Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive remains a demanding esports title, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a surprisingly capable, though not top-tier, experience. The benchmark data shows this combination is firmly positioned at the lower end of the performance spectrum, ranking 2615th out of 2848 tested combos, but it still manages to provide playable frame rates across all tested resolutions. The most striking finding is the significant performance headroom available at lower settings, suggesting that while the hardware has limits, it can be tuned to prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity effectively.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this specific CPU-GPU pairing. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 233 FPS, which is a substantial 61 FPS higher than the High preset and 71 FPS higher than the Ultra preset. While the Low preset pushes the average to 273 FPS, the difference between Low and Medium is a smaller 40 FPS gap, making the Medium preset the superior choice for those seeking a competitive edge without completely sacrificing visual clarity. The Medium preset also provides the most stable frame pacing at this resolution, with a reported minimum of 198 FPS and a maximum of 268 FPS, indicating a consistent experience.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset continues to be the optimal choice, delivering an average of 160 FPS. This is a significant drop from the 188 FPS seen at Low, but it remains well above the 139 FPS of the High preset. The Medium preset here also shows good stability with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS. For 4K gaming, the situation is more nuanced. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 95 FPS, which is playable, but the Low preset at 111 FPS provides a more comfortable margin for high-refresh-rate 4K displays. Given that the Ultra preset at 4K drops to just 70 FPS, which is near the threshold of playability for competitive shooters, the Medium or Low presets are strongly recommended for 4K. Ultimately, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a robust balance between visual detail and the high frame rates that CS:GO demands, while the Low preset can be used for maximum performance at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, and its performance profile is the primary bottleneck in this system. The GPU's benchmark data shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of just 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This low standing is reflected in its nearest rivals, which include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, both of which are over a decade old. The Arc B370's performance is characterized by its clock speeds, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. These clocks, combined with 1280 shading units, contribute to its measured frame rates.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the main system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This shared memory architecture directly impacts performance, as the bandwidth is "System Dependent." In practice, this means the GPU's performance can be heavily influenced by the speed and configuration of the system's DDR5 memory. The data shows that the GPU's texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s and its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, which are modest figures that align with its entry-level positioning. The fact that the GPU has a TDP of just 25 W and is an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) underscores that it is not designed for high-end gaming but rather for basic tasks and light gaming. In CS:GO, this GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when moving from Low to Ultra settings, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU's limitations. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 273 FPS at 1920x1080 to 188 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 111 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 41% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline is a strong indicator that the Intel Arc B370 is heavily taxed as the pixel count increases. At the High preset, the scaling is similar, with averages of 202 FPS, 139 FPS, and 82 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively. The percentage drops are 31% and 41%, showing that the GPU struggles even more at higher settings.

The pattern is consistent across all presets, with the Medium preset showing averages of 233 FPS, 160 FPS, and 95 FPS for the three resolutions. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 31%, and from 1440p to 4K is 41%. The Ultra preset follows suit, with 172 FPS, 118 FPS, and 70 FPS. These numbers reveal that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions. The CPU, with its high single-core performance, is not the limiting factor here, as the FPS scales directly with the number of pixels rendered. For this combo, the data suggests that 1080p is the most comfortable resolution for high-refresh-rate competitive play, while 1440p is viable for smoother gameplay, and 4K is only playable at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and Intel Arc B370 combination shows a wide range of performance depending on the preset. The Low preset achieves the highest average FPS at 273, demonstrating the hardware's potential for maximum frame rates. The Medium preset follows with a strong 233 FPS average, and a minimum of 198 FPS and a maximum of 268 FPS, showing a stable experience. The High preset drops to an average of 202 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls to 172 FPS. This shows a clear 101 FPS difference between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p, a substantial gap that competitive players will want to exploit.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS figures scale down as expected. The Low preset leads with an average of 188 FPS, followed by the Medium preset at 160 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS. The High preset achieves 139 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 118 FPS. At this resolution, even the Ultra preset remains playable for most users, but the Medium preset offers a better balance of visual quality and performance headroom. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. The Low preset is the most playable option, with an average of 111 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 95 FPS, with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS, which is still within a playable range. The High preset yields 82 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 70 FPS, which is likely too low for consistent competitive play on a 4K monitor. The data shows a clear trend: the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring compromises in settings to maintain a high frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall ranking of this combo in CS:GO is 2615th out of 2848 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This low ranking is a direct consequence of the Intel Arc B370's weak GPU performance. The GPU's 3DMark score of 1184 puts it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all older, lower-performance models. This is in stark contrast to the CPU, which performs much better in its own benchmarks. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which has a score of 49228 and a deltaPct of -0.5%, and the Intel Core i5-14600K, with a score of 48618 and a deltaPct of 0.8%. This indicates that the CPU is a high-performing component that is being held back by the integrated GPU.

The ranking data suggests that while the CPU is more than capable of handling CS:GO's physics and game logic, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The combo's rank reflects the GPU's limitations in a game that is generally considered to be CPU-bound on many systems. In this specific pairing, the GPU's inability to handle high pixel counts and settings is the primary reason for the low overall rank. The performance gap between the CPU and GPU is stark, with the CPU sitting in the 90th percentile and the GPU in the 5th percentile, creating a highly unbalanced system for gaming. This pairing is not recommended for users seeking high-end competitive performance, but its measured FPS at lower settings shows it can still provide a playable experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, which provides strong single-threaded performance. In the benchmark data, the CPU scores 4648 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 32924 in multi-core, indicating a well-rounded processor. Its PassMark single-thread score is 4394, which contributes to its overall strong showing in CPU-centric workloads. The CPU's high boost clock is particularly important for CS:GO, as the game's engine is known to be sensitive to single-core performance. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this system.

The CPU's performance is evidenced by its rank in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995. This is a very strong result, putting it ahead of its nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and the Intel Core i5-14600K. Despite this, the overall system's performance in CS:GO is low due to the GPU. The data shows that the FPS scales significantly with resolution and settings, which is a clear sign of a GPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively constant across different resolutions. The fact that the FPS drops by roughly 40% when moving from 1080p to 1440p and again from 1440p to 4K confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint. Therefore, while the CPU is a powerful component, its capabilities are largely untapped in this configuration, and its performance is effectively masked by the Intel Arc B370's limitations.