Best Resolution and Aspect Ratio for CS:GO - Perfect Display Settings 2021

Is there actually a best resolution and aspect ratio for CS:GO that can help players improve? Well, the answer is definitely not a simple yes or a no. So let's try to understand what exactly are the perfect display settings that can help in improving your overall experience. There are still misconceptions in 2021 around certain CS:GO resolutions that give players a significant advantage, but in reality, there is no actual “Best Resolution”. There are just different resolutions and aspect ratios that have their own slight benefits and drawbacks, which you can select as per your preferences. However, there are common choices that many, including professional CS:GO players usually adopt and perform well with.

We will help you in finding the best resolution and aspect ratio which will improve your CS:GO gaming experience. You will automatically witness an increment in your level of performance, by assisting yourself in finding the perfect display settings that work well with your system, style of gameplay, and comfort.

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Display Settings CS:GO 2021 - Best Resolution And Aspect Ratio

What does resolution mean?

Resolution is the number of pixels visible on a monitor. The more pixels a resolution has, the clearer and sharper the image will be. This is expressed in two numbers for Width and Height. So a 1280x720 resolution means 1280 pixels displayed for the width and 720 pixels displayed for the height.

What does aspect ratio mean?

The aspect ratio is the ratio of a display’s width to its height. It is commonly expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. These aspect ratios are designed to handle specific resolutions. So in CS:GO’s case, a 4:3 aspect ratio means the game will be displayed at 4 units wide and 3 units high. An example of a resolution in 4:3 aspect ratio is 1280x960.

Best Aspect Ratios For CS:GO

4:3

4:3 is the most popular aspect ratio among the professional CS:GO players.

Pros:

• Will make your game run at a higher FPS especially on lower-end computers.
  
  
• You can choose to play with black bars or with a stretched scaling mode.
  
  
• Useful in getting the most out of old or lower refresh rate monitors. In some monitors, lower resolutions may make the game display smoother.
  
  
• Player models will seem to look wider (only if using stretched scaling mode).

Cons: 

• Limits your Field of Vision. (you will see less sideways, on your left-right).
  
  
• Monitors perform slightly better when used in their native resolution, which is commonly 16:9. This may lead to some display issues for a few users.

16:9

16:9 is the most common aspect ratio for monitors in general. It is the native resolution and is the default for most monitors.

Pros:

• Higher FOV (Field Of Vision) than 4:3 (you will see more sideways, on your left-right).
  
  
• The game will not look stretched (It is a personal preference if you like this or not).

Cons: 

• The game will run at a lower fps in comparison to it running on a 4:3 aspect ratio.
  
  
• There will be no Black Bars on the sides of your monitor. This is once again a personal preference, depending on whether you like this or not.

Best Resolutions For CS:GO

1280x960 ; 4:3

The most popular resolution used by professional CS:GO players is 1280x960, along with an aspect ratio of 4:3. A few notable players that use this display combination are Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, Marcelo "coldzera" David, Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken, and many more.

1024x768 ; 4:3

The second most popular resolution used by pros is 1024x768, again alone with the 4:3 aspect ratio. This is a slightly lower resolution than 1280x960 and will make the game look a bit more pixelated. A few professional players who use this combination are İsmail “XANTARES" Dörtkardeş, David "frozen" Čerňanský, Dzhami "Jame" Ali, Valdemar "valde" Vangså, and more.

1920x1080 ; 16:9

This is the native resolution of most monitors. It is the sharpest and clearest among the 3 resolution and aspect ratio combinations mentioned here. This is also the most popular resolution which is used along with the 16:9 aspect ratio among professional CS:GO players. A few players that use this particular combination are Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz, Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis, Robin "ropz" Kool, and more.

Note: If you do not want to try each resolution, it might be best to experiment with the most popular resolution along with their respective popular aspect ratio combination - either 1290x960 (4:3) or 1920x1080(16:9)

Finding The Best Personal CS:GO Resolution

For all those players that would further like to see what resolution and aspect ratio suits them better personally. They can go ahead and take a look at the questionnaire provided below,

Q. Would you want your game stretched vertically (wider)?

If yes, then you will most likely want to use a 4:3 aspect ratio with a stretched scaling mode. 

Q. Do you like having black bars on the sides of your screen?

If yes, then you will most likely want to use a 4:3 Aspect ratio. This apparently makes it easier for a player to focus on a particular angle in-game. 

Q. Do you have a low specification system?

If yes, then you will most likely want to use a 4:3 aspect ratio, with a 1024x768 resolution, or a 16:9 aspect ratio with a 1280x800 resolution. 

In conclusion, some of the best display setting combinations for CS:GO are 4:3 aspect ratio along with 1024x768 resolution or 16:9 aspect ratio along with the native resolution of your monitor, which would most likely be 1920x1080. These are the 2 common standard, but if they are not working for you then another combination can be tried from the ones mentioned above.

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