Graphic Cards GPU Upgrade Advice for CS2 & Valorant (Preferably Second-Hand)

Well I asked because I thought since it was driver related (for NVIDIA) things could have changed since then, even if the hardware is same. Also since we are talking about scheduling here does HAGS (Hardware accelerated GPU scheduling) come into play or not? Maybe OP can try both on and off and see which gives him more stable FPS.
None the less it seems like AMD GPUs are the way to go for builds with weaker processor.
There is not software setting solution to this so imo drivers cannot change this. This is the boundary of my understanding. Have a look at the video pinned in the first pinned comment of this video for greater technical understanding:
 
There is not software setting solution to this so imo drivers cannot change this. This is the boundary of my understanding. Have a look at the video pinned in the first pinned comment of this video for greater technical understanding:
You are right. I found this video from one year ago (skip to 11:00) showing that the driver overhead from NVIDIA side is still there. Why the guy did his tests in 1440p for some reason I don't know.
 
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You are right. I found this video from one year ago (skip to 11:00) showing that the driver overhead from NVIDIA side is still there. Why the guy did his tests in 1440p for some reason I don't know.
Yup. he would see even more driver overhead at 1080p. and even more if using older cpu than Ryzen 1700; like me with my i5 6600k. I was actually about to sell my PC if it was not for the video. Every suggestion I got was its ancient and you cant just pair an old cpu with a modern GPU. Of course depending on the use case, balance can be important. But for my system whose only job is to run GPU dependent AAA titles in 1440p, even my second GPU RX 6800 (16gb) runs great with the same cpu not getting bottlenecked in most titles. !! 1% lows have seen the max improvement for me. No more stutters.
 
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cs2 became very intensive unlike csgo. The resolution you play also matters very much. what resolution do you play at?
I completely agree with you! CS2 is way more demanding compared to CSGO. I play at 720p low settings , and on maps like Mirage, Dust 2, and Nuke, I can easily get 100+ FPS. But on maps like Ancient and Edin, my FPS drops significantly—I can barely get a constant 40 FPS. It's crazy how much the performance varies between maps.
What is your monitor actually capable of?
1080p @120hz
 
I completely agree with you! CS2 is way more demanding compared to CSGO. I play at 720p low settings , and on maps like Mirage, Dust 2, and Nuke, I can easily get 100+ FPS. But on maps like Ancient and Edin, my FPS drops significantly—I can barely get a constant 40 FPS. It's crazy how much the performance varies between maps.

1080p @120hz
A better GPU, as suggested earlier, will let you play at 1080p and simultaneously take a great load off the CPU. 720p on something like CS2 with that processor = a shitshow.
 
A better GPU, as suggested earlier, will let you play at 1080p and simultaneously take a great load off the CPU. 720p on something like CS2 with that processor = a shitshow.
Oh, I know exactly what a shitshow it is—I can barely tell if I’m shooting an enemy or a smudge on my screen

And a big thanks to everyone who pitched in with suggestions! Now I actually have a clear image (literally and figuratively) of which GPUs to look for.