CSGO Pro Settings Guide: The Best Settings & Options

Toby Marshall
26 September 2022
CSGO Pro Settings Guide

CS:GO – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, is easily one of the most well-known and most played esports games in the world. There are numerous reasons for its popularity. The concept of the game is easy to comprehend, it attracts players of all different skill levels – and the fact that this is a game where you can keep improving and growing as a player makes it hard to step away. Every time you see a bit of progress, you just want to keep building on it and rising through the ranks, which is why people are interested in the settings used by pro CSGO players. The chance to see such skilled players going head to head is also attractive for spectators and CSGO betting fans alike – hence why it is one of the most watched games on the planet!

There are many things that set it apart from other games – and one of them is the ability a player has to change the settings of the game to make it suit their tastes more. Unlike many other games, there are all different resolutions that professional players use. However, because there are so many different ways you can ‘tweak’ your settings, it’s difficult to know if and when to do so – and what to tweak them to. So, that’s why we are here to help.

Our CSGO Pro Settings guide brings together everything that you need to know about how it all works – and should help get you started when it comes to finding the best settings for you when playing CS:GO – along with the most popular CSGO pro players settings. We look at the sensitivity, the eDPI and DPI, monitor refresh rates (Hz), resolution and more. We will then provide you with the very best in-game settings so that you are able to get the most FPS (Frames Per Second) from your PC.

CSGO Pro Settings: The Best Equipment:

For your quick reference, here is a list of the most popular equipment used by CS:GO players:

Computer Monitors

  1. BenQ XL2540
  2. BenQ XL2546
  3. BenQ XL2546K

Mouse

  1. Logitech G Pro X Superlight
  2. Logitech G Pro Wireless
  3. Zowie EC2

Keyboards

  1. HyperX Alloy FPS
  2. Logitech G Pro X Mechanical Keyboard
  3. Xtrfy K2-RGB

Game Headsets

  • The HyperX Cloud Alpha
  • The HyperX Cloud II
  • The Logitech G Pro X

Mouse Pads

  • The SteelSeries QcK Heavy
  • The Zowie G-SR
  • The Zowie G-SR-SE

The Best CSGO Pro Mouse Settings 

When you have picked the mouse you want to use from the top recommended list, you will then need to consider which in-game settings are best to choose…

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There are a few mouse settings for CSGO that will need to be optimally configured to play like a pro. Chances are, you have already heard of terms like ‘mouse acceleration’, ‘sensitivity’ and ‘raw input’, but we will guide you through all of these things and anything else you need to know.

The most important value you need to factor in when looking at your mouse settings in the eDPI. This is a mixture of the in-game sensitivity and the mouse’s Dots Per Inch (DPI). This allows for the comparison of the sensitivity of different CSGO players, regardless of the settings on their game hardware.

When you look at the eDPI, you may notice that CSGO pro players have a lower sensitivity settings in comparison to the more casual players. However, this isn’t entirely unexpected in an FPS game. Nearly all professional players in shooter games will have a sensitivity level that will require them to play with a mousepad large enough to accommodate their bigger swipes. To a new player, this can look and feel a little strange, but players with a lower sensitivity generally have a more precise aim. If you have a particularly high sensitivity, then it will make it hard to control your spray and make the micro-adjustments necessary. 

If you notice that you have an eDPI that is much higher than professional players, we would recommend that you lower it. After all, there’s a reason why no professional player will use an overall sensitivity that needs just a few millimetres for a complete 360!

Takeaways

  1. Having a high sensitivity won’t benefit your game – quite the opposite. Lower sensitivity encourages more precision when aiming.

The eDPI Pro Settings in CSGO

As mentioned above, the effective Dots Per Inch – eDPI, is sometimes called the ‘true sensitivity and it is the simplest way for players to compare sensitivities. Let’s take a close look at what it is and how it works…

Basically, the DPI is the part referring to the hardware and the sensitivity is the part referring to the software. There are all different mouse options out there and sometimes there can even be slight differences in DPI between the different mice and players (given that most gaming mice will allow a player to choose which DPI settings they want to use). So, in order for you to find any value that can compare with the professionals and your fellow players, you will need to figure out the combination of the hardware sensitivity (DPI) and the setting of the game sensitivity.

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The good news is that it’s pretty easy to calculate the eDPI – you do it simply by multiplying the DPI and sensitivity… eDPI = DPI x Sensitivity.

So, for example. A player uses a DPI = 400 with an in-game sensitivity = 2.5

The eDPI = 400 x 2.5

eDPI = 1000

When you start analysing the eDPI of different CSGO players, you will notice that AWP players usually have a higher eDPI than a rifler. This might be because having pinpoint precision isn’t as important for an AWP as it is with a rifler (body shots can also result in kills) and AWPs may want to have a bit more mobility with their play style and aim. However, this is just a theory…

  • The Median eDPI of CSGO Professional Players combined = 840
  • The Average eDPI of CSGO Professional players combined = 896

However:

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  • The Average eDPI of CSGO Pro Riflers = 854
  • The Average eDPI of CSGO Pro AWPers = 1096

DPI

The DPI is a value that many mouse developers use to advertise how advanced and innovative their newest mouse sensor is. However, remember that usually, this is simply a clever marketing tool.  – because you will rarely find a professional CSGO player that uses a DPI that is any higher than 3200. In fact, there are lots of CSGO pro players that actually prefer lower DPI settings. This is partly because they are used to playing at lower values and partly because there isn’t any real need to go for a louse with a crazily high DPI value. If you do want to increase your overall sensitivity, you can raise the sensitivity within the actual game.

