Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

# Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with Intel Core i5-10400F + Intel Arc B370

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a playable Counter-Strike: Global Offensive experience across most tested settings, though the combination ranks near the bottom of the database’s tested combos. At 1920x1080, this pairing produces strong triple-digit frame rates, but performance falls off sharply at higher resolutions. The CPU’s six cores and twelve threads provide solid physics and multithreaded throughput, while the GPU’s system-shared memory and 1280 shading units limit headroom in more demanding scenarios. The data indicates this combo is best suited for 1080p competitive play, with the Low preset offering the highest average FPS and the Medium preset providing a balanced experience with measurable minimum frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 delivers the highest average FPS across all settings. At Low, the combo averages 273 FPS; at Medium, 233 FPS; at High, 202 FPS; and at Ultra, 172 FPS. 2560x1440 still produces playable averages ranging from 118 FPS at Ultra to 188 FPS at Low, but 3840x2160 drops to between 70 FPS at Ultra and 111 FPS at Low.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (avg score 1186, 0.2% higher), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (avg score 1190, 0.5% higher), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (avg score 1192, 0.7% higher), and AMD FirePro M2000 (avg score 1168, 1.4% lower). The Arc B370 is effectively in the same performance tier as these older discrete GPUs based on the single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test score.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance relative to its multi-thread performance?

A: The Core i5-10400F scores 688 in 3DMark single-thread and 4748 in 3DMark 16-thread tests. In Cinebench R23, it scores 1451 single-core and 10283 multi-core. The single-thread score is roughly 14% of the multi-thread score in 3DMark, while in Cinebench R23 the ratio is about 14% as well. This indicates strong scaling across threads, which benefits CS:GO’s engine that can utilize multiple cores for game logic and rendering tasks.

Q: Does this combo achieve 144 FPS at 1080p for high-refresh-rate monitors?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080, all four tested settings exceed 144 FPS average. Low averages 273 FPS, Medium 233 FPS, High 202 FPS, and Ultra 172 FPS. Even the Medium preset’s minimum FPS of 198 stays above 144, ensuring consistent performance for 144Hz displays. At 2560x1440, only Low (188 FPS) and Medium (160 FPS) exceed 144 FPS average, while High (139 FPS) falls slightly short.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 2615 out of 2848 tested combinations in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places it in the bottom portion of the database, roughly in the 8th percentile of tested combos. The low ranking is primarily driven by the GPU’s weak benchmark performance, which sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 68th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The Intel Arc B370 uses system-shared memory with a system-dependent bandwidth. Its base clock is 300 MHz and boost clock is 2400 MHz. The memory type, bus width, and size are all listed as "System Shared," meaning the GPU draws from the CPU’s DDR4 memory pool. This configuration likely contributes to the performance drop at higher resolutions, where memory bandwidth demands increase significantly compared to 1080p.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck in this combination. Its average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and the nearest rivals are older ATI and AMD parts from the HD 5000/7000 series era. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, 20 ROPs, and 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS.

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the measured FPS data clearly shows the GPU’s limitations scaling with resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 273 FPS, which drops to 188 FPS at 2560x1440 and 111 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 41% reduction from 1440p to 4K at Low settings. The trend is similar across all settings, with the GPU struggling to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, where it averages only 70 FPS.

The system-shared memory configuration means the GPU relies on the CPU’s DDR4 memory, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 with a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. This shared memory architecture can create contention between CPU and GPU memory access, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU needs more data per frame. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is relatively modest compared to dedicated GPUs, and the 25 W TDP indicates this is an integrated-class part despite its standalone-sounding name.

The GPU’s API support includes DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an older title that primarily uses DirectX 9/11 paths, so the modern API features may not be fully utilized. The data shows the GPU can handle 1080p Low at nearly 300 FPS, suggesting that at lower resolutions and settings, the game’s light rendering load allows the Arc B370 to stretch its legs. However, at 4K Ultra, the 20 ROPs and 96 GTexel/s texture rate become limiting factors, resulting in the 70 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides a solid foundation for this combo, ranking in the 68th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 14185. It has 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. The base clock is 2.90 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, and it supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s.

In benchmark tests, the CPU shows strong multithreaded performance. It scores 10283 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4318 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, while single-core scores are 1451 and 609 respectively. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1350 at 2 threads to 4748 at 16 threads, indicating good thread utilization. PassMark multithread score is 12115, with single-thread at 2541. The CPU has 12 MB of shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core.

For Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the CPU’s performance is likely sufficient to avoid being the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The game’s engine can utilize multiple threads for entity updates, physics, and audio processing. The PassMark physics score of 696 suggests capable physics processing. At 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU’s single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1451) helps maintain high frame rates, allowing the combo to reach 273 FPS average.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Xeon 6756E (avg score 14163, 0.2% lower), Intel Core 7 160UL (avg score 14232, 0.3% higher), AMD EPYC 7552 (avg score 14115, 0.5% lower), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (avg score 14277, 0.6% higher). These are all within 1% of the i5-10400F’s score, indicating that the CPU’s performance is comparable to a range of enterprise and mobile parts despite being a desktop 10th-gen chip.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR4 at 42.7 GB/s bandwidth is important for the GPU’s system-shared memory. At higher resolutions, the shared memory bandwidth becomes a potential bottleneck, as both CPU and GPU compete for the same memory controller resources. The 12 MB L3 cache helps mitigate some memory latency, but the system-dependent GPU bandwidth is a limiting factor at 4K resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2615 out of 2848 tested combos in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested combinations. The ranking reflects the GPU’s weak absolute performance despite the CPU’s mid-tier standing.

