Minimum

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a narrow range of playable outcomes in Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. Across the 12 measured configurations, average frame rates span from 15 FPS at 4K Ultra to 85 FPS at 1080p Low. This combination ranks 2703rd out of 2939 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower percentile of the database. The data indicates a system that is heavily constrained by the integrated graphics solution, with the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities largely irrelevant to the final frame rates. The following analysis breaks down the measured results by settings, component roles, and resolution scaling, drawing exclusively from the provided benchmark data.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows across three resolutions and four quality presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) reveal a clear pattern: the only preset that delivers consistently fluid motion at common display resolutions is Low. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 85 FPS, which is the highest measured average for this combo. Medium at 1080p drops to 65 FPS, High falls to 55 FPS, and Ultra is only 42 FPS. For a third-person shooter, the difference between 85 FPS and 65 FPS is substantial, and the Low preset is the only one that stays comfortably above a 60 FPS baseline.

At 2560x1440, the situation tightens. Low averages 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Medium drops to 42 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 27 FPS. The data suggests that at 1440p, Low is the only viable preset, and even then, the average frame rate is marginal. For 3840x2160, no preset achieves a playable average. Low reaches 30 FPS, Medium 23 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. These numbers are below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a shooter, so 4K should be avoided entirely.

The best experience per the measured rows is therefore the Low preset at 1920x1080, yielding 85 FPS average. If a user insists on higher visual quality, Medium at 1080p (65 FPS) is the only other preset that remains above 60 FPS on average. High at 1080p (55 FPS) is borderline, and Ultra at any resolution fails to reach 60 FPS. The data shows no scenario where High or Ultra provides a competitive frame rate, and the min FPS values for Medium (56 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, 19 FPS at 4K) further underscore that even Medium can dip into stutter territory. Thus, the recommendation is unambiguous: use Low at 1080p for the best balance of smoothness and responsiveness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838, a single-core score of 4071, and a Geekbench multi-core score of 14367. The CPU’s percentile vs all CPUs is 85, meaning it outperforms 85% of processors in the database. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T (deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (deltaPct 0.2), indicating the 12700KF sits in a tightly competitive band around a 35365 average benchmark score.

Despite this CPU capability, the measured FPS in Minimum shows virtually no CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system produces 85 FPS; at 1440p Low, it drops to 55 FPS; at 4K Low, it falls to 30 FPS. This scaling pattern—where frame rate drops by roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 45% from 1440p to 4K—is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU’s 3DMark scores (e.g., 9282 in 16-thread, 9983 in max-threads, 1043 in single-thread) are far above what would be needed to drive a 2014 title at these low settings. The game’s release date of 2014-06-25 suggests it was designed for hardware from that era, and the 12700KF’s 20 threads are massively underutilized.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting component in any measured configuration. Even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 15, the bottleneck is the GPU’s inability to render frames, not a lack of CPU processing power. The CPU’s cache hierarchy (80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, 25 MB shared L3) and memory support for DDR4/DDR5 are irrelevant to the outcome because the frame rate never approaches a level where CPU instruction throughput or memory latency would matter. In essence, the i7-12700KF is overqualified for this pairing, and its role is reduced to feeding a GPU that cannot keep up.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is a fundamentally different story. This GPU uses the Xe3-LPG architecture on a 3 nm process, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. Its memory is system shared, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM; the bus width, bandwidth, and size are all listed as “System Shared” or “System Dependent.” The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, with 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS. The TDP is just 25 W, and it is an integrated graphics solution (IGP) with a slot width of “IGP” and no power connectors.

The GPU’s benchmark presence is minimal: a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184. Its percentile vs all GPUs is 5, meaning it ranks in the bottom 5% of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (avgScore 1186, deltaPct -0.2), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (avgScore 1190, deltaPct -0.5), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (avgScore 1192, deltaPct -0.7). These are all legacy or entry-level parts from over a decade ago, confirming that the Arc B370 is an extremely low-performance integrated GPU. The fact that it is compared to those parts, and even slightly underperforms them in some cases (e.g., deltaPct -0.7 vs the HD 7650M), highlights its limitations.

