Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

# Counter-Strike: Global Offensive — Intel Core i9-14900K + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers a surprisingly playable Counter-Strike: Global Offensive experience across all tested resolutions, though the data reveals a significant bottleneck in the GPU. The combination ranks 2510th out of 2848 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom 12% of systems. At 1080p Low, the setup achieves 303 FPS average, but this drops to just 77 FPS at 4K Ultra, showing that the Arc B390's integrated-class performance is the primary limiting factor even with one of the most powerful desktop CPUs on the market.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 303 FPS at 1920x1080 to 208 FPS at 2560x1440, a drop of 95 FPS (approximately 31%). Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 at Low settings, the average drops further from 208 FPS to 123 FPS, another 85 FPS reduction (about 41%). The scaling is not linear; the 4K penalty is disproportionately larger, indicating that the Arc B390's memory bandwidth and fill rate are being pushed to their limits.

At High settings, the pattern repeats but with a steeper cliff. The average FPS at 1080p High is 223, which falls to 154 at 1440p High (a 69 FPS drop, roughly 31%), and then plummets to 91 at 4K High (a 63 FPS drop, about 41%). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 190 FPS at 1080p, 131 at 1440p, and just 77 at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 113 FPS, meaning the 4K result is only 40.5% of the 1080p figure.

These scaling patterns suggest that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The Intel Core i9-14900K with its high single-core performance is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the Arc B390 can render. The GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s become the binding constraints as resolution climbs, with the 4K Ultra result of 77 FPS representing a situation where the render output units are saturated. The data indicates that for competitive play, sticking to 1080p is essential, while 4K is only viable at Low settings for a playable experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture using a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.20 GHz can boost up to 6.00 GHz, and it features an 80 KB L1 cache per core, 2 MB L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5, with a Geekbench single-core result of 2655. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4697, and it sits in the 95th percentile among all CPUs.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is historically a CPU-sensitive title, especially at lower resolutions and with high frame rates. The data here confirms that the i9-14900K is more than adequate for this game. At 1080p Low, the system produces 303 FPS average, and the fact that this drops by 80 FPS when moving to 1080p Ultra (to 223 FPS) while the 1440p Low result is 208 FPS suggests the CPU is delivering consistent frame data regardless of graphical load. The CPU's benchmark scores relative to its nearest rivals are instructive: it benchmarks within 0.3% of the Intel Core i9-14900KF (which scores 79371), and within 0.6% of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (79574). It is 1.2% behind the AMD EPYC 7413 (80041) and 1.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (77740).

For CS:GO's engine, which relies heavily on single-threaded performance for draw call submission and game logic, the i9-14900K's 6.00 GHz boost clock and strong single-core Cinebench R23 score of 2262.5 are the key attributes. The data shows that even at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, the average FPS never drops below 77, which is a level that would be much lower if the CPU were struggling. The 24 cores and 32 threads are largely underutilized in this title, but the high per-core clock speed ensures that the CPU never becomes the limiting factor, even when pushing 303 FPS at 1080p Low. The L3 cache of 36 MB also helps with game asset streaming, though the measured results show the GPU is the primary constraint in all tested configurations.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a mobile/IGP-class graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process with a Panther Lake chip. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2500 MHz, and it uses system shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The GPU's FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. Its thermal design power is 80 W, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B390 scores 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in that benchmark are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). These rivals are all entry-level or legacy parts, which contextualizes the Arc B390's position as a low-end integrated solution.

