To The Core

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a surprisingly robust experience in To The Core, an idle game that clearly scales well with both CPU and GPU resources. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a pairing that is well-balanced, though the data shows distinct bottlenecks depending on where you land on the resolution spectrum. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, component roles, and settings priorities for this specific combo.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant, but not catastrophic, indicating that the system shifts from a CPU-bound state at lower resolutions to a more GPU-bound state at 4K. At 1080p High, the combo produces 165 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 111 FPS, a 33% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 64 FPS, which is 61% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline at 4K is a classic sign that the Intel Arc B570’s rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor, while the Ryzen 5 5600 has ample headroom at lower resolutions.

Looking at the Low preset, the trend is even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the system hits 225 FPS, which is exceptionally high. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 152 FPS, a 32% decrease. At 4K Low, the average is 87 FPS, a 61% drop from 1080p. The consistency of this percentage drop across presets suggests the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. The GPU’s raw fillrate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at 4K, while the CPU can easily feed frames at 1080p.

The Medium preset provides the only min/max FPS data in the pack, which offers insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 191 FPS, with a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 219 FPS. That spread of 57 FPS is wide, indicating occasional hitches even at high frame rates. At 1440p Medium, the average is 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS. The frame time variance is tighter here. At 4K Medium, the average is 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. The 4K data shows a narrower relative range, which suggests that the GPU is working steadily without the CPU causing spikes.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests this combo is playable but not ideal for high-refresh monitors. The 64 FPS average on High is smooth enough for most titles, but the 51 FPS on Ultra will feel less fluid. The 1080p and 1440p results are where this pairing shines, with 165 FPS and 111 FPS on High respectively. If you have a 144Hz monitor, 1440p High is the sweet spot; if you have a 240Hz panel, 1080p High will keep you near the ceiling.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running on the AM4 socket. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz and boost clock reaches 4.40 GHz. For an idle game like To The Core, the CPU’s role is less about raw multi-core muscle and more about maintaining a steady frame pipeline. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The 225 FPS on Low is a strong indicator that the 5600 can push frames far beyond what the GPU can handle at that resolution.

The CPU’s benchmark scores support this. In Cinebench R23, it scores 18309 multi-core and 2584 single-core. The single-core score is particularly relevant for game logic and physics. The 3DMark single-thread score is 882, while the max-thread score is 5659. This shows that while the CPU has decent multi-threading capability, its per-core performance is what drives high FPS in less demanding scenes. The Ryzen 5 5600 sits at the 74th percentile among all CPUs, which is respectable but not top-tier.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the 5600 is effectively tied with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (deltaPct 0.1) and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (deltaPct 0.2). The AMD EPYC 9454P and EPYC 7713 are also within 0.5% in average benchmark score. This means that for To The Core, the 5600’s performance is not uniquely strong or weak; it’s a solid mid-range part that keeps up with newer options. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game data locality, and the DDR4 memory support with dual-channel 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for this title.

The 65W TDP and 7nm process node make it an efficient part, but that doesn’t translate to extra FPS. The real takeaway is that the 5600 is not holding back the Arc B570 at 1080p or 1440p. The FPS drops at higher resolutions are directly attributable to GPU limits. At 4K, even the lowest preset drops to 87 FPS, which is still high, but the CPU is likely not the reason for that ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for settings. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 225 FPS, Medium 191 FPS, High 165 FPS, and Ultra 133 FPS. Every preset is above 130 FPS, so even Ultra is playable on a 120Hz or 144Hz monitor. The jump from Low to Medium costs 34 FPS (15% drop), while Medium to High costs 26 FPS (14% drop). High to Ultra costs 32 FPS (19% drop). The diminishing returns are mild, but the data suggests that High is the best balance for 1080p if you want visual quality without sacrificing too much speed.

At 1440p, the story changes. Low yields 152 FPS, Medium 128 FPS, High 111 FPS, and Ultra 89 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is 22 FPS (20% drop), which is more noticeable. For a 144Hz monitor, Medium is the recommended preset, as it stays above 120 FPS. High is still viable at 111 FPS, but you’ll hover near the refresh rate limit. Ultra at 89 FPS is best reserved for slower-paced gameplay or a 60Hz display.

At 4K, the options are more constrained. Low gives 87 FPS, Medium 73 FPS, High 64 FPS, and Ultra 51 FPS. For a 60Hz display, High is the maximum you should consider, as it sits comfortably above 60 FPS. Ultra dips to 51 FPS, which will show stutter on a 60Hz panel. Medium is a safer bet if you want consistent frame pacing, as the min FPS of 62 at Medium is higher than the average of 64 at High. The data points to Medium as the best 4K experience for this combo, balancing visual fidelity with a 62 FPS minimum.

