What NOVA changes for Counter-Strike 2, the launch options worth using and the ones to skip, and how to measure the difference on your own PC.
No FPS promise here: what CS2 gains depends on how your PC is set up today. NOVA shows what's holding it back, then measures before and after.
01Before you play: anti-cheat
If CS2 won't start, check these first. NOVA's Checkup reads each of them on your PC and tells you which one is off; switching them on happens in your BIOS or Windows Security, and NOVA shows the steps.
Anti-cheat
Needs
Source
FACEIT (if you play on FACEIT)
TPM 2.0 (since November 25, 2025), and Memory Integrity on PCs where its anti-cheat asks for it
NOVA never runs inside a game, reads its memory or changes its program files. The optional controller and mouse overclock installs a signed USB driver; check the game's rules first. How NOVA stays out of games →
02What NOVA changes for CS2
These are in Tweaks, off until you switch them on. Each edits CS2's own settings file, only while the game is closed: the same change as its video menu, made for you. Your current value is backed up first; switch it off and it goes back.
in-game V-Sync off
B · Measured by one lab or tester
Turns off V-Sync in the game's own settings, which holds each frame until the next refresh and adds input lag. With G-SYNC, use NVIDIA's G-SYNC setup instead of in-game V-Sync. Close the game first.
Exactly what it changesIn cs2_video.txt for each Steam account (userdata\<account>\730\local\cfg\cs2_video.txt under the Steam folder named by HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam SteamPath), sets the existing "setting.mat_vsync" value to "0" (no line is added if it's missing). Nothing is changed while cs2.exe is running.
Plus everything that isn't game-specific: Windows, power, network and input settings, and Game Boost, which applies per-game settings each time CS2 runs and puts the PC back when you close it. Every tweak →
03Launch options, rated
Guides still pass these around. NOVA's Games page shows the same verdicts for CS2: Use, Your choice, Test (prove it on your PC) or Skip.
Option
Verdict
Why
+fps_max <refresh − 3>
Your choice
Caps the frame rate (the fps_max console command). With a G-SYNC or FreeSync monitor, a cap a few frames under the refresh rate keeps every frame inside its range; with NVIDIA Reflex and V-Sync on, Reflex caps by itself. 0 removes the cap.
-allow_third_party_software
Your choice
Lets capture and overlay tools hook the game (some OBS game-capture setups, NVIDIA filters) by turning off Trusted Mode. Valve lowers your Trust Factor with it, so only use it if a tool you need doesn't work.
-high
Test
Starts the game at High CPU priority, the same as NOVA's per-game option. No lab has measured a gain; prove it on your PC before keeping it.
-novid
Skip
CS2 opens without Valve's intro, so there's nothing to skip.
-tickrate 128
Skip
Only affects servers you host yourself. Matchmaking servers run CS2's sub-tick at their own rate.
-threads
Skip
The engine picks its own thread count; no measured gain from setting one.
04Measure it on your PC
Benchmark › Proof mode runs the same test before and after a change and tells you whether the difference is real or within the noise, including when it made none.
The in-game overlay shows FPS and frame time in a corner of CS2, drawn in its own window, without touching the game.
History lists every change NOVA made, with undo for each, or Revert all.
NOVAOne price, no subscription. Try it in your browser first: nothing changes on your PC.
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