The measured CS:GO results align with this classification. The GPU's 24 ROPs and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are the most likely constraints at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 77 FPS, which is only 25.4% of the 303 FPS seen at 1080p Low. The VRAM situation is notable: the GPU uses system shared memory, which means there is no dedicated video memory allocation. This is acceptable for CS:GO, which is not a VRAM-intensive title, but the system-dependent bandwidth means that performance can vary based on the CPU's memory configuration. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is relatively high for an integrated part, but the 1536 shading units are modest for handling the geometry and shading load of CS:GO at 4K Ultra. The 3DMark score of 1482 being just 1.3% above the GT 520MX indicates that this GPU is positioned at the very bottom of the performance spectrum, yet CS:GO's low requirements allow it to deliver playable frame rates at 1080p and even 1440p in most settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 303 FPS, while Medium averages 258 FPS with a minimum of 219 and maximum of 296. High averages 223 FPS, and Ultra averages 190 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 113 FPS, meaning Ultra delivers 62.7% of the Low preset's frame rate.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 208 FPS, Medium averages 177 FPS (min 151, max 204), High averages 154 FPS, and Ultra averages 131 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 77 FPS, with Ultra achieving 63.0% of Low's performance. Moving to 3840x2160, Low averages 123 FPS, Medium averages 105 FPS (min 89, max 120), High averages 91 FPS, and Ultra averages 77 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap at 4K is 46 FPS, with Ultra delivering 62.6% of Low's frame rate.

The data shows a consistent ratio: Ultra settings produce roughly 62-63% of the frame rate of Low settings at each resolution, indicating that the graphical settings have a proportional impact on the GPU load regardless of resolution. The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution: 219 at 1080p, 151 at 1440p, and 89 at 4K. These minimums are notably lower than the averages (a 15.1% drop at 1080p, 14.7% at 1440p, and 15.2% at 4K), suggesting occasional frame hitches that are consistent across resolutions. The maximum FPS values for Medium are 296 at 1080p, 204 at 1440p, and 120 at 4K, showing that the GPU can occasionally reach higher performance but is generally constrained. The overall ranking of 2510 out of 2848 combos reflects this GPU's low relative standing, yet the CS:GO numbers are playable in most configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this setup?

A: The 1920x1080 Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 303, which is ideal for competitive CS:GO. Even at 1080p Ultra, the system maintains 190 FPS average, which is above typical high-refresh-rate monitor thresholds.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in CS:GO?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 123, while 4K Medium averages 105 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 77 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth for fast-paced gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad benchmark, the Arc B390 scores 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460). It is 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM (1446) and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710 (1443).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The Intel Core i9-14900K's single-core performance (Cinebench R23 score of 2262.5 and Passmark single-thread score of 4697) is more than sufficient. The FPS drops from 303 at 1080p Low to 123 at 4K Low demonstrate that the GPU is the limiting factor.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low averages 208 FPS while Ultra averages 131 FPS, a difference of 77 FPS. Ultra delivers 63.0% of the Low preset's performance at this resolution.

Q: Are the frame time consistency issues visible in the data?

A: The Medium preset at each resolution shows a minimum FPS that is approximately 15% lower than the average (e.g., 219 min vs 258 avg at 1080p), indicating minor frame hitches that are consistent across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080, the Low preset at 303 FPS average is the best choice for competitive play, particularly for players with 240 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 258 FPS (min 219) is a strong alternative that provides better visual quality while staying above 200 FPS. The High preset at 223 FPS and Ultra at 190 FPS are both viable for 144 Hz displays, offering improved visuals at the cost of some headroom.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 208 FPS is the only option that guarantees above 200 FPS. The Medium preset at 177 FPS (min 151) is suitable for 165 Hz monitors, while High at 154 FPS and Ultra at 131 FPS are better suited for 144 Hz displays. For 3840x2160, the Low preset at 123 FPS is the recommended choice for smooth gameplay, as Medium at 105 FPS (min 89) may dip below 90 FPS during intense scenes. The High preset at 91 FPS and Ultra at 77 FPS are playable but may feel less responsive for competitive players.

The data supports a "Low or Medium" recommendation at 1080p for serious CS:GO play, as the difference between Low and Medium is 45 FPS, but Medium still provides a high average. For 1440p, Medium at 177 FPS strikes the best balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. At 4K, Low is the only setting that keeps the average above 120 FPS, making it the clear choice despite the graphical compromise. The measured minimum FPS values for Medium settings (219 at 1080p, 151 at 1440p, 89 at 4K) suggest that players who prioritize frame time consistency over raw average FPS should stick with Low settings, as the minimums are not provided for Low but the higher averages imply more headroom.