It has been known that having super high DPI values might cause an issue with the sensor – and although that may not be as much as an issue with the most updated sensors, it is still a fact that you don’t need a mouse with a very high DPI. 

The Most Popular DPIs:

  • 400 DPI = 66%
  • 800 DPI = 28%
  • 1600 DPI = 3%

Sensitivity

This is simply the value that you set within the game itself, labelled ‘Mouse Sensitivity’. When looking at it on its own, it’s pretty useless to use for comparisons because it won’t really affect your performance, given that it could be used along with a high DPI with an old sensor. However, it is important to know the in-game sensitivity settings if you want to calculate the eDPI. Other than that, there’s nothing you can really get from knowing this value.

Takeaways:

  • A High DPI value is unnecessary and is simply used as a marketing tool.
  • The DPI is the mouse’s sensitivity
  • The Sensitivity is the in-game sensitivity
  • The eDPI is the DPI x Sensitivity

CSGO Pro Settings: The Zoom Sensitivity

This refers to the speed at which you aim when being zoomed whilst using a scoped rifle. This is an important value for AWPers in particular, although all players should pay some attention to it so that you do have some clue about what it represents if you attempt to use a teammate’s AWP.

There are some arguments that have been made about this value (it also depends on the mouse that a player uses). However, it seems that many players are happy with the default setting of 1.

  • Tip: If you Rifler and would prefer to use the same sensitivity when you are being scoped and unscoped then you can use this command: zoom_sensitivity_ratio_mouse 0.818933027098955175

The Average Zoom-Sensitivity of a CS:GO Pro AWPer is: 0.986

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The Mouse Acceleration, Raw Input and Mouse Hz

The mouse’s polling rate (in Hz) will determine how often it will send information to your computer. In general, a mouse will have a number of options you can choose:

  • A polling rate of 125Hz means the mouse position is updated every 8 milliseconds
  • A polling rate of 500Hz means the mouse position is updated every 2 milliseconds
  • A polling rate of 1000Hz means the mouse position is updated every 1 millisecond

As you can see, there is a pretty big difference between 125 Hz and 500Hz! However, the difference between 500Hz and 1000Hz isn’t quite as dramatic, which is why plenty of pro players use 500Hz even though arguably the 1000Hz is actually better. For some players, 500Hz feels very different from 1000Hz, so you may want to experiment. How you change the polling rate depends on the mouse you use. However, most will allow you to change it on the mouse itself or in the software.

In general, most believe that turning on mouse acceleration isn’t a good idea. When turned on, your cursor moves further based on the speed at which you move the mouse. This will hinder your ability to develop your muscle memory – which is vital if you are looking for a more consistent aim. Only a small number of CSGO pro players choose to turn this setting on – and we generally advise against it.

If you choose to turn on the ‘raw input’, which we recommend, then CS:GO will ignore any input that comes from outside of the game. In general, we don’t like outside interference. There are some pro players that keep it off because it could cause packet loss. If you do choose to keep it turned off, then your windows sensitivity will be an active factor when working out your eDPI.

The Most Popular Polling Rate:

  • 1000Hz: 91%
  • 500Hz: 8%

Most Popular Mouse Acceleration Setting:

  • On: 2%
  • Off: 98%

Most Popular Raw Input Setting:

  • On: 94%
  • Off: 6%

The Best CSGO Pro Video Settings, Aspect Ratio and  Resolution

The best CS:GO video settings will depend on the player you ask. This is something that is basically unique to this game. However, there are several combinations of aspect ratio and resolution that are used by professional players. Each one of these will come with its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s best that you decide which one is the most comfortable for you.

The main goal with your video settings is to configure your game in a way that is the least demanding to give you the highest possible framerate without the game becoming blurry and difficult to focus on.

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The Best Aspect Ratio and Resolution for CS:GO

The most noticeable and obvious changes you make to your configuration are the aspect ratio and resolution. These can have a big impact on both your framerate and your overall game-play. As such, it is important that you consider the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches.

If you don’t play at an aspect ratio of 16:9 (the native aspect for practically every gaming monitor) then you can choose between a number of different scaling modes – such as stretched and black bars.

Most professional players choose to play with an aspect ratio of 4:3. This may be because it is what they have become used to from older times – or it could be because they find it better overall… This is a hotly debated topic.

