Stuttering while playing CS2 can be caused by many different things, and its often incredibly hard to pinpoint the exact reason. If the stuttering is network-related, then it could be down to your internet connection. However, when it comes to performance-related stuttering, it’s more commonly related to your graphical settings, software, and hardware.

It can be a good idea to verify that your system specifications live up to the minimum system requirements of CS2 before attempting any further fixes or tweaks. If your PC does not meet the minimum requirements to run the game, you’ll likely run into issues regardless, and the fixes might not help you solve your CS2 stuttering issues. As long as your PC meets the minimum requirements, and preferably the recommended requirements, keep reading to learn more.

There are several ways to improve stuttering issues in CS2, and potentially even eliminate the problem entirely. Here are our top fixes to improve CS2 stuttering:

Make sure you’ve set the game to fullscreen mode as this gives the game full ownership of your display and will allocate the full resources of your graphics card to the game itself.

To do this, simply follow these steps: 

1. Go to Settings
2. Navigate to the “Video” tab
3. Find “Display Mode”
4. Set to “Fullscreen”

The screenshot shows the Display Mode set to Fullscreen in CS2

With each new video game launch, new graphics drivers are released to optimize the graphic card’s performance accordingly. Therefore, updating your graphics drivers is something every player should do at least once a month or so.

Updating your graphics drivers is a simple process, where all you have to do is: 

1. Navigate to your graphic card manufacturer’s website
2. Navigate to “Drivers”
3. Download the drivers corresponding to your specific graphics card

Updating your graphics card can also easily be done via official tools such as GeForce Experience if you are using an Nvidia card or AMD Software: Adrenaline Edition for AMD cards.

Issues related to performance such as low framerates and stuttering can often be fixed by simply turning down your graphics in the video settings. If you are currently playing on high settings, try turning them down to medium, or medium to low, etc. You can also try turning down the anti-aliasing, or even reducing your resolution if you’re willing to put up with strongly reduced image quality. Try out different settings and see what works best for your PC.

The screenshot shows advanced video settings in CS2

It might be worth verifying the integrity of your Steam files, to ensure there are no missing files in your game, potentially causing issues like stuttering.

To do so:

1. Open Steam and go to your library. 
2. Right-click on CS2, click on “Properties”, and navigate to the “Installed Files” tab. 
3. From there press the “Verify integrity of game files” button. This will start a process that checks your game’s files and makes sure you aren’t missing any important files needed to play the game. This process will usually take about 2-3 minutes.

The screenshot shows how to “verify the integrity of game files” for your CS2 install

Make sure you don’t have any programs running in the background that could be causing performance issues. Typical programs that can sometimes affect performance are VPNs, firewalls, anti-virus programs, clipping software, browsers, and other games. If you do have any of these open in the background, try closing them and re-launching CS2. Make sure you fully exit out of the programs, don’t just minimize them.

By applying these fixes, you should hopefully be able to reduce your stuttering and improve overall performance in CS2. Stay tuned for more guides, tips, and tricks for CS2.