Valorant

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 built on Arrow Lake architecture. It runs at a 3.50 GHz base clock and boosts to 5.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. In Valorant, this CPU's single-thread performance is the dominant factor, as the game's engine relies heavily on high-frequency cores for frame generation. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 4394 places it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong headroom for the game's primary thread workload. Its multi-threaded capabilities, reflected in a PassMark multithread score of 38706, are less critical for Valorant, but the 14 cores ensure that background tasks do not interfere with frame pacing.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 24 MB L3 cache. This configuration helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for Valorant's fast-paced hit detection. The processor supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, with a theoretical bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, ensuring the GPU receives data without bottlenecks at high frame rates. The CPU is unlocked for overclocking? No, the multiplier is locked, so the 5.10 GHz boost is the ceiling for sustained performance.

Comparatively, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 sits in a tight cluster with rivals. Its average benchmark score of 48995 is 0.4% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196) and 0.5% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228). It is 0.6% above the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698) and 0.8% above the Intel Core i5-14600K (48618). These deltas are small, meaning the CPU's contribution to Valorant frame rates will be similar across these processors, with any differences in FPS attributable to other system components. The launch MSRP for this CPU is $270.

For Valorant specifically, the measured FPS at 1080p High settings is 207 avg, 1440p High is 177 avg, and 4K High is 141 avg. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a 31.9% drop in average FPS, which is modest compared to more GPU-bound titles. This suggests the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's demands even at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. The CPU's 14 threads and high boost clock ensure that even when frame rates exceed 300 FPS at 1080p Low (331 avg), the processor does not become a bottleneck.

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

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process by Intel. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU's base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2500 MHz. Critically, the Arc B390 uses System Shared memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM; it draws from the system's DDR5 memory. The memory bus width is also System Shared, and bandwidth is System Dependent, which ties GPU performance directly to the CPU's memory subsystem.

This shared memory design has significant implications for Valorant. The game is not VRAM-heavy, so the lack of dedicated memory is less punishing here than in other titles. The GPU's pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, providing 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. These specifications are modest, placing the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which is low. Its nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, delta 1.3%), GeForce 800M (1460, delta 1.5%), GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, delta 2.5%), and GeForce GT 710 (1443, delta 2.7%). The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 is just barely above these older discrete GPUs, indicating that raw graphics compute is limited.

Despite this, Valorant's engine is optimized for low-end hardware. The measured FPS shows the Arc B390 can deliver 141 avg at 4K High, 177 avg at 1440p High, and 207 avg at 1080p High. These are playable frame rates, though not competitive-tier numbers. The GPU's boost clock of 2500 MHz helps at lower resolutions, but the shared memory bandwidth becomes a constraint at 4K, where the frame rate drops to 135 avg on Ultra settings. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, all of which Valorant can utilize, though the game's Vulkan path may be less optimized than DirectX.

The Arc B390's TDP is 80 W, and it is an IGP with no power connectors, meaning it shares power delivery with the CPU. This limits sustained boost clocks under heavy load. In Valorant, where frame rates are high, the GPU may throttle if the system's cooling is insufficient. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU achieves 331 avg FPS, but this drops to 225 avg at 4K Low, a 32% reduction, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are stretched at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2534 out of 2883 tested combos in Valorant. This places it in the bottom 12.2% of all configurations, which is expected given the GPU's low percentile ranking. The CPU is in the 90th percentile, but the GPU's 9th percentile drags the overall combo down significantly. In practical terms, this combo is not competitive for high-refresh-rate esports play, but it can handle Valorant at playable frame rates.

The combo's rank of 2534 suggests that most other tested combos, particularly those with discrete GPUs, deliver higher average FPS. However, the data shows that this combo still achieves 331 avg FPS at 1080p Low, which is above the 144 Hz threshold for many monitors. The bottleneck is clearly the GPU; the CPU has enough headroom to push higher frame rates if paired with a stronger graphics card. For example, the CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, has a similar average score (48618, delta 0.8%), but when paired with a discrete GPU, that combo would rank much higher in Valorant.

The combo's rank also reflects the GPU's memory constraints. Since the Arc B390 uses system shared memory, its performance is tied to the CPU's DDR5 bandwidth. In this case, the CPU's 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for Valorant, but it is not enough to overcome the GPU's low compute throughput at higher resolutions. The rank of 2534 is consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile, indicating that other combos with similarly weak GPUs but stronger CPUs would rank in the same range. The data confirms that the GPU is the primary limiter, as the CPU's performance metrics are far above the GPU's.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in Valorant?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 331 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, it drops to 282, and at 3840x2160 Low, it is 225.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 or the Intel Arc B390 the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile. The FPS drop from 1080p Low (331) to 4K Low (225) is 32%, which is a GPU-limited scaling pattern.

