Cyberpunk 2077

Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B370 is a pairing that lands near the bottom of the database for Cyberpunk 2077, with a combo rank of 2685 out of 2920 tested configurations. The measured frame rates confirm this is a severely GPU-limited setup, with the integrated graphics solution struggling to maintain playable numbers even at the lowest settings and resolution. The data shows a consistent pattern: the Arc B370’s performance ceiling is the primary bottleneck, and the CPU’s capabilities are largely untapped in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a stark and predictable decline as resolution increases, indicative of a component that is overwhelmed by pixel throughput. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 45 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 33 FPS, a reduction of 12 frames, or roughly 27%. At 3840x2160, the average plummets to 22 FPS, which is a 51% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is the limiting factor; the rendering load is increasing faster than the available compute resources.

The trend continues across other settings. For Medium, the average FPS goes from 33 at 1920x1080, to 24 at 2560x1440, and finally to 16 at 3840x2160. The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 24 FPS at 1080p, 18 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most demanding, starting at 23 FPS at 1080p, falling to 17 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 11 FPS at 4K. The delta between resolutions is not linear, indicating that the GPU’s fixed resources, such as shading units and render output units, are being saturated. The step from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with average frame rates often halving or worse, suggesting the render output pipeline is a critical constraint.

This data indicates that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the performance ceiling here. If the system were CPU-bound, we would expect to see relatively consistent frame rates across lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. Instead, the drastic FPS drops with each resolution step confirm that the Arc B370’s fill rate and shading power are exhausted long before the CPU’s processing capacity is challenged.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor, and its specifications in the FACT PACK underscore its limitations for a demanding title like Cyberpunk 2077. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. While the boost clock is relatively high, the chip’s overall throughput is constrained by its modest execution resources: 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units. The FP32 performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s. These figures, while numerically present, translate to a low percentile ranking of 5 among all GPUs, placing it in the bottom tier of the database.

The memory configuration is perhaps the most significant handicap. The Arc B370 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it does not have dedicated VRAM. Its bandwidth is "System Dependent," relying on the same memory pool as the CPU. For a game like Cyberpunk 2077, which is known for heavy texture streaming and large assets, this shared memory arrangement is a severe bottleneck. The lack of dedicated VRAM not only limits the amount of data that can be stored on the GPU but also creates contention for memory bandwidth with the CPU, further impacting performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 1184 reinforces this, placing it just 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770, which are legacy parts from an entirely different era.

The data shows that the GPU’s role in this pairing is the primary determinant of performance. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is irrelevant when the underlying architecture cannot feed the shaders fast enough. The 10 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present in the API list, but the raw computational power to leverage them effectively is absent. The measured FPS figures are a direct consequence of these hardware constraints, with the system struggling to maintain even 45 FPS at 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Cyberpunk 2077, this specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2685 out of 2920. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, a position that aligns with the GPU’s low individual percentile rank of 5. The combo’s rank is a direct reflection of the Arc B370’s performance, as the CPU’s capabilities are far more substantial in comparison.

The CPU, Intel Core i5-12400, has an average benchmark score of 18683, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643, which is 0.1% slower, and the Intel Core i7-1355U, which is 0.3% slower. This suggests the processor is a competent mid-range part. However, when paired with the Arc B370, the system’s overall gaming performance is dragged down by the GPU. The combo rank of 2685 is not a reflection of the CPU’s potential, but rather of the severe imbalance in this pairing.

The delta between the CPU’s high percentile and the combo’s low rank illustrates a fundamental mismatch. The data shows that in this game, the GPU is the sole arbiter of frame rate. The i5-12400 is likely idle for significant portions of the frame rendering time, waiting on the GPU to catch up. This is a classic bottleneck scenario where the system’s weakest link dictates the overall experience. The benchmark results indicate that for Cyberpunk 2077, this combo is effectively a low-end configuration, regardless of the CPU’s standalone merits.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve in Cyberpunk 2077?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 45, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B370 scores 1184. This is 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770, and 0.7% below the AMD Radeon HD 7650M. It is 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 the main bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile. The frame rates drop drastically with resolution increases, a clear sign of GPU limitation.

