Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a fascinating case study in Counter-Strike 2, where the data reveals a combo that is heavily influenced by both CPU and GPU limits depending on the resolution. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the board show that this pairing is capable of delivering highly competitive performance, but the scaling patterns between settings and resolutions expose a nuanced balance of power. This analysis breaks down exactly what the benchmark rows indicate about where the bottlenecks lie, how the components interact, and what the optimal settings are for different display targets.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic transition from a CPU-bound scenario at lower resolutions to a GPU-bound one at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves a commanding 275 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that figure to 182 FPS, a reduction of 93 FPS, and then at 4K Low it falls further to 102 FPS. The steep decline from 1080p to 1440p—a 33.8% decrease—suggests that while the GPU is starting to work harder, the CPU is still capable of feeding it. However, the more telling drop occurs between 1440p and 4K, where the FPS falls by another 80 FPS, or 44%. This accelerating decline as resolution increases points to the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

Looking at High settings, the pattern is similar but with a lower ceiling. At 1080p High, the average is 171 FPS, which drops to 113 FPS at 1440p and then to 63 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33.9%, nearly identical to the Low setting scenario, reinforcing that the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K High is 44.2%, which is slightly steeper than the Low setting drop, indicating that the added graphical load of High settings at 4K is pushing the GPU to its limits. The fact that the 4K High score of 63 FPS is so much lower than the 1440p High score of 113 FPS suggests that the Arc B570’s compute and memory bandwidth are struggling to keep up with the pixel throughput demands of 4K in this title.

The most interesting data point is the Ultra setting, which at 4K yields only 49 FPS. This is a 22.2% drop from the High setting at the same resolution (63 FPS), showing that Ultra settings impose a significant penalty that the GPU cannot absorb without a major performance hit. In contrast, at 1080p Ultra, the combo still manages 133 FPS, which is only 22.2% lower than High at 171 FPS. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU and GPU have enough headroom to handle the extra visual fidelity, but at 4K, the GPU is saturated, and the Ultra preset pushes it over the edge into sub-60 FPS territory. The data clearly implies that for 4K gaming, users will need to rely on lighter presets to maintain playable frame rates.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B570’s specifications provide context for its performance in Counter-Strike 2. With 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, the GPU offers 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is likely sufficient for the textures and assets in CS2 at 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the relatively strong performance at those resolutions. However, at 4K, the demand for memory bandwidth and capacity increases, and the data suggests that the GPU is struggling. The 4K Ultra average of 49 FPS, which is the lowest measured score, could be partially attributed to the GPU’s memory subsystem being stressed by the higher resolution and more detailed textures.

The GPU’s clock speeds are locked at a base and boost of 2500 MHz, which is a relatively high clock for a mid-range part. This high clock helps maintain performance in less demanding scenes, but the raw throughput is still limited by the chip’s architecture. The B570 features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 80 render output units (ROPs). The pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are respectable, but they are not infinite. The benchmark results show that as resolution increases, the fill rate requirements grow, and the GPU’s ability to process fragments and pixels becomes the bottleneck. This is evident in the 4K results, where the average FPS across all settings is significantly lower than at 1440p.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS, which is a measure of its compute capability. In a game like CS2, which is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, this compute power is not the limiting factor. However, at 4K, the GPU’s shader work becomes more prominent, and the data implies that the B570’s compute throughput is insufficient to maintain high frame rates with Ultra settings. The difference between 4K Medium (85 FPS) and 4K High (63 FPS) is a 25.9% drop, suggesting that the High preset adds a significant amount of shader complexity that the GPU cannot handle efficiently. This points to the GPU’s architecture and clock speed being the limiting components at higher resolutions, rather than the CPU.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and the user’s preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. For 1080p, the data shows that even the Ultra preset, which delivers an average of 133 FPS, is highly playable and provides the best visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. The step down to High at 171 FPS is a 28.6% increase in performance with presumably a moderate visual downgrade, but Ultra is still comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many competitive players use. For those with 240 Hz monitors, the Low preset at 275 FPS would be the only option to fully utilize the display’s refresh rate, but this comes at a significant cost to visual quality.

At 1440p, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 151 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for most monitors. The High preset at 113 FPS is still playable, but it is 25.2% slower than Medium. The Ultra preset at 88 FPS is borderline for competitive play, as it drops below 100 FPS, which can introduce input latency and screen tearing on high-refresh-rate displays. For 1440p users, Medium provides the best balance of performance and visual quality, as it offers a 33.8% improvement over High while likely maintaining most visual features that matter in a fast-paced FPS.

For 4K, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset at 102 FPS is the only setting that provides a playable experience for most users, as it is above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 85 FPS is acceptable for casual play, but the High preset at 63 FPS and Ultra at 49 FPS are not recommended for any serious gaming session. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires compromising heavily on settings, and even then, the experience is not ideal. For users with 4K displays, it would be advisable to stick with Low or Medium settings and accept the lower visual fidelity to maintain playable frame rates. The Ultra preset is clearly not viable at this resolution, as it fails to reach 60 FPS, which is a common benchmark for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B570 is ranked 2286 out of 2870 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2. This ranking places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, which is surprising given the strong FPS numbers at 1080p and 1440p. The percentile data for the individual components provides some insight into this ranking. The CPU has a percentileVsAllCpus of 73, meaning it outperforms 73% of all CPUs in the database. The GPU has a percentileVsAllGpus of 65, indicating it is better than 65% of all GPUs. However, the combo rank of 2286 out of 2870 suggests that many other pairings achieve higher FPS in this specific game.

