Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers playable performance in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but the data shows that users must be selective with settings to achieve the best experience. Across all tested resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most balanced combination of frame rate and visual fidelity, with the measured average FPS figures staying well within the range required for smooth gameplay. This analysis walks through the measured data to determine the optimal configuration and understand the role each component plays.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results clearly indicate that the Medium preset provides the best overall experience for this combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 233 FPS, which is 31 FPS higher than High settings and 61 FPS higher than Ultra settings, while only being 40 FPS behind the Low preset’s 273 FPS average. The Medium preset also includes a measured minimum FPS of 198 and a maximum of 268 at 1080p, which shows that the frame pacing is consistent enough for competitive play.

Moving up to 2560x1440, the Medium preset again proves to be the sweet spot, achieving an average of 160 FPS. This is 21 FPS ahead of High settings (139 FPS) and 42 FPS ahead of Ultra settings (118 FPS). The measured minimum at this resolution is 136 FPS, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smoothness. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset produces 95 FPS on average, with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS. While this is lower than the 1080p result, it still represents the best trade-off, as High settings drop to 82 FPS and Ultra falls to 70 FPS.

The Low preset offers the highest frame rates at every resolution, with 273 FPS at 1080p, 188 FPS at 1440p, and 111 FPS at 4K. However, the visual quality reduction is significant, and the data suggests that the performance gain over Medium is not proportionally large enough to justify the drop in graphical fidelity. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is only 40 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 31 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset captures most of the performance headroom while offering better visuals. Ultra settings, conversely, provide the lowest frame rates across all resolutions, with 172 FPS at 1080p, 118 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K, making it the least suitable choice for this hardware pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this specific combination at rank 2615 out of 2848 tested combos for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This ranking, which corresponds to the 8th percentile of all tested combinations, indicates that the Ryzen 5 5500 and Arc B370 pairing sits in the lower tier of system configurations for this game. The combo rank of 2615 out of 2848 means that 233 other tested combinations perform worse, but the vast majority of configurations deliver higher frame rates.

This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU’s limited performance ceiling, as the CPU holds a substantially higher benchmark percentile. The Ryzen 5 5500 achieves a percentile of 73 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms nearly three-quarters of all processors in general benchmark tests. In contrast, the Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile against all GPUs, placing it in the bottom 5% of graphics cards tested. This stark disparity in component capability explains why the overall combo ranks so low, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor even in a game as CPU-bound as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive typically is.

The measured FPS data corroborates this ranking. At 1080p with Medium settings, the combo produces 233 FPS, which is respectable for casual play but falls short of the high refresh rate targets that many competitive players seek. The rank of 2615 out of 2848 suggests that most other tested combos—including those with more balanced CPU-GPU pairings—achieve higher frame rates at equivalent settings. For users prioritizing this game, the data indicates that the combination is functional but not optimal for high-performance scenarios.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on Intel’s 3 nm process node. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and can boost up to 2400 MHz, which are the clock speeds that directly influence the measured frame rates in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The GPU relies on System Shared memory, meaning it uses the system’s main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This design choice results in memory bandwidth that is categorized as System Dependent, which introduces variability in performance based on the host system’s memory configuration. The memory access pattern is critical for a game like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where texture streaming and draw calls can stress memory bandwidth. The lack of dedicated video memory is a key reason why the GPU’s benchmark score is so low, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 and a percentile of 5 against all GPUs.

The GPU’s pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. These specifications, while modest, are sufficient to drive the game at the measured settings. The data shows that the GPU handles the Medium preset well at lower resolutions, but struggles as resolution increases, which is consistent with its limited raw compute power. The nearest rivals in GPU benchmark scores—ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and AMD FirePro M2000—all exhibit similar performance levels, with delta percentages ranging from -0.7% to 1.4%. This confirms that the Arc B370 is positioned in the entry-level segment of graphics performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this CPU-GPU combo?

A: The Medium preset provides the best balance across all resolutions. At 1080p it delivers 233 FPS average, at 1440p it achieves 160 FPS average, and at 4K it maintains 95 FPS average, with measured minimums of 198, 136, and 80 FPS respectively.

Q: How does this combo rank among other tested combinations for this game?

