High On Life

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and Intel Arc B370 pairing delivers a deeply GPU-limited experience in High On Life, with benchmark results showing the integrated graphics struggling to maintain playable frame rates at most settings. The data indicates this combo ranks near the bottom of the database, sitting at 2715th out of 2958 tested combinations. While the CPU is a modern, high-performing part in its own right, the Arc B370's performance profile is more in line with entry-level mobile GPUs from over a decade ago, creating a massive bottleneck that defines every measured result in this game.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread desktop processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, drawing a 65 W TDP. The chip features a 24 MB shared L3 cache alongside per-core L2 and L1 caches of 3 MB and 192 KB, respectively. This is a capable modern CPU, with a 90th percentile ranking against all processors in the database, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs tested.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ultra 5 245 shows strong multi-threaded capability. It scores 32,924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,648 in single-core, while its Passmark multi-thread score reaches 38,706. These figures place it in competitive territory, with its nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which score nearly identically. The data shows the Ultra 5 245 trails the Ryzen 9 7900 by only 0.5% in average benchmark score, and it leads the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%. For a game like High On Life, a fast single-core CPU is important for physics and AI, but with a Passmark single-thread score of 4,394, this processor is not the limiting factor in these tests.

The measured frame rates in High On Life tell a clear story: the CPU has ample headroom. At 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 70 FPS, but this is not because the CPU is taxed. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,184 is abysmal, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. When the resolution drops, the CPU's role becomes more prominent, yet the frame rates remain low. The 245's 14 threads and high boost clock are sufficient for the game's engine, but the integrated Arc B370 cannot translate that CPU power into high frame rates. The data suggests that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is saturated long before the CPU reaches its limits.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's own 3 nm process. It features a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the host system's DDR5 RAM, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." This is a fundamental weakness for gaming, as the GPU must share memory bandwidth with the CPU, and in a dual-channel configuration, that bandwidth is capped at 102.4 GB/s.

The performance data confirms this is an extremely weak graphics solution. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc B370 scores 1,184 points, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, and AMD Radeon HD 7650M, all of which are legacy parts from over a decade ago. The B370 trails the HD 5770 by 0.5% and leads the AMD FirePro M2000 by 1.4%, but these are all within a negligible margin of error. This positioning means the B370 is essentially on par with integrated graphics from 2010, which is catastrophic for a modern FPS.

In High On Life, the GPU's limitations are stark. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 70 FPS, but this drops to 45 FPS at High and 34 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p, the numbers fall to 49 FPS at Low and 24 FPS at Ultra. The GPU's low pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s, combined with only 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, are insufficient for the game's rendering demands. The 10 ray tracing cores are present, but with such low raw throughput, enabling any RT would likely make the game unplayable. The data shows that the Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck, as the frame rates scale directly with resolution and settings, independent of CPU capability.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 70 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 49 FPS, a 30% reduction, and at 4K Low, it falls to 30 FPS, a 57% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline with increasing pixel count is the hallmark of a graphics-limited system. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU workload is largely independent of resolution.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 45 at 1080p, to 32 at 1440p, and finally to 19 at 4K. This is a 58% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the numbers are 55, 38, and 23 FPS respectively, with the 4K figure being 58% lower than the 1080p figure. The Ultra preset suffers the most, with averages of 34 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, and just 14 FPS at 4K, a 59% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The consistency of this ~57-59% drop across all settings strongly indicates that the GPU is being pushed to its absolute limits at every resolution.

This data also highlights the memory bandwidth constraint. With system-shared memory, the GPU's performance is tied to the CPU's DDR5 bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. At higher resolutions, the demand for texture data and frame buffer memory increases, but the available bandwidth does not. The result is a precipitous drop in frame rates that cannot be mitigated by CPU speed. The 3DMark score of 1,184, which is near the bottom of the database, corroborates this: the Arc B370 is simply not designed for 4K gaming, and even 1440p is a stretch. The only playable resolutions are 1080p at Low or Medium settings, where the frame rates approach 70 and 55 FPS respectively.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2715th out of 2958 tested combos in High On Life, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's severe performance deficit. The CPU is not the issue; the Ultra 5 245 is a high-end part that sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The problem is that pairing a top-tier CPU with an entry-level IGP creates a massive imbalance that yields poor real-world gaming results.

The data shows that the combo's rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU. The Arc B370's 3DMark score of 1,184 is in the 5th percentile, meaning 95% of GPUs tested perform better. Its nearest rivals are all legacy mobile or desktop parts from the early 2010s, including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770. These parts are not competitive in modern gaming, and the Arc B370's performance is statistically indistinguishable from them, with delta percentages ranging from -0.7% to +1.4%. This places the combo alongside systems with decade-old hardware, despite having a brand-new processor.

For context, the CPU's average benchmark score of 48,995 places it near the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and Intel Core i5-14600K, which are all within 1% of each other. However, this CPU strength does not translate into a higher combo rank because the game's frame rates are capped by the GPU. The measured FPS data reinforces this: even at 1080p Low, the combo only reaches 70 FPS, which is below what a modern discrete GPU could achieve. The 2715th rank is a warning that this pairing is fundamentally unsuited for gaming, as the GPU cannot leverage the CPU's capabilities. Any user considering this combo for High On Life should expect performance comparable to a low-end laptop from 2012, not a desktop from 2025.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in High On Life?

A: The highest average frame rate is 70 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals in 3DMark Steel Nomad?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1,184, which is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1,186) and 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,190). It is 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1,168).

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 34 FPS at 1080p to 14 FPS at 4K, a 59% reduction.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck in this combo?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU scores in the 90th percentile of all processors, while the GPU scores in the 5th percentile, and the frame rates scale heavily with resolution, indicating GPU limitation.

Q: What is this combo's rank among all tested combos in High On Life?

A: It ranks 2715th out of 2958 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 33 FPS, with an average of 38 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the only presets that deliver acceptable frame rates are at 1080p. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 70 FPS, which is the smoothest experience available. This is the recommended setting for competitive play, as it provides a frame rate that is close to the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS, which is also playable but with more frequent dips.

At 1080p High, the average drops to 45 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS, which is borderline. The data suggests that the Low preset is the best balance for this combo, as it is the only setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS. The Medium preset is a viable alternative if visual fidelity is prioritized, but the user must accept occasional frame rate dips below 50 FPS.

At 1440p and 4K, the data shows that no preset is recommended for a good experience. At 1440p Low, the average is 49 FPS, which is playable but below ideal smoothness. At 1440p Medium, the average is 38 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS, which is stuttery. At 1440p High and Ultra, the averages are 32 and 24 FPS respectively, which are not recommended. At 4K, all presets are below 30 FPS, with the Low preset averaging 30 FPS and the Ultra preset averaging just 14 FPS. These results indicate that the Arc B370 is not suitable for 1440p or 4K gaming in High On Life, and users should stick to 1080p Low or Medium for the best playable experience.