High On Life

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second for High On Life with the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B370 show a steep performance curve as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 70 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops that figure to 49 FPS, a reduction of 21 FPS. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 30 FPS. This pattern indicates that the graphics subsystem is the primary limiting factor, as the frame rate scales almost linearly with the pixel count rather than holding steady and dropping off only at the highest resolutions.

The scaling behavior becomes more pronounced when examining the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum frame data. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 and maximum of 63. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average drops to 38 FPS with a range of 33 to 44. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 23 FPS with a range of 20 to 27. The consistent reduction across all three resolutions — roughly 17 FPS from 1080p to 1440p, then another 15 FPS to 4K — suggests that the render pipeline is saturated by the increasing pixel workload.

The Ultra preset exhibits the most dramatic scaling penalty. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 34 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, that falls to 24 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average bottoms out at 14 FPS. This is a 20 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, representing a 58.8% reduction in frame rate. The High preset follows a similar trajectory: 45 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K.

What this scaling data reveals about the limiting component is clear. The CPU, a 4-core/8-thread Alder Lake part with a 4.30 GHz boost clock, is capable of maintaining playable frame rates at lower resolutions when the GPU is not overburdened. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 70 FPS while 4K Low only reaches 30 FPS indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are exhausted well before the CPU becomes a bottleneck. If the CPU were the constraint, the frame rate would remain relatively flat across resolutions, with only minor dips at 4K. Instead, the nearly proportional scaling with pixel count points squarely at the graphics processor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2400 MHz. The GPU contains 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. It also includes 10 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS for FP32 and 12.29 TFLOPS for FP16.

Memory is entirely system shared, meaning the GPU draws from the same pool as the CPU rather than having dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width is also system shared, and bandwidth is listed as system dependent. This architecture has direct implications for the measured results. In High On Life, the 4K Ultra setting produces an average of only 14 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. Even 1080p Ultra only reaches 34 FPS. The shared memory arrangement likely contributes to these low scores, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, particularly at higher resolutions where texture and geometry data demands increase.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score for this GPU is 1184. Its percentile ranking among all GPUs is 5, placing it in the bottom 5% of the database. The nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186 and a deltaPct of -0.2, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with a score of 1190 and a deltaPct of -0.5, the AMD Radeon HD 7650M with a score of 1192 and a deltaPct of -0.7, and the AMD FirePro M2000 with a score of 1168 and a deltaPct of 1.4. These are all legacy discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, underscoring how limited the Arc B370's raw graphics throughput is.

The clock behavior of the Arc B370 is worth noting in the context of this game. With a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz, there is an eightfold difference between idle and peak operating frequencies. The measured frame rates suggest that the GPU is likely spending most of its time at or near boost clocks in High On Life, yet still cannot sustain high frame rates at demanding settings. The 20 ROPs are a particularly scarce resource for a game that needs to fill a 3840x2160 framebuffer, which explains why the 4K results are uniformly low across all presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread desktop processor from the Alder Lake generation. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, and it boosts to 4.30 GHz. The thermal design power is 58 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration. It uses the Intel Socket 1700 platform. The launch MSRP is $97.

Benchmark data for the CPU shows a balanced profile between single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. In Cinebench R23, the multicore score is 11860 and the single-core score is 1674. The Cinebench R20 results are 4981 multicore and 703 single-core. Geekbench reports 7252 multicore and 1932 single-core. The 3DMark threaded tests show 4051 for 16 threads, 4026 for 8 threads, 2859 for 4 threads, and 1659 for 2 threads. Notably, the 16-thread and 8-thread scores are nearly identical, which is expected for a processor with only 8 threads total.

The CPU's percentile ranking among all processors is 68, meaning it outperforms the majority of CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 13494. The nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492 and a deltaPct of 0, the Intel Core i5-9500 with a score of 13452 and a deltaPct of 0.3, the Intel Core 5 120UL with a score of 13594 and a deltaPct of -0.7, and the Intel Core i7-1250U with a score of 13351 and a deltaPct of 1.1. These deltas are all within 1.1% of the i3-12100F, indicating that the processor sits in a tightly clustered performance tier.

In High On Life, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, but not entirely negligible. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 70 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed frames to the GPU faster than the GPU can render them at lower resolutions. The 4-core/8-thread configuration with a 4.30 GHz boost clock provides sufficient single-thread performance for game logic and draw call submission. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 1674 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 893 indicate strong per-core throughput, which is beneficial for a game engine that likely relies on a primary render thread.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 14015 and the integer math score of 40978 show that the CPU has reasonable overall compute capability. However, the floating point math score of 31977 and the extended instructions score of 10842 suggest that the CPU would not be the limiting factor in a game like High On Life, which is more GPU-bound. The data compression score of 160452 and random string sorting score of 15809 are irrelevant to gaming but indicate the processor's general-purpose competence.

