Wall of text ahead, if you only want the conclusion, scroll down to the bottom of the article.

First came CS, then came the question “Do your peripherals impact your game?”. The Answer is often given in a trivial, condescending way: Obviously not! You will not get better just because your monitor has 144 hertz instead of just 60.

Today we will try to answer the question of Hardware v.s. Ingame Performance in a theoretical way.

To do so, we must first define what exactly we mean when we talk about Ingame Performance. In this article “Ingame Performance” refers to the performance of a player inside of the game CS (or almost any computer game for that matter). This does not include the performance of the game itself on said hardware, like FPS.

To answer the question if hardware can raise your Ingame Performance(I-P), we will reverse-engineer the question to see what kind of factors are potentially holding back your I-P:

Reduced comfort Slow reaction time(PC) Slow reaction time(Player) Predictability

Let me break down how these factors can cause you to perform worse than you could:

1. Reduced Comfort:

In controlled studies in 2005, it has been found that clothing comfort does directly impact cognitive performance.

“This study provides further evidence of a relationship between perceived clothing comfort and cognitive performance.”

Due to cognitive skills taking a huge role in playing CS:GO, it is obvious that things impacting cognitive performance will also impact your I-P.

This impact on I-P is not exclusive to clothing comfort, and other types of comfort will impact your performance in various other ways.

2. Slow reaction time(PC):

It is obvious that every bit of input-lag that a piece of hardware provides will cause you a slight disadvantage.

Imagine that you have a fair gunfight against an enemy while both of you have the average reaction time of 271 milliseconds. If both of you click mouse1 at the same time, but you have a piece of hardware, let’s say your mouse, that adds a delay, your PC will send the signal that you shot later than the PC of the enemy did, causing him to shoot first in this scenario, even though you both had the same base reaction time.

3. Slow reaction time(Player):

As we have established, reaction times dictate a big part of how your duels will go. If the player has a slow reaction time, maybe due to him not being able to recognize player models fast enough on their screen, then he is at a disadvantage due to the enemy probably having a slower reaction time than he could have had.

4. Predictability:

In fast-paced and action-packed shooters like CS:GO it is important to be able to predict where the model is going to be before it actually moves to said point. When tracing enemies, most of us are not actually keeping our crosshair on the model, but we’re rather using our ability to predict where the model will most likely move to so that we don’t have to rely on our impeccable aim and reaction time.

If you have a piece of unreliable hardware that causes your internet quality to fluctuate you may experience jumping models and lag, both of which gives the other players an advantage due to being unpredictable for you.

Finally, to prove that your hardware has an impact on your in-game performance, I will list all kinds of hardware that can cause the aforementioned disadvantages. Those hardwares include, but are not limited to:

Peripherals(Mice and Keyboards)

CPU, GPU and other computer components impacting actual pc performance

Monitors

Audio devices

Peripherals:

A lot of things happen inside of a peripheral device like a mouse. First, the button is pressed, then the mouse sends a signal through its cable that is deciphered by your computer via a driver, which then has to travel through the internet to meet the server you’re playing on (highly simplified). During this, a lot of factors can slow down the reaction time of your PC. For example: If the driver of the mouse is slow then your shot will be delayed. Also, some mice have a built-in acceleration that is more often than not unreliable, leaving your shot at the mercy of luck if you flicked hard enough. So Peripherals can not only cause input lag, but the quality of the projected movement can also fluctuate. Additionally, depending on the size and structure of the peripherals, some people might get distracted or annoyed by their peripherals, which causes them to lose focus due to missing comfort.

For example: If the driver of the mouse is slow then your shot will be delayed. Also, some mice have a built-in acceleration that is more often than not unreliable, leaving your shot at the mercy of luck if you flicked hard enough. So Peripherals can not only cause input lag, but the quality of the projected movement can also fluctuate. Additionally, depending on the size and structure of the peripherals, some people might get distracted or annoyed by their peripherals, which causes them to lose focus due to missing comfort.

CPU, GPU and co.:

The more FPS the better. If you have 100 FPS and your monitor shows you 50 hertz, which is the monitor equivalent to 50 fps, then you’ll receive the information that your PC tries to show you later than if you would have 200 FPS, due to the gap that exists between the production of the frame and the monitor updating the image being about half the size with 200 fps than it was with 100 fps. Keep in mind that the stability of the FPS flow that the computer produces normally fluctuates quite a bit, so the gaps between frame and image update are not always of the same size, even if you’d have around 100 frames every second.This means that having more FPS favours you because you will have smaller gaps between the information reaching you and the actual state of the game on the server. Moreover, components slowing down the internet or using WI-FI instead of an internet cable can also cause your signal to slow down on its way to the server.

This means that having more FPS favours you because you will have smaller gaps between the information reaching you and the actual state of the game on the server. Moreover, components impacting the internet or if you’re using WI-FI instead of an internet cable can also cause your signal to slow down on its way to the server.

Monitors:

Similarly to FPS, more hertz means fewer gaps between pieces of information. On top of that, a good monitor should help you distinguish even small colour and tone differences to help you spot enemy models and hints, like blood splatters, faster.

Audio devices:

Similar to other peripherals, like mice and keyboards, choosing a good headset can be just as important in improving your I-P. A good driver will deliver high-quality audio, making it easy for you to listen for footsteps. Parted with good hardware, like the small speakers inside of the over-ear shells of headsets, will help keep out outside noise as well as keep up the high-quality audio. Comfort also plays a role in this one, as you’re wearing headsets on your head. You’ll lose comfort and therefore focus if the material of the headsets chafes.

Conclusion

Nice! According to this article, I can just get new gear and become global in a minute, right?

Wrong. Even though I have said that these things hold your I-P back, this does not mean that you will instantly outfrag everyone on the server. First, you will need to get used to the new feeling your gear or hardware provides, then you will need to be able to use said new advantage. It is one thing to have more FPS and a higher hertz, it is a completely different thing to see the enemy and shoot him, compared to just dying because you saw him too late before you had high FPS and hertz.

In the end, it’s not that you couldn’t perform well when a few pieces of hardware hold you back. AdreN has the nickname “clutch king with a hundred ping” because he used to play with very high ping and still win clutches against his pro opposition.

The only thing that changes with better hardware is the skill ceiling, not your skill. If you eliminate all the things holding you back you will soon find an increase in performance, if you work hard enough.