Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 presents an extreme challenge for the Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B390. The measured data shows this combination operating firmly in the lower percentile of tested systems, with the GPU's performance profile being the dominant constraint. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on how settings, resolution, and component characteristics interact to produce the observed frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four tested settings presets, with the playability ceiling being quite low for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 49 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches a playable frame rate for a fast-paced action RPG. This represents a significant jump from the Medium preset, which averages 36 FPS at the same resolution.

The scaling pattern across settings is consistent at every resolution, with Low providing the best playable experience. At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 37 FPS average, which is borderline but still the only viable option for smoother gameplay. The High preset at 1080p manages 27 FPS, while Ultra falls to 25 FPS, both well below the threshold for comfortable play.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the data strongly suggests using the Low preset exclusively. The performance cost of moving from Low to Medium is substantial: at 1080p, the average frame rate drops by 13 FPS (from 49 to 36), representing a 26.5% reduction. The step from Medium to High costs another 9 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 2 FPS more. The diminishing returns in visual quality do not justify these steep performance penalties given the hardware's limitations.

At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only achieves 24 FPS, making this resolution impractical for any setting. The Medium preset at 4K averages 18 FPS with a minimum of 15 FPS and maximum of 21 FPS, showing that the GPU is completely overwhelmed. The recommendation is unambiguous: run at 1080p with Low settings as the primary configuration, with 1440p Low as a secondary option if the user accepts sub-40 FPS gameplay.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the central bottleneck in this pairing, a fact made clear by its benchmark profile. The GPU's sole 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, indicating performance that is dramatically below mainstream expectations. The nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463 (1.3% slower), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% slower), and the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% slower). These are legacy entry-level parts, underscoring how weak the Arc B390 is in absolute terms.

The GPU's clock behavior shows a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, but the measured frame rates suggest the boost clock is rarely sustained under load. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning the GPU relies on system RAM for its frame buffer rather than dedicated VRAM. This architecture has severe implications for memory bandwidth, which is listed as "System Dependent." In a data-heavy game like Cyberpunk 2077, this shared memory arrangement likely contributes to the low performance, as the GPU competes with the CPU for memory access.

The GPU's compute specifications include 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with 12 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS. While these numbers suggest a theoretically capable integrated part, the measured results indicate that the memory subsystem and driver overhead prevent the hardware from realizing its potential in a demanding title like Cyberpunk 2077. The GPU's TDP of 80 W and IGP slot width confirm its integrated nature, which limits its ability to sustain high clocks during extended gaming sessions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2576 out of 2920 tested combos for Cyberpunk 2077, placing it in the bottom 11.8% of all systems benchmarked. This ranking reflects the GPU's severe performance deficit; the CPU is a mid-range part, but the GPU drags the entire system down to near-bottom-tier status.

The CPU's standalone benchmarks show a different story. The 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 with an average score of 18697 (0.1% faster), the Intel Core i7-1355U at 18730 (0.3% faster), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 at 18811 (0.7% faster). The i5-12400 also beats the Intel Core i3-14100F, which scores 18519 (0.9% slower). This CPU is competitive with much more expensive parts, showing it is not the limiting factor.

The massive discrepancy between the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking and the combo's 11.8th percentile ranking illustrates the GPU bottleneck clearly. The system is only as strong as its weakest link, and the Arc B390 is an exceptionally weak link. The combo rank is dragged down almost entirely by the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that the CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic tests include server-class and modern mobile parts, none of which would struggle as much as this GPU does in gaming workloads.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Cyberpunk 2077?

A: The data clearly shows 1920x1080 as the only viable resolution. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 49 FPS average, while 1440p Low drops to 37 FPS and 4K Low to 24 FPS. The frame rate penalty for higher resolutions is severe due to the GPU's limited fill rate and shared memory bandwidth.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Low at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 25 FPS, which is 24 FPS lower than the Low preset's 49 FPS. This represents a 49% reduction in average frame rate. The High preset sits between them at 27 FPS, and Medium at 36 FPS. The performance gap is so large that Ultra is effectively unplayable while Low is the only playable option.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the low frame rates?