FAQ

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

A: The average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186 with a deltaPct of -0.2. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 with a deltaPct of -0.5. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 with a deltaPct of -0.7, and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 with a deltaPct of 1.4.

Q: What is the best frame rate achieved in this game with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 70 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the CPU hold up well against its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494. Its closest rival, the Intel Core 3 N355, has a score of 13492 with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are statistically tied. The Intel Core i5-9500 is 0.3% slower, and the Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7% faster.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in High On Life?

A: At 3840x2160, the best average frame rate is 30 FPS with Low settings. The Medium preset averages 23 FPS, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. These results indicate that 4K gaming is not viable at acceptable performance levels.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 49 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 24 FPS. The difference is 25 FPS, representing a 51% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2715 out of 2958 tested combos in High On Life. This places the combo in the bottom 8.2% of all tested configurations for this game. The rank reflects the severe GPU limitation, as the Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, is in the 68th percentile among all processors, which indicates a significant imbalance in this pairing.

The low combo rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU's inability to deliver playable frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 70 FPS, which is reasonable. However, at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 34 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 14 FPS. These results are consistent with a GPU that is ranked in the bottom 5% of all GPUs. The CPU's strong benchmark scores — a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674 — do not compensate for the GPU's deficiencies in a graphically demanding title.

The rank of 2715 out of 2958 means that 243 tested combos perform worse than this pairing in High On Life. Given that the GPU sits at the 5th percentile, the fact that any combos rank lower is likely due to even weaker integrated graphics or severely outdated discrete GPUs. The combo's position in the bottom decile of all tested configurations is a direct consequence of the Arc B370's performance tier, which is comparable to legacy GPUs like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 and AMD Radeon HD 7650M.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data for High On Life with the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B370 is organized by resolution and settings preset. All values are average frames per second unless otherwise noted.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 70 FPS. The Medium preset averages 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 63. The High preset averages 45 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 34 FPS. This represents a 36 FPS spread between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 49 FPS. The Medium preset averages 38 FPS, with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 44. The High preset averages 32 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 24 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 25 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 30 FPS. The Medium preset averages 23 FPS, with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 27. The High preset averages 19 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 14 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 16 FPS.

The data shows that the relative performance gap between settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 48.6% of the Low preset's frame rate. At 1440p, Ultra delivers 49.0% of Low. At 4K, Ultra delivers 46.7% of Low. This consistency indicates that the settings presets affect the GPU workload proportionally regardless of resolution, which is typical for a game that scales graphical fidelity through shader complexity and draw distance rather than resolution-specific effects.

The minimum frame rate data, available only for the Medium preset, shows that the frame time variance is relatively tight. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 47 FPS against an average of 55, a difference of 8 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 33 against an average of 38, a difference of 5 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 20 against an average of 23, a difference of 3 FPS. This narrowing variance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated rather than experiencing sporadic spikes.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and the acceptable frame rate floor.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 70 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration that reaches a 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 55 FPS is close to playable, with a minimum of 47 FPS that stays above 45. The High preset at 45 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 34 FPS falls below comfortable playability for a fast-paced FPS. For a smooth experience at 1080p, the Low preset is the recommended choice, with Medium as a viable alternative if visual quality is prioritized over frame rate stability.

At 2560x1440, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset averages 49 FPS, which is the best available. The Medium preset averages 38 FPS with a minimum of 33. The High preset averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. For 1440p gaming, the Low preset is the only reasonable option, as the Medium preset's minimum of 33 FPS may result in noticeable stuttering during intense scenes. Users who prefer higher visual fidelity could consider Medium, but they should be prepared for frame rates in the mid-30s.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly below playable thresholds. The Low preset averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 23 FPS, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. None of these configurations provide a satisfactory gaming experience for an FPS title. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in High On Life, regardless of settings.

The overall recommendation is to play at 1920x1080 with the Low preset for the best balance of frame rate and responsiveness. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a 55 FPS average with a 47 FPS minimum, which is acceptable for players who prioritize visual detail. For users with 1440p displays, the Low preset at 49 FPS is the only recommended option. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as even the lowest settings produce an average of only 30 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced shooter.