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COUNTER-STRIKE 2 · SINGLE SYSTEM

CS2: Windows Game Mode Off vs On

CS2: Windows Game Mode Off vs On. Four measured tests per setting, paired PresentMon frame timings, methodology and downloadable results.

4 measured tests per settingPresentMon 2.6.0Warmups excluded

No clear performance advantage in this test

Median and observed range

Game Mode on recorded a 0.61% higher median average FPS, a 3.62% higher 1% low and a 4.26% lower p99 frame time. Ranges overlapped; no metric met the declared decision rule.

Average FPSHigher is better · zero-based scale
Game Mode OFF
188.19 FPS
Game Mode ON
189.35 FPS

Game Mode OFF: 186.91–188.94
Game Mode ON: 187.84–190.21

1% low FPSHigher is better · zero-based scale
Game Mode OFF
77.65 FPS
Game Mode ON
80.47 FPS

Game Mode OFF: 72.76–80.11
Game Mode ON: 78.30–82.70

p99 frame timeLower is better · zero-based scale
Game Mode OFF
10.98 ms
Game Mode ON
10.51 ms

Game Mode OFF: 10.50–11.78
Game Mode ON: 9.91–11.07

Input latency: not measured. FPS and these source-specific timing metrics do not establish click-to-photon latency or guarantee smoother gameplay.

Every measured test

Download measurements CSV ↓
Fixed 60-second PresentMon windows; CPU frame-start timings. Warmups are excluded.
Pass / pairSettingAverage FPS1% low FPSp99 frame time (ms)Frames
13Pair 1Game Mode OFF186.9172.7611.7811,214
14Pair 1Game Mode ON189.8578.4911.0711,390
15Pair 2Game Mode ON188.8582.459.9111,331
16Pair 2Game Mode OFF187.9477.2711.1711,276
17Pair 3Game Mode ON190.2182.709.9911,412
18Pair 3Game Mode OFF188.4578.0410.7811,307
19Pair 4Game Mode OFF188.9480.1110.5011,336
20Pair 4Game Mode ON187.8478.3011.0311,270
Warmups and separate VProf results

VProf reports the full benchmark. Its average FPS and source-defined P1 are separate from PresentMon measurements; absolute values across these windows are not interchangeable.

PassSettingPurposeVProf average FPSVProf P1
11Game Mode OFFWarmup371.40128.30
12Game Mode ONWarmup371.80126.10
13Game Mode OFFMeasured369.20110.70
14Game Mode ONMeasured371.80113.90
15Game Mode ONMeasured370.40118.00
16Game Mode OFFMeasured369.7098.50
17Game Mode ONMeasured373.20118.90
18Game Mode OFFMeasured370.70108.80
19Game Mode OFFMeasured370.90114.80
20Game Mode ONMeasured370.10114.80

Test setup & definitions

CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
Driver
32.0.16.1742
OS
Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26300
CS2 build
25966348
Scene
FPSHeaven Ancient · workshop 3472126051
Display
1440 × 1080 · 144 Hz
Fixed controls
High performance power plan · fullscreen · 4× MSAA
Capture
PresentMon 2.6.0 · fixed60-offset10-v1

Only the Windows Game Mode preference changed in this comparison. Other controls remained fixed. The game relaunched for each test.

Two warmups (A → B), followed by four measured pairs: A → B, B → A, B → A, A → B. Warmups never enter the summaries.

PresentMon covers exactly 60 seconds, starting 10 seconds after the observed VProf start. Average FPS = 1,000 / mean consecutive CPU frame-start interval in ms; 1% low = 1,000 / mean of the slowest ceil(1%) intervals; p99 uses the nearest-rank 99th percentile.

The declared decision rule requires at least a 2% median difference, all four paired differences in the same direction and non-overlapping ranges. Failure to meet it does not prove equivalence or statistical significance.

Data quality & downloads

The combined three-comparison session completed 30 tests: 6 warmups and 24 measurements. Earlier incomplete sessions were kept separate.

All 10,185 sampled foreground observations matched the owned game process; maximum observation gap was 0.388 seconds. Sampling cannot rule out brief changes between checks.

Collectors completed. Original CFG hashes and attributes, Windows power plan, Game Mode, NVIDIA state and display state were independently verified after restoration.

  • One PC; four measured passes per condition; not statistical certainty
  • Existing power plans, not assumed factory defaults
  • Game Mode preference verified in UI; scheduler activation not independently instrumented
  • No input latency or unsupported power-consumption claims
  • VProf full interval differs from PresentMon fixed60-offset10-v1
  • Non-windowed Game Bar hosts permitted; recording and visible overlays prohibited

Downloads contain allowlisted derived measurements, including warmups. Original captures, account identifiers, local paths, device identifiers and configuration contents remain private.

Source integrity

Three independent CS2 tweaks · completed 19 October 2026

SHA-256 of the original local analysis artifact (not the downloadable derived report):

8b8b89e14e1c6cacc0ee708723747d77ef097df7d3d80e6d11736ba6596e650b