To The Core

To The Core is an idle game, and the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the Intel Arc B390 shows a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution. The data reveals a system that can achieve playable frame rates at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain smooth performance at higher settings. The combination ranks in the 2643rd position out of 2991 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, which is a direct reflection of the Arc B390’s low benchmark percentile.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimal settings across different resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 147 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combination. This is the only settings level that approaches the refresh rate of high-end monitors, and it represents the most responsive experience available. For users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p is the definitive choice.

However, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a more balanced experience with an average of 124 FPS. This is still well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a moderate visual upgrade over Low. The data indicates that the jump from Low to Medium costs 23 FPS on average, which is a significant drop but leaves the system with enough headroom for consistent gameplay. The High preset at 1080p drops further to 107 FPS, which remains playable, but the return on investment in visual quality is diminishing relative to the performance loss.

The situation changes drastically at 2560x1440. The Low preset here produces an average of 99 FPS, which is still smooth and playable. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 83 FPS, which is also acceptable, but the High preset falls to 72 FPS. For 1440p users, the Low or Medium presets are the recommended choices, as they maintain frame rates above the 60 FPS baseline. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 58 FPS, dips below this threshold and is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the measured data shows that no preset achieves a 60 FPS average. The Low preset is the best option, averaging 56 FPS, which is borderline playable but subject to noticeable frame pacing issues. The Medium preset averages 48 FPS, and the High preset drops to 41 FPS. The Ultra preset is the least viable, with an average of just 33 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only reasonable choice, but users should expect a sub-optimal experience. The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally the Low preset at 1080p, which maximizes the system's capabilities without exposing its limitations.

FAQ

Q: Does the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 bottleneck the Intel Arc B390 in To The Core?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18760 and a single-core score of 1930, are far higher than what this game requires. The performance ceiling is set by the GPU, as evidenced by the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482, which places the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the best resolution to play To The Core with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At this resolution, the Low preset achieves 147 FPS and the Medium preset achieves 124 FPS, both providing smooth gameplay. Higher resolutions result in a significant drop in frame rates, with 4K not exceeding 56 FPS on the Low preset.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in raw performance?

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 NVIDIA GeForce 800M, and 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM. This indicates it is only marginally faster than these older, low-end mobile GPUs.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever playable with this hardware?

A: The Ultra preset produces an average of 86 FPS at 1080p, which is playable. However, at 1440p it drops to 58 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 33 FPS. Therefore, the Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, and even then, it represents a significant performance cost compared to the High preset.

Q: What does the combination's rank of 2643 out of 2991 indicate?

A: It indicates that this specific combination of CPU and GPU performs worse than 88% of all tested configurations. This is a direct result of the GPU's low benchmark percentile (9th), which drags down the overall gaming capability despite the CPU's strong performance.

Q: Why does the Medium preset have min and max FPS data, but other presets do not?

A: The measured data includes min and max FPS values only for the Medium preset at each resolution. For example, at 1080p, the Medium preset has a min of 105 FPS and a max of 143 FPS. This suggests that the testing methodology captured frame variance for this specific preset, indicating potential frame time spikes that are not recorded for other presets.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary determinant of this combo's gaming performance in To The Core. Its specifications reveal a fundamentally limited part. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units. Its boost clock is rated at 2500 MHz, with a base clock of 300 MHz. These specifications contribute to a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, which are modest figures for a modern game.

The most critical aspect of this GPU is its memory configuration. It uses System Shared memory, which means it has no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent". This is a severe limitation for gaming, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is a dual-channel DDR5 configuration rated at 83.2 GB/s. The lack of dedicated VRAM likely causes significant performance drops in scenarios with high texture loads.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts, such as the GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M, with delta percentages of 1.3% and 1.5% respectively. This confirms that the Arc B390 is not a gaming-grade discrete GPU but rather an integrated-class solution. The FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS is insufficient for demanding titles, and the measured FPS data in To The Core reflects this, showing that even the Low preset at 4K cannot maintain 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame for this specific pairing is 2643 out of 2991 tested combinations. This rank places the system in the bottom 11.6% of all configurations. This is a poor result, and the data strongly suggests that the bottleneck is the GPU. The CPU, AMD Ryzen 7 7700, is a high-end desktop processor with an average benchmark score of 40081, placing it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs. It outperforms its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, by 0.1% and the Intel Core 5 221E by 0.2%.

The stark contrast between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile creates an imbalanced system. The CPU's capabilities are largely untapped in To The Core, as the game's demands are primarily on the graphics subsystem. The rank of 2643 is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, and the data shows that pairing a top-tier CPU with this entry-level GPU yields a result that is only marginally better than the lowest-performing combos in the database. This rank serves as a cautionary indicator that the graphics card must be the primary consideration for gaming performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 147 at 1920x1080, to 99 at 2560x1440, and finally to 56 at 3840x2160. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 43% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is non-linear, indicating that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated at higher resolutions.

At the Medium preset, the FPS drops from 124 at 1080p, to 83 at 1440p, and to 48 at 4K. This is a consistent pattern of roughly 33% reduction for each step up in resolution. The High preset shows a similar trend, with 107 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset follows suit, dropping from 86 FPS at 1080p, to 58 FPS at 1440p, to 33 FPS at 4K.

The data reveals that the limiting component is clearly the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively constant across resolutions, as the CPU's workload would not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the consistent and significant FPS drops with increasing resolution indicate that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints. The Arc B390's system-shared memory architecture is particularly susceptible to this, as higher resolutions demand more memory bandwidth, which is a scarce resource in this configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following breakdown provides the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination, along with the available min and max values.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 147 FPS. This is the highest score in the entire dataset.
• Medium: Average 124 FPS, with a minimum of 105 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS.
• High: Average 107 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 86 FPS.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 99 FPS.
• Medium: Average 83 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS.
• High: Average 72 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 58 FPS.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 56 FPS.
• Medium: Average 48 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 55 FPS.
• High: Average 41 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 33 FPS.

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the Medium preset has a variance of 38 FPS (from 105 to 143), which indicates potential frame pacing inconsistencies. At 1440p, the variance is 25 FPS, and at 4K, it is 14 FPS. This suggests that while the average FPS is higher at lower resolutions, the frame times may be less stable. The lack of min/max data for other presets prevents a full analysis of frame variance, but the available numbers point to a system that is not delivering a consistently smooth experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a high-performance desktop processor that is not the limiting factor in this configuration. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 4 architecture, and is manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 32 MB of L3 cache.

The CPU's benchmark results are strong across the board. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18760 and a single-core score of 1930. In Geekbench, it scores 15371 multi-core and 2525 single-core. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 34470, and its single-thread score is 4063. These numbers place the Ryzen 7 7700 in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081.

In the context of To The Core, an idle game, the CPU's 3DMark scores are more relevant. It scores 8484 in the 16-thread test, 6933 in the 8-thread test, and 1049 in the single-thread test. These scores are far above the requirements for an idle game, which typically does not stress multi-core performance. The CPU is capable of handling any background tasks and game logic without breaking a sweat. The data indicates that the CPU is vastly overqualified for the GPU it is paired with, and its performance headroom is entirely unused due to the GPU bottleneck. The CPU's high clocks and 16 threads ensure that it will not be the cause of any frame rate drops, even in complex idle-game scenarios with many on-screen elements.