How to Create Your Own CSGO Config

In CS:GO there are a lot of different configuration options. Professional players usually prefer their own CS:GO Config. But just because someone uses a config of a professional player does not mean that he is better. There are recommended values that you can set, but you will not experience an extreme skill boost.

An own CS:GO Config is useful in any case, because the right settings can improve the gameplay significantly! From ESL there are only a few guidelines that you should follow so that you play fair. The CS:GO Config is therefore not a hack or similar and you can not get a VAC Ban.

CS:GO Config Template

You can download CSGO configs to get started faster, and tweak it from there. This is a lot faster than creating your own from scratch.

Just copy the CS:GO Config (autoexec.cfg) into the Steam folder “[…]/Steam / SteamApps / common / Counter-Strike Global Offensive / csgo / cfg” and then open it with a text editor like Notepad++. CS:GO should load the config automatically if you follow the steps below. To really create a config that is tailored to your needs you can delete everything that is in the file and then add the commands you need and will get to know in the course of this article. Only the buyscript at the end of the Config you can simply take over because this is not treated in this article.

Is 4:3 resolution better than 16:9?

Opinions are divided on whether a 4:3 resolution or a 16:9 resolution is better. Clear answer: It simply depends on what you can play with best. Personally, I like a 4:3 resolution a bit better because the entire HUD (which we’ll talk about later) is closer to the center of the screen and the player models are a bit wider, so I can see and aim them better. On the other hand, the decisive advantage of a 16:9 resolution is of course that you have a wider field of view. This allows you to capture enemies that simply wouldn’t appear in the field of view in a 4:3 resolution.

Optimize Steam launch options for CS:GO

Just add these startup options to your startup parameters in Steam:

+exec autoexec.cfg -novid -console -high -threads 4 -refresh 120 -tickrate 128 -noborder

These commands disable the intro, enable the console, optimize the processor for CS:GO and prioritize the game to 4 CPU cores (please adjust if you have a dual- or hex-core ). Also the tickrate is set to 128.

Activate console

Now that we have activated the console via the startup options in Steam, we want to bind it to a key. This is useful because over the console pretty much everything can be controlled and set! For this we need the following commands:

con_enable "1" // enable console
bind "F5" "toggleconsole" // bind console

Adjust graphics settings

These settings adjust the video settings so that you can see your opponents better and the game runs smoother locally. In this example, we are working with a monitor brightness of 1.8, which is still relatively moderate. Many gamers use a much lower value in their CS:GO config to be able to see opponents better in dark corners.

mat_setvideomode 1280 1024 0 // Resolution 4:3 stretched
mat_monitorgamma "1.8" // 1.6=brightest 2.6=darkest
mat_monitorgamma_tv_enabled "0" // Gamma settings for TV
mat_queue_mode "-1" // Multi-core rendering detection
mat_savechanges // write video settings to registry
fps_max 128 // set FPS

Adjusting audio settings

With the commands used here, the volume of the different sources can be controlled. For example, I have deactivated the music completely in my config, because it only disturbs me. Furthermore you can adjust the CS:GO Config exactly to your hardware. I recommend the following article from c0ldmt: CSGO Soundguide

volume 0.1 // min=0 max=1 - General volume.
snd_musicvolume 0 // min=0 max=1 - music volume.
voice_scale 1 // min=0 max=1 - voice volume.
snd_mixahead 0.05 // Size of the sound buffer.
windows_speaker_config 5 // 5.1 headphones

Adjusting netsettings

Now we come to a set of commands that are really important for a smooth gameplay – the netsettings. I can’t go into the exact explanation of these commands in this article because that would go beyond the scope of this article. It is important that you understand that there are 2 versions of the game. One is what you play locally and the other is what runs on the server. In between there is a delay of about 100 milliseconds and so it can happen that you see blood but give 0 damage. To make the games run as synchronous as possible we set the tickrate to the highest possible: 128.

Attention: These commands are only valid for servers with a tickrate of 128! If you play mostly matchmaking, a tickrate of 64 is appropriate.

Another useful command is the last one in this example. This sets a maximum ping for matchmaking servers you use. Of course, it’s best if everyone on your team has this command in their config.

rate "80000" // for fast DSL lines starting from 6000
cl_cmdrate "128" // set tick rate
cl_updaterate "128" // set tick rate
cl_interp "0" // lerp (interpolation time)
mm_dedicated_search_maxping "70" // max. ping for matchmaking server

HUD, radar, weapon position and netgraph

With the above commands, many things in the HUD are optimized to lead to better usability. You see more because the field of view is not blocked, you have only the most important indicators placed on the screen and you know what’s going on on the map because you can see the radar better. I recommend you simply adjust these commands as you would like. For me this HUD is optimal in any case and by the faded in netgraph I can always check if my game, the server and my internet connection are running properly.

//HUD
hud_scaling "0.6" // HUD size
cl_hud_background_alpha "0.8" // transparency min=0 max=1
cl_hud_bomb_under_radar "0" // Position bomb icon
cl_hud_color "3" // HUD color (1-10)
cl_hud_healthammo_style "1" // Life and armor indicator
cl_hud_playercount_pos "1" // Player count position
cl_hud_playercount_showcount "1" // Show only player count (no avatars)
cl_showloadout "1" // Show inventory permanently

//RADAR
cl_radar_always_centered 0 // Always center radar
cl_radar_scale 0.35 // Radar scaling
cl_radar_icon_scale_min 0.5 // Radar icon scaling
cl_hud_radar_scale 1.3 // Radar size

//WEAPON POS
viewmodel_presetpos "0" // Reset weapon position
viewmodel_offset_x "0" // Weapon position x
viewmodel_offset_y "-2" // Weapon position y
viewmodel_offset_z "-2" // Position of weapon z
viewmodel_fov "30
cl_righthand "1" // carry weapon on the right side
cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt "0.5" // Reduces the wobble of the weapon
cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt "0.5" // Reduces the wobble of the weapon
cl_bobamt_lat "0.1"
cl_bobamt_vert "0.1"
cl_bobcycle "0.1"
cl_bob_lower_amt "0"

//NETGRAPGH
net_graph 1 // Show netgraph
net_graphproportionalfont "0"
net_graphheight 990 // Height positioning
net_graphpos 1 // Positioning

Crosshair and mouse settings

These two factors are extremely dependent on your preferences and therefore there are no perfect settings for these two settings. I recommend you to have a look our aiming or mouse guide for more info.

Disable CS:GO hints and help

What’s really annoying is when you’re playing CS:GO and all of a sudden some hints come from CS:GO about how to pick up a weapon or find your way to the bomb site. I simply disabled this and other annoying things with the following commands. Of course you should adjust them to your own needs!

cl_autohelp "0" // disable ingame popups
cl_showhelp "0" // disable ingame popups
cl_autowepswitch "0" // disable auto switch to picked up weapon
cl_forcepreload "1" // Forces the game to load all the sound and art assets on map load.
cl_disablehtmlmotd "1" // disables those annoying ads when connecting to a server
cl_disablefreezecam "1" // Disables the annoying camera freeze on death
r_drawtracers_firstperson "0" // disables tracers in your point of view. Enemy tracers are still visible

Conclusion

In this article I gave you a short overview of the most important commands for your config, but of course there is much more you can do! In my config I use for example a buy script for faster shopping and I “bound” text messages. If you want to see how the other professional CS:GO configs looks like you should have a look at this website. Let us know your CSGO config tips and tricks down in the comments!