Assetto Corsa

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a compelling mid-range combination for Assetto Corsa, a racing simulation from 2014-12-18. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with performance scaling that points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across various configurations to understand the balance between the 6-core, 12-thread CPU and the 12 GB graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking trend in the data is how average FPS collapses as resolution increases, clearly identifying the Intel Arc B580 as the limiting component in this setup for Assetto Corsa. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 203.1 FPS, a figure that drops to 142.1 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 86.6 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 57.4% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, a stark illustration of the pixel throughput demands placed on the GPU.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. Moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings yields a drop from 109 FPS to 44.8 FPS, a 58.9% decrease. At Ultra settings, the decline is from 86.6 FPS to 37.9 FPS, a 56.2% reduction. The consistency of this ~57-59% drop across all settings indicates that the Arc B580's rendering pipeline is saturated by the 3840x2160 resolution, regardless of the complexity of the scene being rendered. The data suggests that the CPU's 4.40 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's raw fill rate becomes the decisive factor as pixel count increases.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580's specifications directly explain its performance ceiling in Assetto Corsa. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has ample memory resources for this title, which was released in 2014 and does not require excessive VRAM. The bottleneck is not memory capacity but rather the processing power, with the GPU's 2560 shading units and peak FP32 performance of 13.67 TFLOPS determining the frame rates observed.

The GPU's clock behavior shows no variance between base and boost, both locked at 2670 MHz. This fixed clock speed means the card operates at a consistent throughput, making the measured FPS differences purely attributable to resolution and settings workload. The data shows that at 2560x1440 Ultra, the card produces 60.3 FPS, which is a playable result, but at 3840x2160 Ultra it falls to 37.9 FPS. This aligns with the GPU's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs, indicating it is a capable mid-range part that struggles with the highest demands of 4K gaming. The 80 ROPs and 160 TMUs provide a texture and pixel fill rate that is adequate for 1440p but insufficient for smooth 4K at maximum quality.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combination depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 86.6 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, as the frame rate remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 75.5 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (99.1 FPS) while maintaining a high frame rate; the Ultra preset at 60.3 FPS is also viable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests a clear compromise is necessary. The Medium preset at 59.5 FPS is the only configuration that approaches a standard 60 FPS target, while High drops to 44.8 FPS and Ultra to 37.9 FPS. The Low preset at 86.6 FPS is playable but sacrifices the visual quality that makes racing simulators immersive. Therefore, for 4K gaming, Medium settings are the pragmatic limit for this hardware, while 1440p High or 1080p Ultra provide the most satisfying experiences without significant performance penalties.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset reveals a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 203.1 at Low, 141.5 at Medium, 109 at High, to 86.6 at Ultra. This shows a performance delta of 116.5 FPS between the lowest and highest settings, indicating that the GPU is not the primary constraint at this resolution, as the CPU can maintain high frame rates even with reduced graphical loads.

At 2560x1440, the figures are 142.1 (Low), 99.1 (Medium), 75.5 (High), and 60.3 (Ultra). The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 81.8 FPS, suggesting the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of increased pixel count. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in an average performance loss of roughly 30% across all settings, a significant but manageable drop.

At 3840x2160, the numbers compress further: 86.6 (Low), 59.5 (Medium), 44.8 (High), and 37.9 (Ultra). The delta between Low and Ultra is now only 48.7 FPS, and the scaling is nearly linear, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated and each additional graphical feature has a proportionally smaller impact on the already limited frame rate. This breakdown confirms that 4K is the GPU's weakness, while 1080p and 1440p configurations are where this combo excels.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Assetto Corsa at 4K with high settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 44.8 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset is even lower at 37.9 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144 Hz monitor?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 203.1 FPS, and with Medium settings it reaches 141.5 FPS. These are the only configurations that exceed 144 FPS, making 1080p the only viable resolution for high-refresh displays.

Q: How much faster is the system at 1080p compared to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS at 1920x1080 is 109, compared to 44.8 at 3840x2160. This represents a 143.3% increase in performance at the lower resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. At 2560x1440, the FPS drops from 99.1 at Medium to 60.3 at Ultra, showing that the GPU's workload scales with settings, while the CPU's 12 threads are sufficient to handle the simulation logic without limiting frame rates.

Q: What is the playable preset for 4K gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 59.5 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that approaches the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 86.6 FPS is also playable but offers reduced visual quality.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest rival in terms of overall score?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, which is only 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060's score of 23181. This suggests they are closely matched in general compute performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, plays a supporting role in this combo's Assetto Corsa performance. The CPU's benchmark results, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029, indicate it has ample processing power for this racing simulator. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth ensure that the CPU can feed the GPU without creating a data bottleneck.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 203.1 FPS, which is a high frame rate that tests the CPU's ability to process game logic and physics. The fact that this number drops significantly at higher resolutions points to the GPU becoming the constraint, rather than the CPU. The CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, provides the single-threaded performance necessary for Assetto Corsa's simulation elements, but the measured FPS scaling suggests that the CPU has headroom left unused at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for Assetto Corsa, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B580 holds a rank of 1363 out of 1721 combos. This places it in the lower 21% of all tested configurations, which is surprising given the GPU's individual performance. The combo's rank is influenced by the fact that Assetto Corsa is a lighter title, where even lower-end GPUs can achieve high frame rates, and the Arc B580's 4K weakness drags down its overall standing.

However, the rank must be interpreted with the resolution-dependent data in mind. At 1080p, the combo is competitive, with the GPU scoring 15748 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 66th percentile. The CPU's average benchmark score of 17181 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, which scores 17189, a delta of 0%. This indicates that the CPU is not a weak link. The combo's rank of 1363 suggests that many other tested systems feature more powerful GPUs that excel at higher resolutions, but for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this pairing offers a balanced and capable experience within its measured performance envelope.