Counter-Strike 2

# Counter-Strike 2 with Intel Core i5-14600KF + Intel Arc B370

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, and pairing it with the Intel Core i5-14600KF creates an unusual combination for Counter-Strike 2. The data shows this combo ranks 2642nd out of 2870 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for this title. The GPU's benchmark percentile of 5 versus all GPUs indicates it is a very low-performing graphics component, while the CPU sits in the 90th percentile of all processors, highlighting a massive performance imbalance between the two components.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where this combo achieves consistently playable frame rates, with a Low preset delivering 162 FPS average and a Medium preset delivering 134 FPS average. At 2560x1440, even the Low preset drops to 107 FPS average, while at 3840x2160, the best result is 60 FPS on Low.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, which is 0.2% behind the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5% behind the ATI Radeon HD 5770, and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7650M. It is 1.4% ahead of the AMD FirePro M2000.

Q: What is the CPU's performance ranking relative to other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs and has an average benchmark score of 49394. This puts it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, while trailing the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 by 0.8%.

Q: What frame rate can users expect at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 89 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. This is significantly lower than the 134 FPS average seen at 1920x1080 with the same settings.

Q: Is the Ultra preset viable at any resolution for this combo?

A: No, the Ultra preset produces frame rates below 80 FPS at every resolution tested. At 1920x1080 it delivers 78 FPS average, at 2560x1440 it drops to 52 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 29 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594 and a multi-core score of 32544, representing roughly a 7x scaling from single to multi-core. Its Geekbench single-core score of 2445 and multi-core score of 17085 show similar scaling characteristics.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor built on Intel's 3 nm process with the Xe3-LPG architecture. Its base clock runs at 300 MHz and boosts to 2400 MHz, with 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation units. The GPU also includes 10 ray tracing cores and delivers 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance.

Memory configuration for the Arc B370 is entirely system-shared, meaning it draws from the same memory pool as the CPU. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all marked as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which means performance scales with the host system's memory configuration. The GPU's 25 W TDP classifies it as an IGP solution with no power connectors required, and its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent."

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's limitations become immediately apparent in the measured frame rates. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields only 29 FPS average, and even the Low preset barely reaches 60 FPS. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are modest figures that constrain performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being legacy ATI cards from over a decade ago.

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings drops the average from 162 FPS to 107 FPS, a 34% reduction. The transition from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Low settings further reduces the average from 107 FPS to 60 FPS, another 44% drop. This steep scaling curve indicates that the Arc B370's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary bottlenecks in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2642nd out of 2870 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems. This ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU's weak performance, as the CPU is a high-end desktop processor that would normally be paired with a discrete graphics card.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 49394 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rival comparisons showing it trades blows with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.3% ahead), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% ahead), Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (0.8% ahead), and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 (0.8% behind). This processor is clearly capable of feeding a much more powerful GPU, but the Arc B370 cannot take advantage of the CPU's headroom.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 puts it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all legacy ATI products from previous generations. This extreme mismatch between CPU and GPU capability means the combo's rank of 2642 is essentially a reflection of the GPU's floor-level performance. Benchmark results indicate that in Counter-Strike 2, the Arc B370 is the limiting factor at every resolution and settings combination tested.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals that the Low preset is the only settings level that provides consistently smooth gameplay across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Low delivers 162 FPS average, which is well above competitive thresholds for this title. The Medium preset at 1920x1080 still achieves 134 FPS average with a minimum of 114 FPS, making it a viable option for users who want improved visuals without sacrificing playability.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 107 FPS average, which remains playable but no longer provides the high refresh rate headroom seen at 1080p. The Medium preset at this resolution yields 89 FPS average with a minimum of 76 FPS, which falls below the 90 FPS threshold that many competitive players target. The High preset at 2560x1440 drops to 66 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 52 FPS.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset delivers 60 FPS average, and even that is borderline for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset produces 50 FPS average with a minimum of 42 FPS, which is likely to feel stuttery in fast-paced action. High settings at 4K drop to 37 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS, both of which are unplayable for a competitive FPS title.

The data suggests that 1920x1080 with Medium settings represents the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo, delivering 134 FPS average with a minimum of 114 FPS. Users prioritizing maximum frame rates should select the Low preset, which provides 162 FPS average at 1080p. Higher resolutions are only viable with the Low preset, and 4K gaming is marginal at best.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates span a wide range depending on settings. The Low preset delivers the highest average at 162 FPS, followed by Medium at 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 154 FPS. The High preset drops to 100 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 78 FPS. The step from Medium to High represents a 25% performance reduction, while the step from High to Ultra costs an additional 22%.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains consistent but shifts downward. Low settings produce 107 FPS average, Medium delivers 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 102 FPS, High yields 66 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 34% of performance at Low settings, 34% at Medium, 34% at High, and 33% at Ultra, showing consistent resolution scaling.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become marginal for playable gaming. Low settings achieve 60 FPS average, Medium delivers 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and maximum of 57 FPS, High drops to 37 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K costs approximately 44% of performance at Low settings, 44% at Medium, 44% at High, and 44% at Ultra, demonstrating nearly uniform resolution scaling across all settings levels.

The Medium preset is the only settings level that includes minimum and maximum FPS measurements in the data. At 1920x1080, the 114 FPS minimum represents a 15% drop from the 134 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the 76 FPS minimum is a 15% drop from the 89 FPS average. At 3840x2160, the 42 FPS minimum is a 16% drop from the 50 FPS average. This consistent variance suggests stable frame pacing without severe spikes or drops.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread desktop processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and its 24 MB of shared L3 cache provides substantial capacity for game data.

In terms of raw compute performance, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594. Its Geekbench results show 17085 multi-core and 2445 single-core scores, while PassMark tests reveal a multi-thread score of 38697 and a single-thread score of 4273. The PassMark integer math score of 125982 and floating point math score of 93048 indicate strong arithmetic throughput.

For Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's high single-thread performance is particularly relevant, as this title relies heavily on CPU rendering for its game logic and physics. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 462 and R20 single-core score of 1929 reflect the processor's strong per-core performance, which is essential for maintaining high frame rates in competitive FPS titles.

However, the benchmark data shows that the CPU's potential is severely hampered by the Intel Arc B370's limited graphics throughput. The CPU is in the 90th percentile of all processors and ranks within 1% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, Intel Core Ultra 5 245, and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388. Yet the combo's overall rank of 2642 out of 2870 in Counter-Strike 2 demonstrates that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck in this system.

The CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample parallel processing capability, with the PassMark multithread score of 38697 showing strong scaling across cores. The L1 cache of 80 KB per core, L2 cache of 2 MB per core, and shared L3 cache of 24 MB provide a robust memory hierarchy that minimizes latency. The processor's Gen 5 PCIe interface with 16 lanes ensures high-bandwidth connectivity for any future GPU upgrade, though the current integrated graphics solution does not utilize this interface.

The launch MSRP for this CPU is $294, and it supports ECC memory, a feature that is uncommon in consumer desktop processors. The CPU's memory bus is dual-channel, supporting both DDR4 and DDR5, which provides flexibility in system configuration. Despite the GPU's limitations, the CPU component of this combo is clearly a high-performance part that would excel in Counter-Strike 2 when paired with a suitable discrete graphics card.