Minecraft

Minecraft with the Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 presents a stark contrast in component capabilities. The CPU is a high-end desktop part with 16 cores and 24 threads, while the GPU is an integrated-class solution with a 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Benchmark results clearly show this pairing is heavily constrained by the graphics processor, with frame rates that scale dramatically with resolution and settings.

CPU Role, cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a Raptor Lake-S architecture processor built on a 10 nm process, featuring 16 cores and 24 threads. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. This CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, and it includes UHD Graphics 770 as integrated graphics. The chip was released in September 2022 with a launch MSRP of $409.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-13700K delivers a multi-threaded 3DMark score of 12412 and a single-thread score of 1136. Its Cinebench R23 results are 30745 for multi-core and 2116 for single-core. The Geekbench scores are 19429 for multi-core and 2529 for single-core. These numbers place the processor in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with an average score of 46971 (a -0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 at 47022 (-0.3% delta). The AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Intel Xeon w3-2535 both score 46654 and 46653 respectively, each 0.5% higher than the i7-13700K.

For Minecraft, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, world generation, and entity updates, which benefit from strong single-thread performance. The i7-13700K's single-thread results are formidable, but the measured frame rates in this game do not reflect that strength. Across all tested settings and resolutions, the average FPS ranges from 28 at 4K Ultra to 216 at 1080p Low. The pattern indicates that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU can push higher frame rates, but the ceiling is reached quickly. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 216 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of very high frame rates when the GPU load is minimal. However, as resolution increases, the frame rates drop sharply, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor well before the CPU's potential is exhausted. The data shows a CPU that has ample headroom in this game, with its capabilities only partially utilized even at the highest frame rates measured.

FAQ, 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-13700K compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46971. This represents a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i7-13700K is essentially tied with the Ryzen 9 5900 in overall CPU benchmark performance. The difference is negligible, with less than a fraction of a percent separating the two processors.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Minecraft?

A: The highest average FPS is 216, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is followed by 171 FPS at 1080p Medium and 136 FPS at 1080p High. At 1440p, the highest average is 136 FPS with Low settings, while at 4K, the highest is 71 FPS with Low settings.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% lower), the GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% lower), and the GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% lower). This places the Arc B390 at the top of its immediate comparison group, though all these GPUs are in the low end of performance.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Minecraft?

A: This combo ranks 984th out of 1176 total tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 16% of all tested combos, indicating that while the CPU is strong, the overall system performance is dragged down significantly by the GPU's limitations.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low setting produces an average of 136 FPS, while the Ultra setting produces 54 FPS. This represents a difference of 82 FPS, meaning the Low setting is approximately 2.5 times faster than Ultra. The Medium setting sits between these at 108 FPS, and High achieves 86 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU have dedicated VRAM?

A: No, the Intel Arc B390 uses System Shared memory. Its memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and its memory bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the system's main memory rather than having its own dedicated video memory, which can impact performance in memory-intensive scenarios.

Resolution Scaling, how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 216 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 136 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 71 FPS, which is only 33% of the 1080p performance. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics processor's pixel throughput becomes the primary constraint.

The Medium settings row provides additional insight with min and max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 171 FPS with a min of 146 and a max of 197. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 108 FPS with min 92 and max 124. At 4K Medium, the average is 56 FPS with min 48 and max 65. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, and from 1080p to 4K is 67%. This steep decline indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints are the dominant factors.

For High settings, the progression is 136 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, and to 4K is 67%, nearly identical to the Medium settings scaling. Ultra settings show 85 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 28 FPS at 4K, with drops of 36% and 67% respectively. The consistent scaling pattern across all settings strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see diminishing FPS differences as resolution increases, since higher resolutions put more load on the GPU and less on the CPU. Instead, the linear drop-off in performance mirrors the increase in pixel count, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

How This Combo Ranks, use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 984th out of 1176 tested combinations in Minecraft. This rank places the system in the lower 16% of all tested combos, which is a poor result given the CPU's high-end positioning. The i7-13700K is in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, yet this combo's overall rank is far below that. The discrepancy is directly attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 9th percentile among all GPUs.