Q: How does this combo compare to the CPU's nearest rivals in terms of overall performance?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 48995, which is 0.4% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, 0.5% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, 0.6% above the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, and 0.8% above the Intel Core i5-14600K. These small deltas mean the CPU choice has minimal impact on Valorant FPS when paired with the same GPU.

Q: What settings are playable at 4K resolution with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo achieves 141 avg FPS on High, 149 avg on Medium, and 135 avg on Ultra. All of these are above 60 FPS, so 4K is playable, though not at high refresh rates.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B390 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No, the GPU uses System Shared memory for both size and type. The memory bus width is also System Shared, and bandwidth is System Dependent, meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory.

Q: Is this combo suitable for competitive Valorant play?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 331 avg FPS, which exceeds the 240 Hz refresh rate of many competitive monitors. However, at 1080p High, it drops to 207 avg, which is still above 144 Hz. For 1440p competitive play, Low settings yield 282 avg, but High drops to 177.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern across resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 331 at 1080p to 282 at 1440p (a 14.8% reduction), and then to 225 at 4K (a 20.2% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 32.0%. At High settings, the drop is from 207 at 1080p to 177 at 1440p (14.5% reduction), and to 141 at 4K (20.3% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at High is 31.9%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 218 at 1080p to 186 at 1440p (14.7% reduction), and to 149 at 4K (19.9% reduction from 1440p), totaling 31.7%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 198 at 1080p to 169 at 1440p (14.6% reduction), and to 135 at 4K (20.1% reduction from 1440p), totaling 31.8%.

These consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate a balanced scaling pattern, but the magnitude tells a specific story. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 14-15%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 20%. This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU is becoming increasingly limited at higher resolutions, as the number of pixels increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p, and by 125% from 1440p to 4K. The fact that the FPS drop is smaller than the pixel increase means that the GPU is not purely pixel-bound; the CPU is still providing enough frames to keep the GPU busy at lower resolutions, but the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth constraints become more apparent at 4K.

The limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect FPS to remain relatively constant across resolutions, as the CPU's work does not scale with resolution. Instead, FPS drops by roughly 32% from 1080p to 4K, which is a GPU-bound signature. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking and high single-thread score (4394 PassMark) mean it can sustain high frame rates, but the Arc B390's 9th percentile ranking limits the final output. The 4K Ultra score of 135 avg FPS is still playable, but it is only 41% of the 1080p Low score, confirming that the GPU is the primary limiter.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The data provides FPS measurements for four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions. The best experience depends on the user's refresh rate and resolution preference. For 1080p, Low settings deliver 331 avg FPS, which is ideal for 240 Hz or 360 Hz monitors. Medium settings drop to 218 avg, which is still sufficient for 144 Hz or 165 Hz displays. High settings yield 207 avg, and Ultra drops to 198 avg. For competitive play at 1080p, Low settings are recommended because the 331 avg FPS provides maximum frame pacing and lowest input latency, which is critical in a tactical FPS like Valorant.

At 1440p, Low settings achieve 282 avg FPS, which is excellent for 240 Hz monitors. Medium settings drop to 186 avg, which is still above 144 Hz. High settings yield 177 avg, and Ultra drops to 169 avg. For 1440p users, Low settings are again the best choice for competitive play, as the 282 avg FPS is significantly higher than the 186 avg of Medium. The gap of 96 FPS between Low and Medium at 1440p is substantial, indicating that the GPU's low compute throughput is heavily taxed by the Medium preset's additional effects.

At 4K, Low settings deliver 225 avg FPS, which is playable on 144 Hz displays. Medium settings drop to 149 avg, which is still above 60 FPS but below 144 Hz. High settings yield 141 avg, and Ultra drops to 135 avg. For 4K users, Low settings are recommended to maintain a high refresh rate, as the 225 avg FPS is 76 FPS higher than Medium. If a 60 Hz display is used, Medium settings (149 avg) provide a better visual quality trade-off while still maintaining a comfortable frame rate above 60.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset offers the best experience for frame rate-sensitive players, as it consistently provides the highest average FPS. The Medium preset offers a balanced trade-off, with 218 avg at 1080p, 186 avg at 1440p, and 149 avg at 4K, all of which are above 144 Hz except at 4K. High and Ultra presets provide diminishing returns in visual quality while costing significant FPS, with Ultra being only 60% of Low at 1080p (198 vs 331) and 60% at 4K (135 vs 225). For this GPU, the Low preset is the clear recommendation for maximizing frame rates, while Medium is acceptable for users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate.