Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a long-standing FPS title where high frame rates matter more than visual fidelity for competitive play. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the Intel Arc B570 provides a clear picture of how this combination handles the game’s Source engine. The results show a system capable of very high refresh rates, but the optimal settings depend heavily on the user’s display resolution and performance targets.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data across all resolutions indicates that the Low preset consistently delivers the highest average frame rates, making it the best choice for maximizing performance. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 465 FPS, which is 69 FPS higher than the next fastest preset at that resolution. This pattern holds at 2560x1440, where Low produces 320 FPS average, and at 3840x2160, where it reaches 189 FPS average. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, particularly 240Hz or 360Hz panels, the Low preset is the only configuration that can approach or exceed those refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p.

The Medium preset offers a balanced alternative, providing a substantial frame rate increase over High while maintaining some visual improvements. At 1080p, Medium averages 396 FPS, which is 53 FPS higher than High. The gap narrows at higher resolutions: at 1440p, Medium averages 273 FPS versus 236 FPS for High, and at 4K, Medium averages 161 FPS versus 139 FPS for High. The Medium preset also includes measured minimum and maximum frame data, showing a range from 337 to 456 FPS at 1080p, indicating consistent performance without severe drops.

The High preset is a compromise for those prioritizing visuals over raw speed, but it still delivers playable frame rates. At 1080p, High averages 343 FPS, which is sufficient for most competitive scenarios. The Ultra preset provides the most visually demanding experience, but it comes with the lowest frame rates of all tested settings. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 119 FPS, which may fall below the threshold for high-refresh-rate competitive play. For the best experience, the data suggests using Low for maximum frame rates or Medium for a balance, with Higher presets reserved for users with lower refresh rate displays or those who prioritize image quality over competitive advantage.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 brings a specific set of specifications to this pairing. Its memory configuration includes 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2500 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz for 19 Gbps effective speed. The Xe2-HPG architecture, built on a 5 nm process, includes 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units.

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the GPU's role becomes more apparent as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, ranging from 293 FPS at Ultra to 465 FPS at Low. This suggests the CPU is a primary limiter at lower resolutions, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly. As resolution climbs to 1440p, frame rates remain high but begin to show more GPU influence: High drops from 343 to 236 FPS, and Ultra from 293 to 201 FPS. At 4K, the GPU's workload becomes significant, with High producing 139 FPS and Ultra falling to 119 FPS.

The GPU's 10 GB VRAM capacity is ample for this game, as CS:GO's texture and geometry requirements are modest even at 4K Ultra settings. The 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth supports the high frame rates observed, particularly at 1440p where the GPU must feed the render pipeline quickly. The Arc B570’s boost clock of 2500 MHz remains constant across all workloads, which is a notable characteristic for sustained performance in a game that can be CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The data shows that the GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs aligns with its performance in this title, where it delivers strong results but is not the primary bottleneck at standard competitive resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for achieving the highest frame rates with this combo?

A: The 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings produces the highest average frame rate of 465 FPS. The data shows a clear progression where lower resolutions yield higher frames, with 2560x1440 Low reaching 320 FPS and 3840x2160 Low dropping to 189 FPS.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare to Low in terms of performance?

A: The Medium preset is consistently slower than Low across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium averages 396 FPS versus 465 FPS for Low, a difference of 69 FPS. The gap narrows to 47 FPS at 1440p (273 vs 320) and 28 FPS at 4K (161 vs 189).

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 capable of 4K gaming in CS:GO?

A: Yes, 4K is playable. The High preset at 3840x2160 averages 139 FPS, while the Low preset reaches 189 FPS. Even the Ultra preset maintains a 119 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with this setup?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rates range from 201 FPS on Ultra to 320 FPS on Low. The High preset delivers 236 FPS, and Medium produces 273 FPS with a measured range of 232 to 314 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a competitive advantage?

A: No, the data indicates the opposite. Ultra produces the lowest frame rates at every resolution: 293 FPS at 1080p, 201 FPS at 1440p, and 119 FPS at 4K. Lower settings provide significantly higher frame rates, which is generally more advantageous for competitive play.

Q: How does the CPU affect frame rates compared to the GPU?

