Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the Intel Arc B570. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card, with the CPU providing ample headroom. This analysis breaks down the collected data to show where this combo excels, where it struggles, and what users can expect from specific configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and consistent, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 4K results in a frame rate that nearly halves, moving from 76 FPS down to 37 FPS. This is a 51% reduction in performance, a classic sign that the render resolution is overwhelming the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 11.52 TFLOPS of compute power.

The scaling pattern is similar at higher presets. With High settings, the average frame rate falls from 41 FPS at 1080p to 31 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 20 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K represents a 35% loss, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 24% loss. This non-linear degradation suggests that at 4K, the GPU is not just working harder but is likely running out of memory bandwidth or hitting a compute ceiling, as the 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 160-bit bus become limiting factors.

For the 4K resolution, the data shows a narrow band of playable performance. Low settings achieve 37 FPS, but Medium drops to 27 FPS, High to 20 FPS, and Ultra to 19 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal, only 1 FPS, which indicates that the Ultra preset's additional rendering features are causing the GPU to hit a hard performance wall that incremental setting changes cannot overcome. The 4K Ultra result of 19 FPS is effectively unplayable for smooth action, while even 4K Low is below the 60 FPS threshold most players desire.

At 1440p, the scaling is more forgiving. The gap between Low (56 FPS) and Medium (42 FPS) is 14 FPS, and the gap between Medium and High (31 FPS) is 11 FPS. This shows that the GPU still has some headroom at this resolution, but it is quickly consumed by higher preset levels. The 1440p Ultra result of 29 FPS is barely better than the 4K High result of 20 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's cost is so high that it negates the resolution advantage.

The 1080p results paint a clearer picture of the combo's capability. Here, the GPU can breathe, achieving 76 FPS on Low and 56 FPS on Medium. The drop from Low to Medium is 20 FPS, and from Medium to High is 15 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is not the limiting factor; the performance differences are almost entirely dictated by the GPU's ability to handle the increasing pixel and shading workload.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with an average of 56 FPS and a minimum frame rate of 47 FPS. This keeps the experience above the 45 FPS playable threshold and allows for smooth exploration of Night City. Low settings at 1080p push the average to 76 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the visual compromise is significant. High at 1080p drops to 41 FPS, which is playable but may feel less fluid during intense action sequences, and Ultra at 39 FPS is not worth the 2 FPS gain over High.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests that Low settings are the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, yielding 56 FPS. Medium at 1440p falls to 42 FPS, which is borderline, with a minimum FPS of 35 that could cause noticeable stutters in crowded scenes. High at 31 FPS and Ultra at 29 FPS are not recommended for active gameplay, as they fall below the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the bare minimum for a playable frame rate.

For 3840x2160, the data is clear: this combo is not suited for high-fidelity 4K gaming. Even Low settings only muster 37 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium at 27 FPS, High at 20 FPS, and Ultra at 19 FPS are all below playable standards. The recommendation for 4K is to strictly use Low settings if the user must run at this resolution, or to consider reducing the resolution to 1440p for a better balance. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely at any resolution above 1080p, as the performance cost is not justified by the marginal visual improvements in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a single-core score of 4071. This level of performance places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it is a high-end part that can handle demanding workloads.

In the context of Cyberpunk 2077, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that this processor is not the bottleneck in any of the tested configurations. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 76 FPS, and the CPU is able to support this frame rate without issue, as evidenced by the Passmark single-thread score of 3984. The game's engine is known to be demanding on a few threads, but the i7-12700KF's strong single-core performance, as seen in the Geekbench single-core score of 2255, ensures that it can keep up with the GPU's output.

The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 20 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and the game's various systems. The data shows that even at the highest CPU-bound scenario in this test (1080p Low), the frame rate is still limited by the GPU. If the user were to pair this CPU with a more powerful GPU like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (which scores similarly to the Arc B570), the CPU would likely still be able to push higher frame rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9282 and max-thread score of 9983 confirm that the multi-threaded performance is more than adequate for this game's engine, which typically scales well up to 8 cores.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 56 FPS, with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming?

A: The data shows that 4K gaming is only possible at Low settings, achieving 37 FPS. Higher presets at 4K result in unplayable frame rates, with Medium at 27 FPS, High at 20 FPS, and Ultra at 19 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, placing it just 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750. It is also 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a smooth experience?

A: For a consistently smooth experience above 50 FPS, the 1920x1080 Medium preset is the best choice, offering 56 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low settings are required to achieve 56 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded in the data is 23 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings.

