High On Life

FAQ

Q: What is the measured performance of the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B370 in High On Life at 1080p?

A: The combo delivers an average of 70 FPS at Low settings, 55 FPS at Medium, 45 FPS at High, and 34 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394. It sits 0.3% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228), 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196), and 0.8% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995). It trails the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 (49796) by 0.8%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B370 falls into the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with an average 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184. Its closest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, a delta of -0.2%.

Q: What are the core and thread counts of the i5-14600KF?

A: The CPU has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its L3 cache is 24 MB shared.

Q: Does the Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The GPU's memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and its memory bandwidth is "System Dependent." Its boost clock is 2400 MHz with a base clock of 300 MHz.

Q: Where does this CPU+GPU combo rank among all tested combos in this game?

A: The combination ranks 2715 out of 2958 tested combos for High On Life, placing it in the lower portion of the tested field.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated-class part (IGP slot width) built on Intel's 3 nm process with the Xe3-LPG architecture, specifically from the Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) generation. Its shading array consists of 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The GPU's pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 6.144 TFLOPS and FP16 at 12.29 TFLOPS (2:1). The TDP is rated at 25 W.

The most defining characteristic for gaming is the memory configuration: the Arc B370 uses system shared memory, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM pool. Bandwidth is system dependent, and the memory clock is listed as "System Shared." This arrangement has direct consequences for High On Life, a game that places moderate demands on memory bandwidth. The measured data shows that the GPU's performance drops sharply as resolution increases, which is typical for a part that must contend with system memory for both frame buffer and texture storage. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 70; at 1440p Low, it falls to 49; at 4K Low, it drops to 30.

The boost clock of 2400 MHz is respectable for an integrated solution, and the base clock of 300 MHz suggests aggressive power management. However, the raw throughput metrics — 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 and a 5th percentile ranking — place this GPU well below discrete gaming parts. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, it scores 1184, which is essentially tied with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2%) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5%). The data indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor in High On Life, especially at higher resolutions.

The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so it can run modern API features, but the execution resources are limited. The 10 ray tracing cores are present, but given the overall performance envelope, enabling RT would likely be impractical for playable frame rates. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are the theoretical ceilings; actual game performance as measured shows significant deviation from these limits due to memory sharing and driver overhead.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields 70 FPS average, which is the only setting that approaches high-refresh territory. The Medium preset produces 55 FPS average with a minimum of 47 FPS, which is playable for most users. The High preset drops to 45 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS target at 1080p, the data suggests that Low is the only reliable choice, though Medium's 55 FPS average with a 47 FPS minimum is acceptable for slower-paced sections of the game.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low delivers 49 FPS average, Medium 38 FPS (min 33, max 44), High 32 FPS, and Ultra 24 FPS. None of these reach 60 FPS, so users at this resolution must accept a lower frame rate or reduce resolution. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a minimum of 33 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter in action sequences. The Low preset is the most consistent option at this resolution, with a 49 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low averages 30 FPS, Medium 23 FPS (min 20, max 27), High 19 FPS, and Ultra 14 FPS. Even the Low preset fails to maintain 30 FPS consistently in the measured data. The recommendation is to avoid 4K for this game with this combo, or if necessary, use Low settings and accept sub-30 FPS performance.

The best experience per the measured rows is at 1080p with the Low preset, which achieves 70 FPS average. If visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p offers 55 FPS with a 47 FPS minimum, which is the highest setting that maintains a minimum above 45 FPS. The High preset at 1080p drops to 45 FPS, and Ultra to 34 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS threshold that most players prefer for an FPS title. The data clearly shows that the Medium preset at 1080p represents the best balance of playability and visual quality for this hardware combination.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2715 out of 2958 tested combos in High On Life. This places the combination in the 8th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 92% of tested combos perform better. The rank reflects the severe bottleneck imposed by the GPU, which sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs.

The CPU, by contrast, is a high-performing part. Its average benchmark score of 49394 places it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The nearest rivals are all within 1% of its score: the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228, +0.3%), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196, +0.4%), Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995, +0.8%), and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 (49796, -0.8%). This indicates that the i5-14600KF is a top-tier processor for general compute tasks.

The disconnect between CPU strength and combo rank is stark. The combo rank of 2715 suggests that the system is heavily GPU-limited in this game, which is consistent with the GPU's 5th percentile ranking. The Arc B370's nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, +1.4%). These are legacy parts from over a decade ago, and the Arc B370's performance is comparable to them, not to modern discrete GPUs.

