Overpower

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Intel Arc B370 combination presents a unique case study in system bottlenecking, placing 2742nd out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower. This pairing of a 2018-era six-core processor with Intel’s 2026 integrated-class GPU (in a mobile/IGP configuration) produces a frame rate curve that is heavily dictated by resolution, with the data indicating a system where neither component is fully utilized at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a pronounced and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, but the shape of that curve changes dramatically depending on the quality preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 65 FPS at 1920x1080 to 58 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 10.8% reduction), and then further to 49 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 24.6% reduction from 1440p). This relatively gentle slope suggests that at Low settings, the system is not entirely overwhelmed by pixel count, and the scaling is closer to what one might expect from a balanced configuration.

However, the story is different at Medium and High settings. At Medium, the average drops from 41 FPS at 1080p to 36 FPS at 1440p (a 12.2% decrease) and then to 31 FPS at 4K (a 13.9% decrease from 1440p). The High preset shows a similar pattern: 38 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p (a 10.5% decrease), and 28 FPS at 4K (a 17.6% decrease from 1440p). The Ultra preset, while starting lower, shows the steepest relative decline, going from 31 FPS at 1080p to 28 FPS at 1440p (a 9.7% decrease) and then to 24 FPS at 4K (a 14.3% decrease from 1440p).

The data implies that the limiting component shifts based on settings. At Low, the GPU’s relatively low fillrate requirement means the CPU (with its 6 cores and 12 threads at a 3.90 GHz boost clock) can keep up better, and the resolution scaling is more linear. As settings increase to Medium and High, the additional shading work begins to saturate the Intel Arc B370’s 1280 shading units, making the GPU the primary bottleneck. The 4K-to-1080p ratio at Medium (31 vs 41 FPS) shows a 24.4% performance hit, which is less severe than the 28.2% hit at Ultra (24 vs 31 FPS). This suggests that at Ultra, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the resolution increase has a compounding effect, whereas at Medium, there is still some headroom in the system to absorb the extra pixels.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination’s overall position in Overpower is 2742nd out of 2980 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU’s performance class. The Intel Arc B370’s average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals in synthetic tests are legacy parts like the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (scoring 1186, a -0.2% delta) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (scoring 1190, a -0.5% delta). This indicates that in raw 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 performance, the Arc B370 is essentially on par with graphics hardware from over a decade ago.

The CPU, by contrast, is a mid-pack performer. The Ryzen 5 2600’s average benchmark score of 21484 places it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, with rivals including the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (scoring 21440, a +0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i9-11900H (scoring 21367, a +0.5% delta). This means the processor is not the primary reason for the low combo ranking; it is the GPU that drags the system down. In Overpower, this disparity is visible in the FPS data: even at 1080p Low, the system only achieves 65 FPS, a figure that would be considered low for a modern action game on a desktop-class setup, confirming that the Arc B370 is the constraining factor. The combo rank of 2742 versus the CPU’s 75th percentile standing highlights a significant imbalance, where a reasonably capable processor is paired with a GPU that is in the bottom 5% of its own field.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 provides 6 physical cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its architecture is Zen (specifically Zen+ Pinnacle Ridge), built on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. In synthetic benchmarks, it shows moderate multi-threaded strength with a Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 1248 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 5648. Single-thread performance is less impressive, with a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 157.3 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1154.

In Overpower, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. Given the Arc B370’s low performance ceiling, the Ryzen 5 2600 is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 65 FPS average is likely near the GPU’s maximum output, and the CPU is not being stressed to its full potential. The data supports this: the CPU’s Passmark multi-thread score of 13160 and its 75th percentile ranking suggest it has ample headroom for a game running at these low frame rates. If the GPU were stronger, we might see the CPU’s single-thread performance (Passmark single-thread score of 2239) become a bottleneck, but with the Arc B370, that scenario never materializes in the measured data.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 bus is also not a constraint at these frame rates. The system’s performance is so GPU-limited that the CPU’s cache configuration (16 MB shared L3) and 12 nm process node are largely irrelevant to the final FPS numbers. The only scenario where the CPU might become more relevant is at 4K Ultra, where the 24 FPS average is so low that the CPU is certainly idle waiting on the GPU. In essence, the Ryzen 5 2600 is a capable mid-range processor that is being held back by its graphics counterpart.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance, but it is still modest. On Low settings, the average FPS is 65, which is the highest number recorded for this combo. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 41 FPS, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 47. High settings yield 38 FPS average, and Ultra drops further to 31 FPS average. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 34 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s limited shading power (6.144 TFLOPS FP32) is quickly saturated as quality increases.

