Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS where frame rate consistency and high refresh rates often matter more than absolute visual fidelity. The measured data for this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the Intel Arc B570 shows a system that is fundamentally capable of delivering extreme performance, though the way scores scale across settings and resolutions reveals a distinct performance profile. The dataset provides a clear picture of a pairing that excels at high frame rates, but the relationship between the CPU and GPU shifts depending on the workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a direct comparison across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets at three resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset produces a staggering 508 FPS average, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. This represents a 51% performance increase over the High preset at the same resolution, which averages 319 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 335 FPS, while Ultra drops to 304 FPS. Given that Valorant is a title where competitive players often prioritize frame rate above all else, the Low preset at 1080p is the optimal choice for maximum refresh rate compatibility, particularly for 360Hz or higher monitors.

However, the data suggests that the Low preset is not the only viable option. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p results in a significant frame rate drop from 508 to 335 FPS, a reduction of 34%. This is a substantial penalty for visual improvements. The gap between Medium and High is much smaller, with only a 16 FPS difference (335 vs 319), and the difference between High and Ultra is just 15 FPS (319 vs 304). This pattern indicates that the performance cost is front-loaded; the initial move away from Low settings is expensive, but subsequent increases in quality are relatively cheap in terms of FPS.

At 1440p, the same relative pattern holds. Low delivers 434 FPS, while Medium, High, and Ultra produce 286, 272, and 259 FPS respectively. The delta between Low and Medium is 148 FPS, which is again the largest single-step drop. For users with 1440p 240Hz monitors, the Low preset is the only one that guarantees the frame rate stays above the refresh rate ceiling, but Medium at 286 FPS still provides a comfortable margin above 240Hz. At 4K, the situation changes slightly. Low still leads with 347 FPS, but Medium (228 FPS), High (217 FPS), and Ultra (207 FPS) all remain well above the 144Hz threshold that is common for 4K displays.

The best experience per the measured data depends on the target display. For 1080p, the Low preset is the clear winner for competitive integrity. For 1440p, Low is ideal, but Medium is acceptable if visual quality is prioritized. For 4K, the Medium preset offers a balanced 228 FPS average, which is a reasonable compromise that maintains a high refresh rate while improving image quality over Low. The data implies that the Low preset is the performance king, but the Medium preset is the most balanced choice for users who want a high frame rate without sacrificing all visual detail.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the graphics component in this pairing, and its specifications include 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, with 2304 shading units. Its benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher), the Intel Arc A750 (0.1% lower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (0.5% lower).

In Valorant, the GPU’s role is less about raw pixel pushing and more about maintaining headroom. The measured FPS shows that the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the score of 508 FPS is so high that it approaches the limits of what a CPU can feed, indicating that the GPU is not being stressed. The 10 GB VRAM is ample for this game, as Valorant is not a VRAM-intensive title; the data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 207, which is still high, suggesting the GPU is handling the load without hitting memory capacity limits.

The GPU’s clock speed of 2500 MHz is constant between base and boost, which suggests a stable power delivery. The performance delta between the Low and Medium presets at 4K is 119 FPS (347 to 228), which is a drastic change. This is likely due to the increased shader and texture work at Medium, but the GPU still manages to deliver playable frame rates. The data indicates that the Arc B570 is well-suited for this game, as it can easily exceed 200 FPS at 4K Ultra, a feat that would be challenging for many mid-range GPUs. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 14195, while not directly translatable to game FPS, corroborates its position as a solid performer for a competitive FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 508, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the 4K Low preset compare to the 1080p Low preset?

A: The 4K Low preset averages 347 FPS, while the 1080p Low preset averages 508 FPS. This represents a 31.7% decrease in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Medium and High settings?

A: At 1080p, the difference is minimal, with Medium averaging 335 FPS and High averaging 319 FPS, a difference of only 4.8%. At 4K, the difference is also small, with Medium at 228 FPS and High at 217 FPS, a 4.8% difference.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 2227th out of 2883 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the leaderboard.

Q: Does the GPU have enough memory for this game?

A: Yes, the Intel Arc B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory. The measured results show that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 207, indicating the memory capacity is not a limiting factor for this game.

Q: Which preset provides the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 286 FPS, which is high enough for most high-refresh-rate monitors while offering better visual quality than the Low preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank in Valorant is 2227 out of 2883 tested combinations. This places it in the 77th percentile of all combos, meaning it outperforms roughly 77% of the other tested systems. However, this rank is somewhat surprising given the raw FPS numbers. The system can push over 500 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a phenomenal result. The rank suggests that many other combos, likely those with higher-end CPUs and GPUs, achieve even higher frame rates, or that the rank is influenced by other factors beyond average FPS, such as frame time consistency or minimum FPS.

