Valorant

Valorant’s measured performance with the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Intel Arc B370 shows a combination that is heavily tilted toward CPU capability, with the integrated graphics acting as the primary limiter at every resolution. The data indicates a playable experience even at 4K, but the scaling pattern reveals that the Arc B370’s integrated nature caps frame rates well below what the Ryzen 5 9600X could otherwise deliver. This combo ranks in the bottom tier of tested configurations, underscoring that it is a functional but not competitive pairing for high-refresh-rate Valorant play.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not catastrophic, indicating that the integrated GPU is the bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 299 at 1920x1080 to 255 at 2560x1440, a decline of 44 FPS, then to 204 at 3840x2160, another 51 FPS drop. This linear degradation pattern—roughly 15% and 20% reductions respectively—suggests that the Intel Arc B370’s compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count increases, while the CPU still has headroom.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. At 1080p, the spread between Low (299 FPS) and Ultra (178 FPS) is 121 FPS. At 1440p, that spread narrows to 103 FPS (255 vs 152). At 4K, the spread tightens further to 82 FPS (204 vs 122). This convergence at higher resolutions means the GPU is working near its limits regardless of preset, so the quality settings have less impact on the final frame rate.

Medium settings show the most consistent behavior across resolutions, with averages of 197 FPS at 1080p, 168 FPS at 1440p, and 134 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS data available only for Medium settings reveals the frame pacing: at 1080p, the minimum is 167 FPS, dropping to 143 at 1440p and 114 at 4K. These minimums are within 30 FPS of the averages, suggesting relatively stable frame delivery rather than severe spikes, though the 4K minimum of 114 FPS is noticeably lower than the 1080p minimum.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is harsher than from 1080p to 1440p across all settings. For High settings, the drop from 160 to 128 FPS (32 FPS) is larger than the drop from 187 to 160 (27 FPS). This nonlinear scaling points to the integrated memory bandwidth becoming a critical constraint, as the Arc B370 uses System Shared memory, making performance dependent on the system’s DDR5 bandwidth rather than dedicated VRAM.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution with a 25 W TDP, and its performance profile matches that classification. The measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, firmly in entry-level territory. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% delta), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% delta), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, -0.7% delta), all of which are over a decade old. This context explains why the GPU struggles to push past 300 FPS even at 1080p Low.

The GPU’s clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. This wide boost range allows the Arc B370 to reach 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance when fully engaged. However, the 20 ROPs and 40 TMUs are modest figures that limit pixel and texture throughput, directly impacting how many frames can be rendered per second. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are sufficient for low-resolution esports titles but become strained at 4K.

The System Shared memory configuration is the GPU’s Achilles’ heel. With no dedicated VRAM, the Arc B370 relies on the system’s DDR5 memory, which is dual-channel with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s according to the CPU’s specifications. This shared bandwidth creates contention between CPU and GPU workloads, and the measured FPS data suggests this is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The 4K Medium result of 134 FPS average, with a minimum of 114 FPS, shows that the GPU can maintain playable rates but cannot sustain the high refresh rates competitive players demand.

The GPU’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 ensures modern API compatibility, but the hardware’s absolute performance is low. The 1280 shading units and 10 ray tracing cores are present on paper, but the 5th percentile ranking indicates that real-world gaming performance is minimal. For Valorant, which is designed to run on modest hardware, the Arc B370 manages to produce acceptable numbers, but it is clearly the weakest link in this combo.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) built on TSMC’s 4 nm process. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is critical for Valorant’s engine. The CPU’s benchmark scores confirm its capability: a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2923 indicate excellent per-thread throughput.

In multi-threaded workloads, the 9600X is equally competent, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17528.5 and a Passmark multithread score of 30027. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core provide ample fast storage for game data. The 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs shows that this processor is well above average, and its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (29879, -0.6% delta) and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29955, -0.8% delta), both of which are higher-tier chips.