A: At 1080p, the frame rates are extremely high (up to 465 FPS), suggesting the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is the primary limiter. As resolution increases to 4K, frame rates drop by over 50% across all settings, indicating the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This particular combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2978 out of 3719 tested combos for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places the system in the lower 20th percentile of all tested configurations, which is notable given the high frame rates observed in the measured data. The ranking suggests that while this combo performs well in absolute terms, there are many other hardware combinations that achieve even higher frame rates in this title.

The CPU itself ranks in the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 53288. Its nearest rival is the AMD EPYC 7313P with a score of 53206, putting the 7900X just 0.2% ahead. The Intel Xeon Phi 7290 is 0.3% behind, and the Intel Core i7-14700F trails by 0.6%. This indicates the 7900X is a top-tier processor, but its ranking in the game combo is dragged down by the GPU’s relative position.

The Intel Arc B570 ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534, a difference of 0.1%. The Intel Arc A750 is 0.1% behind, and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X trails by 0.5%. The GPU’s mid-pack ranking, combined with the CPU’s high ranking, explains why the combo falls in the lower portion of the overall ranking. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing, as the CPU has more headroom than the GPU can fully utilize at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture with the Raphael codename. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 64 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p resolution. The frame rates at 1080p are exceptionally high, ranging from 293 FPS at Ultra to 465 FPS at Low. These numbers suggest that the CPU is capable of driving the game engine far beyond what most displays can refresh, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor only at higher resolutions. The 12 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for CS:GO, which is known to be lightly threaded, but the high single-thread performance from the 5.60 GHz boost clock ensures minimal bottlenecking.

The CPU’s benchmark scores support its strong gaming performance. It achieves a single-thread score of 1093 in 3DMark, 323 in Cinebench R15, 2016.5 in Cinebench R23, and 2617 in Geekbench. These scores indicate excellent per-core performance, which is critical for a game like CS:GO that relies heavily on single-threaded performance. The multi-threaded scores are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29300 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19267, but these are less relevant for this title. The data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at any tested resolution, as frame rates remain high even at 4K where the GPU’s workload increases significantly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high across all settings. The Low preset produces an average of 465 FPS, which is the highest of any configuration tested. The Medium preset averages 396 FPS with a measured range of 337 to 456 FPS, showing good frame pacing. The High preset averages 343 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 293 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 172 FPS, or roughly 37%, indicating that settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but drop noticeably from 1080p. The Low preset averages 320 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 273 FPS with a range of 232 to 314 FPS. The High preset produces 236 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 201 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 119 FPS, or about 37% of the Low value, which is a similar proportional difference to 1080p. The data shows that resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by approximately 31% on Low (465 to 320) and by approximately 31% on Ultra (293 to 201).

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are the lowest but still playable. The Low preset averages 189 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 161 FPS with a range of 137 to 185 FPS. The High preset produces 139 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 119 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 70 FPS, or about 37% of the Low value. The reduction from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 276 FPS, or about 59% lower, which indicates a significant GPU workload increase at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the average frame rate is 465 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 320 FPS, a reduction of 31%. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 189 FPS, a further reduction of 41% from 1440p. This progressive decline suggests that the GPU is becoming increasingly burdened as pixel count grows.

The same pattern appears across all settings. For High settings, 1080p produces 343 FPS, which drops to 236 FPS at 1440p (a 31% reduction) and then to 139 FPS at 4K (a 41% reduction from 1440p). For Ultra settings, the progression is 293 FPS at 1080p, 201 FPS at 1440p (31% less), and 119 FPS at 4K (41% less from 1440p). The consistency of these percentages, approximately 31% for the 1080p-to-1440p step and 41% for the 1440p-to-4K step, indicates a predictable scaling pattern.

The data shows that the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p, as the frame rates are so high that the GPU is not fully utilized. At 1440p, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility, but the CPU still has headroom. At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck, as the frame rates drop to levels that are closer to what the Arc B570 can sustain under heavy load. The 4K Low result of 189 FPS demonstrates that even at the lowest settings, the GPU cannot reach the same frame rates as at 1080p, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. This analysis suggests that users with 1080p displays will be CPU-bound, while those with 4K displays will be GPU-bound.