Doom

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a peculiar case in Doom, where the data reveals a system heavily constrained by its graphics solution. The measured frame rates show a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases, but the pattern of the decline points almost entirely at the GPU, which operates as an integrated-class part despite its discrete-sounding name. The Arc B390’s performance profile is closer to legacy mobile graphics than to any modern desktop contender, and this pairing’s rank among 2,930 tested combos reflects that reality.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is brutal for this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 107 FPS. Dropping to 1440p at the same Low preset yields 69 FPS, a reduction of 38 frames per second. Moving to 4K Low, the average falls further to 37 FPS. This means that between 1080p Low and 4K Low, the system loses 70 frames per second, or nearly 65 percent of its performance. The scaling is not linear; the gap between 1080p and 1440p is 38 frames, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 32 frames. The steepness of the drop suggests that the GPU is being saturated well before the CPU becomes a limiting factor.

At High settings, the trend continues with slightly lower absolute numbers. The 1080p High average is 78 FPS, which falls to 51 FPS at 1440p and then to 28 FPS at 4K. The percentage losses are consistent: roughly 35 percent from 1080p to 1440p, and another 45 percent from 1440p to 4K. The smallest measurable difference occurs between 4K Medium (33 FPS) and 4K Low (37 FPS), a gap of only 4 FPS. This narrow margin at the highest resolution indicates that the renderer is already overwhelmed; lowering settings from Medium to Low provides diminishing returns because the bottleneck is the raw throughput of the GPU, not the quality of the effects.

The data shows that the limiting component at every resolution is the graphics processor. The CPU, a 6-core Alder Lake part with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, has more than enough headroom to feed this GPU. The evidence is in the 1080p Low result: 107 FPS is a playable number, but it is far below what this CPU could deliver in Doom if paired with a stronger graphics card. The frame rate collapses as pixel count rises, which is the signature of a GPU-bound system. The Arc B390’s 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in a modern FPS, even one as well-optimized as Doom’s Vulkan-based engine.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive factor in this combo’s performance. Its specifications read like an integrated graphics solution: it uses the Xe3-LPG architecture, has a 300 MHz base clock and a 2500 MHz boost clock, and relies on System Shared memory. There is no dedicated VRAM; the memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as System Shared, with bandwidth described as System Dependent. This architecture means the GPU is competing with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is a severe handicap in a fast-paced FPS.

The GPU’s benchmark results are telling. Its only recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710, with delta percentages of 1.3, 1.5, 2.5, and 2.7 percent respectively. These are all legacy or entry-level parts from over a decade ago. The Arc B390 is technically faster than these, but only marginally, and it is nowhere near the performance tier required for smooth 1440p or 4K gaming.

The measured FPS data corroborates the synthetic benchmark. At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 64 FPS, which is playable but not high-refresh territory. At 1080p Medium, it reaches 93 FPS, and at Low, 107 FPS. These numbers are consistent with a GPU that has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s are the real limits here. When the resolution climbs to 1440p, the pixel count nearly doubles, and the frame rate drops proportionally. At 4K, the pixel count quadruples from 1080p, and the frame rate drops to a quarter of the 1080p Low figure, confirming that the ROPs are saturated.

The lack of dedicated VRAM is another critical issue. With System Shared memory, the GPU must access main system memory over the bus, which is slower than dedicated GDDR. This is reflected in the fact that the Arc B390’s percentile ranking is 9, putting it in the bottom tenth of all GPUs. For Doom, a game that can be demanding on memory bandwidth at high resolutions, this shared-memory configuration is a severe bottleneck. The data shows that the GPU is the clear limiting factor at all settings, and no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the Arc B390’s fundamental throughput limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS rows, the only resolution where this combo approaches a consistently smooth experience is 1920x1080. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 107 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium at 1080p drops to 93 FPS, still playable, while High falls to 78 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 64 FPS, which is acceptable for a single-player FPS but not ideal for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes dramatically. The Low preset averages 69 FPS, which is the only 1440p result above 60 FPS. Medium drops to 60 FPS exactly, High falls to 51 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 41 FPS. These numbers suggest that 1440p is only viable on the lowest settings, and even then, the frame rate is not stable. The Medium preset’s min FPS is 51, which means there are dips below the average that could cause noticeable stutter during intense combat sequences.