The data shows that the GPU's performance level is the determining factor for this combo's ranking. The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it well below any mainstream discrete GPU. Its nearest rivals are all from the NVIDIA GT 7xx or 8xx series, which are entry-level parts from over a decade ago. In Minecraft, the combination of a very strong CPU with a very weak GPU results in a system that performs at the level of much more modest hardware, purely because the GPU cannot deliver the frame rates that the CPU is capable of supporting.

Given that the combo ranks 984 out of 1176, there are 192 tested combinations that perform worse. This indicates that the system is not the absolute worst, but it is far from the middle of the pack. The ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the CPU's potential is largely wasted because the GPU cannot translate that processing power into playable frame rates at higher settings or resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown, resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 216 FPS. Medium produces 171 FPS average, with a minimum of 146 FPS and a maximum of 197 FPS. High settings yield 136 FPS average. Ultra is the most demanding at this resolution, producing 85 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 131 FPS, showing a wide performance range based on settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings produce 136 FPS average. Medium achieves 108 FPS, with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. High settings result in 86 FPS average. Ultra produces 54 FPS average. At this resolution, the spread between Low and Ultra is 82 FPS, narrower than at 1080p but still substantial.

At 3840x2160, the performance is markedly lower. Low settings yield 71 FPS average. Medium produces 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. High settings achieve 45 FPS average. Ultra is the most demanding, producing 28 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43 FPS.

The Medium settings row is the only one that includes min and max FPS data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range from min to max is 51 FPS (146 to 197). At 1440p, the range narrows to 32 FPS (92 to 124). At 4K, the range is 17 FPS (48 to 65). This narrowing range at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame time variance decreases when the GPU is saturated.

Settings Recommendations, which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 136 FPS provides a smooth experience for most users, while Ultra at 85 FPS still offers playable performance. The Medium preset at 171 FPS is suitable for high-refresh-rate displays, though Low at 216 FPS would be necessary for 200+ Hz monitors.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 86 FPS is the highest setting that maintains a comfortable frame rate above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 108 FPS provides additional headroom for smoother motion, while Ultra at 54 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 1440p, Medium is the recommended choice, as it delivers 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the options are more limited. The Low preset at 71 FPS is the only setting that reliably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium at 56 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 48 FPS indicating potential stutter. High at 45 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS are below playable thresholds for most users. Therefore, at 4K, Low settings are the recommended preset, while Medium is acceptable if the user can tolerate occasional frame drops.

For the best overall experience, the data suggests that 1440p Medium offers the strongest balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 108 FPS and a minimum of 92 FPS ensuring consistent frame delivery. This configuration leverages the CPU's capabilities while respecting the GPU's limits.

GPU Role, VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units. It includes 12 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The GPU uses System Shared memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. Its memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which ties its performance directly to the system's main memory speed and capacity. This is a significant limitation for a game like Minecraft, which can benefit from high-bandwidth memory for texture streaming and chunk loading. The GPU's pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. It delivers 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 15.36 TFLOPS of FP16 performance.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B390 scores 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. This low position is reflected in the Minecraft results. The GPU's nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA parts: the GT 520MX at 1463, the GeForce 800M at 1460, the GT 625 OEM at 1446, and the GT 710 at 1443. The Arc B390 is 1.3% faster than the GT 520MX, but this is a very tight grouping of low-performance parts.

The GPU's 80 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate it is designed for integrated use, likely in a laptop or compact system. Its display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent," confirming its mobile-oriented design. The combination of 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs limits its fill rate, which directly impacts performance at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 4K Low with 71 FPS average, and it cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K Medium or higher. This confirms that the Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck in this combo, and its limitations define the playable settings and resolutions for Minecraft.