How To Get Stretched Resolution In CS2

The stretched resolution is one of the main resolutions used by Counter-Strike players. In fact, the CS:GO stretched resolution is the most popular type, used by nearly half of the professional players in Counter-Strike. Interested? Here’s everything you need to know about stretched mode and how to get stretched res CS:GO. 

What Is Stretched Resolution?

The term “stretched resolution” in CS:GO refers to changing your display settings, including the aspect ratio and resolution. When people play on a stretched resolution, they refer to an aspect ratio of 4:3, compared to the default aspect ratio of 16:9. 

4:3 is the most popular type of display resolution in the professional CS:GO scene. However, the 4:3 aspect ratio will display less of your screen than 16:9.

Benefits Of Stretched Resolutions

Seeing less of the screen sounds like you are griefing yourself, so why do most professional players use it?

The first benefit of a CS:GO stretched resolution is they increase your frames per second. Since less of the screen is being displayed, there is a lower load on your computer, resulting in a noticeable increase in performance. Playing on stretched is highly recommended if you are on a potato PC. 

However, professionals are decked out with top-tier gaming gear, so that performance couldn’t be the reason. The number one reason players use stretched is because the player models in the game become wider, making enemy players easier to hit. It becomes much easier for players to hit headshots and AWP shots since there is more room for their bullets to connect.

Though this sounds like a game-breaking advantage, it’s nothing new, and of course, you cannot get banned for something like this. Enemy bodies being wider has been known for decades in Counter-Strike, and professional players are “abusing” this with the knowledge of Valve. Don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble. 

Biggest Drawback Of Stretched Resolutions

The main drawback of a stretched resolution is seeing less of the screen, which gives an advantage for players using 16:9. Since there is less area being covered on your screen, players using 4:3 will often miss out on what’s happening on the left and right side of their display.

This is why you might have seen professional players miss an enemy player on their left or right, even though the player is clearly visible on the broadcasting screen. This is referred to as a “4:3 moment” and is the only reason not to use a stretched resolution.

Still, players argue that they play better when stretched since the screen is smaller, and they can put all their focus easier than on a widescreen. 

How To Use Stretched Resolution

In this section, we’ll guide you through the necessary steps of how to make CS:GO stretched.

Step 1: Changing The Aspect Ratio In Counter-Strike

The first step to getting a CS:GO stretched resolution is pretty straightforward. We will change the in-game resolution settings in the CS:GO client. 

Here is the step-by-step procedure for doing so:

1. Launch Counter-Strike like you normally would.
2. Go to your CS:GO settings, and head over to the “Video” section.
3. Next, change your “Aspect Ratio” to “Normal 4:3”.
4. Also, ensure your “Display Mode” is set to “Fullscreen”.
5. Finally, click “Apply Changes” on the bottom right to save your changes.

Now, for most users, you will notice that CS:GO will display the game with black bars instead of stretching your screen, which is the opposite of what you are looking to achieve. If your computer has managed to immediately apply a stretched resolution, lucky for you, you can skip step two. 

Though a handful of professional players play with black bars like this, this is not what we want, as it is not a stretched resolution. If you don’t want black bars, proceed to the second step.

Step 2: Changing Computer Display Settings

To fix the black bars problem, we must take a few extra steps. First, we must go to the NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Radeon Software, depending on what brand of graphics card you are using. There, we will tweak our display settings to ensure they are compatible with playing a stretched resolution on CS:GO. 

How To Play Stretched Res CS:GO NVIDIA

This method will only work if you are using an NVIDIA graphics card.

Follow the steps carefully so you don’t get lost:

1. Hit your Windows Key and search for “NVIDIA Control Panel”.
2. In the NVIDIA Control Panel, look for the “Display” settings, where a handful of options can be seen below it.
3. Look for “Adjust Desktop Size and Position” and head over there. 
4. Select your main monitor that you use to play CS:GO (only if you are running double monitors).
5. Then, under the “Scaling” option, select “Full-screen”.

Once you save your changes, your display settings will immediately be updated, and you should have solved the question of how to stretch CS:GO resolutions.

How To Play CS:GO Stretched Windows 10 AMD

This method will only work if you are using an AMD graphics card. The process is a little lengthier than NVIDIA’s one, so bear with us.

1. Hit your Windows Key and search for “AMD Radeon Software”.
2. Click on the “Gear” settings icon on the top right corner. 
3. Next, go to the “Display” section. 
4. Then, click on “Custom Resolutions” and accept the agreement displayed on your screen.
5. Fill in the custom resolution with your desired resolution. 
6. Once completed, head back to the “Display” section and turn on “GPU Scaling”.
7. Next, set your scaling mode to “Full Panel”.
8. Exit the AMD application and open your Windows Display Settings. 
9. Under “Scale & Layout”, change your “Display Resolution” to what you have set your AMD resolution to. 

It’s a pretty complicated process, but to ensure the stretched resolution works properly, check if you are using the same resolution on your CS:GO client, AMD software, and Windows Display Settings. 

Best Stretched Resolutions

If you’re unsure of which stretched resolution values to choose from. We’re here to help.

Professional players are mainly using three stretched resolutions:

Simply put, here is how you can determine which stretched resolution to use:

• Good PC, and want a stretched resolution? Use 1280×960.
• Low-end PC, and want a stretched resolution? Use 1024×768.
• Mid-range PC, and want a stretched resolution? Use 1152×864.

In conclusion, stretched resolution is the most popular type of aspect ratio and resolution, mainly used by professionals and players with low-end computers who need a performance boost. The advantage of enemies appearing wider is massive, and can help players land shots easily. However, they are sacrificing parts of their screen in exchange. There’s always benefits and drawbacks to everything, so we’ll let you decide, click here to learn about which resolution is best in more detail.