Test your setup
for Counter-Strike 2.
A single page that turns DeviceCheckOnline's diagnostic suite into a CS2-tuned workshop. Convert sensitivity from CS:GO, Valorant or any FPS into CS2's 0.022° yaw, paste CS2 share-code crosshairs and render them live, audit polling up to 8000 Hz, measure true monitor refresh, and benchmark your numbers against 15 active CS2 pros from s1mple to donk.
CS2 testing toolkit.
Each tool below is pre-tuned for CS2 — the 0.022°/unit yaw used since CS:GO, the share-code crosshair grammar Valve introduced in 2023, and the polling / refresh thresholds that actually affect ranked Premier play.
CS2 pro player settings.
Sensitivity, DPI, eDPI, cm/360, refresh, and resolution for 15 of the most-watched CS2 pros across the BLAST and PGL circuits. Values follow what each player has run in recent LAN footage and pro-settings databases — pros do tweak, so treat this as a reference snapshot, not a real-time mirror.
| Player | Team | Sens | DPI | eDPI | cm/360° | Hz | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s1mple | FaZe / — | 3.09 | 400 | 1236 | 33.6 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| ZywOo | Team Vitality | 2 | 400 | 800 | 51.9 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| donk | Team Spirit | 1.6 | 400 | 640 | 64.9 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| m0NESY | G2 Esports | 1.5 | 400 | 600 | 69.2 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| NiKo | G2 Esports | 1.35 | 400 | 540 | 77 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| device | Astralis | 1.4 | 400 | 560 | 74.1 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| broky | FaZe Clan | 1.9 | 400 | 760 | 54.6 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| ropz | FaZe Clan | 1.65 | 400 | 660 | 62.9 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| huNter- | G2 Esports | 2 | 400 | 800 | 51.9 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| electronic | — | 1.32 | 400 | 528 | 78.7 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| Twistzz | FaZe Clan | 1.4 | 400 | 560 | 74.1 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| stavn | Heroic / — | 1.8 | 400 | 720 | 57.7 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| jL | Team Vitality | 1.65 | 400 | 660 | 62.9 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| frozen | MOUZ | 1.92 | 400 | 768 | 54.1 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
| Aleksib | Team Vitality | 2 | 400 | 800 | 51.9 | 400 | 1280×960 (4:3) |
Convert any of these to your DPI in the sens converter — cm/360 stays identical regardless of which DPI you run.
Picking a CS2 sensitivity.
CS2 inherits CS:GO's yaw of 0.022° per unit. Your existing CS:GO sens transfers 1:1 — no conversion, no relearning. The number that matters is cm/360, not the sens value: at 1.8 sens · 400 DPI you spin 360° in 57.7 cm regardless of which engine version is running.
The formula: cm/360 = 360 / (0.022 × sens × DPI / 2.54). CS2 pros sit far wider than Valorant pros — most are in the 50–80 cm range, because CS2's slower movement and longer engagement distances reward smooth tracking over twitch flicks.
CS2 crosshair share codes.
CS2 introduced share codes in 2023 — a single string starting CSGO- followed by five alphanumeric blocks that encode every cl_crosshair* console variable in one paste. Inside CS2, open Settings → Game → Crosshair and click the share icon to import or export.
Want to preview a code before committing? Paste it into the crosshair previewer — we detect CS2 codes by their CSGO- prefix and render them over a CS2 backdrop.
For purists, the classic cl_crosshairsize / cl_crosshairgap / cl_crosshairthickness console variables still work in CS2 — bind them in autoexec.cfg and they persist across launches.
- donk: Static green dot — tight enough to pre-aim corners, no movement error.
- ZywOo: Classic + with small gap, cyan colour, no centre dot.
- m0NESY: Long, thin lines with moderate gap — good for tracking spray patterns.
- s1mple: Cyan dynamic crosshair, small inner lines, slight outline.
What CS2 actually wants from your rig.