A: The GPU is almost entirely responsible. The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 18683, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile with a score of 1482. The combo's rank of 2576 out of 2920 (bottom 11.8%) aligns much more closely with the GPU's weak standing than the CPU's mid-range position.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. This is 9 FPS lower than the 1080p Medium average of 36 FPS. The frame time consistency is poor, as indicated by the 8 FPS spread between minimum and maximum.

Q: How does this GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is only 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.5% faster than the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446). These rivals are all ancient, extremely low-end parts, showing the Arc B390 is in the same performance class as decade-old integrated graphics.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra preset produce any playable frame rates?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 13 FPS, identical to the High preset's 13 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K manages 18 FPS, and Low reaches 24 FPS. None of these approach playability, and the 4K resolution should be avoided entirely with this hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo reveals a GPU that is severely bandwidth and fill-rate limited. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at the Low preset reduces the average frame rate from 49 FPS to 37 FPS, a drop of 12 FPS or 24.5%. The jump from 1440p to 3840x2160 at Low further reduces performance from 37 FPS to 24 FPS, another 35.1% reduction.

The scaling is not linear, which points to the shared memory architecture as a key constraint. At Medium settings, the frame rates are 36 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. The consistent step-down of approximately 9 FPS per resolution tier suggests the GPU is hitting a memory bandwidth ceiling that scales inversely with pixel count. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s is theoretically sufficient for 1080p at higher frame rates, but the actual performance falls far short, indicating that the "System Shared" memory is the primary limiter.

At High settings, the resolution scaling is more punishing: 27 FPS at 1080p, 20 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is identical to the 4K Ultra result of 13 FPS, suggesting that at these extreme resolutions, the GPU is so overwhelmed that settings differences no longer matter. The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU, as the CPU's single-threaded performance (3DMark single-thread score of 910) is more than adequate for this game's logic at these frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1700 platform. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz with a boost of 4.40 GHz, and it has a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is well-suited for gaming workloads, as evidenced by its strong synthetic benchmarks.

In multi-threaded tests, the CPU scores 15989 in Cinebench R23 multicore, 6715 in R20 multicore, and 1611 in R15 multicore. Its 3DMark scores scale from 1692 for 2 threads to 5890 for max threads, showing good scaling across its 12 threads. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 910, Cinebench R23 single-core of 2257, and Geekbench single-core of 1848.

The CPU's role in Cyberpunk 2077 is secondary to the GPU, but it provides a solid foundation that does not introduce additional bottlenecks. The 12 threads are sufficient for the game's multi-threaded workload, and the high single-thread performance ensures that the game's main thread is not starved. The CPU's percentile ranking of 72nd, with an average benchmark score of 18683, confirms it is a mid-range part that punches above its weight in synthetic tests. The nearest rivals, including the AMD EPYC 7643 and Intel Core i7-1355U, are all within 1% of the i5-12400's score, showing it is competitive with a wide range of processors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset of measured frame rates for this combo in Cyberpunk 2077 is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 49 FPS average
• Medium: 36 FPS average (31 min, 42 max)
• High: 27 FPS average
• Ultra: 25 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 37 FPS average
• Medium: 27 FPS average (23 min, 31 max)
• High: 20 FPS average
• Ultra: 19 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 24 FPS average
• Medium: 18 FPS average (15 min, 21 max)
• High: 13 FPS average
• Ultra: 13 FPS average

The only configuration with a minimum frame rate above 30 FPS is 1080p Low, which has no reported minimum but averages 49 FPS. The Medium presets at all resolutions show meaningful frame time variance, with the 4K Medium ranging from 15 to 21 FPS, a 6 FPS spread that indicates inconsistent frame pacing.

The data shows that the performance ceiling is 49 FPS at 1080p Low, and everything else falls below 40 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p (19 FPS) and 4K (13 FPS) are effectively slideshows, while the High preset at 4K matches Ultra at 13 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has hit a hard performance floor independent of settings. This breakdown confirms that the Arc B390 is only capable of delivering a consistent playable experience at the lowest resolution and settings, and even then, it barely crosses the 50 FPS threshold.