Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core i5-13400F + Intel Arc B370

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 presents a peculiar combination for Counter-Strike 2: a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake CPU that ranks in the 77th percentile against all processors, coupled with an integrated-class GPU that sits in the 5th percentile. The benchmark data shows this pairing yields playable frame rates at lower resolutions and settings, but the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. The measured FPS across resolutions and presets indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p competitive play, with 1440p being workable only on Low settings, and 4K being largely impractical except at the lowest preset.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals a GPU-bound system. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 100 FPS at 1920x1080 to 66 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 37 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 34% reduction going from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern shows diminishing returns as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU that is already near its limits at 1080p.

At Low settings, the resolution scaling is more forgiving but still severe. The system delivers 162 FPS at 1080p Low, drops to 107 FPS at 1440p Low, and falls to 60 FPS at 4K Low. The 1080p-to-4K gap at Low settings is 102 FPS, representing a 63% performance loss. This indicates that even at the lowest preset, the Arc B370 cannot maintain high frame rates once pixel count increases substantially.

The Medium preset shows an intermediate pattern: 134 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with only 78 FPS at 1080p, 52 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor here — the i5-13400F has ample headroom with its 16 threads and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. Instead, the GPU's limited shading units (1280) and TMUs (40) struggle to fill pixels as resolution scales.

For competitive play, the 1080p Low result of 162 FPS is the only setting that approaches the high refresh rates that Counter-Strike 2 players typically target. The 1440p Low result of 107 FPS is playable but falls short of 144 Hz displays. At 4K, every preset fails to reach 60 FPS except Low, which hits exactly 60 FPS — a marginal result that leaves no headroom for frame time spikes.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process. Its memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it draws from the system's RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, and its memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." This is a critical limitation for a game like Counter-Strike 2, which benefits from fast, dedicated memory for texture streaming and geometry processing.

The GPU's clock speeds are modest: a 300 MHz base and 2400 MHz boost. With only 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, the raw compute throughput is 6.144 TFLOPS FP32. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. These figures place the Arc B370 in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being legacy parts like the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (deltaPct -0.2), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (deltaPct -0.5), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (deltaPct -0.7), and AMD FirePro M2000 (deltaPct 1.4). The performance delta between these rivals is negligible — within 1.4% — confirming that the Arc B370 is at the very bottom of the GPU performance spectrum.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 underscores this. In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role is decisive at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 162 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 78 FPS — a 52% reduction from just raising the preset. This sensitivity to settings is a hallmark of a GPU that lacks both raw compute and memory bandwidth. The shared memory architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for memory access, which can cause stuttering in CPU-intensive scenes common in CS2's multiplayer environments.

The RT cores (10) and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) are present, but they offer no practical benefit in Counter-Strike 2, which does not rely heavily on ray tracing. The Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6 support are more relevant, though the game's Source 2 engine performs best with DirectX 11 or Vulkan depending on the driver. Overall, the GPU is the clear bottleneck in this combo, and the data confirms that no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the Arc B370's limitations once resolution and settings rise.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, the Low preset delivers 162 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that comfortably exceeds 144 Hz. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 154 FPS — this is still playable on 144 Hz displays but with less margin. The High preset at 1080p drops to 100 FPS, which is acceptable for 60-100 Hz monitors but not ideal for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 1080p is the worst choice, delivering 78 FPS and providing no benefit for a game that is already visually modest at lower presets.

For 1440p, the Low preset is the only sensible option, producing 107 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p gives 89 FPS (76-102 FPS range), which could work on a 75 Hz or 100 Hz monitor, but the frame dips below 80 FPS may be noticeable. High and Ultra at 1440p are not recommended: 66 FPS and 52 FPS respectively, both below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

