Counter-Strike 2

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings for the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B390 combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 179. This is the highest average FPS recorded across all tested resolutions and settings for this combination.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX's score of 1463. The Arc B390 also outperforms the GeForce 800M by 1.5% and the GT 625 OEM by 2.5%.

Q: What are the core and thread counts of the Intel Core i3-12100F?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has 4 cores and 8 threads. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz and its boost clock is 4.30 GHz, built on the Alder Lake-S architecture with a 10 nm process node.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B390 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No, the Intel Arc B390 uses System Shared memory. Its memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and its memory bandwidth is described as "System Dependent."

Q: What is the combo's rank in Counter-Strike 2 among all tested combinations?

A: The combo of the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2535 out of 2870 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the lower portion of the tested combos.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved at 2560x1440 resolution for this combo?

A: At 2560x1440, the highest average FPS is 118, which is achieved with Low settings. This drops to 73 with High settings and 57 with Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and Panther Lake chip, manufactured on a 3 nm process node. Its role in Counter-Strike 2 is defined by its system-shared memory configuration, which means the GPU draws from the same memory pool as the CPU rather than having dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," indicating that performance in this game will be influenced by the overall system memory capabilities.

The GPU's clock speeds show a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The shading units number 1536, with 48 TMUs and 24 ROPs, plus 12 ray tracing cores. These specifications contribute to the GPU's measured performance in Counter-Strike 2, where the data shows a clear scaling pattern across settings and resolutions.

The FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS provides the raw compute capability for the game's rendering. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 66 at Low settings, while at 1920x1080, it reaches 179 at Low settings. The system-shared memory bottleneck becomes apparent in the numbers, as the GPU's percentile rank among all GPUs is only 9, placing it in the bottom decile. This is reflected in the measured FPS, where even at the lowest tested resolution and settings, the combo does not reach 200 FPS.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it near competitors like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and GeForce 800M (1460), but the game performance in Counter-Strike 2 is more nuanced. The incremental gains from Ultra to High settings at 1920x1080 show a drop from 86 to 111 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher quality presets. The data suggests that the Arc B390's shared memory architecture and modest compute resources (7.680 TFLOPS) are sufficient for playable frame rates at lower settings but struggle to maintain high FPS at 4K resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo in Counter-Strike 2 depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 179 average FPS, which provides the smoothest experience for competitive play. The Medium preset still offers a strong 149 average FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and maximum of 171 FPS, making it a viable option for players who want better visual quality without sacrificing responsiveness.

The High preset at 1920x1080 drops to 111 average FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant 38% reduction from Low. The Ultra preset falls to 86 average FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenarios. For players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, Low or Medium at 1080p is the recommended path.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 118 average FPS, which is sufficient for most players. The Medium preset provides 98 average FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, maintaining a playable range. The High preset at 73 average FPS and Ultra at 57 average FPS are less desirable for competitive play, as the lower frame rates could impact aiming precision in a fast-paced FPS.

At 3840x2160, all presets fall below 70 average FPS, with Low at 66, Medium at 55, High at 41, and Ultra at 32. These numbers suggest that 4K gaming is not a practical option for this combo in Counter-Strike 2, even at the lowest quality settings. The data indicates that the best experience is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low or Medium settings, where the frame rates are consistently high enough for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B390 combo in Counter-Strike 2 spans three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive picture of performance scaling.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields an average FPS of 66, which is the only preset at this resolution with no recorded minimum or maximum values. The Medium preset averages 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 and maximum of 63, representing a slight drop from Low. The High preset averages 41 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 32 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 52% reduction in average FPS (from 66 to 32), highlighting the GPU's limitations at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 118 average FPS, the highest at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 98 FPS with a minimum of 84 and maximum of 113, maintaining a solid frame rate range. The High preset averages 73 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 52% drop (from 118 to 57), matching the pattern seen at 4K.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 179 average FPS, the highest across all tests. The Medium preset averages 149 FPS with a minimum of 126 and maximum of 171. The High preset averages 111 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 86 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 52% (from 179 to 86), consistent with the other resolutions.

Across all resolutions, the relative performance gap between Low and Ultra remains roughly constant at about half the FPS. The Medium preset consistently provides a middle ground, with the 1080p Medium result of 149 FPS being particularly strong for competitive play. The absence of minimum and maximum values for most presets suggests that the frame pacing is generally stable, with only the Medium presets providing full min/max data.

How This Combo Ranks

In Counter-Strike 2, the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2535 out of 2870 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems. This rank reflects the GPU's low percentile standing (9th percentile among all GPUs) more than the CPU's performance, which sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all older NVIDIA parts, with the Arc B390 leading the GeForce GT 520MX by 1.3%, the GeForce 800M by 1.5%, the GT 625 OEM by 2.5%, and the GT 710 by 2.7%. These are all low-end GPUs from previous generations, confirming that the Arc B390 is positioned at the entry level of the GPU hierarchy.

The combo's rank of 2535 out of 2870 indicates that it outperforms only 335 other tested combinations in this game. This suggests that while the combo can run Counter-Strike 2 at playable frame rates on lower settings, it is far from competitive with the majority of tested systems. The CPU's decent benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 11860 and single-core of 1674) are not enough to compensate for the GPU's limitations in this title.

The data reveals a clear bottleneck: the GPU's shared memory architecture and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are insufficient for high-end performance in Counter-Strike 2. The combo's rank reflects this, as the measured FPS at 4K is below 70 even at Low settings, and the 1080p results, while playable, do not reach the high refresh rates that competitive players often target.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, based on the Alder Lake-S architecture with a 10 nm process node. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide solid single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674 and Geekbench single-core score of 1932.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are more modest, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a 3DMark max threads score of 4023. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core help with data throughput, though the dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) means memory bandwidth is not a differentiator for this processor.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frame data and handle game logic. With only 4 cores, the i3-12100F may struggle in scenarios with many simultaneous entities, but its high single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 3444) is well-suited for a game like Counter-Strike 2 that relies heavily on CPU-bound tasks.

The CPU's percentile rank of 68 among all CPUs indicates it outperforms the majority of processors, but its nearest rivals show it is closely matched with the Intel Core 3 N355 (0% delta), Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% ahead), and Intel Core 5 120UL (0.7% behind). This places the i3-12100F in a competitive position for its class, though the 4-core limit may become a bottleneck in more demanding titles.

The measured data in Counter-Strike 2 shows that the combo's performance is not limited by the CPU at lower resolutions and settings, as the FPS scales consistently with GPU load. However, at 1920x1080 Low (179 FPS), the CPU is still able to keep up, suggesting that the i3-12100F is sufficient for this game's engine. The 8 threads allow for proper utilization of modern game engines, and the 4.30 GHz boost clock ensures responsive frame delivery in fast-paced scenarios.