Absolute minimum requirements for CS:GO
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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an action-shooter with a strong emphasis on accurate gunplay and dynamic teamwork. Its classic formula sees the faction of terrorists and counter-terrorists battle in the context of simplified threat scenarios presented on various maps. Through the years it has also developed a lot of alternative modes, including a 2-on-2 tactic-heavy Wingman, fast-paced Arms Race and a battle-royale mode of Danger Zone. The game’s graphic engine implemented in 2013 is a bit dated as of now, but the developers push the envelope with regular updates and patches. For sure, the visual side of the game is enough to host a total metagame and meta-market of weapon skins that drop after online matches or can be traded within Steam’s built-in marketplace.
You could risk a statement that the longevity of the game is not only based on its playability but also its accessibility. Minimum requirements for CSGO are no challenge even for a dated computer and the range of graphic settings available allow it to look both like a friendly, meek potato or like a triple-A game.
What are the minimum CSGO requirements?
We’ll start with the obvious just to have it out of our way. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a shooter controlled with both a mouse and the keyboard – the former used for aiming and shooting, and the latter for moving around and handling equipment. For this reason, it’s good to have a non-stuttering mouse, so that your aim is not debilitated. Unless you’re a true pro, it also doesn’t matter how much definition it has. Just remember to set up your mouse sensitivity in Settings according to your style of playing shooter games. Be mindful that CSGO gunplay requires quite a lot of precision and you rarely blast around with guns. Any keyboard will do, but if you’re an avid player, a mechanical one will usually last longer. Depending on how you sit in front of the computer, you might want to skew the keyboard a little bit to the right, so that your left-hand wrist gets less tense with time. If you’re really trying hard, you can look up dedicated gamer keyboards to swap your boring type blocks for a multi-setup designer controller, but that’s far from required. You can earn a couple ranks using your standard-issue PC peripherals.
When it comes to CSGO minimum system requirements, it has a compatible version for Windows systems (XP and up) and MacOS (10.11 or higher). Linux users have to additionally configure SteamOs. In the case of Macintosh systems there are some issues with the built-in voice chat, so it’s strongly recommended to use a separate voice communication system like Teamspeak or Discord.
Here are the minimal parametric requirements listed in CS:GO Steam store page.
CSGO MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS PC WINDOWS
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom™ X3 8750 processor or better
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: Video card must be 256 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 3.0
Disk space: 15 GB available space
DirectX: Version 9.0c
CSGO MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS MacOS
Processor: Intel Core Duo Processor (2GHz or better)
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2400 or better / NVidia 8600M or better
Disk space: 15 GB available space
CSGO MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS SteamOS with Linux
Linux version: Ubuntu 12.04
Processor: 64-bit Dual core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8600/9600GT, ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600 (Graphic Drivers: nVidia 310, AMD 12.11), OpenGL 2.1
Disk space: 15 GB available space
Sound Card: OpenAL Compatible Sound Card
As you can see, the game can run on pretty dated specs, with the consideration of the fifteen gigabytes that are needed for the game files, which might be a drag if you’re using an old hard drive. Just remember to tune down the graphic and performance settings. The game might look a bit meh, but hey, at least it will actually run.
What spec do you need to reach 60fps in 1080p?
With the development of technology and increasing capabilities of accessible equipment, CS:GO adapted to the times and now allows players to play in very high-detailed and high-definition settings at more than 100fps. Of course, the more detail and smoothness you get, the easier it is to play and the more efficient you can be. Nevertheless, reaching 60 frames per second in 1900×1080 pixels (1080p in short) is the affordable standard set out for smooth and pleasant play. As for minimum requirements to run CSGO 60fps, it is generally recommended to get a better graphic processing unit, in the likes of Radeon RX 560 / GeForce GTX 1050 in the least, or Radeon RX 460 / GeForce 1500X just to be sure the performance is always on top. You can always read more about optimized setups with very high graphic standards in this detailed article at Logical Increments’ website.
What setups do pro players use?
It would be impossible to trace all the hardware changes that pro players use on their PCs both for their private plays and for training purposes. During tournaments, all stations are unitarily provided by the organization hosting the event and usually consist of high-end components. Even so, pro players have their preferred settings and setups. Some of them are presented on sites like ProSettings or OnWinning. What stands out is that many of them prefer to lower their resolutions, even down to the now-archaic 1024×768 (dev1ce, Frozen and Stewie2k were noted to do so). Why is that? There are a few reasons. One is that it takes a huge rendering load off the GPU and CPU, thus making sure that the game is running stable at extremely high frame rates preferred by the pros (they require 240fps+ for their monitors!). The other is that everything in-game appears bigger, thus making aiming at opponents at least perceptually easier, especially if you’re playing the game stretched. Finally, a lot of them started off with a low resolution back in the CS 1.6 days and got way too used to it.
Summary
Today we’ve learned that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a game that has been published some time ago, making the basic setup needed for it to work very obtainable. There are certain aspects you need to look out for, like having at least standard, well-working peripheries, not going too far back with your MacOs version or making sure that you have an OpenAL-ready sound processor on your Linux. CSGO minimum requirements PC needs to meet to play on smooth 60ps are also not much, as it runs well on a now-standardised Radeon and GeForce cards. You can also learn from the pros and turn those settings down a notch if your gaming station is meeting only the bare minimum. With your setup ready and working as intended, we wish you a lot of headshots and zero lag!