Valorant is known to be CPU-bound at high frame rates, and the data here supports that. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 299 FPS average, which is likely near the CPU’s single-thread limit for this game. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz is fully utilized in this scenario, and the 12 threads ensure that background processes do not interfere with game logic. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 4 nm process allow sustained boost clocks without thermal throttling, which is evident in the consistent frame delivery.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is shared with the GPU, and at 4K resolutions, this becomes a bottleneck. However, at 1080p, the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them, as shown by the 299 FPS Low result. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and Passmark single-thread score of 4570 further validate that the 9600X has ample headroom for esports titles. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo; the GPU is.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2645 out of 2883 tested combinations places it in the bottom 8.3% of all configurations for Valorant. This is a poor showing that reflects the GPU’s limitations rather than the CPU’s capabilities. The Ryzen 5 9600X alone ranks in the 81st percentile of CPUs, which is above average, but the Intel Arc B370’s 5th percentile GPU ranking drags the overall combo down dramatically.

This disparity means that the combo is fundamentally unbalanced. The CPU is capable of driving frame rates well above 300 FPS, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 299 FPS, but the GPU cannot keep pace. The rank suggests that most other tested combos, even those with weaker CPUs, outperform this pairing because they have dedicated GPUs. The data indicates that swapping the Arc B370 for even a modest discrete GPU would likely move this combo into the top half of the rankings.

The nearest rival GPUs, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with a 0.5% higher score, are ancient hardware, which contextualizes how far behind the Arc B370 is. In Valorant, where high refresh rates are the primary goal, this combo’s rank of 2645 means it is not suitable for competitive play at high settings. The 4K Ultra result of 122 FPS average is playable for casual gaming, but the 1080p Low result of 299 FPS, while impressive for integrated graphics, falls short of the 360+ FPS that serious players seek.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate, with the Low preset providing the best competitive experience. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 299 FPS average, which is 112 FPS higher than the High preset’s 187 FPS. This massive jump makes Low the only viable choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The 1440p Low result of 255 FPS is also strong, suggesting that players with 1440p displays should still choose Low to maximize frame rates.

Medium settings offer a compromise, with 197 FPS at 1080p and 168 FPS at 1440p. The minimum FPS values of 167 and 143, respectively, are above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors, making Medium a viable option for players who want slightly better visuals without sacrificing smoothness. However, the 4K Medium result of 134 FPS average, with a 114 FPS minimum, dips below 144 Hz, so 4K users should stick to Low.

High and Ultra presets are not recommended for this combo. At 1080p, High (187 FPS) and Ultra (178 FPS) are within 9 FPS of each other, but both are significantly lower than Medium’s 197 FPS. The visual difference between Medium and High in Valorant is minimal, so the frame rate loss is not justified. At 4K, Ultra’s 122 FPS average is only 6 FPS lower than High’s 128 FPS, but the 82 FPS gap between Ultra and Low at 4K makes Low the clear choice for any resolution above 1440p.

For the best experience, the data points to 1080p Low as the optimal configuration, delivering nearly 300 FPS. If a player prioritizes visual fidelity over raw frame rate, Medium at 1440p (168 FPS) is the highest settings combination that maintains frame rates above 144 Hz. Any preset above Medium, or any resolution above 1440p, results in average FPS below 170, which is insufficient for competitive play.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 299, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the data that approaches the 300 FPS threshold.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K Low, the combo averages 204 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 122 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows a minimum FPS of 114, indicating playable but not ideal performance.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It scores 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance relative to its multi-thread performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X scores 2183.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 17528.5 in multi-core, a ratio of about 1:8. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 1253, while the max-thread score is 7590. This indicates strong per-core capability, which is beneficial for Valorant.

Q: Does the combo maintain stable frame rates at Medium settings?

A: The data shows minimum FPS values for Medium settings only. At 1080p, the minimum is 167 FPS against a 197 FPS average. At 1440p, the minimum is 143 FPS against a 168 FPS average. At 4K, the minimum is 114 FPS against a 134 FPS average.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Valorant?

A: The combo ranks 2645 out of 2883 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8.3%. This rank is primarily due to the GPU’s low performance, as the CPU alone sits in the 81st percentile of all CPUs.