4:3 vs. 16:9 – Which resolution is better in CS:GO?

Especially in competitive FPS games like Counter-Strike, VALORANT or Rainbow Six: Siege, players have been tinkering with different settings for a long time. Crosshair settings like colour and size, mouse sensivity or graphic settings may seem insignificant at first but can have a huge impact if optimized correctly.

There are loads and loads of different opinions on the internet. Even the professional Counter-Strike scene is split on the matter.

The basics

Almost every video game these days is designed for the standard resolution of 1920×1080 pixels (Full HD). This resolution has a width to height ratio of 16:9. Such proportions are commonly called aspect ratio. Of course this aspect ratio is not tied to this particular resolution and can occur on a lot of others like 4K UHD or 8k UHD.

The majority of games are played in this 16:9 aspect ratio. But for FPS games the focus should be on gameplay and performance, not on looks and graphics. For that reason a lot of players are switching between different aspect ratios.

Alongside the common 16:9 aspect ratio other popular formats are 4:3, 16:10 and 5:4. The closer the numbers are to each other the closer you are to reaching a square with the ratio 1:1.

Since the image shrinks towards the middle if you choose a more square resolution you will get black bars at the sides. Lots of players choose to work around those black bars by stretching the image accross the entire screen. This is called a stretched resolution.

Playing with stretched resolution was already done when Counter Strike: Global Offensive was just released. Ninjas in Pyjamas legend GeT_RiGhT has won a lot of tournaments with this weird looking setting and caused it to get a lot of attention.

But you can not apply all of these settings in the game. Usally you have to configurate your monitor with the options of your graphics card. NVIDIA users just have to right click on their desktop to tinker with that setting.

Field of view und graphics

So is it worth switching your standard resolution? We took a closer look at the two most common aspect ratios 16:9 and 4:3.

The 16:9 format has a significant advantage over the shrinked in ratios. Since the image is wider you will have a larger field of view allowing you to see enemies at the border of the screen. Since the image is cut off for 4:3 players they can not see what is going on at the edge of the screen. This has happened several times in the professional play and can cause incidents like these:

Of course the aspect ratio with the higher amount of pixels will have better looks as well. But this is not important for fast shooters as many players prefer to have worse graphics if it helps their gameplay. Especially your framerate can benefit from having fewer pixels. However the image will become more pixelated the lower you set the resolution.

Since the 4:3 aspect ratio shows a smaller image section, you are able to focus on a single point more easily. This “tunnel vision” can help you concentrate on the important points in the game. Especially professional players appreciate this advantage over the 16:9 ratio.

Player models and movement

The main reason why players prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio is the change on the character models. The stretched resolution causes everything to appear bigger. The model for the player characters are almost 50% bigger with the stretched resolution. This will let you  have an easier time hitting enemies.

Theoretically the models are not bigger since everything displayed on screen is stretched as well. However we tend to focus only on the player models and ignore the environment giving this setting a huge advantage.

Because of the stretched elements the movement in the stretched 4:3 ratio feels faster and more fluid aswell. Especially while jumping or Bunnyhopping you will notice a difference and have a more dynamic gameplay experience. On top of that weapons are easier to control as well.

What are the pros’ opinions?

Settings will always be according to personal preference and have not caused players to have a significant advantage over the other party. But since a lot of CS:GO pros switched away from 16:9, you can not get rid of the suspicion that different resolutions might give an advantage.

However it has not been proven and a lot of professional players stick with the common 16:9 aspect ratio. Some pros have discovered some completely new formats for themselves with 16:10 or 5:4. The website Prosettings offers an overview of the knwon settings for all pro players.

Obviously just changing your settings will not help you to become the next s1mple. Just fiddle around with the settings to find one that is comfortable for your gameplay.

More CS:GO:

• CS:GO – Wallhack and other Console Commands for your Training Config
• CS:GO 101 – Tips on becoming a good AWPer
• Valve cracks down on griefers in CS:GO update

What is your favorite resolution? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord!

You can also help improve our website by submitting direct feedback!

Image Credit: Valve