Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and Intel Arc B370 combination ranks near the bottom of the database for Minimum, placing 2703rd out of 2939 tested combos. This places the pairing in the 8th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it can run the game, it is not positioned to deliver a high-refresh-rate or high-fidelity experience, particularly at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2703 out of 2939 tested combinations is a clear indicator of its standing. This places it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested with this game, a position driven almost entirely by the GPU's limited capabilities. The data shows a significant performance ceiling that the CPU cannot overcome. While the Ryzen 5 5500 is a capable mid-range processor, the Arc B370's benchmark scores anchor this pairing firmly in entry-level territory. The result is a system that is fundamentally constrained by its graphics solution, making it suitable for 1080p gaming at lower settings rather than a high-end experience.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low score, and its nearest rivals in the database—the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, and AMD Radeon HD 7650M—are all legacy parts from a different era. The deltaPct values against these rivals are minimal, with the Arc B370 trailing the Radeon HD 5770 by just 0.5% and the Mobility Radeon HD 5570 by 0.2%, while it leads the AMD FirePro M2000 by 1.4%. This clustering suggests that, despite its modern architecture, the Arc B370's raw performance output is comparable to these older, low-power components. This GPU performance is the primary bottleneck for the entire combo, and it is the reason for the low overall rank.

The CPU, on the other hand, performs much better in its own benchmarks. Its average benchmark score of 19593 places it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430, Intel Core i5-12500, Intel Core i7-10700F, and Intel Core i5-11600KF, all have average scores within a 1.2% range of the Ryzen 5 5500. This indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The massive disparity between the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking and the GPU's 5th percentile ranking highlights a severe imbalance, confirming that the GPU is the definitive performance bottleneck in this system for Minimum.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the deciding factor in this combo's performance, and its specifications reveal why. Its memory configuration is listed as "System Shared," meaning it has no dedicated VRAM of its own. This forces the GPU to rely on the system's DDR4 memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This is a fundamental limitation for gaming, as shared memory access is significantly slower than dedicated GDDR memory and can lead to stuttering and lower frame rates, especially at higher resolutions where more data needs to be moved.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a point of interest. Its base clock is a low 300 MHz, with a boost clock of 2400 MHz. This large difference suggests a power-saving design that is typical of integrated or mobile-class parts. The chip is built on Intel's 3 nm process and has a TDP of just 25 W, which is extremely low for a discrete GPU and confirms its efficiency-focused design. The shading units number 1280, with 40 texture mapping units (TMUs) and 20 render output units (ROPs). These are relatively low counts, which directly translate into the modest pixel fill rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS, a figure that aligns with its low benchmark scores.

In the context of Minimum, the GPU's shared memory architecture and low raw compute power are the direct causes of its poor performance. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the GPU can manage playable frame rates at Low settings but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at High. As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the limited memory bandwidth and fill rate become insurmountable obstacles, causing frame rates to plummet. The GPU is simply not equipped to handle the data throughput required for higher resolutions in this third-person shooter, making it the clear bottleneck in every measured scenario.

FAQ

*Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo capable of running Minimum at 1080p?*

A: Yes, the data shows it is playable at 1080p. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 are 85 FPS on Low, 65 FPS on Medium, 55 FPS on High, and 42 FPS on Ultra settings.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1440p resolution?

A: Performance degrades significantly at 2560x1440. The measured average FPS drops to 55 on Low, 42 on Medium, 35 on High, and 27 on Ultra settings. While Low is playable, higher settings will struggle to maintain smooth frame rates.

Q: What is the best setting to use for a smooth experience at 1080p?

A: The data indicates that the Medium preset at 1920x1080, with an average of 65 FPS and a minimum of 56 FPS, offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it stays above a 60 FPS average while providing better visuals than Low.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. It trails the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 by 0.2% and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 by 0.5%, while leading the AMD FirePro M2000 by 1.4%.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the main bottleneck for this combo?

A: The GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The massive gap in percentile rankings shows the CPU has ample headroom that the GPU cannot utilize.

Q: Can this system run the game at 4K resolution?

A: No, the data shows it is not a viable option. At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 30 on Low, 23 on Medium, 19 on High, and only 15 on Ultra settings. These frame rates are far too low for a smooth gaming experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. For a 1920x1080 display, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. With an average of 65 FPS and a minimum of 56 FPS, it is the only preset that consistently provides a frame rate above the 60 FPS threshold. It offers a significant improvement over the Low preset's 85 FPS, but more importantly, it maintains a playable minimum, unlike the High preset which averages 55 FPS and would likely dip lower, and the Ultra preset which averages only 42 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes. The Low preset is the only viable option for a reasonably smooth experience, with an average of 55 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 42 FPS, and High falls to 35 FPS, both of which would feel sluggish in a fast-paced third-person shooter. Pushing to Ultra at 1440p results in an average of just 27 FPS, which is not recommended. For 4K, no settings are recommended, as even the Low preset only achieves 30 FPS, which is below the standard for playable performance.

Therefore, the best experience with this hardware is to play at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset. If a higher resolution is desired, 1440p with Low settings is the only practical option, accepting a trade-off in visual fidelity for improved frame rates. The 1080p Medium preset provides the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, ensuring the game is both playable and looks better than its lowest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 85. The Medium preset averages 65 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 55 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 42 FPS. This shows a clear scaling pattern where each step up in quality costs a significant number of frames.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance takes a substantial hit. The Low preset averages 55 FPS, which is a 30 FPS drop from the 1080p Low setting. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. The High preset averages 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 27 FPS. This demonstrates that the GPU's limitations become much more apparent at this resolution, with even the Low preset failing to hit 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the combo is clearly out of its depth. The Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is only borderline playable. The Medium preset averages 23 FPS, with a minimum of 19 FPS and a maximum of 26 FPS. The High preset averages a poor 19 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 15 FPS. These numbers confirm that the Arc B370 cannot handle 4K rendering in this game, as the shared memory bandwidth and low fill rate become critical bottlenecks. The data shows a consistent and predictable decline in performance as resolution and settings increase, with the most significant drops occurring when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 plays a secondary, supportive role in this combo, and its specifications show it is more than capable of feeding the GPU. This is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It has a 16 MB L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. These are solid specifications for a modern gaming CPU, indicating that it can handle the game's logic, physics, and AI without being a significant constraint.

Its benchmark scores reinforce this assessment. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score is 16429, and its single-core score is 2319. Its Geekbench scores are 7976 for multicore and 1730 for single-core. These numbers are strong for a mid-range desktop processor and place it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-12500 and Intel Core i7-10700F, have average scores that are within a fraction of a percent of the Ryzen 5 5500, confirming its competitive position in the market.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The evidence for this is the sheer gap between its performance and the GPU's. The CPU is ranked in the 73rd percentile, while the GPU is in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. In practice, this means the Ryzen 5 5500 can process the game's data far faster than the Arc B370 can render it. The bottleneck is the GPU's rasterization and memory throughput, not the CPU's processing power. The data shows that at lower resolutions and settings, where the GPU load is lighter, the frame rates are higher, which is the opposite of a CPU-limited scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau regardless of resolution or settings. Instead, we see massive drops in FPS at higher resolutions, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited system. Therefore, the Ryzen 5 5500 provides a stable and powerful foundation, but the Arc B370 prevents the system from achieving its full potential in this game.