The measured FPS confirms this. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 85 FPS, which is the maximum for this combo. Dropping to Medium reduces it to 65 FPS, High to 55 FPS, and Ultra to 42 FPS. The 4K results are abysmal: 30 FPS at Low, 23 FPS at Medium, 19 FPS at High, and 15 FPS at Ultra. The GPU’s system shared memory means performance is dependent on the system’s memory bandwidth, and the low ROP count (20) limits fill rate at high resolutions. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is high, but with only 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, the raw compute is insufficient for modern rendering demands, let alone the overhead of high resolution and quality settings.

The GPU is unequivocally the limiting component in every measured scenario. The frame rate scales inversely with resolution and settings in a way that matches the GPU’s compute and memory constraints. For example, moving from 1080p Low (85 FPS) to 1440p Low (55 FPS) is a 35% drop, and to 4K Low (30 FPS) is a 65% drop from 1080p. This is consistent with a GPU that lacks the pixel throughput for higher resolutions. The VRAM being system shared means there is no dedicated frame buffer, forcing the GPU to compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which further degrades performance at higher settings where more memory is needed.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2703rd out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the 8th percentile of all combos (calculated as 2703/2939 ≈ 92% of combos rank higher). The data shows this is a poor pairing for this game, primarily due to the GPU. The CPU’s percentile vs all CPUs is 85, but the GPU’s percentile vs all GPUs is just 5. The combo rank is pulled down almost entirely by the GPU, as the CPU is more than capable of handling the game’s processing needs.

Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the Arc B370’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190) and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186). This means any combo using those older GPUs would likely rank similarly in Minimum, assuming a comparable CPU. The CPU’s nearest rivals (i7-13700T, i5-13600T, Core 5 213PE, i7-12700K) all have average benchmark scores within 0.2% of the 12700KF, so swapping the CPU for one of those would not meaningfully change the combo’s rank. The bottleneck is the GPU, and no CPU change can fix that.

The combo rank of 2703 out of 2939 means there are only 236 combos that perform worse. This puts the system in the bottom tier for Minimum, which is surprising given the game’s age, but it reflects the Arc B370’s status as an integrated GPU with performance comparable to a 2010-era discrete card. The measured FPS numbers corroborate this: even at 1080p Low, the system only reaches 85 FPS, while many modern entry-level discrete GPUs would exceed 200 FPS in a 2014 title. The rank is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a high-end part, but of the GPU’s severe limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across resolutions shows a consistent drop as pixel count increases, with the Low preset providing the clearest view of scaling. At 1920x1080 Low, the average is 85 FPS. At 2560x1440 Low, it drops to 55 FPS, a 35.3% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, it falls to 30 FPS, a 64.7% reduction from 1080p. This scaling is steeper than what would be expected from a purely GPU-bound scenario with a discrete card, where the drop from 1080p to 4K is typically around 60-70% for a 2.25x increase in pixel count. The 4K pixel count is 4x that of 1080p, so a 65% drop indicates the GPU is not scaling linearly, likely due to memory bandwidth limitations from system shared memory.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar: 65 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p (35.4% drop), and 23 FPS at 4K (64.6% drop). High preset shows 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p (36.4% drop), and 19 FPS at 4K (65.5% drop). Ultra preset has 42 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p (35.7% drop), and 15 FPS at 4K (64.3% drop). The consistency of these percentages across all presets (roughly 35% for 1080p-to-1440p and 64-65% for 1080p-to-4K) strongly indicates that the limiting component is the GPU’s rendering pipeline, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

The resolution scaling also reveals that the GPU is incapable of maintaining playable frame rates at 4K under any setting. Even at Low, 30 FPS is below the 60 FPS target for a shooter, and the min FPS values for Medium at 4K (19 FPS) show severe dips. The 1440p results are borderline: Low at 55 FPS is acceptable for casual play, but Medium (42 FPS) and above are not. The 1080p results are the only ones where the system can deliver a smooth experience, and only at Low (85 FPS) or Medium (65 FPS). This scaling pattern suggests that users should prioritize 1080p and the Low preset if they want to avoid frame rate drops below 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a complete breakdown of the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination, along with min/max values where provided.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average 85 FPS. No min/max provided.
• Medium: Average 65 FPS, min 56, max 75.
• High: Average 55 FPS. No min/max provided.
• Ultra: Average 42 FPS. No min/max provided.

