Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a highly playable Counter-Strike 2 experience across most settings, but the data reveals a clear hierarchy. The measured rows show that the Medium preset is the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate, as it is the only setting tier at each resolution that provides both an average FPS above 60 and a recorded minimum FPS baseline, ensuring smoother frame pacing than the higher presets.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for this combination shows a consistent pattern across all three tested resolutions: the Medium preset is the only configuration that reports both average and minimum FPS values, which indicates it is the most stable option for sustained gameplay. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 229 FPS with a minimum of 194 FPS, while the High preset drops to 171 FPS average with no reported minimum, and Ultra falls further to 133 FPS. The Low preset reaches 275 FPS, but the lack of a minimum FPS reading and the reduction in visual fidelity make it less desirable for a balanced experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out with an average of 151 FPS and a minimum of 129 FPS. The High preset averages 113 FPS, while Ultra drops to 88 FPS, both without minimum FPS data. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the only tier that remains above the 60 FPS threshold for competitive play, posting an average of 85 FPS and a minimum of 72 FPS. The High preset at this resolution averages just 63 FPS, which is marginal for a fast-paced FPS, and Ultra falls to 49 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users.

The data suggests that the Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (275 FPS at 1080p, 182 FPS at 1440p, and 102 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much visual detail for a game where clarity can be an advantage. The Medium preset provides a 34% improvement in average FPS over High at 1080p and a 34% improvement at 1440p, while at 4K it offers a 35% improvement over High with the added benefit of a recorded minimum FPS. Therefore, Medium is the recommended starting point, with users able to adjust individual settings based on their preference for frame rate over fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2986 out of 3719 tested combos in Counter-Strike 2, placing it in the bottom 20% of all systems measured. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high frame rates achieved at lower resolutions, but it reflects the performance ceiling imposed by the CPU when paired with a GPU that is capable of rendering frames quickly. The combo rank of 2986 is a relative measure against all other CPU-GPU pairings in the database, and it indicates that while this system can push high FPS at 1080p, it is not competitive with top-tier hardware in this specific title.

The CPU itself sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—such as the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with a delta of -0.2% and the Intel Core i3-10305 with a delta of -0.4%—show that it is a mid-range performer. The GPU, however, is stronger, ranking in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Arc A750 (delta of -0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (delta of 0.1%). This disparity between the CPU’s 47th percentile and the GPU’s 65th percentile suggests that the processor is the limiting factor in this pairing, which is corroborated by the frame rate data showing diminishing returns at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the frame rate behavior observed in the measured data. The GPU features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for Counter-Strike 2’s asset streaming at all tested resolutions, as evidenced by the playable frame rates even at 4K. The GPU’s base and boost clocks are both locked at 2500 MHz, which is a high frequency for a graphics card and contributes to its ability to maintain consistent performance across the board.