The most efficient choice across all resolutions is the Medium preset. It offers a 73 FPS average at 4K, 128 FPS at 1440p, and 191 FPS at 1080p. The min FPS data at Medium (62 at 4K, 109 at 1440p, 162 at 1080p) shows that frame dips are less severe than at other presets. If you prioritize smoothness over absolute FPS, Medium is the data-backed recommendation.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in To The Core is 2380 out of 2991 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 20% of all combos, which might seem surprising given the high FPS numbers. However, this rank is likely influenced by the fact that many other combos feature much more powerful CPUs and GPUs. The rank of 2380 means that roughly 79% of tested combos outperform this one in average FPS, but the absolute numbers are still playable.

The percentile data for the individual components is more revealing. The CPU is at the 74th percentile, and the GPU is at the 65th percentile. Neither component is a top-tier performer, but they are both above average. The combo rank being lower than either component percentile suggests that the pairing is not optimized for this specific game, or that the game is heavily GPU-dependent at higher resolutions, where the B570’s 65th percentile ranking becomes the limiting factor.

Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the Arc B570 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -0.1). The AMD Radeon R9 M390X is 0.5% slower. This means the B570 is a mid-range card that competes with last-generation laptop parts and Intel’s previous desktop offering. The combo’s low rank is therefore not a reflection of poor pairing, but rather the fact that the B570 is not a high-end part.

The Ryzen 5 5600’s nearest rivals are all within 0.5% in average score, which reinforces that the CPU is a known quantity. The combo rank of 2380 is a function of the GPU’s ceiling, not the CPU’s deficiency. If you were to pair this CPU with a higher-tier GPU, the rank would improve dramatically. As it stands, this combo is a mid-range workhorse that delivers solid FPS in To The Core, but it won’t top any leaderboards.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage) and features 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It has 18 ray tracing cores and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU is equipped with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specs place it as a capable 1080p and 1440p card, with 4K performance that is serviceable but not stellar.

The GPU’s FP32 compute is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s. These numbers explain the resolution scaling seen in the data. At 1080p, the GPU can easily handle the pixel and texture throughput, resulting in 165 FPS on High. At 4K, the pixel rate becomes a bottleneck, as the GPU must push four times the pixels, dropping the average to 64 FPS.

The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for To The Core at all tested resolutions, as the game is an idle title with likely modest texture demands. The 380 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is not a problem, even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s benchmark scores support its mid-range status: it scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 83514 in Geekbench OpenCL. These are respectable but not class-leading.

The GPU’s nearest rival is the Intel Arc A750, which is 0.1% faster, and the RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 0.1% slower. This means the B570 is effectively a re-release of the A750 with slightly different specs. The GPU’s 65th percentile ranking indicates it outperforms 65% of all GPUs, which is solid for a $219 launch MSRP card. In To The Core, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU can sustain high FPS but the GPU cannot render fast enough.

The data shows that the GPU’s role is dominant at 4K, where the FPS drops from 87 on Low to 51 on Ultra. This 41% reduction is purely due to GPU workload. At 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, but the CPU still isn’t the bottleneck. The B570 is a balanced performer, but it lacks the raw power to push 4K Ultra at 60 FPS, capping out at 51 FPS in this test.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run To The Core at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, but only on Medium or lower settings. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 73 with a minimum of 62, which stays above 60. At 4K High, the average drops to 64 FPS, which is borderline, and at Ultra it falls to 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570 in this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the data shows the CPU is not the limiting factor. The 1080p Low preset reaches 225 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed frames far beyond the GPU’s capabilities. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as shown by the steep FPS drop across all presets.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice, as it delivers 128 FPS on average with a minimum of 109 FPS. The High preset at 111 FPS is also viable, but it sits closer to the 144Hz limit and may dip below it during intense scenes.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested combos?

A: It ranks 2380 out of 2991 combos, placing it in the bottom 20%. However, this is due to the GPU’s mid-range performance, not a mismatch. The CPU is at the 74th percentile, and the GPU is at the 65th percentile, so the rank reflects the GPU’s ceiling.

*Q: Is the 10 GB VRAM on the Arc B570 enough for To The Core?*

A: Yes, the data shows no VRAM-related issues at any resolution or settings preset. The 10 GB capacity and 380 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this idle game, even at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to the Intel Arc A750?

A: The B570 is 0.1% slower than the A750 in average benchmark score, making them effectively identical in performance. In To The Core, the B570’s measured FPS is solid, but it does not outperform its predecessor by any meaningful margin.