At 4K, the situation is dire. The Low preset achieves exactly 60 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves no headroom for intense combat scenarios. Medium drops to 50 FPS, High to 37 FPS, and Ultra to 29 FPS. None of the 4K presets are advisable for a competitive shooter; the Low preset might be tolerable for casual play on a 60 Hz 4K display, but the frame pacing would likely suffer given the shared memory architecture.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Low or Medium. The Low preset offers the highest frame rate (162 FPS) and is the clear choice for competitive integrity. The Medium preset (134 FPS) provides a modest visual upgrade while still maintaining decent frame rates, but the 28 FPS cost may not be worth it for players who prioritize responsiveness. If a player has a 144 Hz 1080p monitor, Low is the only preset that fully utilizes it. For 1440p users, Low is the only recommendation, and 4K should be avoided entirely unless the player accepts a 60 FPS cap on Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2642 out of 2870 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the bottom 8% of all pairings. This is a poor result, though not surprising given the GPU's 5th percentile standing. The CPU, by contrast, is a strong performer: the i5-13400F's average benchmark score is 25292, which puts it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (avgScore 25284, deltaPct 0), Intel Core 5 120 (avgScore 25362, deltaPct -0.3), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (avgScore 25365, deltaPct -0.3), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (avgScore 25201, deltaPct 0.4). The CPU is essentially on par with these parts, with deltas under 0.5%.

The rank of 2642 out of 2870 means that 228 other combos perform worse. This is a small margin — only 7.9% of tested systems are slower. The implication is that this combo is near the bottom of the barrel for CS2, which is expected given the Arc B370's integrated-class performance. However, the CPU's strength means that if the GPU were upgraded, the system would scale well. The i5-13400F's 16 threads and 20 MB L3 cache are more than sufficient for CS2's CPU demands, which are modest compared to other modern titles.

The delta between this combo and the median is not provided, but the rank alone tells the story: this is not a system for high-refresh competitive play. The data indicates that the combo is held back entirely by the GPU, and the CPU's headroom is wasted in this configuration. For context, the CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and single-core score of 3191 suggest that it could drive much higher frame rates with a discrete GPU. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 confirm that the CPU is not the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Counter-Strike 2 at 144 Hz?

A: Only at 1080p with the Low preset, which achieves 162 FPS. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 107 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 60 FPS. No other preset at any resolution reaches 144 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-13400F or the Intel Arc B370 the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 77th percentile with an average benchmark score of 25292, while the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile with a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184. The FPS scaling across resolutions shows a GPU-bound pattern.

Q: What is the best setting for competitive play with this combo?

A: 1080p Low is the best measured configuration, delivering 162 FPS. 1080p Medium is a secondary option at 134 FPS, but the 28 FPS reduction may not justify the visual improvement.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems in CS2?

A: It ranks 2642 out of 2870 combos, placing it in the bottom 8%. This is a below-average result, primarily due to the GPU's low performance percentile.

Q: Does the Arc B370's shared memory affect performance?

A: Yes, the memory is "System Shared" with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on system RAM, which likely contributes to the significant FPS drops at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: Can the CPU handle higher frame rates if paired with a better GPU?

A: The data suggests yes. The i5-13400F's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and single-core score of 3191 indicate strong CPU performance that is underutilized with the Arc B370.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 162, Medium 134 (with a minimum of 114 and maximum of 154), High 100, and Ultra 78. The spread from Low to Ultra is 84 FPS, showing a steep performance cost for higher presets. The Medium preset's minimum of 114 FPS indicates that even at this setting, frame dips stay above 100 FPS, which is acceptable for most players.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low 107, Medium 89 (with a minimum of 76 and maximum of 102), High 66, and Ultra 52. The Medium preset's minimum of 76 FPS is a concern for competitive play, as it falls below the 80 FPS threshold that many players consider the floor for smooth aiming. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p are borderline unplayable for a fast-paced shooter.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low 60, Medium 50 (with a minimum of 42 and maximum of 57), High 37, and Ultra 29. The Medium preset's minimum of 42 FPS and maximum of 57 FPS show significant frame time variance, which would cause noticeable stuttering. The Low preset's 60 FPS average is the only 4K configuration that hits the standard 60 FPS target, but it does so without any margin for demanding scenes.

The data across all resolutions and settings shows a consistent pattern: the Arc B370 is only viable at 1080p Low/Medium for competitive play, and at 1440p Low for casual play. The 4K results are only suitable for non-competitive scenarios, and even then, the Low preset's 60 FPS average is the bare minimum. The CPU's performance headroom is evident in the fact that the i5-13400F's benchmark scores (e.g., Geekbench multicore 11068, PassMark multithread 25032) are competitive with much faster systems, yet the combo's overall rank in CS2 is dragged down by the GPU. For players who already own this CPU, upgrading the GPU would yield significant gains; for those considering this combo fresh, the data suggests it is only suitable for 1080p gaming at low to medium settings.