Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a title where frame rate is king, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G paired with the Intel Arc B390 paints a detailed picture of how this combination scales under load. The measured FPS results across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that prioritizes high refresh rates at standard resolutions but begins to show its architectural limits as pixel count and graphical fidelity rise. This analysis breaks down the performance characteristics, component roles, and competitive standing of this specific hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant, but the shape of that curve tells a story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 303 FPS, which drops to 208 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 123 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 59% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is relatively linear, suggesting that both the CPU and GPU are being pushed, but the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as the resolution increases.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (303 FPS) and Ultra (190 FPS) is 113 FPS, or about 37% lower. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 77 FPS (208 vs 131), and at 4K it shrinks to 46 FPS (123 vs 77). This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to maintain very high frame rates, and the graphics settings are the limiting factor. As resolution climbs, the GPU's workload increases, and the frame rate becomes more constrained by the graphics hardware itself.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data with minimum and maximum FPS readings. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 258 FPS with a minimum of 219 and a maximum of 296. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 177 FPS with a range of 151-204. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 105 FPS with a range of 89-120. The minimum FPS readings are notably close to the averages, indicating relatively consistent frame pacing without severe stutters. The 4K Medium minimum of 89 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but it shows that this combo is not capable of maintaining high refresh rates at 4K.

The scaling from High to Ultra is consistent across all resolutions. At 1080p, High (223 FPS) is about 15% faster than Ultra (190 FPS). At 1440p, High (154 FPS) is about 15% faster than Ultra (131 FPS). At 4K, High (91 FPS) is about 18% faster than Ultra (77 FPS). This uniformity suggests that the Ultra preset adds a fixed amount of graphical overhead that impacts the GPU regardless of resolution, while the underlying rendering load scales with pixel count.

The data reveals that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can push well beyond 200 FPS on most settings. At 1440p, it remains playable with averages above 130 FPS even at Ultra, but the 4K results, ranging from 77 to 123 FPS, indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The system appears to be CPU-bound at 1080p, GPU-bound at 4K, and balanced at 1440p.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a mobile-class integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units, with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts to 2500 MHz. Its memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's DDR4 memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent."

The GPU's benchmark results are modest. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, 1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (score 1460, 1.5% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (score 1446, 2.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (score 1443, 2.7% slower). This places the Arc B390 in the entry-level performance tier, comparable to decade-old discrete GPUs.

In CS:GO, the GPU's performance is surprisingly adequate due to the game's age and optimization. The 4K Low result of 123 FPS and 1440p Low of 208 FPS show that the GPU can handle the game's basic rendering workload at high frame rates. However, the Ultra presets reveal the GPU's limitations. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 77, which is below the 100 FPS mark that many competitive players consider minimum. The GPU's 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 120.0 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for this game but do not leave much headroom for future updates or more demanding titles.

The system-shared memory configuration is a critical factor. Since the GPU has no dedicated VRAM, it competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The CPU's dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth is 51.2 GB/s, and the GPU's performance is "System Dependent," meaning it scales with the speed and configuration of the installed RAM. This arrangement can cause performance dips in memory-intensive scenarios, but CS:GO's modest VRAM requirements mitigate this issue to some extent.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS and FP16 of 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) are respectable for an integrated solution but are far below what modern discrete GPUs offer. The 12 ray tracing cores are present but likely underutilized in CS:GO, which does not feature ray tracing. The API support is robust, with DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with the game's various rendering paths.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play CS:GO with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with averages ranging from 190 FPS at Ultra to 303 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, the range drops to 131-208 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 77-123 FPS.

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% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra settings (303 vs 190 FPS) suggest the GPU becomes the primary limiter when graphical settings are raised. At Low settings, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can issue draw calls.

Q: Can this combo maintain 144 FPS at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the High preset averages 154 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 177 FPS, both above 144 FPS. However, the Ultra preset averages 131 FPS, which is below the 144 FPS mark.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the data?

A: The only minimum FPS readings are for the Medium preset: 219 FPS at 1080p, 151 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. These are the lowest recorded values in the measured data.

Q: Does the GPU have dedicated VRAM?

A: No, the Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it draws from the system's DDR4 RAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," so performance can vary based on the installed memory configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2510 out of 2848 tested combos in CS:GO. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, reflecting the GPU's entry-level status. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU, as the CPU is a mid-range part from 2020, while the GPU is comparable to decade-old discrete offerings.