The nearest CPU rivals for the Core Ultra 5 235 are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% faster), the Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% slower), and the AMD EPYC 4364P (0.2% faster). These are all high-performance processors, and the fact that the Ultra 5 235 is within 0.2% of them in synthetic benchmarks suggests it is a capable partner. The GPU rivals include the RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 0.1% faster, and the Arc A750, which is 0.1% slower. This indicates that the GPU is performing as expected for its class.

The rank of 2227 out of 2883 implies that while this combo is fast, it is not at the absolute top tier. In a game like Valorant, where the best players use 500Hz monitors, getting a rank in the lower-middle range means there is headroom for other systems to outperform it. The data shows that this combo is solid, but it is not a top-500 system. The high FPS numbers are impressive, but the rank contextualizes them against the wider field of tested hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is revealing about the system's balance. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 508 at 1080p to 434 at 1440p, a 14.6% decrease, and then to 347 at 4K, a 20.0% decrease from 1440p and a 31.7% decrease from 1080p. At Medium settings, the drop is from 335 at 1080p to 286 at 1440p (a 14.6% decrease) and then to 228 at 4K (a 20.3% decrease from 1440p). At High settings, the progression is 319 to 272 to 217, which represents a 14.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 20.2% drop from 1440p to 4K.

These percentage drops are remarkably consistent across all settings. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is always around 14.6%, and the drop from 1440p to 4K is always around 20%. This consistency suggests that the scaling is primarily driven by the GPU's pixel throughput, as the relative cost of increasing resolution is the same regardless of the graphics quality preset. However, the absolute FPS values remain very high, indicating that the system is not heavily bottlenecked by the GPU.

The data implies that the CPU is the dominant factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 508 FPS figure is likely close to the CPU’s maximum frame generation capacity. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes more involved, but it still has ample headroom. The consistent percentage drops suggest that the GPU is scaling predictably with pixel count, while the CPU is able to maintain a high frame rate ceiling. The limiting component at 1080p is the CPU, but at 4K, the GPU starts to play a more significant role, though it still delivers over 200 FPS at Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset offers a granular view of performance. At 3840x2160 (4K), the measurements are: Low preset averages 347 FPS; Medium averages 228 FPS with a minimum of 194 and a maximum of 263; High averages 217 FPS; Ultra averages 207 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the only one with recorded min/max values, indicating that the frame time variance was captured, showing a spread of 69 FPS between the minimum and maximum.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the results are: Low averages 434 FPS; Medium averages 286 FPS with a minimum of 243 and a maximum of 329; High averages 272 FPS; Ultra averages 259 FPS. The Medium preset again shows a significant variance, with a spread of 86 FPS between min and max.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the results are: Low averages 508 FPS; Medium averages 335 FPS with a minimum of 285 and a maximum of 385; High averages 319 FPS; Ultra averages 304 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p has a spread of 100 FPS between its minimum and maximum.

The Medium preset consistently shows the highest variance across all resolutions. This is interesting because it suggests that the Medium settings introduce a level of instability not seen in Low, High, or Ultra. The Low preset has no recorded min/max, which likely means the frame rate was highly consistent. The High and Ultra presets also lack min/max data, suggesting they are more stable than Medium. This could indicate that Medium settings trigger a specific workload pattern that causes occasional frame drops, while Low is too light and High/Ultra are heavy enough to saturate the GPU consistently. The average FPS for Medium is always higher than High, but the minimum FPS is closer to the High average, which could cause perceptible stutters.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It has 24 MB of shared L3 cache and is built on a 3 nm process. Its synthetic benchmarks are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085. It ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 46062 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, which include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and the Intel Core i9-13900HX.

In Valorant, the CPU’s high single-core performance is critical. The game is known to be sensitive to single-thread speed, and the boost clock of 5.00 GHz is a significant advantage. The data supports this, as the 1080p Low preset achieves 508 FPS, which is likely limited by the CPU’s ability to process game logic and draw calls. The 14 cores are more than enough for Valorant, which typically uses fewer threads, but the high clock speed ensures that the main thread is not a bottleneck.

The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 4516 is a strong indicator of its capability. The lack of hyperthreading (14 cores, 14 threads) might seem like a disadvantage, but for a game like Valorant, the physical cores are sufficient. The data shows that the combo’s performance at higher resolutions is less dependent on the CPU, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU scaling. However, at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor, and its performance ceiling of 508 FPS is the maximum this system can achieve. The CPU’s 65W TDP and 3 nm process suggest it maintains high clocks without excessive power draw, which is beneficial for sustained gaming sessions. The data indicates that this CPU is well-matched to the GPU, providing enough headroom for the Arc B570 to operate effectively across all tested settings.