Every CS: GO player wants his game to be comfortable and have no inconveniences. Victory in matchmaking can be reached only with maximum concentration and having nothing that interrupts the playing process.
Except for installing the suitable settings such as mouse sensitivity, sound volume, and CS: GO resolution, the gamers usually reach it by:
- playing in a quiet place and communicating only with the teammates;
- purchasing the suitable devices:
- headphones with good hearing and micro;
- computer mouse that comfortably fits the hand;
- keyboard with the proper size;
- placing the monitor at a comfortable distance from the eyes;
Overall, the CS: GO resolution for the screen is a critical factor that influences convenient playing. It’s not only the combination of pixels but a basis of the gameplay and the match result. It affects the player’s perception of the image and determines if the textures are drawn. So, let’s discover its most popular sizes and understand their pros and cons.
What Resolutions do the Players Use?
CS: GO resolutions are essential, so establishing a comfortable image size should be provided right after installing the game. The most popular sizes are 16:9 and 4:3, each with advantages and disadvantages. And now, it’s time to discover them.
16:9
It doesn’t modify the image and is a default size everyone gets after the game installation. Practice shows that new players often stay on it and don’t change it for another. The biggest hurdle to playing at 16:9 CS: GO resolution for many users is the inability to deliver high FPS. But nowadays, computers with high performance have become more affordable, and the popularity of such a widescreen resolution is growing. The most popular ratio for it is 1920 x 1080 (the native monitor’s ratio).
The advantages of playing on 16:9 are the following:
- Wide field of view (FOV). In simple words, if more details are visible on the screen, the player will better concentrate on the necessary details.
- The image is not extended. The 16:9 CS: GO resolution provides textures that look more natural. When using 4:3, the picture is horizontally stretched, which may be uncomfortable for some gamers.
- Slow movement speed of characters. For sure, the speed remains the same, but if playing on such a screen size, it will be perceived as slower.
- Motion accuracy. It’s one of the most critical advantages that determines players’ reactions to sudden actions during the game.
However, such a resolution may have several cons that make the game uncomfortable for somebody:
- Low FPS. As mentioned before, low-performance PCs may decrease the number of frames per second.
- Small models. The CS: GO resolution on a small monitor will make the characters look smaller.
Overall, such a screen size remains the most widely used by gamers because of the superiority of advantages over disadvantages.
4:3
There are 2 options for using this screen ratio: with black stripes and without. With 4:3, the image is stretched to full screen, and the field of view (FOV) will be smaller. Such CS: GO resolution is used by the pro players, who primarily think about comfortable playing, not the graphics. However, there are many disputes about the efficiency of its use.
So, the apparent advantages are the following:
- Easy to aim. The enemy visually becomes extended due to image deformation, and the player starts moving the mouse faster, maintaining the vertical speed. This extension increases the size of the player models on the monitor.
- Higher FPS. Due to making the picture wider and decreasing the image quality of the game objects, the CPU load will fall, and the PC will provide more FPS.
But the objective cons make ordinary CS: GO players choose 16:9. The disadvantages are the following:
- Small FOV. The screen expansion is efficient because of the presence of bigger objects, but in fact, they appear on an increased physical area of the screen. The same goal may be achieved by purchasing a bigger monitor.
- Lack of visible playing field (if using 4:3 with black stripes). The unnecessary screen dimming only decreases the monitor’s functionality.
- Possible “Input Lag.” It may lead to a delay in the image’s display if using such a resolution.
Overall, the extended image may not be efficient for playing due to the possible inconveniences it may provide.
Comparison of 16:9 and 4:3
So, let’s analyze the features of 2 most popular CS: GO resolutions and draw a logical conclusion.
| Feature | 16:9 | 4:3 |
| FPS | – | + |
| FOV | + | – |
| Motion accuracy | + | – |
| Possible lags | Unavailable | Available |
As we see, 16:9 is more comfortable for playing and provides minimum inconveniences for concentration on the game.
What do Sportsmen Say?
Many professional CS: GO players play at 4:3 because most started their careers with games where such a ratio was the priority. In Counter-Strike 1.6, which was pegged to 4:3, there was an opposite clipping effect – using 16:9 cut the top and bottom parts of the image without affecting the horizontal. So everyone used 4:3 and transferred their habits to CS: GO, making novice players start copying the settings of the sportsmen. Nicolai dev1ce Reedtz once spoke about such a question on his Twitter:
“Making changes to the settings can complicate the playing process, and the players may lose the game’s feel. However, that is not the point. Everyone should play on what is most convenient for him.”
Many pro gamers such as s1mple, ZywOo, dev1ce, coldzera, NiKo, electroNic, B1t, and others use 4:3 CS: GO resolution. However, ropz and many other professionals prefer playing at 16:9.
Choosing a comfortable CS: GO resolution is essential for better concentration on the game. The 16:9 ratio is considered better due to its apparent advantages, such as higher FOV, better motion accuracy, and absence of lags. However, everybody has specific preferences for the game settings – each player perceives the image on the screen differently. So, it’s necessary to understand the peculiarities of playing at both 16:9 and 4:3 and establish the most convenient ratio.
