Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2615th out of 2848 tested combinations in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places the combo in the bottom 8.2% of all tested systems, indicating that while the setup is fully playable, it sits well below the performance median for this title. The data shows a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics component; the CPU is a mid-range desktop part with strong multi-threaded capabilities, but the GPU is an integrated-class solution that limits frame rates even at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2615 out of 2848 tested combos places it in the lower percentile of all systems benchmarked for CS:GO. This ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s position in the overall hierarchy; the Arc B370 holds a 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs, which drags the entire combo down despite the CPU’s more respectable 71st percentile standing among all processors. The data indicates that this pairing is not optimized for high-refresh-rate competitive play, as the vast majority of tested configurations achieve higher average frame rates.

When examining the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Core i5-11400F’s average benchmark score of 17177 is nearly identical to that of the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120, 0.3% higher) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17074, 0.6% higher). It is also within a fraction of a percent of the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239, -0.4% lower) and AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278, -0.6% lower). This suggests that the CPU’s processing power is not the bottleneck; swapping it for any of these near-identical rivals would yield almost no change in CS:GO performance. The GPU, however, has rivals that are equally weak, such as the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% higher) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% higher), confirming that the Arc B370 is operating in a performance tier that is over a decade old in terms of capability.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor in this combo. It is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 300 MHz, which boosts up to 2400 MHz, providing a peak FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses the system's DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent."

The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs is stark. Its sole benchmark score in the pack is an 1184 on 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is nearly identical to the scores of its nearest rivals, all of which are legacy parts from the early 2010s. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190) score within 0.5% of the Arc B370. This indicates that the integrated GPU provides performance comparable to very old discrete graphics cards. For CS:GO, a game that can be CPU-bound on modern systems, the Arc B370's low pixel rate (48.00 GPixel/s) and texture rate (96.00 GTexel/s) become the primary hurdles, especially at higher settings where fill-rate demands increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the system scales across resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 273 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 188 FPS, a 31% reduction, and at 4K Low it falls to 111 FPS, a 59% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline with resolution indicates that the GPU is the limiting component; as the pixel count rises, the fill-rate and memory bandwidth constraints of the Arc B370 become more pronounced.

A similar pattern appears on High settings. The 1080p High average is 202 FPS, which drops to 139 FPS at 1440p (-31%) and 82 FPS at 4K (-59%). The consistent ~31% penalty for each resolution step up suggests a linear scaling behavior tied to pixel count, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively flat across resolutions. The data clearly shows that the Core i5-11400F is not the limiting factor here; the Arc B370's performance degrades predictably as resolution increases, confirming that the graphics solution is the bottleneck in all tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 273, which is the maximum measured across the entire test suite. Medium settings at 1080p yield an average of 233 FPS, with a minimum of 198 and a maximum of 268. High settings produce an average of 202 FPS, while Ultra settings bring the average down to 172 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 101 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher graphical fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop considerably. Low settings average 188 FPS, Medium averages 160 FPS (with a min of 136 and max of 184), High averages 139 FPS, and Ultra averages 118 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 70 FPS. At 3840x2160, the averages are 111 FPS on Low, 95 FPS on Medium (with a min of 80 and max of 109), 82 FPS on High, and 70 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 41 FPS at 4K, indicating that the GPU is nearing its absolute limits and additional settings changes have less relative impact.

The minimum and maximum FPS data is only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the range is 198 to 268 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 136 to 184 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 80 to 109 FPS. This data shows that the frame pacing is relatively stable, with the spread between min and max being roughly 30% of the average at each resolution. This suggests a consistent performance profile without severe stutters, likely due to the simple rendering demands of CS:GO.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU’s benchmark scores are solid for a desktop part: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a single-core score of 2024, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 7737 and single-core score of 1777.

In CS:GO, which is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance, the i5-11400F’s single-core scores are more than adequate. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and Passmark single-thread score of 2981 indicate that the CPU can handle the game’s main thread logic. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck; for instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 273 FPS, which is likely near the upper limit of what the GPU can render, not the CPU. The CPU’s 71st percentile ranking among all processors contrasts sharply with the GPU’s 5th percentile, and the measured frame rates reflect this imbalance. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the Arc B370 can render, especially at higher resolutions.

The nearest rivals for the CPU, such as the AMD EPYC 7H12 and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, have nearly identical average scores, confirming that the i5-11400F is not the weak link. If the GPU were swapped for a more powerful model, the CPU would likely allow for much higher frame rates, but with the current Arc B370, the CPU’s headroom is largely unused.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the user’s performance goals. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset offers the highest average FPS at 273, which is the best result in the entire test matrix. However, the Medium preset at 1080p still delivers an excellent 233 FPS average, with a minimum of 198 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate threshold. The visual upgrade from Low to Medium might be worth the 40 FPS average loss for some users.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides a balanced experience with an average of 160 FPS and a minimum of 136 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p yields 188 FPS, which is higher, but the Medium settings offer a better visual quality per the data. For 4K gaming, the High preset averages 82 FPS, while Low averages 111 FPS. Given that CS:GO is a fast-paced shooter, prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity is generally advisable. The data suggests that the Low preset at any resolution provides the most headroom for maintaining high FPS, but the Medium preset at 1080p (233 FPS) and 1440p (160 FPS) offers the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, as the minimum FPS remains above 60 in both cases. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it provides the lowest frame rates at every resolution, with a 4K average of just 70 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve in CS:GO?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 273, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does this combo’s ranking compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2615th out of 2848 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8.2% of all tested systems for CS:GO performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this setup?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Arc B370 has a 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs, while the Core i5-11400F has a 71st percentile ranking among CPUs. The steep FPS drops as resolution increases confirm the GPU bottleneck.

Q: What are the average FPS figures for the Medium preset at each resolution?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 233 (min 198, max 268). At 1440p Medium, the average is 160 (min 136, max 184). At 4K Medium, the average is 95 (min 80, max 109).

Q: How does the Arc B370’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 on 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), showing they are nearly identical in performance.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 188 FPS, while Ultra settings average 118 FPS, resulting in a 70 FPS difference between the two presets.