To The Core

To The Core is an idle game that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware, yet the measured results for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Arc B370 combination reveal a surprisingly steep performance cliff as resolution increases. The data shows a system that is perfectly capable at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable framerates at 4K, indicating that the integrated-class GPU is the definitive bottleneck in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS degradation from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is severe and non-linear, pointing directly at the Intel Arc B370 as the limiting factor. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 97 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 32 frames. Scaling further to 4K, the average collapses to 37 FPS, which is a 62% drop from the 1080p baseline. This pattern is consistent across all quality presets, confirming that the rendering load is overwhelming the GPU rather than the CPU.

The Low preset shows the clearest picture of the bottleneck. At 1080p, the combination produces 132 FPS, but this falls to 89 FPS at 1440p and 51 FPS at 4K. The fact that even the lowest settings cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K is a definitive indicator that the Arc B370's compute and fillrate capabilities are exhausted. The GPU has only 20 ROPs and a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s, which explains why pushing more pixels to a 4K display results in such dramatic performance losses.

The scaling behavior also suggests that the Ryzen 7 5800X is not a contributing factor to the frame rate drops. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, the CPU's 3DMark max-thread score of 7578 and single-thread score of 943 are more than sufficient for an idle game. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU's headroom is never the constraint; the GPU's 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is simply too low for high-resolution rendering.

Interestingly, the gap between Medium and High settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, Medium delivers 112 FPS versus 97 FPS for High, a 15 FPS difference. At 4K, that gap shrinks to 6 FPS (43 vs 37). This compression suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so saturated that the slight additional workload from High settings becomes proportionally less impactful, while at lower resolutions the CPU and memory bandwidth can still feed the GPU enough to show setting-level differences.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X holding back the Intel Arc B370 in To The Core?

A: No. The data shows the CPU is not the limiting component. The Ryzen 7 5800X scores 15476 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1574.5 in single-core, which is far beyond what an idle game requires. The FPS drops are entirely correlated with resolution increases, which burden the GPU's pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and 20 ROPs.

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

A: Only at reduced settings and even then, barely. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 51, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 43 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS. The only way to approach playability is to accept sub-60 FPS performance at low-to-medium settings.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system provides consistently smooth performance across all settings. Even at Ultra, the average FPS is 78, and at Low it reaches 132 FPS. The 2560x1440 resolution is borderline, with High settings delivering 65 FPS, but Ultra falls to 53 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This puts it 0.2% behind the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and 0.5% behind the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). It performs 1.4% better than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). Its percentile rank of 5 among all GPUs indicates it is in the bottom tier of performance.

Q: Does the CPU's memory bandwidth affect the GPU's performance here?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800X supports dual-channel DDR4 with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Since the Arc B370 uses System Shared memory with System Dependent bandwidth, the CPU's memory controller is directly involved in feeding the GPU. However, the data does not show CPU-side bottlenecks, as frame rates scale sharply with resolution, not with CPU load.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X a strong processor in general benchmarks?

A: Yes, relatively. It ranks in the 81st percentile of all CPUs and has an average benchmark score of 29123. It is 0.1% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29093) and 0.6% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940). However, its performance advantage is irrelevant in this game due to the GPU bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2750 out of 2991 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, which is a poor result given the CPU's capabilities. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's strengths; the Arc B370's percentile rank of 5 among all GPUs drags the overall combo down.

When examining the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 5800X itself is a mid-to-high-tier processor. Its average score of 29123 is 0.1% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29093) and 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940). It trails the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270) by 0.5% and the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245) by 0.4%. However, none of this matters in To The Core, as the combo's rank is determined by the GPU's inability to render at higher resolutions.

The low combo rank suggests that most other pairings, even those with weaker CPUs, would outperform this setup in this specific game. The data implies that the Arc B370 is the sole reason for the poor standing, as the CPU's high 3DMark single-thread score of 943 and multi-thread score of 7578 are more than adequate for an idle game's logic. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's 5th percentile standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination shows its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 132 FPS, Medium averages 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 and maximum of 129, High averages 97 FPS, and Ultra averages 78 FPS. All of these are playable, with even the most demanding preset staying well above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 89 FPS, Medium averages 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 and maximum of 87, High averages 65 FPS, and Ultra averages 53 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that 1440p is the edge of this GPU's capability for demanding settings.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles across the board. Low settings average 51 FPS, Medium averages 43 FPS with a minimum of 37 and maximum of 50, High averages 37 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. None of these are consistently smooth, and the minimum FPS of 37 at Medium highlights the instability at this resolution.

The delta between Low and Ultra settings widens from 54 FPS at 1080p (132 vs 78) to 21 FPS at 4K (51 vs 30). This indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU has enough headroom to process the extra effects and details, while at 4K it is already saturated, and the quality settings have diminishing returns on frame rate.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, but its memory configuration is System Shared, meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a critical weakness in To The Core, as the game's rendering demands at higher resolutions require substantial memory bandwidth.

The GPU's specifications explain the measured performance. With 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and only 20 ROPs, the Arc B370 is designed for low-power integrated use, not high-resolution gaming. Its pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are insufficient for 4K rendering, which requires processing over 8 million pixels per frame. The FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS is also modest, limiting the shader complexity that can be handled at scale.

The GPU's benchmark standing confirms its weak position. It scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. It is essentially tied with aging parts like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% ahead) and the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% ahead). This historical comparison underscores that the Arc B370 is not a gaming-oriented part, and its performance in To The Core reflects that.

The TDP of 25 W and the absence of a dedicated power connector indicate that this is an efficiency-focused component, not a performance one. The data shows that the GPU's boost clock of 2400 MHz cannot compensate for the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth, as the System Shared configuration creates a bottleneck when the game requests large textures at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the only viable option is 1920x1080 resolution. At this resolution, the High preset delivers 97 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 112 FPS offers even more headroom, and the minimum FPS of 95 ensures no stutters. The Ultra preset at 78 FPS is still playable and provides the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, users must compromise. The High preset averages 65 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but the lack of a recorded minimum FPS value means there is potential for dips. The Medium preset averages 75 FPS with a minimum of 64, making it the safer choice for consistent frame times at this resolution. The Low preset at 89 FPS is also viable if visual fidelity is not a priority.

For 4K, the data does not support any preset for a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset at 51 FPS is the only one that approaches playability, but it falls short of 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37, would likely cause noticeable judder. It is recommended to avoid 4K with this combination unless the user accepts sub-30 FPS performance at Ultra settings.

The data suggests that the best experience is achieved at 1080p with High or Medium settings. This provides the highest frame rates with acceptable visual quality. Pushing to 1440p with High settings is borderline, and 4K should be avoided entirely for a smooth experience. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking indicates that this setup is not designed for high-resolution gaming, and the settings should be chosen accordingly.