These CS2 settings will fix random lag spikes and improve your gameplay

If you’re experiencing random lag spikes in CS2, you’re not the only one. Numerous players have reported similar incidents since the game’s launch in September 2023, but, as always, there are a few fixes.

Let’s face it: CS2 is far from perfect. Despite the game being out for several months by now, players are still regularly suffering from performance issues, FPS drops, and so on. Luckily, with the game having numerous configuration options, there are ways to fix your lag spikes and to improve your gameplay. Here’s a couple of them.

How to fix lag spikes and improve performance in CS2

Like we said, there are a few things you can do to make CS2 run smoother. Let’s begin with the basic ones.

Italy with two players shooting each other with a smoke behind them — Game not running smoothly? We know the feeling. Image via Valve

Upgrade your graphic drivers

I know. For some players, upgrading your graphic drivers is the first thing you do when you experience issues in any game, not just CS2. Still, there are as many of those who forget to do that, while running an update for your graphic drivers might just solve all your performance issues, especially if you haven’t done that in a while.

Verify game files

It’s another basic solution, yet, it works occasionally. Go into Properties of CS2 on Steam, and then head over into Installed Files. There, you ought to find an option to “verify integrity of game files,” which should take no more than five minutes. In some instances, you are missing key components due to a bug, which are running rampant in CS2. Following these steps will ensure your game is full, and will make you redownload any of the missing files.

Menu of verifying game files in CS2. — It’s a common practice. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Lower your graphic settings in CS2

Another simple yet worthwhile trick is to just lower your graphic settings in CS2. If you’re playing on High or Ultra options, it’s no surprise sometimes the game may crash or serve you lag spikes. Degrading the settings shouldn’t make the experience of playing worse, but it might just be the solution you need, especially if you have one of the older PCs. And if that makes you feel better, a lot of pros with the best gear often play on lower settings to maximize performance, like s1mple, ZywOo, or m0NESY.

Enable V-Sync

Launching on V-Sync can help your PC synchronize the frame rates faster, which should make for a better experience overall. To do so, head over to “Advanced Video” in CS2 settings and enable Vertical Sync.

Advanced Video options in CS2. — Experimenting with these should help you out substantially. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Try these CS2 commands

Using the console is a pivotal element of every Counter-Strike, not just the latest version. Below we added a few commands that should allow you for some personal tweaking of CS2, possibly allowing you to find the best ones for you personally.

cl_cmdrate and cl_updaterate – Control the frequency at which your computer communicates with the game servers. The former controls at which rate it sends information, while the latter dictates the rate at which it receives updates.
fps_max – If your PC is struggling to maintain high frame ratio, you can set a specific one with this command, which ought to polish the smoothness of CS2.
cl_interp and cl_interp_ratio – Similarly, adjusting these two as you see fit should make the animations more fluid.
cl_forcepreload – Adding this before you load onto every map and game should restart the resources, which could improve the experience.