Cyberpunk 2077

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the Intel Arc B390 in Cyberpunk 2077 is a severely GPU-bound configuration, delivering playable frame rates only at 1080p with Low settings, while every other tested setting and resolution falls below 60 FPS. The data shows a combo ranking in the 12th percentile of all tested combinations, with the Arc B390’s performance ceiling—evidenced by its 9th percentile standing among all GPUs—acting as the definitive bottleneck. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, explains the GPU’s role, and provides verdict-driven recommendations based solely on the provided FACT PACK.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Cyberpunk 2077 reveals a stark and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, confirming that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component in this pairing. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 49 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops that average to 37 FPS, a reduction of 12 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low settings produce only 24 FPS average, which is less than half of the 1080p Low figure. This scaling behavior—where doubling the pixel count from 1080p to 4K roughly halves the frame rate—is a classic signature of a GPU that is saturated even at the lowest settings. The CPU, an Intel Core i5-12600KF with 10 cores and 16 threads, is not the constraint here; its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore result of 23391 and a Passmark multithread score of 27575, indicate ample headroom for this title’s CPU demands, which are far below what the GPU can deliver.

The scaling from Medium to High and Ultra settings further emphasizes the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p, Medium averages 36 FPS, High drops to 27 FPS, and Ultra falls to 25 FPS. The difference between Medium and Ultra is only 11 FPS, while the jump from Low to Medium costs 13 FPS. This suggests that the Arc B390 is already operating near its limits at Low, and adding graphical effects via higher presets produces diminishing returns in terms of FPS loss because the GPU is struggling to maintain even the baseline workload. At 1440p, the pattern continues: Low averages 37 FPS, Medium 27 FPS, High 20 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 1 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings introduce no additional measurable burden beyond what High already imposes, likely due to the GPU being fully utilized in both cases.

At 4K, the situation becomes unplayable by any standard. Low settings yield 24 FPS average, Medium 18 FPS, and both High and Ultra tie at 13 FPS. The fact that High and Ultra produce identical averages at 4K is telling: the Arc B390’s 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs, along with its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, are simply insufficient to process the pixel and texture workload of Cyberpunk 2077 at this resolution, regardless of the preset. The measured minimum FPS values, available only for Medium settings, reinforce this: at 1080p Medium, the minimum is 31 FPS, at 1440p Medium it is 23 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 15 FPS. These minimums are not outliers but rather reflections of a GPU that cannot maintain consistent frame delivery under load. The resolution scaling data leads to a clear conclusion: the i5-12600KF has no influence on FPS in this title; every frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is attributable to the Arc B390’s limited pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution, classified as an IGP with a slot width of "IGP" and a bus interface of "IGP." Its memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the host system’s RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, and its memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." This architecture is the primary reason for the poor performance in Cyberpunk 2077. The GPU’s boost clock is 2500 MHz, with a base clock of 300 MHz, and its TDP is 80 W. These clock speeds are not the issue; rather, the shared memory system creates a severe bandwidth constraint. Cyberpunk 2077 is known for requiring substantial memory throughput, and the "System Dependent" bandwidth cannot compete with dedicated graphics memory. The GPU’s benchmark results confirm its low standing: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, deltaPct 1.3) and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (score 1443, deltaPct 2.7). These rivals are legacy entry-level discrete GPUs, and the Arc B390 only marginally outperforms them, by 1.3% to 2.7% in average benchmark scores.

The GPU’s 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs are modest figures, and its 12 RT cores are present but provide no benefit in this test because the measured FPS rows do not specify ray tracing enabled. The FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS and FP16 of 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1) are theoretical ceilings that the shared memory system prevents from being realized in practice. In Cyberpunk 2077, the data shows that the GPU’s role is entirely dominant: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 49 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 25 FPS. This 24 FPS swing due to settings alone demonstrates that the GPU’s rendering capabilities, not the CPU, dictate performance. The i5-12600KF’s benchmarks—such as a 3DMark 16-thread score of 7956 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3925—place it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i9-10900K (deltaPct -0.3) and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (deltaPct -0.3). This CPU is more than capable of feeding the Arc B390, but the GPU cannot keep up.