At 1080p, the system’s best performance is 85 FPS on Low, which is the only configuration that exceeds 80 FPS. Medium at 65 FPS is the only other preset that stays above 60 FPS on average, but the min of 56 FPS indicates occasional drops below that threshold. High (55 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) are below 60 FPS, making them less suitable for a fast-paced shooter. The data shows a clear diminishing return: each step up in quality costs roughly 20-23% of the frame rate (from 85 to 65 is -23.5%, 65 to 55 is -15.4%, 55 to 42 is -23.6%).

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average 55 FPS. No min/max provided.
• Medium: Average 42 FPS, min 36, max 48.
• High: Average 35 FPS. No min/max provided.
• Ultra: Average 27 FPS. No min/max provided.

At 1440p, only Low exceeds 50 FPS (55 FPS), but it is still below the 60 FPS ideal. Medium drops to 42 FPS, with a min of 36 FPS, which would cause noticeable stutter in action sequences. High (35 FPS) and Ultra (27 FPS) are both below 40 FPS, making them nearly unplayable. The relative drops from 1080p to 1440p are consistent: Low from 85 to 55 (-35.3%), Medium from 65 to 42 (-35.4%), High from 55 to 35 (-36.4%), and Ultra from 42 to 27 (-35.7%). This uniform percentage drop confirms the GPU is the sole bottleneck.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average 30 FPS. No min/max provided.
• Medium: Average 23 FPS, min 19, max 26.
• High: Average 19 FPS. No min/max provided.
• Ultra: Average 15 FPS. No min/max provided.

At 4K, no preset achieves a playable frame rate. Low at 30 FPS is the highest, but it is still below 30 FPS for a significant portion of time. Medium at 23 FPS has a min of 19 FPS, which is effectively a slideshow. High (19 FPS) and Ultra (15 FPS) are both below 20 FPS, making them unusable for any real-time interaction. The drops from 1440p to 4K are also uniform: Low from 55 to 30 (-45.5%), Medium from 42 to 23 (-45.2%), High from 35 to 19 (-45.7%), and Ultra from 27 to 15 (-44.4%). The GPU’s system shared memory is likely the cause of this severe degradation, as the integrated GPU cannot access dedicated high-speed VRAM.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Minimum?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 85, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The next highest is 65 FPS at 1080p Medium, then 55 FPS at both 1080p High and 1440p Low.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: No. The only 1440p preset that comes close is Low, with an average of 55 FPS. Medium drops to 42 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 27 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so much from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a consistent drop of roughly 64-65% from 1080p to 4K across all presets. This is due to the Intel Arc B370’s system shared memory and low pixel throughput (48.00 GPixel/s), which cannot handle the 4x pixel count of 3840x2160. The GPU’s 20 ROPs and 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance are insufficient for 4K rendering.

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-12700KF perform relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The 12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35365, which is within 0.2% of its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i7-13700T (35403, deltaPct -0.1) and Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, deltaPct 0.2). This means the CPU is effectively tied with those parts in synthetic benchmarks, and swapping to one would not change the game’s FPS.

Q: What is the GPU’s benchmark percentile and what does it mean?

A: The Intel Arc B370 has a percentile vs all GPUs of 5, meaning it outperforms only 5% of GPUs in the database. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190) and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), indicating performance on par with 2010-era entry-level graphics.

Q: Which preset is recommended for the best experience?

A: Based on the measured rows, the Low preset at 1920x1080 (85 FPS) is the best experience. If higher visual quality is desired, Medium at 1080p (65 FPS) is the only other preset with an average above 60 FPS. No preset at 1440p or 4K achieves 60 FPS, so those resolutions are not recommended for this combo.