Sub-tick networking is the biggest behavioural change vs CS:GO. Servers no longer round inputs to 64/128-tick boundaries — they timestamp each input precisely. This means every ms of input latency reaches the server, so polling, refresh, and frame pacing matter more than they did in CS:GO.
- Polling rate: 1000 Hz floor. Lower polling means your peek timing is quantised — sub-tick will show it. Some pros run 2000–8000 Hz.
- Monitor refresh: 240 Hz is the CS pro standard, 360 Hz the new ceiling. Test the panel hits its rating — it often won't on bad cables / wrong port.
- Frame rate: 240+ FPS to feed a 240 Hz panel, 360+ for 360 Hz. CS2 is CPU-bound on most rigs — single-core clocks matter more than core count.
- Bufferbloat: Ping under load. A clean ping that triples when someone in the house streams a movie will lose every peeker's-advantage duel.
- Total input-lag chain: Click latency + frame time + monitor response. Sub-30 ms total is the pro range.
What's actually different.
CS2 is not a sequel in the conventional sense — it's a Source 2 engine rebuild of CS:GO. Valve preserved everything that made CS feel like CS (economy, round timer, recoil patterns, map names) and rebuilt the rest. The notable changes:
- Source 2 engine. Everything is re-rendered: lighting, materials, water, particle systems. Looks dramatically more modern; frame budget is different, so some old configs no longer apply.
- Volumetric smokes. Smokes are now 3D fog volumes that react to bullets (cleared transiently), grenades (HE blast clears them), and gunfire. Smoke lineups from CS:GO still work but behave differently.
- Sub-tick networking. Servers timestamp every input to the millisecond. Your shot is registered at the instant your click happened, not at the next tick boundary. Removes the "did I shoot first?" ambiguity but exposes every ms of client-side latency.
- Map pool. CS:GO had a deep map list; CS2 ships with a curated competitive pool (Mirage, Inferno, Anubis, Ancient, Nuke, Vertigo, Overpass, plus rotations). Workshop community maps still play in casual modes.
- UI and demos. Refreshed HUD, redesigned main menu, full Steam-integrated demo / replay system.
- Removed: macOS / Linux support, CS:GO matchmaking (auto-migrated to CS2 Premier), some legacy maps from the active pool.
Counter-Strike 2, in one section.
Counter-Strike 2 is Valve's free-to-play 5v5 tactical first-person shooter, released on 27 September 2023 as a free Source 2 engine upgrade to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). It runs on Windows via Steam, weighs roughly 85 GB installed, and uses sub-tick networking to process every input at its precise timestamp rather than on 64/128-tick boundaries.
Competitively, CS2 ranks players via Premier mode — a numeric CS Rating displayed on your profile and used for matchmaking. The professional scene runs through Valve-sponsored Majors (PGL, BLAST) plus tier-1 third-party circuits (IEM, ESL Pro League, BLAST World Final). Pros documented on this page are drawn from the top BLAST and PGL teams active in the current season.
Counter-Strike's lineage runs from the 1999 Half-Life mod through CS 1.6, Source, Global Offensive, and now CS2 — over 25 years of the same core 5v5 bomb / hostage rule-set, refined patch by patch.
CS2 — frequently asked.
What is CS2?
Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) is Valve's free-to-play 5v5 tactical first-person shooter, the successor to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). It launched on 27 September 2023 as a free upgrade to CS:GO, rebuilt on the Source 2 engine with overhauled smokes (volumetric, dynamic), sub-tick networking, redesigned maps, and a refreshed UI — while keeping the gunplay, economy, and competitive ruleset CS players have known for 20+ years.
Is CS2 free?
Yes. CS2 is free to download and play on Steam. The optional Prime Status upgrade (a one-time purchase) gives you Prime-only matchmaking, weekly drops, and access to Prime-only rewards — but every gameplay mode including ranked Premier is accessible without it.
Is CS2 crossplay?
No. CS2 is a PC-only game (Windows, with macOS and Linux support removed from CS:GO at the CS2 transition). There is no console version and no crossplay. The only platform is Steam.
