Fortnite

Resolution Scaling

The measured Fortnite data for the Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the Intel Arc B570 shows a clear and steep performance curve as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the system delivers highly playable frame rates across the board, with the Low preset hitting an average of 176 FPS and High preset at 96 FPS. Moving to 1440p, those numbers fall to 112 FPS for Low and 61 FPS for High, representing a 36% and 36% drop respectively. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more punishing: Low drops from 112 FPS to 59 FPS (a 47% reduction), and High falls from 61 FPS to 32 FPS (a 48% reduction).

This pattern indicates that the Arc B570 becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases. The 1080p to 1440p transition shows the GPU still has enough headroom to maintain respectable frame rates, but the jump to 2160p exposes the card’s bandwidth and shading limitations. The Ultra preset tells an even more stark story: it produces 64 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and just 21 FPS at 4K. The delta between Low and Ultra grows wider at higher resolutions, from a 112 FPS gap at 1080p to a 38 FPS gap at 4K, confirming that the heavier settings amplify the GPU bottleneck.

The Medium preset, which includes min/max FPS data, offers additional insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 124 FPS with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143, a relatively tight 37 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the average is 79 FPS with min/max of 67 and 91, a 24 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the average is 42 FPS with min/max of 35 and 48, a 13 FPS spread. The shrinking variance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is working closer to its sustained limit, reducing the opportunity for frame rate spikes but also making drops less severe relative to the average.

The data shows that 1080p is clearly the sweet spot for this combination, with every preset except Ultra exceeding 90 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium remain above 60 FPS. At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS, and even Low falls to 59 FPS, which is technically below the 60 FPS threshold. The resolution scaling behavior indicates that players targeting 4K will need to accept either Low settings at near-60 FPS or Medium at 42 FPS, while those at 1080p can enjoy High at 96 FPS or even Ultra at 64 FPS.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage, and manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. The chip, designated BMG-G21, contains 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die with a transistor density of 72.1 million per square millimeter. The card features 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. It also includes 18 ray tracing cores, though Fortnite’s measured data does not isolate ray tracing performance.

Clock speeds are unusual in that the base and boost clocks are identical at 2500 MHz. The memory runs at 2375 MHz with 19 Gbps effective transfer, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 160-bit bus. The 10 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is a significant asset for a game like Fortnite, which has large, detailed environments that can consume VRAM at higher settings and resolutions. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s, while FP32 compute is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS.

Looking at the benchmark data, the Arc B570 posts a Passmark G3D score of 14,195 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 7,281. In Geekbench, it achieves 83,514 in OpenCL and 96,844 in Vulkan. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2,649. The GPU’s percentile ranking against all GPUs is 65, placing it in the upper-middle tier. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a delta of 0.1% and the Intel Arc A750 with a delta of -0.1%, indicating the B570 sits in a tight performance band around these cards.

In Fortnite specifically, the GPU’s role is most evident in the scaling from Medium to Ultra settings. At 1080p, the jump from Medium (124 FPS) to High (96 FPS) costs 28 FPS, and from High to Ultra (64 FPS) costs another 32 FPS. This steep decline suggests that Ultra settings engage effects that heavily tax the B570’s shading and memory subsystems. The fact that Low at 4K (59 FPS) nearly matches High at 1440p (61 FPS) shows that the card is far more sensitive to resolution than to moderate settings changes, which is typical for a GPU with 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 10 GB of VRAM.

The 10 GB capacity is adequate for Fortnite at all measured settings, as no VRAM-related stutters are indicated in the min FPS data for Medium presets. However, the 160-bit bus width and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth become bottlenecks at 4K, where the fill rate requirements grow exponentially. The identical base and boost clocks suggest consistent sustained performance without thermal throttling under load, which is a positive sign for long gaming sessions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this CPU-GPU combo in Fortnite?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 176, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset. The next highest is 124 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 112 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Fortnite?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 59 FPS, which is just below 60. Medium averages 42 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. None of the measured presets reach 60 FPS at 4K.

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

A: At 1920x1080, High averages 96 FPS while Ultra averages 64 FPS, a difference of 32 FPS or 33% lower performance. The trade-off is visual quality, but the data shows a significant cost for the Ultra preset.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like for Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset provides min/max FPS data. At 1080p, the range is 106 to 143 FPS around a 124 FPS average. At 1440p, the range is 67 to 91 FPS around a 79 FPS average. At 4K, the range is 35 to 48 FPS around a 42 FPS average. The spread tightens at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest GPU rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570’s average benchmark score is 20,556. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a delta of 0.1% (slightly higher score), followed by the Intel Arc A750 with a delta of -0.1% (slightly lower score). The AMD Radeon R9 M390X is 0.5% higher.