Q: What memory type does the Intel Arc B370 use?

A: The GPU uses System Shared memory, with a memory bus width also listed as System Shared and bandwidth dependent on the system.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in the database for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2685 out of 2920 tested combinations for Cyberpunk 2077.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 33 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 17 FPS. This is a difference of 16 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured data points for this combo in Cyberpunk 2077 is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low settings preset yields an average of 45 FPS, while Medium drops to 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 and a maximum of 38. The High preset averages 24 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS (min 21, max 28), High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 22 FPS, Medium averages 16 FPS (min 14, max 19), High averages 12 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS.

The data shows a consistent hierarchy where Low is the only preset that approaches playability, and only at 1080p. The step from Low to Medium at any resolution incurs a significant performance penalty, indicating that the medium preset introduces a substantial increase in rendering complexity. For instance, at 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 12 FPS, a 27% reduction. The gap between Medium and High is also notable, with a 9 FPS drop at 1080p. The difference between High and Ultra is smaller, with only a 1 FPS difference at 1080p and 1440p, and also 1 FPS at 4K, suggesting that the Ultra preset is not significantly more demanding than High for this particular GPU, or that the GPU is already so saturated that the additional load has minimal impact.

The frame time consistency, where available, shows that the Medium preset has a spread of 10 FPS at 1080p (28-38) and 7 FPS at both 1440p (21-28) and 4K (14-19). This suggests that while the average is low, the frame pacing is not entirely erratic. However, given the extremely low averages, this consistency does little to improve the playability. The overall picture is one of severe underperformance, with all settings and resolutions failing to reach a smooth 60 FPS target.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s standalone benchmarks show it to be a capable performer. It scores 15989 in Cinebench R23 multicore, 6715 in R20 multicore, and 2257 in R23 single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 8564 multicore and 1848 single-core. The Passmark multithread score is 18747, and the single-thread score is 3456.

These scores place the i5-12400 in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 18683 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% slower) and Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% slower). This data confirms that the CPU is not the primary performance constraint in this Cyberpunk 2077 configuration. The CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, but the Arc B370’s low throughput means it cannot process the frames fast enough to utilize the CPU’s full potential.

In this specific game, the CPU’s 12 threads are likely sufficient to handle the game’s threading model, but the GPU’s rendering speed is so slow that the CPU is left waiting. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is fundamentally unbalanced, with the CPU’s performance being wasted by the GPU’s inability to keep up. The high boost clock of 4.40 GHz is irrelevant when the system is waiting on the GPU’s 300 MHz base clock to ramp up and process frames. The CPU is a mid-range part performing as expected, but it is shackled to a GPU that is in the bottom 5th percentile of all GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only setting combination that provides a remotely playable experience is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which averages 45 FPS. This is the only configuration that breaks the 40 FPS barrier. All other settings and resolutions fall below 33 FPS, which is generally considered to be on the edge of playability for an action RPG. The Low preset at 1440p averages 33 FPS, which might be acceptable for some users, but it is a significant step down from the 1080p result.

The data shows that the Ultra and High presets are not worth considering at any resolution, as they all fall below 24 FPS, which is a stuttery and unresponsive experience for a game that requires precise timing. Even the Medium preset, which is often a good compromise, fails to deliver a smooth experience, with a maximum average of 33 FPS at 1080p. The performance gap between Low and Medium is substantial, indicating that the Medium preset’s additional effects are too costly for the Arc B370.

For the best experience per the measured rows, the recommendation is to use 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only preset that approaches a playable frame rate. If the user insists on a higher resolution, 2560x1440 with Low settings is the next best option, but it comes with a significant 12 FPS average penalty. The data suggests that this hardware is not suited for Cyberpunk 2077 at higher quality settings, and users should prioritize resolution and frame rate over visual fidelity. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as the highest average FPS at that resolution is only 22 FPS on Low, which is a slideshow in a fast-paced game.