Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol places this Intel Core i5-13400F + Intel Arc B390 pairing in a challenging position, with benchmark data showing a system that is decisively limited by its graphics component. The measured frames per second across resolutions reveal a consistent pattern of GPU-bound performance, where the CPU's substantial multi-threading capabilities remain largely underutilized in favor of the integrated graphics solution.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a steep and predictable decline in frame rates, confirming that the Intel Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 88 at 1920x1080 to 65 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 23 frames, and then further to 42 at 3840x2160. This represents a 52% performance loss from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that points squarely at the GPU struggling with pixel throughput rather than any CPU limitation.

Moving to High settings shows a similar trajectory, with averages of 55 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and High settings narrows as resolution increases, suggesting that the graphics processor is already saturated at lower resolutions and additional graphical fidelity has diminishing returns. At 4K Ultra, the system bottoms out at 19 FPS, which is essentially unplayable for a competitive FPS title.

Medium settings provide the most complete data set, with minimum and maximum frame times recorded at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 72, showing relatively stable frame pacing. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53. The 4K Medium result of 30 FPS average, with a minimum of 25 and maximum of 34, illustrates how the Arc B390's limited memory bandwidth (being system shared) becomes a severe constraint at higher pixel counts.

The scaling behavior indicates that this combo is optimized for 1080p gameplay, where even High settings can achieve playable frame rates. The jump to 1440p costs roughly 27% performance at Low settings and 27% at High settings, while the jump to 4K costs an additional 35-38% depending on the preset. This is not a system designed for high-resolution gaming; the data suggests that users should treat 1080p as the target resolution for any serious play.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame places this specific pairing at 2512 out of 2828 tested combinations, putting it in the bottom 11% of all configurations tested in Lockdown Protocol. This is a poor showing that reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities. The Intel Arc B390, with its percentileVsAllGpus of 9, sits in the lowest decile of all graphics cards in the database, and this ranking is directly reflected in the overall combo performance.

The low ranking is particularly notable given the CPU's relative strength. The Intel Core i5-13400F holds a percentileVsAllCpus of 77, meaning it outperforms 77% of all processors in the database. This creates a stark imbalance: a capable mid-range processor paired with an entry-level integrated GPU. In Lockdown Protocol, where frame rates are heavily dependent on graphics processing, this imbalance results in the combo ranking far lower than the CPU alone would suggest.

Looking at the nearestRivals for the GPU provides context for the graphics performance. The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it just ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, deltaPct 1.3), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, deltaPct 1.5), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, deltaPct 2.5), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, deltaPct 2.7). These are all legacy or entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, highlighting just how limited the Arc B390's raw rendering power is. The CPU, by contrast, sits within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H and AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, showing it belongs to a far more competitive performance class.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a Panther Lake chip and a 3 nm process node from Intel. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, a wide frequency range that helps it manage thermals within its 80 W TDP. The GPU contains 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its peak pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS.

Memory is entirely system shared, with no dedicated VRAM. This means the GPU relies on the CPU's main system memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This configuration is a fundamental weakness for gaming, as shared memory access creates latency and bandwidth bottlenecks that dedicated GDDR memory avoids. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 confirms the GPU's low-end positioning, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

The measured FPS data reflects this hardware profile. At 1080p Low, the Arc B390 achieves 88 FPS, which is acceptable for casual play but far from competitive. The GPU's relative strength appears to be in lower resolutions and simpler settings, where its 1536 shading units can be fed adequately. However, as resolution increases and settings rise, the system shared memory becomes a critical constraint, and the GPU's modest 24 ROPs limit fill-rate heavy operations. The lack of any dedicated VRAM means that texture-heavy scenes at Ultra settings likely cause significant memory pressure, contributing to the 19 FPS result at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal balance of visual quality and playable frame rates for this combo is 1080p Medium settings. This configuration produces an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, providing a smooth experience that stays above the 60 FPS threshold for most of the scene. The 53 FPS minimum is acceptable, though it indicates occasional dips that could affect fast-paced FPS gameplay.

For players prioritizing higher frame rates, 1080p Low settings deliver 88 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration that approaches competitive esports territory. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 25 FPS (from 88 to 63), which is a significant sacrifice for moderate visual improvements. However, the Low preset at 1440p achieves 65 FPS, which is actually higher than the Medium preset at 1080p, suggesting that resolution scaling might be preferable to setting changes for some users.

High settings at 1080p should be avoided, as the 55 FPS average is noticeably lower than Medium while offering only marginal graphical gains. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended; even at 1080p it only manages 41 FPS average, which is below the playability threshold for a competitive shooter. At 1440p, Medium settings yield 46 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal, while High settings at 1440p drop to 40 FPS. The 4K resolution should be considered off-limits entirely, as even Low settings only reach 42 FPS and Medium drops to 30 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for competitive play?

A: The data shows 1080p Low settings produce the highest average FPS at 88, making it the only configuration that approaches competitive frame rates. For a balance of visuals and performance, 1080p Medium at 63 FPS average is the recommended alternative.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710. These are all entry-level GPUs from previous generations.

Q: Is the CPU holding back gaming performance in Lockdown Protocol?

A: No. The Intel Core i5-13400F ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile. The frame rate drops from 88 FPS at 1080p Low to 42 FPS at 4K Low indicate the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU.

Q: Does the Arc B390 have dedicated video memory?

A: No. The memory configuration is "System Shared" for size, type, bus width, and bandwidth. The bandwidth is described as "System Dependent," meaning it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM.

Q: What is the CPU's pricing and core configuration?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has a launch MSRP of $196. It features 10 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP.

Q: What 3DMark score does the GPU achieve?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a 20 MB shared L3 cache, with 1.25 MB L2 cache per core and 80 KB L1 cache per core. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz can boost to 4.60 GHz, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The CPU connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes and has a 65 W TDP.

Benchmark results show this CPU is highly capable in multi-threaded workloads. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and single-core score of 3191 demonstrate strong all-around performance. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1880 with 2 threads to 7314 with 16 threads, indicating good thread utilization. Geekbench scores of 11068 multicore and 1996 single-core confirm this positioning.

However, in Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's performance is almost irrelevant to the measured frame rates. The data shows that going from 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra reduces FPS from 88 to 41, a 53% drop, which is entirely attributable to GPU load. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain constant across settings at a given resolution. Instead, the dramatic scaling with settings confirms the GPU is saturated.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (deltaPct 0), Intel Core 5 120 (deltaPct -0.3), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.3), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (deltaPct 0.4). These processors all perform within 0.4% of the i5-13400F in average benchmark scores, placing it in strong company. Yet even with this CPU performance, the combo ranks 2512 out of 2828, demonstrating that in GPU-bound scenarios, the processor's capabilities cannot compensate for graphics limitations.

For users considering this combo, the CPU offers headroom for future GPU upgrades. The 10-core, 16-thread configuration and 20 MB L3 cache are well-suited for modern gaming workloads, and the processor's 3DMark max threads score of 7307 suggests it can feed a much faster discrete GPU effectively. In its current configuration, however, the i5-13400F is effectively idle in Lockdown Protocol, waiting on the Arc B390 to render frames. The system's performance ceiling is set entirely by the integrated GPU, and the measured data provides no evidence that CPU overclocking or tuning would improve frame rates.