The 4K resolution is essentially unplayable with this combo. The best result is 37 FPS at Low settings, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium averages 33 FPS, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. These are slideshow-level frame rates for a fast-paced FPS like Doom. The data is clear: this system should be run at 1080p with Low or Medium settings. The Low preset provides the highest average FPS at 107, while Medium offers a slight quality bump at 93 FPS with a min FPS of 79, which is still comfortably above 60.

The measured rows show that the gap between Medium and Low at 1080p is only 14 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 15 FPS. The sweet spot is Medium, as it maintains a min FPS of 79 and an average of 93, providing a buffer against frame drops. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it costs 29 FPS compared to Medium and 43 FPS compared to Low. For players who prioritize frame rate consistency, Low is the safest choice, but for those who want a balance of visual quality and performance, Medium at 1080p is the optimal configuration based on the data.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2580 out of 2930 combos in Doom. This places it in the bottom 12 percent of all tested systems. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s performance, as the CPU is a mid-range part that does not hold the system back in this title. The data shows that the combo is more than 350 positions from the median, and the gap to the top half of the field is enormous.

The CPU’s own percentile ranking is 73, meaning it outperforms 73 percent of all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 19039, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at 19047 (0 percent delta), Intel Core 3 201E at 19056 (-0.1 percent), Intel Core i5-1335U at 18982 (0.3 percent), and AMD EPYC 7773X at 18979 (0.3 percent). These rivals are all within a fraction of a percent of the i5-12400F’s score, indicating that the CPU is a solid, average performer in synthetic tests. The GPU, however, is a different story. Its average benchmark score is 1482, and its percentile is 9, with nearest rivals that are all over a decade old.

The combination of a 73rd-percentile CPU with a 9th-percentile GPU creates a severely imbalanced system. The rank of 2580 is almost entirely attributable to the GPU dragging the combo down. If the CPU were paired with a graphics card that had even a 50th-percentile score, the combo rank would be significantly higher. The data suggests that this configuration is a poor choice for Doom, as the GPU cannot keep pace with the CPU’s capabilities. The 2580 rank out of 2930 is a clear signal that this is a bottom-tier gaming system for this title, suitable only for 1080p at low-to-medium settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Its TDP is 65 watts. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 12380 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1680 in single-core, along with a PassMark multithread score of 19433 and a single-thread score of 3481. These numbers indicate a capable mid-range CPU that is more than sufficient for gaming.

In Doom, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system produces 107 FPS, which is a respectable number but not a ceiling imposed by the CPU. The i5-12400F’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 12 threads provide ample headroom for Doom’s engine. The game’s Vulkan API can leverage multiple threads effectively, and the 6-core, 12-thread configuration is well-suited for this workload.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the database all have similar average scores, with deltas of 0.3 percent or less. This means that swapping the i5-12400F for a Ryzen 5 7535HS or an Intel Core i5-1335U would not change the gaming performance in Doom, as the GPU would still be the limiting factor. The data shows that the CPU is performing its role adequately; the issue is purely on the graphics side. The 73rd-percentile ranking for the CPU confirms that it is a solid choice for this game, but it is wasted in this configuration because the Arc B390 cannot utilize the available CPU performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values are the highest in the dataset. The Low preset averages 107 FPS, with Medium at 93 FPS (min 79, max 107), High at 78 FPS, and Ultra at 64 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 14 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 15 FPS, and High to Ultra is another 14 FPS. This linear degradation suggests that each settings tier adds a similar load to the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop significantly. Low averages 69 FPS, Medium averages 60 FPS (min 51, max 69), High averages 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 9 FPS, Medium to High is 9 FPS, and High to Ultra is 10 FPS. The pattern is consistent, but the absolute numbers are lower, indicating that the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the averages are all below playable thresholds. Low averages 37 FPS, Medium averages 33 FPS (min 28, max 37), High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 4 FPS, Medium to High is 5 FPS, and High to Ultra is 6 FPS. The differences between settings shrink at 4K because the GPU is saturated; the pixel fill rate is the hard limit, and reducing quality settings cannot overcome the raw throughput deficit.

The data shows that the combo’s best performance is 107 FPS at 1080p Low, and its worst is 22 FPS at 4K Ultra. The measured min and max values for Medium settings across all resolutions show a consistent range: at 1080p, the range is 79 to 107; at 1440p, it is 51 to 69; and at 4K, it is 28 to 37. These ranges are tight, indicating that the frame pacing is relatively stable, but the averages are too low at higher resolutions to be playable. The breakdown confirms that this system is limited to 1080p gaming, and even then, only at Low or Medium settings for a consistently smooth experience.