What are CS2's system requirements?
Minimum: 4-core Intel / AMD CPU at 3 GHz, 8 GB RAM, a GPU with 1 GB VRAM and Shader Model 5.0 support (e.g. GTX 660 / Radeon HD 7950 or newer), and 85 GB of disk. The game runs well above 200 FPS on modern mid-range hardware; competitive players target 240+ FPS to feed 240/360 Hz monitors.
How big is CS2?
The CS2 install is approximately 85–95 GB depending on workshop content, replays, and pak updates. The base game itself is ~30 GB; the rest is supplementary content Valve ships alongside.
Is CS2 down right now?
Valve doesn't run a public service-status page like Riot does. Check steamstat.us for Steam infrastructure status, the @CSGO and @CounterStrike Twitter/X accounts for outage announcements, or third-party trackers like csgostatus.net. Matchmaking servers are regional — outages often hit one region while others stay up.
CS2 vs CS:GO — what changed?
CS2 is a full Source 2 engine rebuild of CS:GO. Major changes: volumetric, dynamic smokes that react to bullets, grenades, and gunfire; sub-tick networking (servers process inputs at the exact moment they happen, not on tick boundaries); redesigned maps (Mirage, Inferno, Overpass, Ancient, Nuke, Vertigo, Anubis re-textured and lit on Source 2); refreshed UI, demos, and HUD; and removed map pool members from CS:GO. The gunplay, economy, round timer, and ruleset are unchanged.
How do I uninstall CS2?
In Steam, go to your Library, right-click Counter-Strike 2, choose 'Manage' → 'Uninstall', and confirm. Steam will remove the game files but keep your account data, ranks, and inventory tied to your Steam profile — reinstall at any time and your progress returns.
How do I copy a CS2 crosshair?
In CS2, open Settings → Game → Crosshair and click 'Share or Import' (the small icon next to your crosshair preview). Paste a CSGO2.COM / CSGOPad-style crosshair share code (starts with 'CSGO-' followed by alphanumeric blocks). To share your own, click the same button and copy your code. The DeviceCheckOnline crosshair previewer at /gaming/crosshair detects CS2 codes by prefix and renders them.
What sensitivity do CS2 pros use?
Most CS2 pros sit between 1.4 and 2.2 in-game at 400 DPI, putting eDPI between 560 and 880 and cm/360 between 50 and 80 cm. CS2's slower, lower-recoil-management style of play rewards wider mouse arcs than Valorant — see the pro settings table on this page for 15 documented examples.
Can I import my CS:GO sensitivity directly?
Yes. CS2 uses the same yaw multiplier (0.022° per unit) as CS:GO, so your sensitivity number, DPI, and cm/360 transfer with zero math. If you were playing 1.8 sens at 400 DPI in CS:GO, that is the identical aim in CS2.
How do I launch CS2 with autoexec / launch options?
Right-click Counter-Strike 2 in Steam → Properties → General → Launch Options. Common options: -novid (skip intro), -high (process priority — usually unnecessary in CS2), +fps_max 0 (uncap FPS), -tickrate 128 (does nothing in CS2 — sub-tick networking ignores it, but harmless). Place autoexec.cfg under steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/cfg/.
Why does CS2 feel different from CS:GO?
Sub-tick networking changes the timing of every shot, smoke deployment, and movement input. Combined with the Source 2 lighting and new smoke physics, the feel is more responsive but also less forgiving — peeker's advantage and timing windows behave differently. The community has documented this extensively; if it 'feels off' after months, double-check the diagnostics under Hardware below.
What is Premier, Ranked, and what's the difference?
Premier is CS2's flagship competitive mode — map veto, single-pick map, 24-round MR12 format, and an MMR-based skill rating ('CS Rating') shown as a number. Standard competitive matchmaking gives you the classic Silver–Global Elite-style rank per map. Most pros and serious ranked players treat Premier rating as the meaningful metric.