The absence of a dedicated VRAM size is critical. The memory type is "System Shared," and its size is also "System Shared," meaning there is no fixed amount of video memory. In a game like Cyberpunk 2077, which can use several gigabytes of VRAM for textures, this shared memory setup leads to contention with the CPU and OS, reducing effective bandwidth. The measured FPS at 4K Low (24 FPS) versus 1080p Low (49 FPS) shows a 51% drop, which is consistent with a GPU that is bandwidth-starved at higher resolutions. The GPU’s pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are the hardware limits, and the shared memory ensures that these limits are rarely reached. The conclusion is unambiguous: the Arc B390’s role in this combo is to act as a severe limiter, and any attempt to improve performance must target the GPU, not the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Cyberpunk 2077, this pairing of Intel Core i5-12600KF and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2576 out of 2920 combinations. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, a position that aligns with the GPU’s low percentile but is notably worse than the CPU’s 79th percentile standing. The comboRankInGame of 2576/2920 indicates that the vast majority of other combinations—including those with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs—deliver better FPS in this title. The data does not provide specific rival combos, but the GPU’s nearest rivals (GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, GT 710) are all older, low-end parts, and this combo’s rank reflects that legacy performance tier.

The deltaPct values for the GPU versus its nearest rivals are small: +1.3% over the GT 520MX, +1.5% over the GeForce 800M, +2.5% over the GT 625 OEM, and +2.7% over the GT 710. This means the Arc B390 is only marginally better than these decade-old GPUs in synthetic benchmarks, and in Cyberpunk 2077, that translates to measured FPS that are barely playable at 1080p Low. The CPU’s nearest rivals, by contrast, are high-performance parts like the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and Core i9-10900K, with deltaPct values of -0.3%, meaning the i5-12600KF is statistically equivalent to those CPUs in average benchmark scores. This disparity between CPU and GPU standing highlights the systemic imbalance: the combo’s rank is dragged down entirely by the GPU.

The combo rank also suggests that users with this CPU could achieve dramatically better results by pairing it with a different GPU. However, the FACT PACK does not provide alternative GPU pairings for this CPU, so no specific comparison is possible. The rank of 2576/2920 is a definitive verdict: this is a low-end configuration for Cyberpunk 2077, suitable only for the most forgiving settings. The percentileVsAllGpus of 9 for the Arc B390, combined with the CPU’s 79th percentile, means that the combo’s performance is essentially the GPU’s performance, with the CPU contributing no measurable benefit or hindrance. The data shows that this combo ranks below 88% of all tested systems, and that position is consistent across all resolution and settings combinations, with no scenario where the combo outperforms its standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo achieves its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 49, which is the only figure above 40 FPS in the entire dataset. Medium settings at 1080p produce an average of 36 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS. High settings drop the average to 27 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 25 FPS. The minimum and maximum values are not provided for Low, High, or Ultra at 1080p, so only the Medium preset offers a range, showing a 11 FPS spread between min and max. This 1080p data indicates that only Low settings approach playability, and even then, 49 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target that many players consider smooth. Medium at 1080p is borderline, with a minimum of 31 FPS that would likely cause noticeable stuttering in action scenes.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades further. Low settings average 37 FPS, which is a 12 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. High settings average 20 FPS, and Ultra settings average 19 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated at both presets. The 1440p Medium minimum of 23 FPS is particularly telling, as it suggests that even in less demanding scenes, the frame rate dips below 30 FPS, which is generally considered the threshold for playability in slower-paced games. For an action RPG like Cyberpunk 2077, 23 FPS would result in a poor experience. The 1440p Low average of 37 FPS is the best at this resolution, but it still falls short of acceptable smoothness for most users.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings average 24 FPS, Medium averages 18 FPS with a minimum of 15 FPS and a maximum of 21 FPS, and both High and Ultra average 13 FPS. No settings preset at 4K reaches 30 FPS average, and the Medium minimum of 15 FPS is near-unplayable. The fact that High and Ultra produce identical averages (13 FPS) suggests that the GPU cannot handle the base workload at 4K, and additional settings have no effect. The 4K data confirms that this combo is not viable for 4K gaming in Cyberpunk 2077 under any settings. The measured FPS breakdown across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: Low settings provide the highest FPS, followed by Medium, then High, and then Ultra, but the gaps between presets shrink as resolution increases, because the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck. The data also shows that the i5-12600KF’s performance is irrelevant to these numbers—if the CPU were limiting, we would see smaller FPS drops at higher resolutions, but the opposite is true.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 49, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No other combination of resolution and settings reaches 50 FPS or higher.

