Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 with the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 places at rank 2535 out of 2870 tested combos in the database. This puts the pairing in the bottom 12 percent of all system configurations tested for this title, indicating that while the combination is functional, it sits firmly in the lower tier of performance outcomes. The combo rank reflects the aggregate result across all settings and resolutions, showing that this hardware pairing is not optimized for high-end competitive play but rather for entry-level accessibility. The i5-9400 itself holds a 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs, placing it in the middle of the pack, while the Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which explains why the overall combo ranking skews so low. The disparity between the CPU's mid-pack standing and the GPU's bottom-decile position is the defining characteristic of this system, as the graphics processor becomes the primary constraint in nearly every scenario measured.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 achieves a rank of 2535 out of 2870 tested combinations specifically for Counter-Strike 2. This places the system in the bottom 11.7 percent of all configurations, a position that reflects the Arc B390's low absolute performance rather than any deficiency in the processor. The CPU's standalone benchmark average of 2254 places it within 0.4 percent of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 and 0.3 percent ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U, showing that the i5-9400 is a competent mid-range processor by synthetic metrics. However, the GPU's average benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it just 1.3 percent ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7 percent ahead of the GeForce GT 710, which are legacy entry-level parts from a different era. This extreme mismatch between CPU capability and GPU output means the combo ranking is almost entirely dictated by the graphics side of the equation. In practical terms, the system delivers playable but not competitive frame rates at lower resolutions, and the ranking reflects that ceiling. The data indicates that pairing this CPU with a more capable GPU would dramatically improve the combo's standing, but as configured, the Arc B390 holds the system back to near-bottom-tier status.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor built on the Xe3-LPG architecture using a 3 nm process, operating with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation pipelines, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning the GPU draws from the main system RAM rather than dedicated video memory, with bandwidth described as system dependent. This shared memory architecture is a critical factor in Counter-Strike 2 performance, as the game's engine frequently accesses texture data and geometry, and competing with the CPU for the same memory bandwidth creates bottlenecks. The GPU delivers a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute rated at 7.680 TFLOPS. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B390 scores 1482, placing it just 1.3 percent above the GT 520MX and 2.5 percent above the GT 625 OEM, which underscores its positioning near the very bottom of the GPU performance spectrum. The 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs means that in Counter-Strike 2, the graphics processor is the limiting factor at every resolution tested. The system-shared memory also means that at higher resolutions and settings, the GPU's performance degrades more sharply than a dedicated memory configuration would, as the memory subsystem becomes increasingly contended.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and consistent pattern of resolution scaling that highlights the GPU as the dominant bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the system produces 179 FPS average, which drops to 118 FPS at 1440p Low, and further to 66 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 34 percent reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 44 percent reduction from 1440p to 4K at Low settings. The scaling is even more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the system delivers 111 FPS at 1080p, 73 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K, showing a 34 percent drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44 percent drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the GPU's compute and memory throughput are being saturated in a predictable manner as pixel count increases. The 4K Ultra setting produces only 32 FPS average, which is a 63 percent reduction from the 1080p Ultra result of 86 FPS. This scaling behavior indicates that the Arc B390's 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs are simply insufficient to handle the fill rate demands of 4K resolution, particularly at higher quality presets. The system-shared memory further compounds this issue, as the bandwidth available to the GPU at 4K is insufficient to feed the rendering pipeline. The data strongly suggests that the CPU, with its 6 cores and 6 threads running at up to 4.10 GHz boost, is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as the frame rate drops align with GPU-bound scaling patterns rather than CPU-bound plateaus.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings provide a comprehensive picture of the system's capabilities in Counter-Strike 2. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 179 FPS average on Low settings, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combination. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 149 FPS average with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 171 FPS, showing a relatively tight frame time distribution that suggests consistent performance. High settings at 1080p produce 111 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 86 FPS average. The step from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 30 FPS, while the step from Medium to High costs 38 FPS, and the step from High to Ultra costs 25 FPS, indicating that the quality presets scale roughly linearly in their demands on the GPU. At 2560x1440, the system delivers 118 FPS on Low, 98 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 113 FPS, 73 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results show a 34 percent reduction from 1080p across most settings, consistent with the increased pixel count. At 3840x2160, the system produces 66 FPS on Low, 55 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 47 FPS and maximum of 63 FPS, 41 FPS on High, and 32 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show a further 44 percent reduction from 1440p, and the Ultra setting at 4K falls below the threshold typically considered playable for a competitive FPS title. The Medium preset at 4K, with its 47 FPS minimum, represents the lowest playable configuration at that resolution, though it remains marginal for competitive play.

FAQ

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

A: The 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings delivers 179 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded. Even at 1080p Medium, the system maintains 149 FPS average with a minimum of 126 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution that consistently exceeds 144 FPS thresholds for competitive play.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3 percent ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.5 percent ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM. It sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, placing it in the bottom tier of graphics processors.

Q: Is the Core i5-9400 a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: No, the data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K follow a consistent GPU-bound scaling pattern, and the CPU's 6-core, 6-thread configuration with a 4.10 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed the GPU at all resolutions tested.

Q: What settings should be avoided at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 57 FPS average, which is below the threshold for smooth competitive play. The High preset at 73 FPS is also marginal, while Medium at 98 FPS and Low at 118 FPS provide more viable options.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, which is 0.2 percent lower than the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and 0.4 percent higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500. It sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, indicating mid-pack performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for any configuration?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 47 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only measured configuration where the minimum frame rate drops below 60 FPS, making 4K Medium the least consistent setup.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a thermal design power of 65 watts. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is dual-channel DDR4 with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, which is relevant given the GPU's system-shared memory design. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, with Geekbench scores of 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. These results place the processor at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is 0.2 percent behind the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, 0.3 percent ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U, and 0.4 percent ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500. In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain frame pacing and handle game logic, and the 6-core configuration is sufficient for this task given the GPU's limitations. The data shows that the CPU is never the bottleneck, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings changes, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The 4.10 GHz boost clock provides adequate single-thread performance for the game's engine, and the 9 MB of shared L3 cache helps with data locality in a title that relies heavily on draw calls and entity updates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the Counter-Strike 2 experience with this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 179 FPS average, which is ideal for competitive play where high frame rates are prioritized over visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 149 FPS average with a minimum of 126 FPS, providing a balance between visual quality and performance that remains above the 120 FPS threshold favored by many competitive players. The High preset at 1080p drops to 111 FPS, which is still playable but introduces a noticeable reduction in smoothness, while the Ultra preset at 86 FPS is not recommended for competitive scenarios. At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 118 FPS average, which is suitable for players with 144 Hz monitors, while the Medium preset at 98 FPS is acceptable for more casual play. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p, producing 73 and 57 FPS respectively, are not recommended for any serious play. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 66 FPS approaches playability, while Medium at 55 FPS and High at 41 FPS are marginal, and Ultra at 32 FPS is not viable. For the best overall experience, the 1080p Medium preset is the recommended configuration, as it provides a 149 FPS average with a minimum of 126 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery without the visual compromises of Low settings. Players prioritizing maximum frame rates should select 1080p Low, while those seeking visual quality above all else may accept the 1080p High preset at 111 FPS, though the data indicates that Medium offers the best balance of performance and fidelity.