At 2560x1440, the averages decline across the board. Low settings maintain a playable 58 FPS average. Medium falls to 36 FPS (min 31, max 42), High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows slightly to 30 FPS at this resolution, but the absolute numbers are lower. The 1440p Medium result of 36 FPS is a 12.2% drop from 1080p Medium, while the 1440p Ultra result of 28 FPS is a 9.7% drop from 1080p Ultra. This suggests that at higher settings, the resolution increase has a slightly smaller relative impact because the GPU is already fully utilized.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings produce a 49 FPS average, which is the only playable option at this resolution. Medium drops to 31 FPS (min 26, max 35), High to 28 FPS, and Ultra to 24 FPS. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system is barely rendering a slideshow, with a 24 FPS average that is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K Medium result of 31 FPS is a 13.9% drop from 1440p Medium, and the 4K High result of 28 FPS is a 17.6% drop from 1440p High. The most striking observation is that at 4K, the difference between Medium and Ultra is only 7 FPS (31 vs 24), indicating that the GPU is so overburdened at this resolution that quality settings have diminishing returns.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of playing Overpower at 60 FPS in any configuration?

A: No. The highest measured average FPS is 65 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. All other settings and resolutions produce averages below 60 FPS, with 1080p Medium at 41 FPS and 1080p High at 38 FPS.

Q: At what resolution and settings does the system maintain a minimum FPS above 30?

A: The only measured row with a minimum FPS above 30 is 1920x1080 Medium, which has a minimum of 34 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 31 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 26 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600’s average benchmark score of 21484 is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21440) and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-11900H (21367). It is 0.7% lower than the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635).

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to all GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B370 is in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184 from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test.

Q: Does increasing resolution from 1440p to 4K have a larger impact at Low or Ultra settings?

A: The data shows a larger relative impact at Ultra. At Low, the drop from 1440p (58 FPS) to 4K (49 FPS) is a 15.5% decrease. At Ultra, the drop from 1440p (28 FPS) to 4K (24 FPS) is a 14.3% decrease.

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

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile. The FPS data confirms this, as even at 1080p Low, the system only achieves 65 FPS, which is far below what the Ryzen 5 2600 could support with a more powerful graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the user’s priority between frame rate and visual fidelity. For a smooth, responsive experience, the only viable option is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers 65 FPS average. This is the only configuration that breaks the 60 FPS threshold, making it the clear choice for competitive or fast-paced gameplay. If a user insists on 60 FPS, no other setting combination comes close, as 1080p Medium drops to 41 FPS.

For users who prefer higher visual quality over raw frame rate, 1920x1080 Medium offers a reasonable compromise at 41 FPS average, with a minimum of 34 FPS that keeps the action mostly fluid. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p yields only a 3 FPS difference (41 vs 38), which is not worth the visual cost. At 2560x1440, Low settings at 58 FPS is the only playable option, but it requires a significant resolution upgrade for a 7 FPS loss compared to 1080p Low. The data suggests that 1440p Medium (36 FPS) and 1440p High (34 FPS) are too close in performance to justify the higher preset.

At 3840x2160, no setting is truly playable, but Low at 49 FPS is the only option that approaches a playable frame rate. The 4K Medium (31 FPS) and 4K High (28 FPS) results are too low for action gameplay, and 4K Ultra (24 FPS) is essentially a slideshow. The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally 1080p Low for performance, or 1080p Medium for a balance of visual quality and frame rate, as the 41 FPS average is still marginally smoother than the 38 FPS at High. Users should avoid Ultra settings entirely at any resolution, as the performance penalty is not offset by the quality increase, and the system’s GPU cannot handle the load.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the dominant factor in this combo’s performance, and its specifications explain the low FPS numbers. It is built on Intel’s 3 nm process (Panther Lake chip) with the Xe3-LPG architecture, but it is configured as an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 25 W TDP. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2400 MHz. This translates to a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s, with a FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS.

Crucially, the memory is “System Shared” with “System Dependent” bandwidth, meaning it relies on the CPU’s DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a significant disadvantage in Overpower, as the GPU must share memory bandwidth with the CPU, and the Ryzen 5 2600’s 46.9 GB/s dual-channel bandwidth is not generous. The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile, with rivals being the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2%) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5%). This puts the Arc B370’s raw rendering power on par with GPUs from 2010-2011 era.

In Overpower, this translates to a hard ceiling on frame rates. The 65 FPS at 1080p Low is likely near the GPU’s absolute maximum, and any increase in settings or resolution causes a rapid decline. The GPU’s 10 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) are irrelevant in this context, as the shading units are simply too few to handle modern game loads at high quality. The shared memory architecture compounds the issue, as the GPU’s bandwidth is not only limited but also contended by the CPU. The data implies that the Arc B370 is a capable multimedia or light-gaming part, but it is not suited for a demanding action title like Overpower at standard desktop resolutions, and its 5th percentile ranking accurately reflects its position in the graphics hierarchy.