Q: Can this combo run Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 24 with Low settings, and all other presets fall below 18 FPS. High and Ultra both average 13 FPS, which is not playable.

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

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. It is 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the GT 710.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF the bottleneck in this combo?

A: No. The CPU has a 79th percentile standing among all CPUs, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23391. The GPU’s 9th percentile standing and the FPS scaling pattern indicate that the Arc B390 is the limiting component.

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

A: The combo ranks 2576 out of 2920 tested combinations in Cyberpunk 2077, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems.

Q: What settings provide the most consistent frame times?

A: The only preset with complete minimum and maximum data is Medium. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 31 FPS and the maximum is 42 FPS (an 11 FPS spread). At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 23 FPS and the maximum is 31 FPS (an 8 FPS spread). At 4K Medium, the minimum is 15 FPS and the maximum is 21 FPS (a 6 FPS spread). The spread narrows at higher resolutions, but the averages are too low to be playable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only viable setting for this combo in Cyberpunk 2077 is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 49 FPS. This is the sole configuration that approaches a playable frame rate, though it still falls short of a 60 FPS target. The data shows that 1080p Medium averages 36 FPS, which might be acceptable for users who prioritize visual quality over smoothness, but the minimum of 31 FPS risks noticeable stutters during intense combat or driving sequences. For users willing to accept 30-40 FPS, 1080p Medium is the second-best option, offering a richer visual experience than Low without a catastrophic FPS loss. However, the 13 FPS drop from Low to Medium (49 to 36) is significant, and the additional visual fidelity may not justify the reduced responsiveness.

At 1440p, the best option is Low settings with an average of 37 FPS, but this is below the 1080p Medium average of 36 FPS, meaning that upgrading to 1440p Low yields no FPS benefit over 1080p Medium while requiring a higher resolution. For this reason, 1440p is not recommended unless the user has a 1440p display and cannot run at 1080p. In that case, 1440p Low at 37 FPS is the only acceptable preset; 1440p Medium drops to 27 FPS, and High/Ultra fall below 20 FPS. At 4K, no settings are recommended, as even Low averages only 24 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS minimum for playability. The data indicates that this combo should be used exclusively at 1080p, with Low or Medium settings depending on the user’s tolerance for frame rate drops.

The Ultra preset provides no benefit worth the cost: at 1080p, Ultra averages 25 FPS versus High’s 27 FPS, a mere 2 FPS difference, and at 1440p, Ultra is 19 FPS versus High’s 20 FPS (1 FPS difference). The Ultra preset at 4K ties with High at 13 FPS. Therefore, High settings are never a sensible choice over Medium, as the FPS penalty from Medium to High (9 FPS at 1080p, 7 FPS at 1440p, 5 FPS at 4K) is too large for the marginal visual improvement. The recommended path is to start with 1080p Low for the best performance, and if the user can tolerate frame rates in the 30-36 FPS range, switch to 1080p Medium. No other configuration should be considered, as the measured data shows that all other options result in average FPS below 30, which is not a playable experience for an action RPG that requires responsive controls. The GPU’s 9th percentile standing and the combo’s 2576/2920 rank make it clear that this hardware is not designed for high-fidelity gaming, and the settings recommendations reflect that reality.