XANTARES is a professional CS:GO player from Turkey. Also known as the “machine” by fans, XANTARES’ climb to the highest stages of the professional CS:GO scene has been one of the longest ones.
He started playing CS 1.6 around 2009 while he was still playing soccer in junior leagues. XANTARES slowly transitioned into playing more CS and started attending local tournaments where he began to make a name for himself.
His first international debut was in the 2014 Southeast Europe Championship and his performance gave him his ticket to play in the best stacks in the region. He joined Space Soldiers in 2015 and became the centerpiece of the squad in short time. Though the team wasn’t able to bring home a major trophy, their performance and strong showings against teams like SK Gaming put them on the map.
After securing a World Championship in 2016, XANTARES stayed with Space soldiers for two more years and later left to play for Berlin International Gaming as a rifler in 2018. Since his addition to the team, BIG has became one of the most dominant teams in Europe.
XANTARES’ viewership on Twitch has also increased in the meantime. His ability to switch between his comedic side and full tryhard mode depending on a match’s situation, making his streams a blast to watch and an educative experience.
If you’re looking to become as good as XANTARES or increase your stream’s quality to be on par with his, then copying his setup can be an excellent start. The following equipment allows XANTARES to always perform under prime conditions and increases the quality of his streams.
Mouse: BenQ ZOWIE FK 1
A decent gaming mouse is must-have equipment for all competitive CS:GO players. Their lower response time than over-the-counter mice lets them transition players’ inputs to the game in milliseconds, making reacting almost instantaneous.
XANTARES uses a ZOWIE FK 1, which is a popular choice in the professional CS:GO arena. The mouse’s sensor can poll up to 1,000 Hz and has a maximum DPI level of 3,200. Its ergonomic shape makes it an excellent choice for both left and right-handed users. The mouse features a total of five buttons that are fully programmable through Zowie’s software.
Measuring at 1.06 by 5.03 by 1.45 inches, the mouse only weighs 0.2 pounds, making it one of the lighter gaming mice on the market. Most seasoned CS:GO players prefer playing with lower sensitivities and a lighter mouse allows them to make up for their slow settings with sharp movements when they need to.
Mousepad: Logitech G640 Gaming Mousepad
While it may be tempting to slap your new mouse onto a wooden surface and get busy gaming right away, it’s potentially one of the worst things you can do to a new mouse. Hard surfaces are known for damaging the bottom surface of your mouse and the gliding experience will be lackluster at best.
XANTARES uses Logitech’s G640 gaming mousepad, one of the most straightforward mousepads you can find on the market. Sizing at 0.12 by 18.11 by 15.75 inches, the G640 has a smooth surface that favors speed. It still offers a more balanced gliding experience than its fastest rivals and it’s also sized more reasonably than the XXL options.
A mousepad like this allows XANTARES to have more space under his mouse, which he uses to perform flick shots or instant reactions without worrying about lifting his mouse.
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB MK.2
Like the best gaming mouse, a gaming keyboard also lowers the overall time that it takes for your actions to get picked up by games. Mechanical gaming keyboards accomplish this by featuring more sensitive switches and optimized boards specially designed for gaming.
XANTARES uses a Corsair K70 RGB MK.2, a mechanical gaming keyboard that offers five different switches. Gamers interested in this keyboard can choose between Cherry MX Red, Blue, Brown, Silent, and Speed switches. Though we don’t know what type of switches XANTARES decided to go with, MX Red’s undeniable advantage against the others in terms of gaming makes them a solid choice for anyone looking to use their keyboard for exclusively gaming.
MX Red switches are noticeably more sensitive than other switches on the market and feature a higher point of actuation, lowering the overall response rate even further.
Headset: Corsair Void Pro RGB USB 7.1 Gaming Headset
A decent gaming headset allows many mechanically gifted CS:GO players to take the next step in terms of in-game performance. It’s one of the primary sources that feeds players with information. Increasing your hearing range with a top-of-the-line gaming headset is one of the best things you can do to expand your range of effectiveness in a CS:GO match.
XANTARES uses Corsair’s Void Pro RGB 7.1 Gaming Headset. This Discord-certified headset features 50-millimeter drivers and comes with a 70-inch cable. The neodymium speaker drivers of the headset enhance the overall sound quality and accuracy.
The headset also boasts Dolby’s 7.1 surround multi-channel audio technology, allowing it to deliver a 7.1-grade audio experience, which helps CS:GO players to pinpoint the location of any incoming sound.
Void Pro’s unidirectional microphone allows XANTARES to interact with his chat and team with the best audio quality possible. The RGB backlights of the headset give it an aesthetic look.
Monitor: BenQ ZOWIE XL2540
Gaming headsets will help you locate your enemies, but only your monitor can save you in one-vs-one situations where both you and your enemy see each other at the same time. Gaming monitors’ low response rates and high refresh rates give gamers an advantage over their enemies that play with regular monitors by allowing them to see faster.
XANTARES uses a BenQ ZOWIE XL2540 gaming monitor, which features a 240 Hz refresh rate and a one-millisecond gray-to-gray (G2G) response time. This monitor enables XANTARES to use his reaction speeds without any limitations. The 24.5-inch monitor has a 1080p resolution, making it an excellent choice for esports usage. XL2540’s two shields work wonders to reduce glare by preventing sunlight from side windows that may hit your screen while gaming.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to match your monitor’s refresh rate in terms of frames-per-second (FPS) to unlock its full potential. If you can average 240 FPS or above, consider upgrading your hardware first before investing in a high refresh rate gaming monitor.
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
A graphics card is an essential piece for any gamer looking to level up their gaming performance since it directly affects the frame rates you’ll get.
XANTARES uses NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2080, one of the top-performing graphics cards in NVIDIA’s Turing microarchitecture line. Its boost clock speed of 1,710 MHz and eight GB of GDDR6 virtual RAM ensures that XANTARES never drops frames during the most crucial moments in a CS:GO match.
Though high-end GPUs like the RTX 2080 can look like overkill if you aren’t a streamer, investing in one can save you from the hassle of upgrading later on. Opting for the best will ultimately future proof your build.
Processor: Intel Core I9-9900K
Choosing the best graphics card on the market won’t mean anything unless you pair it with a just as strong CPU. Not doing so can cause your GPU to bottleneck and reduce your gaming performance in the process.
XANTARES uses Intel’s I9-9900K. This processor features a base frequency of 3.5 GHz and can boost itself to 4.3 and 5 GHz when under load. It owes its high boost speeds to Intel’s Turbo Boost technology, which also reduces the need for overclocking for many gamers.
A powerful processor like this allows XANTARES to stabilize his frames and also not run into any issues while streaming.
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