A: This combination ranks 2615 out of 2848 tested combos, placing it in the 8th percentile. The low ranking is mainly due to the GPU’s 5th percentile performance, while the CPU sits at the 73rd percentile.

Q: Does the GPU have dedicated video memory?

A: No, the Intel Arc B370 uses System Shared memory with a System Shared bus width and System Dependent bandwidth. This means it draws from the system’s main memory, which affects performance consistency.

Q: What are the measured frame rates at 1080p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 273 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested configurations.

Q: How does the GPU’s clock speed affect performance?

A: The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The boost clock is the frequency at which the GPU operates under load, directly impacting the frame rates seen in the measured data.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The frame rates drop significantly from 1080p, with the Medium preset falling from 233 FPS to 95 FPS, indicating that the GPU cannot keep up with the increased resolution demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which provides insight into which component is the bottleneck. At 1080p with Medium settings, the combo achieves 233 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 160 FPS, a reduction of 73 FPS or approximately 31%. At 4K, the average further falls to 95 FPS, a 138 FPS drop from 1080p, representing a 59% decrease.

This scaling behavior is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU workload does not scale significantly with resolution. Instead, the substantial drop in FPS from 1080p to 4K indicates that the Arc B370’s rendering capabilities are being saturated as pixel count increases. The GPU’s pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are modest figures that get overwhelmed at higher resolutions.

The Low preset shows similar scaling patterns, with 273 FPS at 1080p dropping to 188 FPS at 1440p and 111 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest decline, falling from 172 FPS at 1080p to 118 FPS at 1440p and 70 FPS at 4K. This consistent pattern across all settings confirms that resolution scaling is the dominant factor in performance loss, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU is the limiting component in this configuration. The CPU’s higher benchmark percentile relative to the GPU further supports this analysis, as the processor has ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions but cannot compensate for the GPU’s lack of raw throughput at higher pixel counts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Cezanne, manufactured on TSMC’s 7 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and a 16 MB L3 cache, which is shared across all cores. This cache hierarchy is well-suited for gaming workloads that benefit from low-latency data access.

In benchmark tests, the Ryzen 5 5500 demonstrates strong performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319. Its Geekbench multicore score is 7976 and single-core score is 1730. The CPU’s percentile of 73 against all CPUs means it outperforms the majority of processors in general computing tasks. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (delta -0.1%), Intel Core i5-12500 (delta -0.4%), Intel Core i7-10700F (delta 0.5%), and Intel Core i5-11600KF (delta -0.7%), all of which have similar average benchmark scores around 19500-19700.

Despite the CPU’s relative strength, the data shows that it is not the primary bottleneck in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at higher resolutions. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.20 GHz is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, where the combo achieves 273 FPS on Low settings. However, the GPU’s limitations become apparent at 1440p and 4K, where frame rates drop despite the CPU having reserve capacity. The fact that the combo ranks at the 8th percentile for this game, while the CPU ranks at the 73rd percentile overall, highlights that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU’s 12 threads and Zen 3 architecture provide solid performance for the game’s physics and AI calculations, but the GPU cannot translate this into proportionally higher frame rates at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data provides a detailed view of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average FPS of 273, followed by Medium at 233 FPS (with a minimum of 198 and maximum of 268), High at 202 FPS, and Ultra at 172 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 101 FPS, demonstrating the significant impact of settings on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 188 FPS average, Medium achieves 160 FPS (minimum 136, maximum 184), High produces 139 FPS, and Ultra yields 118 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 70 FPS at this resolution, indicating that the GPU is beginning to become a limiting factor. The Medium preset’s minimum of 136 FPS still provides a smooth experience, though the margin above 60 FPS is reduced compared to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset manages 111 FPS average, Medium achieves 95 FPS (minimum 80, maximum 109), High drops to 82 FPS, and Ultra falls to 70 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is now only 41 FPS, showing that all settings converge to similar performance levels as the GPU reaches its limits. The Medium preset’s minimum of 80 FPS remains playable but close to the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides a balanced experience, with the 1080p result of 233 FPS being particularly strong for competitive gaming scenarios. The data confirms that users should prioritize Medium settings for the best overall experience, with Low settings available for those who require absolute maximum frame rates at the cost of visual quality.