In the context of High On Life, the combo's rank of 2715 out of 2958 means that only 243 tested combos perform worse. This is a bottom-decile result, driven entirely by the GPU. The CPU's 90th percentile standing does little to lift the combo rank because the game's frame rates are constrained by the graphics subsystem. The data suggests that users with this CPU should pair it with a more capable GPU to realize its potential in gaming workloads.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700. Its TDP is 125 W, and it was released on 2023-10-16 with a launch MSRP of $294.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14600KF shows strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 32544, and single-core is 4594. Geekbench multi-core is 17085 and single-core is 2445. PassMark multi-thread score is 38697, and single-thread is 4273. These numbers place the CPU at the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394.

In High On Life, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 70 FPS average, but this is likely still GPU-limited given the Arc B370's low compute throughput. The CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for the game's engine, which is not known for extreme multi-threading demands. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance for game logic and physics.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all within 1%, indicating that the i5-14600KF is well-matched against the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core Ultra 5 245. However, this parity in compute performance does not translate to gaming performance when paired with the Arc B370. The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo; the FPS differences between settings and resolutions are driven by GPU load.

The CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 could influence system memory bandwidth, which in turn affects the Arc B370 since it uses system shared memory. With DDR5, the system dependent bandwidth would be higher, potentially improving GPU performance. However, the measured FPS data does not specify which memory type was used, so the impact cannot be quantified here. The CPU's dual-channel memory bus is standard, but the shared memory architecture of the GPU means that memory speed and latency directly affect frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low 70, Medium 55 (min 47, max 63), High 45, and Ultra 34. The spread between Low and Ultra is 36 FPS, which is a 51% drop from Low to Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 47 FPS, indicating that frame pacing is relatively consistent, with a 16 FPS gap between minimum and maximum.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low 49, Medium 38 (min 33, max 44), High 32, and Ultra 24. The drop from Low to Ultra is 25 FPS, a 51% reduction. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 33 FPS, which is below the 47 FPS minimum seen at 1080p Medium. The maximum of 44 FPS at 1440p Medium is lower than the average of 55 FPS at 1080p Medium, showing a significant resolution penalty.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low 30, Medium 23 (min 20, max 27), High 19, and Ultra 14. The Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is borderline playable, but the Medium preset's minimum of 20 FPS indicates severe frame drops. The Ultra preset at 14 FPS is effectively unplayable. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 16 FPS, a 53% reduction, which is consistent with the percentage drops seen at lower resolutions.

Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra is roughly linear, with each settings tier costing approximately 15-20% of the previous tier's performance. At 1080p, the steps are: Low 70, Medium 55 (21% drop), High 45 (18% drop from Medium), Ultra 34 (24% drop from High). At 1440p: Low 49, Medium 38 (22% drop), High 32 (16% drop), Ultra 24 (25% drop). At 4K: Low 30, Medium 23 (23% drop), High 19 (17% drop), Ultra 14 (26% drop).

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data for all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range is 47-63 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 33-44 FPS; at 4K Medium, 20-27 FPS. The minimum FPS scales proportionally with the average, suggesting that the GPU's performance is consistent rather than spiky.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is severe for this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 70 at 1080p to 49 at 1440p (30% drop) to 30 at 4K (57% drop from 1080p). At Medium settings, the averages are 55, 38, and 23, representing a 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 58% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the values are 45, 32, and 19, a 29% drop to 1440p and a 58% drop to 4K. At Ultra settings, the averages are 34, 24, and 14, a 29% drop to 1440p and a 59% drop to 4K.

The consistency of these percentage drops — around 30% for the 1080p to 1440p transition and 57-59% for the 1080p to 4K transition — indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would be less steep at higher resolutions because the GPU would have more time to render each frame. Instead, the frame rate drops nearly linearly with pixel count, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

The resolution scaling also reveals the memory bandwidth constraint. Since the Arc B370 uses system shared memory, the bandwidth available at higher resolutions becomes a critical factor. At 4K, the frame buffer requires significantly more memory traffic, and the system dependent bandwidth is insufficient to maintain frame rates. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper than from 1080p to 1440p, suggesting a non-linear relationship with memory pressure.

The data shows that the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are not the bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the measured values show a clear downward trend. The i5-14600KF's high single-threaded score of 4594 in Cinebench R23 and 4273 in PassMark single-thread indicates it can handle the game's render thread demands easily. The limiting component is the Arc B370, whose 5th percentile GPU ranking and shared memory architecture cannot sustain playable frame rates at high resolutions.

The practical takeaway is that this combo is suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve 70 FPS at Low and 55 FPS at Medium. At 1440p, even Low settings produce only 49 FPS, which is suboptimal for a fast-paced FPS. At 4K, the performance is below 30 FPS even at Low, making the game effectively unplayable. The resolution scaling data confirms that users should stay at 1080p with this hardware, and that any upgrade path should focus on the GPU rather than the CPU.