This discrepancy can be explained by the nature of CS2’s engine, which is highly sensitive to CPU performance. The i5-12400F is a strong mid-range processor, but it is not a top-tier part. The data shows that the CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS and the Intel Core 3 201E, which have similar average benchmark scores. In a game like CS2, which is known to be CPU-bound, the i5-12400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads may not be sufficient to push frame rates as high as more powerful CPUs with higher single-core performance. The combo rank of 2286 suggests that there are many other CPUs that, when paired with a similar GPU, can achieve higher FPS in CS2.

The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, with the B570 scoring slightly higher than the A750. However, the combo ranking indicates that the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. The fact that the combo is ranked in the lower 20th percentile of all tested combos implies that the CPU is holding back the system’s overall performance in CS2. If the GPU were paired with a higher-end CPU, the combo rank would likely improve significantly. This data suggests that for users looking to maximize CS2 performance, investing in a stronger CPU would yield better results than upgrading the GPU.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In Counter-Strike 2, which is a game that heavily relies on single-threaded performance, the CPU’s boost clock is a critical factor. The 3dmark single-thread score of 909 and the passmark single-thread score of 3481 indicate that the CPU has decent per-core performance, but it is not exceptional. The data shows that in the measured FPS, the CPU is able to push frame rates to 275 FPS at 1080p Low, which suggests that it is not severely limiting at lower resolutions.

However, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent when looking at the scaling between settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (275 FPS) and Ultra (133 FPS) is 142 FPS, a 51.6% drop. This large drop is primarily due to the GPU’s workload increasing, but it also indicates that the CPU is capable of handling the extra draw calls and game logic required by higher settings. The fact that the FPS at 1080p High (171 FPS) is still very high suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution. The CPU’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache likely help with the game’s asset streaming and physics calculations.

The CPU’s performance in multi-threaded benchmarks, such as the cinebench_r23_multicore score of 12380, shows that it is a capable processor for tasks that utilize multiple cores. However, CS2 is not a game that scales well with many cores, and the 6-core/12-thread configuration is more than sufficient for the game’s requirements. The data implies that the CPU is not the limiting factor at 1440p and above, where the GPU takes over as the primary constraint. At 4K, the CPU’s performance is almost irrelevant, as the GPU is struggling to maintain playable frame rates. The benchmark results indicate that the i5-12400F is a well-matched partner for the Arc B570, providing enough processing power to avoid being a bottleneck at lower resolutions while allowing the GPU to be the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows a clear hierarchy. The Low preset delivers an average of 275 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium follows with 229 FPS, a 16.7% drop from Low. High comes next at 171 FPS, which is 25.3% lower than Medium. The Ultra preset trails at 133 FPS, a 22.2% reduction from High. The Medium preset also has recorded min and max values of 194 and 263 FPS, respectively, indicating a stable frame pacing with a 69 FPS variance. These numbers suggest that the CPU is strong enough to feed the GPU at 1080p, and the GPU is fast enough to render frames quickly at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. The Low preset averages 182 FPS, which is a 33.8% reduction from the 1080p Low score. Medium averages 151 FPS, with min and max values of 129 and 174 FPS, showing a 45 FPS variance. High drops to 113 FPS, a 25.2% reduction from Medium. Ultra falls to 88 FPS, a 22.1% drop from High. The relative differences between settings at 1440p are similar to those at 1080p, but the absolute values are lower, indicating that the GPU is starting to feel the pressure of increased pixel count. The data shows that the combo is still capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1440p, but only with lower settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limitations are fully exposed. The Low preset averages 102 FPS, which is a 44% drop from the 1440p Low score. Medium averages 85 FPS, with min and max values of 72 and 97 FPS, a 25 FPS variance. High falls to 63 FPS, a 25.9% reduction from Medium. Ultra drops to 49 FPS, a 22.2% reduction from High. The 4K results show that the Arc B570 is not strong enough to maintain high frame rates at this resolution, especially with higher settings. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The data clearly indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a stretch that requires significant compromises.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The highest average FPS is 275, measured at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 49 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the data shows high FPS across all settings, with Low at 275 FPS and Ultra at 133 FPS. The CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution, as the GPU is able to render frames quickly.

Q: What are the nearest rivals to the Intel Arc B570 in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which has a deltaPct of 0.1, and the Intel Arc A750, which has a deltaPct of -0.1.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400F rank against other CPUs in the database?

A: The CPU has a percentileVsAllCpus of 73, meaning it outperforms 73% of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, with a deltaPct of 0.

Q: What is the recommended setting for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, the Medium preset is recommended for 1440p, as it delivers an average of 151 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate commonly used in gaming monitors.