
-full
-full or -fullscreen is one of the CSGO launch options that dictate the display elements of the CSGO. In this case, quite obviously, it forces the game to run in fullscreen mode. If you set one of the other display settings as one of your launch options, the game will ignore the -full command.
-window
Alternatively to the -full, it will run CSGO in windowed mode. Just remember to always set -w and -h launch options to specify the width and height of the window in which CSGO will be run. Just like -full, it will be ignored if both -window and -full are set.
-noborder
This CSGO launch option will make CSGO run without borders that Windows normally puts around all windows and applications run in window mode.
CSGO launch options for more FPS
This set of CS GO best launch options is focused on giving you the best possible performance from the Frames-Per-Second perspective. Many players use these launch options to boost the possible FPS and have a more smooth experience or be able to pull better shots in difficult situations due to more stable FPS.
-novid
This is a very small quality-of-life improvement that makes the opening Valve intro skip whenever you start CSGO. First of all, this reduces load times. Moreover, that intro gets extremely annoying, very fast.
-tickrate 128
This is a launch option that is visible during offline games with bots. Normally, when you create an offline bot match the tick rate of the local offline server will be set to 64. With this option, all offline servers will always run at 128 tick rate providing a much better experience in training those sick headshots.
-refresh 144
Every monitor has some innate refresh rates, however, to some extent, you can force your monitor to run at a specified refresh rate higher than 60 or 70. However, make sure that your monitor can physically run the refresh rate that you specify. Otherwise, you can damage it.
-high
This launch option forces the CSGO to start as a high-priority process which is very helpful when your PC has to multitask a lot of other processes. Often used by players with weaker computers to reduce lag and get some more FPS. Still, if you don’t see any differences between running CSGO with -high launch option and without it, you may remove it completely.
-threads 8
In theory, it should force a CPU with 8 cores to run CSGO at all cores. However, it is hard to find any reliable information about the total number of cores at which CSGO can run, thus it is hard to define how helpful this launch option really is. Some players claim it gives them a few more FPS, some say it does nothing.
-nod3d9ex
It makes the alt+tab a bit faster. Small improvement helpful when you multitask a lot.
Why should you consider using CSGO launch options?
If a competitive game based on performance gives you the option to tailor it to your (and your PC) needs, you should generally use it. There are some CSGO best launch options, however, you must always test what works for you and your PC giving you the best experience and the highest framerate without any lags.