To contextualize this rank: the combo sits just 233 positions from the bottom of the database. The GPU’s 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs drags the overall combo down, while the CPU’s 68th percentile ranking provides some uplift. The data suggests that most other tested combos have better-performing GPUs, even if their CPUs are slower.

The measured FPS results show that the combo’s ranking is not necessarily indicative of an unplayable experience. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers competitive frame rates that would satisfy most players. However, the rank reflects how this combo compares to all others tested in the same game, and the GPU’s limited throughput in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (score of 1184) indicates it is far behind modern dedicated GPUs.

The 2560x1440 results show the combo still maintains playable averages, with 118 FPS at Ultra and 188 FPS at Low. The 3840x2160 results are the weakest, with 70 FPS at Ultra and 111 FPS at Low. These numbers explain why the combo ranks poorly overall—many other combos can handle 4K at higher settings, while this one struggles to maintain 100 FPS even at Low.

The combo’s ranking relative to its CPU and GPU individual percentiles shows the importance of balanced pairing. A CPU in the 68th percentile paired with a GPU in the 5th percentile creates a significant imbalance, where the CPU often waits on the GPU to complete rendering tasks. This is reflected in the FPS data, where the CPU’s strong single-thread performance cannot fully compensate for the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 233 FPS with a minimum FPS of 198 and maximum of 268. This is the only setting at any resolution that provides both average and minimum FPS values in the data, allowing for confidence in frame time consistency.

For players prioritizing maximum frame rate, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers 273 FPS average, which is the highest measured value across all resolutions and settings. This is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors up to 240Hz, though the lack of minimum FPS data for Low settings means consistency is unknown. The High preset at 1080p averages 202 FPS, while Ultra drops to 172 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 and maximum of 184. This is still above 144 FPS average, making it viable for 144Hz monitors, but the minimum FPS of 136 dips below the 144 threshold. The Low preset at 1440p averages 188 FPS, while High averages 139 and Ultra 118. For 1440p gaming, Low is the safest choice to maintain high frame rates.

The 3840x2160 results are the least favorable. Medium at 4K averages 95 FPS with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 109. Low averages 111 FPS, High averages 82, and Ultra averages 70. While these are technically playable, they fall below the competitive standards for CS:GO, where players typically target 144 FPS or higher. For 4K, the Medium preset provides the best data-supported experience, but the combo is not recommended for this resolution.

The data suggests that 1080p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo. It provides a 233 FPS average with a minimum of 198 FPS, ensuring no major frame drops below 144 FPS. The visual quality upgrade from Low to Medium is worthwhile given the performance headroom. At 1440p, Low is the only setting that consistently exceeds 144 FPS average, making it the competitive choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 273 FPS average
• Medium: 233 FPS average, 198 FPS minimum, 268 FPS maximum
• High: 202 FPS average
• Ultra: 172 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo delivers its best performance. The jump from Low to Medium costs 40 FPS (from 273 to 233), while Medium to High costs 31 FPS (233 to 202), and High to Ultra costs 30 FPS (202 to 172). The Medium preset’s minimum of 198 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above 144 FPS. The Ultra preset’s 172 FPS average remains playable but leaves less headroom for frame time spikes.

2560x1440:

• Low: 188 FPS average
• Medium: 160 FPS average, 136 FPS minimum, 184 FPS maximum
• High: 139 FPS average
• Ultra: 118 FPS average

At 1440p, the performance drops noticeably. Low averages 188 FPS, a 31% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium averages 160 FPS with a minimum of 136, which means some scenes dip below 144 FPS. High averages 139 FPS, just below the 144 FPS target, and Ultra averages 118 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 136 FPS suggests occasional stutters on 144Hz monitors, making Low the more consistent choice at this resolution.

3840x2160:

• Low: 111 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average, 80 FPS minimum, 109 FPS maximum
• High: 82 FPS average
• Ultra: 70 FPS average

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low averages 111 FPS, which is barely above 100 FPS. Medium averages 95 FPS with a minimum of 80, indicating significant frame drops below 100 FPS. High averages 82 FPS and Ultra averages 70 FPS. The GPU’s system-shared memory and limited ROP count (20) become major bottlenecks at this resolution. The data shows a clear linear degradation from 1080p to 1440p to 4K, with each resolution step costing roughly 30-40% performance at the same settings.

The measured FPS data is consistent with the GPU’s 5th percentile ranking. The Arc B370’s 96 GTexel/s texture rate and 48 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for 1080p gaming but inadequate for 4K. The combo’s best case scenario is 1080p Low at 273 FPS, which is competitive for esports play. The worst case is 4K Ultra at 70 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most competitive players. The Medium settings provide the only data points with both minimum and maximum FPS values, showing frame ranges of 198-268 at 1080p, 136-184 at 1440p, and 80-109 at 4K.