The combo's position in the rankings suggests that it is not competitive for high-end gaming, but it can still deliver playable frame rates in CS:GO due to the game's low system requirements. The rank of 2510 out of 2848 means that approximately 338 combos perform worse, which includes older or more imbalanced systems. The fact that this combo is ahead of 338 other configurations indicates that it has some utility, particularly for budget-oriented builds or secondary gaming machines.

The ranking also reflects the balance between the two components. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs is much higher than the GPU's 9th percentile ranking. This imbalance means the system is heavily GPU-limited, and upgrading the GPU would yield significant performance gains in this game. The data supports this: the CPU's benchmark scores, such as Cinebench R23 multicore of 13593 and single-core of 1919, are respectable, while the GPU's 3DMark score of 1482 is very low.

The combo's performance in CS:GO is better than its overall ranking might suggest, because the game is CPU-intensive and less demanding on the GPU than modern titles. However, the ranking still places it far from competitive levels, and users seeking high refresh rates at 1440p or 4K would need to consider a more powerful GPU.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Renoir, built on a 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 8 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

The CPU's benchmark scores are competitive for its generation. In Cinebench R23, it scores 13593 multicore and 1919 single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 6637 multicore and 1460 single-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 15992, with a single-thread score of 2653. These scores place the CPU in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is above average for general computing tasks.

In CS:GO, the CPU's performance is crucial, as the game is known to be CPU-bound at high frame rates. The 6 cores and 12 threads provide ample multi-threading capability, and the boost clock of 4.20 GHz helps with single-thread performance. The CPU's 3DMark scores show scaling: 1430 for 2 threads, 2732 for 4 threads, 4138 for 8 threads, and 4889 for max threads. This scaling indicates that the CPU can effectively utilize multiple cores, which is beneficial for the game's rendering and physics calculations.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE (avg score 17482, 0.1% slower), the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE (avg score 17614, 0.6% faster), the Intel Core 7 150U (avg score 17395, 0.6% slower), and the Intel Core i3-14100T (avg score 17648, 0.8% faster). These rivals are all lower-core-count parts, indicating that the 4600G's six cores provide a slight advantage over quad-core competitors in multi-threaded workloads.

In the measured CS:GO results, the CPU's role becomes evident at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 300 FPS at Low settings. This suggests the CPU can feed the GPU with enough data to saturate its rendering capabilities. The fact that the 4K Low result (123 FPS) is significantly lower than 1080p Low (303 FPS) confirms that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU is not limiting at 4K.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 7 nm process make it power-efficient, which is beneficial for a system with an integrated GPU. The CPU's integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics are not used in this configuration, as the system relies on the Arc B390, but the presence of iGPU does not detract from performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance. At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 303 FPS average
• Medium: 258 FPS average (219 min, 296 max)
• High: 223 FPS average
• Ultra: 190 FPS average

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 208 FPS average
• Medium: 177 FPS average (151 min, 204 max)
• High: 154 FPS average
• Ultra: 131 FPS average

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 123 FPS average
• Medium: 105 FPS average (89 min, 120 max)
• High: 91 FPS average
• Ultra: 77 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, and it shows consistent performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum FPS of 219 is 85% of the average, indicating smooth frame pacing. At 1440p, the minimum of 151 is 85% of the average (177). At 4K, the minimum of 89 is 85% of the average (105). This consistency suggests the game's engine maintains steady performance without major stutters.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average FPS reduction of 32% across all settings (303 to 208 for Low, 258 to 177 for Medium, 223 to 154 for High, 190 to 131 for Ultra). The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a larger reduction of 41% (208 to 123 for Low, 177 to 105 for Medium, 154 to 91 for High, 131 to 77 for Ultra). This increasing drop-off at 4K reinforces the GPU being the limiting factor.

The settings scaling at each resolution is also notable. At 1080p, Ultra is 37% slower than Low (190 vs 303). At 1440p, Ultra is 37% slower than Low (131 vs 208). At 4K, Ultra is 37% slower than Low (77 vs 123). This uniform 37% reduction across resolutions indicates that the Ultra preset adds a consistent graphical overhead that is independent of resolution.

For competitive play, the 1080p Medium setting with 258 FPS average and 219 minimum provides a strong balance of visual quality and performance. The 1080p High setting at 223 FPS is also viable, while 1080p Ultra at 190 FPS is still above the 144 Hz refresh rate common in gaming monitors. At 1440p, the Low setting at 208 FPS is suitable for high refresh rates, but the Medium setting at 177 FPS drops below the 240 Hz threshold. At 4K, none of the settings achieve 144 FPS, making this resolution unsuitable for high refresh rate gaming with this combo.