Minecraft

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, this combination delivers a wide performance spread depending on the graphics preset. The Low preset reaches an average of 216 FPS, which is exceptionally fluid for a sandbox title. Medium drops to 171 FPS average, with recorded minimums of 146 FPS and maximums of 197 FPS. High settings produce 136 FPS average, while Ultra still manages 85 FPS average. Every preset at this resolution stays far above the 60 FPS playable threshold, making 1080p the most forgiving environment for this hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but the gap between presets widens. Low settings produce 136 FPS average, essentially matching the 1080p High result. Medium delivers 108 FPS average, with minimums of 92 FPS and maximums of 124 FPS. High settings drop to 86 FPS average, which is still comfortably above the playable threshold. Ultra falls to 54 FPS average, which sits below the 60 FPS target and would require adjusting settings for a smoother experience.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes significantly. Low settings produce 71 FPS average, just above the playable threshold. Medium drops to 56 FPS average, with minimums of 48 FPS and maximums of 65 FPS, indicating noticeable frame pacing issues at 4K. High settings fall to 45 FPS average, and Ultra bottoms out at 28 FPS average. The data clearly shows that 4K is only viable on the Low preset for this combo, and even then the margin above 60 FPS is slim.

The scaling pattern across resolutions reveals a consistent trend: each step up in resolution costs roughly 30-40% of the frame rate. The jump from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings reduces the average from 171 FPS to 108 FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K at the same preset reduces it from 108 FPS to 56 FPS. This suggests the integrated GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU has ample headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this combination at rank 3282 out of 3710 tested combos for Minecraft, putting it in the lower 12th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects the integrated nature of the Intel Arc B390 GPU, which sits far below dedicated graphics solutions in raw throughput. The CPU component, however, is a different story.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 48995. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G with an average score of 49196 (0.4% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49228 (0.5% higher), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H at 48698 (0.6% lower), and the Intel Core i5-14600K at 48618 (0.8% lower). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the CPU is essentially on par with several strong desktop and mobile processors.

The GPU tells a very different story. The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482 and ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% lower). These are all entry-level or legacy mobile GPUs, which places the Arc B390 in the same performance class as hardware from over a decade ago.

The combination rank of 3282 out of 3710 reflects this GPU limitation. Even though the CPU is competitive with high-end desktop processors, the integrated GPU drags the overall gaming performance down. For Minecraft specifically, the game is known to be CPU-heavy in many scenarios, but the measured FPS data shows that resolution scaling has a dramatic impact, which points to the GPU being the limiting factor at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearest rival data for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, AMD Ryzen 9 7900, Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, and Intel Core i5-14600K would all behave nearly identically to the Core Ultra 5 245 in CPU-bound scenarios. These processors are within 1% of each other in average benchmark scores, so any of them paired with the same GPU would produce very similar frame rates in Minecraft. The Intel Core i5-14600K is particularly notable as a common desktop alternative that would offer the same level of performance.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals are all NVIDIA products: the GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710. These GPUs are all within 3% of the Arc B390 in average benchmark scores. Systems using any of these GPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Minecraft, meaning the entire combo would rank similarly in the database. The GT 710 is a well-known low-end desktop card, while the GT 520MX and GeForce 800M are mobile parts.

For a system builder looking at this specific combo, the practical takeaway is that swapping the CPU to any of the four rivals listed would change performance by less than 1%, which is imperceptible in actual gameplay. Swapping the GPU to any of the four rival GPUs would also change performance by only a few percentage points. The entire cluster of hardware sits in the same performance band, so the measured FPS figures for this combo are representative of what any of these combinations would achieve.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Minecraft at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 85 FPS average at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: High settings produce 86 FPS average at 2560x1440, which is the highest preset that remains above 60 FPS. Ultra falls to 54 FPS average, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Only on the Low preset. At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 71 FPS average, while Medium drops to 56 FPS and High falls to 45 FPS. The playable threshold is 60 FPS, so Low is the only viable option at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The database ranks this combination at 3282 out of 3710 tested combos for Minecraft, placing it in the lower portion of the rankings.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile among all graphics cards. The dramatic FPS drops when increasing resolution confirm the GPU limits performance.

Q: Are there similar performing alternative components?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, AMD Ryzen 9 7900, Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, and Intel Core i5-14600K are all within 1% of the Core Ultra 5 245 in average CPU benchmarks. On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710 are all within 3% of the Arc B390.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured data shows a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU in this combo. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high enough across all presets that the CPU likely handles most of the workload. The jump from 85 FPS at Ultra to 136 FPS at High, then to 171 FPS at Medium, and finally 216 FPS at Low shows that the integrated GPU has enough headroom at 1080p to scale with settings changes.

The CPU's strength becomes apparent when looking at the 1080p Low result of 216 FPS. This frame rate is high enough to indicate that the CPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution. The Core Ultra 5 245 with its 14 cores and 14 threads, boosting to 5.10 GHz, provides substantial single-thread performance that Minecraft benefits from. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 confirms strong per-core performance.

At 2560x1440, the GPU starts to become more influential. The FPS drops from 216 at 1080p Low to 136 at 1440p Low, a reduction of 37%. This scaling is consistent with the GPU being the primary constraint, as increasing the pixel count directly increases the GPU workload. The CPU remains capable, but the Arc B390 with its 1536 shading units and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is being pushed harder.

At 3840x2160, the GPU dominates the performance picture. The FPS drops to 71 at Low settings and 28 at Ultra, showing that the integrated GPU is severely limited at this resolution. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places the GPU in the 9th percentile, which explains why 4K performance is so poor. The CPU's high percentile ranking cannot compensate for the GPU's lack of raw throughput at 4K.

The resolution scaling data confirms that this is a GPU-bound system at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance remains constant regardless of resolution, but the GPU's workload increases exponentially with pixel count. For players targeting 60 FPS, the CPU provides enough headroom at 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU cannot deliver at 4K except on the lowest preset.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering 85 FPS average. This is above the 60 FPS playable threshold, and no other preset is needed since Ultra is the highest available setting. The database confirms this as the best settings option for this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the optimal selection, producing 86 FPS average. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Ultra falls below the threshold at 54 FPS average, so High is the recommended setting for a smooth experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is viable, delivering 71 FPS average. Medium drops to 56 FPS, High to 45 FPS, and Ultra to 28 FPS, all below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Low preset provides the best experience at 4K, though the margin above 60 FPS is relatively slim.

These recommendations reflect the measured data rather than theoretical capabilities. The database's playable threshold of 60 FPS is met at all three resolutions, but only with specific presets. Players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate could choose higher presets at 1440p and 4K, but the resulting frame rates would fall below the 60 FPS target.