Q: How does the i7-12700KF's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35365, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i7-13700T and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i5-13600T. It also trails the Intel Core 5 213PE by 0.2% and leads the Intel Core i7-12700K by 0.2%.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. It operates at a fixed boost clock of 2500 MHz and is equipped with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The GPU's raw compute power is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4.

In Cyberpunk 2077, the GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The data shows that even the most CPU-intensive scenario (1080p Low) results in 76 FPS, which is a good frame rate, but the GPU's performance degrades significantly with increased resolution and settings. The Passmark G3D score of 14195 places the card in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, which is a mid-range position. This is reflected in its nearest rivals, which include the Intel Arc A750 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, both of which have similar average scores.

The GPU's memory configuration plays a critical role in the 4K results. The 10 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with High or Ultra settings, the memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is likely saturated. This explains the sharp drop from 27 FPS at 4K Medium to 20 FPS at 4K High; the additional memory pressure from higher resolution textures and effects is too much for the 160-bit bus to handle efficiently.

The Arc B570's ray tracing capabilities are also a factor, as Cyberpunk 2077 is known for its RT effects. With 18 RT cores, the card can handle some ray tracing, but the data does not include any RT-specific benchmarks. The base and boost clock of 2500 MHz are identical, which is unusual but indicates that the card runs at a flat frequency curve, which can lead to thermal throttling in sustained loads, though the 150 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are designed to mitigate this. The measured FPS numbers show that the GPU is the sole determinant of performance, making it the primary target for any future upgrades.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates is as follows:

• 1920x1080 Low: 76 FPS
• 1920x1080 Medium: 56 FPS (min 47, max 64)
• 1920x1080 High: 41 FPS
• 1920x1080 Ultra: 39 FPS
• 2560x1440 Low: 56 FPS
• 2560x1440 Medium: 42 FPS (min 35, max 48)
• 2560x1440 High: 31 FPS
• 2560x1440 Ultra: 29 FPS
• 3840x2160 Low: 37 FPS
• 3840x2160 Medium: 27 FPS (min 23, max 32)
• 3840x2160 High: 20 FPS
• 3840x2160 Ultra: 19 FPS

At 1080p, the scaling from Low to Medium is a 20 FPS drop, from Medium to High is a 15 FPS drop, and from High to Ultra is only a 2 FPS drop. This indicates that the Ultra preset at 1080p is inefficient, providing minimal gains for a substantial performance cost. The 1080p Medium result of 56 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a 47 FPS minimum that keeps the action fluid.

At 1440p, the data shows a similar pattern, with a 14 FPS drop from Low to Medium, an 11 FPS drop from Medium to High, and a 2 FPS drop from High to Ultra. The 1440p Medium result of 42 FPS is playable but has a minimum of 35 FPS, which could be noticeable in heavy scenes. The 1440p Low result of 56 FPS matches the 1080p Medium result, showing that the GPU can handle the resolution increase when the visual preset is lowered.

At 4K, the performance is severely limited. The drop from Low to Medium is 10 FPS, from Medium to High is 7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 1 FPS. The 4K Low result of 37 FPS is the only one that approaches playability, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target. The 4K Ultra result of 19 FPS is effectively a slideshow, and the 4K High result of 20 FPS is not much better. The data clearly shows that this combo is not designed for 4K gaming, as even the lowest settings cannot maintain a stable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Cyberpunk 2077, this specific configuration of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2316 out of 2920 combos. This places it in the bottom 21% of all tested systems, which is a low ranking for a modern CPU and a mid-range GPU. The ranking is primarily dragged down by the GPU's performance, as the CPU is in the 85th percentile of all processors.

The combo's rank reflects its inability to handle high resolutions and presets. The 4K Ultra result of 19 FPS is a significant contributor to this low rank, as many other combos with more powerful GPUs can achieve much higher frame rates in this game. However, the rank is not entirely negative; the 1080p Medium result of 56 FPS is a playable outcome that puts it in line with many mid-range systems from the previous generation.

The nearest rivals to the GPU, such as the Intel Arc A750, would likely achieve similar or slightly better frame rates, given the 0.1% difference in their average benchmark scores. The CPU's rivals, like the Intel Core i7-13700T, have a negligible 0.1% difference in performance, meaning that swapping the CPU would not change the ranking. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GPU, and the data shows that to improve this combo's rank, a user would need to upgrade the graphics card to something with significantly more compute power and memory bandwidth. The 2316 rank out of 2920 combos serves as a clear indicator that this configuration is strictly for 1080p gaming or 1440p with reduced settings.