Q: What is the system’s overall ranking for Fortnite among tested CPU-GPU combinations?

A: The combination ranks 2,178 out of 2,740 measured combos in Fortnite, placing it in the 21st percentile from the top. This indicates that while the system is capable at 1080p, it is outclassed by many other configurations for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest results. The Low preset achieves an average of 176 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. Medium follows at 124 FPS, with a minimum of 106 and a maximum of 143. High drops to 96 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 64 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 112 FPS, showing that settings choices have a massive impact at this resolution. All presets except Ultra exceed 90 FPS, making 1080p the most flexible environment for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the performance tier shifts downward. Low averages 112 FPS, still highly playable for competitive play. Medium averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 and maximum of 91, providing a smooth experience for most monitors. High falls to 61 FPS, which is playable but close to the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra drops to 40 FPS, which is borderline for a fast-paced battle royale. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 72 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a constraint.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low averages 59 FPS, just under the 60 FPS mark. Medium averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48, which may cause noticeable stutter in intense combat scenarios. High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The difference between Low and Ultra is 38 FPS, the smallest spread across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at 4K.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the 106 FPS minimum is comfortably above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the 67 FPS minimum is still above 60. At 4K, the 35 FPS minimum is well below 60, suggesting that frame drops will be noticeable. This data shows a clear progression: the system is robust at 1080p, adequate at 1440p for Medium and below, and insufficient at 4K for any preset.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and the user’s priorities. At 1080p, the High preset at 96 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. It is 28 FPS lower than Medium but provides better detail, and it is 32 FPS higher than Ultra, which costs too much for the visual gain. For competitive players who prioritize frame rate, Low at 176 FPS is the clear choice, as it maximizes responsiveness. Medium at 124 FPS is a viable middle ground for those who want some visual improvements without sacrificing too much speed.

At 1440p, the Low preset at 112 FPS is the only option that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium at 79 FPS is the best choice for a balance of image quality and smoothness, with a 67 FPS minimum that should avoid major dips. High at 61 FPS is borderline; it works for slower-paced gameplay but may feel less fluid in fast combat. Ultra at 40 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate is too low for a competitive shooter.

At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset at 59 FPS is the closest, and it is the only viable option for those who insist on 4K. Medium at 42 FPS and below will struggle with fast motion and may lead to a poor experience. For most users, the data suggests avoiding 4K with this GPU and instead using 1440p Low or Medium, or 1080p High, to get a smoother experience.

The Medium preset deserves special attention because it has the most complete data. At 1080p, it delivers 124 FPS with a minimum of 106, which is excellent for most displays. At 1440p, it provides 79 FPS with a minimum of 67, which is still smooth. At 4K, it drops to 42 FPS with a minimum of 35, which is problematic. This preset is the safest recommendation across the board, as it provides consistent frame pacing without the extreme performance penalties of High or Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory and uses the Intel Socket 1700. The CPU was released on 2021-11-03 with a launch MSRP of $384.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-12700KF shows strong multi-threaded performance. It scores 28,838 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,071 in single-core. In Geekbench, it achieves 14,367 multi-core and 2,255 single-core. The 3DMark results scale well: 2,065 for 2 threads, 4,011 for 4 threads, 7,211 for 8 threads, 9,282 for 16 threads, and 9,983 for max threads. Passmark multi-thread score is 34,092, and single-thread is 3,984. The CPU’s percentile ranking against all CPUs is 85, placing it in the top 15% of processors.

The nearest rivals in aggregate CPU benchmark score include the Intel Core i7-13700T with a delta of -0.1%, the Intel Core i5-13600T with a delta of 0.2%, the Intel Core 5 213PE with a delta of -0.2%, and the Intel Core i7-12700K with a delta of 0.2%. This indicates that the i7-12700KF is performance-neutral compared to these alternatives, with differences well within 1%.

In Fortnite, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less stressed. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 176 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to reach high frame rates. The single-core score of 4,071 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-thread performance, which is critical for Fortnite’s game logic and physics. The multi-core score of 28,838 suggests that background tasks and other threads will not bottleneck the game.

The 20 threads are more than sufficient for Fortnite, which is not a heavily multi-threaded title. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides the high single-thread speed needed for the game’s main simulation thread. As resolution increases and the GPU becomes the bottleneck, the CPU’s importance diminishes, which is why the FPS drops so steeply at 4K despite the CPU’s capabilities. The data shows that this CPU is not the limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios; the Arc B570 is.