Cyberpunk 2077

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2576th out of 2920 tested combos in Cyberpunk 2077. This places the configuration in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, a position driven almost entirely by the GPU's limited rendering capability rather than any deficiency in the processor. The i7-12700K sits in the 84th percentile against all CPUs, demonstrating strong processing headroom, while the Arc B390 languishes in the 9th percentile against all GPUs. The asymmetry between these two components is stark: the CPU is a top-tier performer while the GPU is among the weakest in the database.

Benchmark results across all resolutions and settings presets confirm this bottleneck dynamic. At no point does the system achieve playable frame rates, with the highest recorded average being 49 FPS at 1080p Low settings. The lowest measurable average is 13 FPS at both 4K High and 4K Ultra. The combination's ranking reflects this reality — it is not competitive for Cyberpunk 2077, a game that demands substantial graphics throughput. The gap between this combo and more capable configurations is not marginal; it is the difference between a slideshow and a playable experience.

Within the context of the 2920 combos tested, 344 configurations perform worse. That places the i7-12700K + Arc B390 in the lower quartile of all tested systems, but it also means the combo is not the absolute worst. However, for a game of Cyberpunk 2077's graphical ambition, ranking in the bottom 12% is effectively a disqualification for serious play. The data shows a system that can render the game, but only at settings and resolutions that compromise the experience substantially.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive factor in this combo's performance. Built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a 3 nm process node, this integrated GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning the GPU draws from the same pool as the CPU rather than having dedicated VRAM. This arrangement makes bandwidth "System Dependent," a critical limitation for a game like Cyberpunk 2077 that loads large textures and complex geometry.

The GPU's compute resources are modest: 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations pipelines. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores, though the raw performance to feed those cores is limited. The FP32 throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS, which is the primary measure of raw shader performance. For context, this is a fraction of what discrete gaming GPUs typically offer, and the benchmark results reflect that reality.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 9 versus all GPUs places it near the very bottom of the database. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). These are all entry-level or legacy parts, which contextualizes the Arc B390's position. It performs within a few percentage points of a GT 710, a GPU that was already considered weak when it launched years ago.

In Cyberpunk 2077 specifically, the GPU's limitations manifest across every settings preset. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are simply insufficient for the game's rendering demands at higher resolutions. The 12 ray tracing cores exist on paper, but the overall throughput means enabling any ray-traced effects would be impractical. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, the system averages only 49 FPS, indicating the GPU is the binding constraint.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of what is achievable. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 49 FPS. This is the only settings combination across all tested resolutions that approaches playability. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 36 FPS average, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS. The High preset at 1080p averages 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 25 FPS.

For users who prioritize a smooth experience, the 1080p Low preset is the only viable option, and even it falls short of a locked 60 FPS. The data shows a 49 FPS average, which is playable in the sense that the game is responsive, but it is not a comfortable margin. The 1080p Medium preset at 36 FPS average is marginal; the minimum of 31 FPS will produce noticeable stutter in busy scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p are not recommended, as they dip below 30 FPS averages.

At 1440p, the Low preset averages 37 FPS, which is the best result at that resolution. The Medium preset averages 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p average 20 FPS and 19 FPS respectively. None of these are recommended for actual gameplay; they represent a qualitative step down in fluidity. At 4K, all presets are effectively non-functional: Low averages 24 FPS, Medium averages 18 FPS, and both High and Ultra average 13 FPS.

The recommendation from the measured data is clear: if this combo must be used for Cyberpunk 2077, the 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that provides a minimally acceptable experience. The 49 FPS average is still below the 60 FPS target that many players consider the baseline for first-person games, but it is the best this hardware can achieve. All other settings and resolutions are either marginally playable or outright unplayable.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of this combo's capabilities. At 1080p, the results are as follows: Low averages 49 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 42, High averages 27 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 24 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher visual fidelity.

Moving to 1440p, the pattern continues but at lower absolute values. Low averages 37 FPS, a drop of 12 FPS from the same preset at 1080p. Medium averages 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 31. High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 18 FPS, a narrower gap than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming the limiting factor more uniformly across presets.