The GPU’s 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs are responsible for the raw pixel pushing power, and the measured results show that it can handle the game’s engine efficiently. At 1080p, the GPU is clearly not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the jump from 133 FPS at Ultra to 275 FPS at Low, a 107% increase that indicates the CPU is holding back the frame rate at lower settings. However, at 4K, the situation reverses, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor, as the Ultra preset drops to 49 FPS, which is a 64% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score of 133 FPS. The GPU’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support are adequate for the game, but the data shows that the Arc B570 is best utilized at Medium settings where it can maintain high frame rates without being bottlenecked by the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rate data shows a clear scaling pattern across the four settings presets. The Low preset produces an average of 275 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. Medium follows with an average of 229 FPSholiday and a minimum of 194 FPS, providing a substantial margin above the refresh rate of most monitors. High averages 171 FPS, while Ultra averages 133 FPSholiday, representing a 43% drop from Low to Ultra. The minimum FPS of 194 FPS at Medium suggests that the system can maintain high frame rates even during intense combat scenes, whereas the lack of minimum FPS data for the other presets makes it unclear if they experience more significant frame dips.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 182 FPS, Medium averages 151 FPS with a minimum of 129 FPS, High averages 113 FPS, and Ultra averages 88 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 52%, which is slightly larger than at 1080p, indicating that the resolution increase is starting to tax the system more heavily. The Medium preset’s minimum FPS of 129 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a solid choice for 1440p gaming.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates take a significant hit, and the settings scaling becomes more pronounced. Low averages 102 FPS, Medium averages 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS, High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one that falls below the 60 FPS mark, and the High preset’s 63 FPS average is borderline for competitive play. The Medium preset’s minimum FPS of 72 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only viable option for 4K gaming with this combo if smoothness is a priority.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides the best balance, with an average of 229 FPS and a minimum of 194 FPS. This is the only resolution where the system can push frame rates high enough to take full advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors without sacrificing visual quality.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Counter-Strike 2?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings or lower. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS, which is playable. The High preset averages 63 FPS, which is marginal, and Ultra drops to 49 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is nearly identical to the Intel Arc A750’s score of 20582, a delta of -0.1%. It also performs within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The CPU is the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate jumps from 133 FPS at Ultra to 275 FPS at Low, indicating that the GPU is capable of more work than the CPU can feed it. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as the Ultra preset drops to 49 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at 1440p?

A: The only minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 is for the Medium preset, which shows a minimum of 129 FPS. The High, Low, and Ultra presets do not have minimum FPS data in the measured rows.

Q: How does the CPU’s synthetic benchmark score compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a delta of 0.4%, showing the i5-9400 is well within the same performance tier.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for gaming, but the data shows that it is the limiting factor in this pairing at lower resolutions. The CPU’s percentile rank of 47 places it in the middle of the pack, and its synthetic benchmark scores—such as 6629 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 935 in single-core—are modest by modern standards.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU’s role is critical for maintaining high frame rates, as the game engine relies heavily on single-threaded performance. The i5-9400’s boost clock of 4.10 GHz helps, but the absence of hyper-threading means that it can struggle to feed the Arc B570 at lower settings. This is evident in the 1080p data, where the frame rate scales from 133 FPS at Ultra to 275 FPS at Low—a 107% increase that far exceeds the GPU’s capability, suggesting that the CPU is unable to keep up with the GPU’s rendering speed at higher settings. At 4K, the CPU’s load decreases relative to the GPU, allowing the Arc B570 to become the primary driver, as evidenced by the smaller frame rate differences between settings (102 FPS at Low vs. 49 FPS at Ultra).

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of resolution scaling, with the system’s performance dropping significantly as resolution increases. At 1080p, the average FPS across all settings is approximately 202, but this drops to 133 at 1440p and 75 at 4K, representing a 34% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 63% decrease from 1080p to 4K. This scaling is not linear, and the rate of decrease varies by settings preset.

For the Low preset, the frame rate drops from 275 FPS at 1080p to 182 FPS at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and further to 102 FPS at 4K (a 63% reduction from 1080p). For the Medium preset, the drop is from 229 FPS to 151 FPS (a 34% reduction) and then to 85 FPS (a 63% reduction). The High preset sees a similar pattern, with 171 FPS at 1080p dropping to 113 FPS at 1440p (34% reduction) and 63 FPS at 4K (63% reduction). The Ultra preset shows the largest absolute drop, from 133 FPS at 1080p to 88 FPS at 1440p (34% reduction) and 49 FPS at 4K (63% reduction).

This consistent 34% and 63% reduction across all settings indicates that the system’s limiting component shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is the primary constraint, as the frame rate is heavily dependent on the CPU’s ability to process game logic and draw calls. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as the increased pixel count overwhelms the Arc B570’s rasterization capabilities. The fact that the percentage drop is identical across all settings suggests that the GPU’s workload scales uniformly with resolution, while the CPU’s workload remains relatively constant, confirming that the i5-9400 is the bottleneck at lower resolutions and the B570 is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.