In general, most would advise new CSGO players to play with an aspect ratio of 16:9.This will fit your screen entirely, which gives you a view of practically the entire battlefield. Alternative ratio aspects can cut off some of the imagery so that it can fit onto your screen.

If you are unable to reach the competitive standard of 240 FPS (Frames Per Second), then by reducing the resolution, you can increase your FPS significantly. There is also an argument to be made that you should maximise your framerate even if you pull frames above the refresh rate of your monitor.

Many argue that by reducing your aspect ratio, you are able to focus more on the most important part of the screen… the centre. Some say it makes the enemy look bigger and makes them easier to hit. However, generally, it’s a matter of personal taste. Neither has proven to be better or worse, so you need to make this decision for yourself.

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So, to summarise, we would recommend that you keep the aspect ratio and resolution low if you are under the 144 frames threshold (0r 240, depending on what monitor you have). We would, however, recommend starting out at 16:9 if you do get enough frames!

The Most Popular Aspect Ratio:

  • 4:3 – 75%
  • 16:9 – 13%
  • 16:10 – 9%

Most Popular Scaling Modes for 4:3 Resolutions

  • Stretched: 73%
  • Black Bars: 27%

Most Popular Resolutions

  • 1280 x 960 (4:3): 38%
  • 1024 x 768 (4:3): 28%
  • 1920 x 1080 (16:9): 10%
  • 1680 x 1050 (16:10): 5%

The Pro CSGO Refresh Rates Settings

If you have been on the CSGO scene for a while then you may already know that a high refresh rate is very important when playing a competitive shooting game. Practically no professional player would use a standard 60Hz computer monitor. That’s hardly surprising given that higher refresh rates come with numerous advantages.

The first, obvious advantage is the fact that it will make your game flow a lot more smoothly. This will make it even smoother when you want to track the movements of your enemies… which could be the difference between a hit and a miss. This is a game where hitting as many shots as you can is of the utmost importance!

However, that’s not all! Even if you haven’t got yourself a 240Hz computer monitor (which is what we would ideally recommend for the game) there are numerous advantages to being able to reach the highest possible framerates. This is exactly why you will see that professionals will do everything they can to maximise the number of frames that they get – even if their PC already pushes out more than 240 FPS.

For example, we have input latency. If you are pushing, on average, 60 FOS then your input patency will sit somewhere between 55 to 75 milliseconds. However, if playing at 240 FPS then it will drop right down to a value sitting somewhere between the 20 to the 35-millisecond mark. So, if you have ever wondered why pro CSGO players go a little crazy if their game settings dips down to 250 frames per second rather than their usual 300+ FPS, then this is why!

The good news is that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a pretty easy game to run. This means that you won’t need the very highest-end GPU on the market to reach 240 frames per second (the bare minimum for competitive gameplay in our opinion). This means that you can still do well on a more budget-friendly GPU!

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It goes without saying that your GPU isn’t the only factor that affects your framerate. It is important that you make sure that you always have a completely balanced system. It would be completely pointless to have the highest-end, top-of-the-range 240Hz monitor and invest in an RTX 3080 if you will then be running it all through a 12-year-old processor that has only 8GB of RAM! More than 90% of professionals use a 240Hz system, which we feel is really the competitive norm.

The Most Popular Refresh Rates:

  • 240Hz: 92%
  • 360Hz: 6%
  • 144Hz: 1%

The Average Frames Per Second on Med-High Settings

  • RTX 3060 TI: 502
  • RTX 3070: 526
  • RTX 3080: 542

Top Tip: The Aspect Ratio and Brightness Levels in Your Windows Settings

There are a few things you will want to consider when looking at your Windows settings if you are encountering issues changing the in-game settings… or you simply want to increase the game’s brightness level more than you can in the game settings.

Firstly, you need to check and make sure that you have turned up the refresh rate as high as possible on your monitor:

AMD: Right click on the desktop > AMD Radeon Graphics> My Digital Flatpanels> Custom Resolutions> Refresh Rate.

For a full screen or stretched screen, you will need to stay in: My Digital Flatpanels> Properties.

To alter the brightness, go to the Display Colour and move the saturation slider to your preference.

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Nvidia: Right click on the desktop> Nvidia Control Panel>Adjust Desktop size & Position> Refresh Rate.

Here, you will also be able to alter the scaling mode to either full screen for stretched or aspect ratio for black bars. After this, click on ‘Adjust Desktop Colour Settings’.

If you want to change the screen brightness then click on ‘Adjust Colour Settings’ and then adjust the slider based on how bright you want your game to be. This will help you if you want to make it easier to spot your enemies in the dark.

Lots of professionals also use higher saturation settings because it helps enemies to stand out in what is often a pretty bland colour scheme. You might want to give this a go for yourself. Most gaming monitors will let you adjust the actual monitor, but you can also use software to make it more vibrant.

So, hopefully, this guide has helped you to understand the different settings and how professional CS:GO players like to play – and the most common CSGO pro players’ settings! Why not try some of them out for yourself and get to know which ones work best for you? Good luck and enjoy!

Author Toby Marshall

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