At 4K, the results are uniformly poor. Low averages 24 FPS, Medium averages 18 FPS with a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 21, High averages 13 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS. The High and Ultra presets produce identical averages, indicating that the GPU is so heavily constrained at this resolution that the additional workload from Ultra settings does not meaningfully change the outcome. The 4K results are all below the threshold of playability, with even the best case (Low at 24 FPS) presenting a severe compromise.

The consistency of the data is notable. Across all resolutions, the Low preset is always the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, then Ultra. The only exception is at 4K where High and Ultra tie at 13 FPS. This monotonic relationship between settings and performance is expected, but the magnitude of the differences varies. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 49%, while at 4K it shrinks to 46%, indicating that the GPU is saturated at all settings at higher resolutions.

# Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. From 1080p to 1440p, the Low preset drops from 49 FPS to 37 FPS, a 24.5% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, it drops from 37 FPS to 24 FPS, a 35.1% reduction. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 51.0%. For the Medium preset, the progression is 36 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p (25.0% drop), and 18 FPS at 4K (33.3% drop), for a total decrease of 50.0%. The High preset goes from 27 FPS at 1080p to 20 FPS at 1440p (25.9% drop) to 13 FPS at 4K (35.0% drop), totaling a 51.9% reduction. The Ultra preset follows a similar path: 25 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p (24.0% drop), and 13 FPS at 4K (31.6% drop), for a 48.0% total decrease.

The scaling pattern shows a larger percentage drop from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p across all presets. This is consistent with a GPU that is running out of throughput as pixel count increases. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s is a hard ceiling that becomes increasingly relevant at higher resolutions. The fact that the percentage drops are similar across presets suggests that the GPU is the sole limiting factor; if the CPU were constraining performance, the scaling would be more pronounced at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

The resolution scaling data points clearly to the Arc B390 as the bottleneck. The i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is more than capable of feeding this GPU at any resolution. The CPU's benchmark scores — including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and a Geekbench multicore score of 15790 — confirm substantial processing headroom. The GPU simply cannot translate that headroom into frame rate as resolution increases.

# FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of playing Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p?

A: At the Low preset, the combo averages 49 FPS at 1080p, which is playable but below a 60 FPS target. The Medium preset averages 36 FPS, which is marginal, and the High and Ultra presets average 27 FPS and 25 FPS respectively, which are below playable thresholds.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo?

A: The 1080p Low preset provides the highest average frame rate at 49 FPS. No other settings or resolution combination achieves a higher average, making it the only configuration that approaches acceptable playability.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% slower).

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-12700K bottleneck the GPU?

A: The data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The i7-12700K ranks in the 84th percentile against all CPUs, while the Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile against all GPUs. The resolution scaling pattern shows consistent GPU-bound behavior.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Cyberpunk 2077?

A: No. At 4K, the best average frame rate is 24 FPS on Low settings, with Medium at 18 FPS and both High and Ultra at 13 FPS. All 4K results are below playable thresholds.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance profile?

A: The i7-12700K scores 19784 in Cinebench R23 multicore, 12229 in Cinebench R20 multicore, and 3325 in Cinebench R15 multicore. Its 3DMark 16-thread score is 9276, and its 3DMark max-thread score is 9979.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides substantial processing power for Cyberpunk 2077's simulation and AI workloads.

The CPU's benchmark results place it in the 84th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287. Its nearest rivals in average score are the Intel Core i5-13600T at 35305 (-0.1% delta), the Intel Core i7-12700KF at 35365 (-0.2% delta), the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35403 (-0.3% delta), and the Intel Core 5 213PE at 35428 (-0.4% delta). These rivals are all within a fraction of a percent in performance, indicating the i7-12700K is positioned in a tightly contested performance band.

In terms of specific workloads, the i7-12700K demonstrates strong multi-threaded capability. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and Geekbench multicore score of 15790 are robust figures. The PassMark multithread score of 34404 and integer math score of 114264 further confirm its processing strength. Single-threaded performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4013.

However, in this combo, the CPU's role is diminished by the GPU's limitations. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking — frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The i7-12700K could easily drive a much more powerful graphics card, but with the Arc B390, its processing headroom goes largely unused in Cyberpunk 2077. The CPU's 20 threads and high boost clock are irrelevant when the GPU delivers only 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput. The data makes clear that upgrading the GPU would yield substantial performance gains, while upgrading the CPU would provide no measurable benefit in this title.