To The Core

# To The Core with AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + Intel Arc B570

This combo ranks in the 2380th position out of 2991 tested combinations for To The Core, placing it in the lower-mid tier of the database. The ranking reflects a pairing that delivers playable frame rates at 4K with adjusted settings, but it trails a significant portion of the field. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700, an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 4 processor, sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs tested, while the Intel Arc B570 GPU lands at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. That gap between CPU and GPU percentile suggests the graphics card is the primary constraint in this matchup, a pattern that becomes evident when examining the measured frame rates across resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2380 out of 2991 means it outperforms roughly 20% of all tested configurations in To The Core. This is a modest result for a pairing that includes a high-end desktop CPU from the 7000 series. The Ryzen 7 7700's standalone CPU benchmarks are strong—its average benchmark score of 40081 places it within 0.6% of the Intel Core i9-13905H, which scores 40313, and just 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 at 40048. However, the GPU's average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the Intel Arc A750 at 20582, a delta of -0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534, a delta of 0.1%. In To The Core, an idle game that likely does not stress the CPU heavily, the GPU's mid-tier standing dominates the overall outcome.

The rank indicates that while this combo is far from the bottom of the database, it also lacks the headroom to push into higher tiers. For context, the CPU's 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is capable of far more demanding workloads, but the GPU's 65th percentile caps what this system can deliver in this title. The data shows a system that is CPU-rich but GPU-limited, which is a common imbalance for idle games where frame rates are often more dependent on rendering efficiency than raw processor throughput. The measured FPS numbers confirm this: at 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 133 FPS, which is solid but not exceptional, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 51 FPS, indicating the GPU is struggling to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, specifically the Battlemage generation, and it features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective. These specifications position the B570 as a mid-range card, and its benchmark scores reflect that: it reaches 14195 in Passmark G3D and 2649 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The GPU's percentile of 65 versus all GPUs underscores its mid-pack standing, and in To The Core, the measured FPS data shows the card's limitations at higher settings.

At 4K, the GPU's role becomes clear. The average FPS at 4K High is 64, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 51 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 13 FPS, a 20% drop, which indicates that the Ultra preset's additional graphical demands—likely higher texture quality or shadow fidelity—strain the B570's 10 GB VRAM and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. In contrast, at 1080p, the GPU has more headroom: 1080p Ultra hits 133 FPS, and 1080p High reaches 165 FPS. The VRAM capacity is likely sufficient for To The Core, as the game is an idle title, but the bus width and bandwidth may limit performance when the resolution and settings escalate. The GPU's pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s provide a theoretical ceiling that the measured FPS numbers do not exceed, suggesting the card is operating near its design limits at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 191 FPS on average, with a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 219 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS, still comfortably playable. Even at 4K Medium, the average FPS is 73, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS, which remains playable on standard 60 Hz displays.

The High preset is a viable alternative for those prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate. At 1080p High, the average is 165 FPS, and at 1440p High, it is 111 FPS, both of which are smooth. However, at 4K High, the average falls to 64 FPS, which is borderline for 60 Hz displays and may feel less responsive. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo at any resolution, as the lowest measured average is 51 FPS at 4K Ultra, and even at 1080p Ultra, the average of 133 FPS is lower than the Medium preset's 191 FPS, indicating diminishing returns. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates—225 FPS at 1080p, 152 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K—sacrifices visual quality without offering a meaningful advantage over Medium for most users. Therefore, Medium is the sweet spot, providing a 30% FPS increase over High at 1080p and a 21% increase at 4K, while maintaining acceptable visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows a clear progression across settings. Low delivers an average of 225 FPS, which is the highest measured for this resolution. Medium follows at 191 FPS, with a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 219 FPS. High drops to 165 FPS, and Ultra comes in at 133 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 92 FPS, a 41% reduction, which demonstrates that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load on the GPU even at 1080p. The minimum FPS for Medium at 1080p is 162, which is still above the refresh rate of most monitors, indicating no stutter issues.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 152 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS, High averages 111 FPS, and Ultra averages 89 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 63 FPS, a 41% reduction, mirroring the 1080p scaling. The Medium preset's minimum of 109 FPS ensures smooth gameplay, while Ultra's 89 FPS average may still be acceptable for many users, but the margin for error is smaller.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits become apparent. Low averages 87 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS, High averages 64 FPS, and Ultra averages 51 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 36 FPS, a 41% reduction, consistent with the other resolutions. However, the absolute numbers are lower: even the Low preset's 87 FPS is below the 1080p Ultra's 133 FPS, highlighting the resolution's impact. The Medium preset's minimum of 62 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only preset that reliably maintains playability at 4K, while Ultra's 51 FPS average may result in noticeable frame pacing issues.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings. At Low, the average FPS falls from 225 at 1080p to 152 at 1440p, a 32% reduction, and then to 87 at 4K, a 43% further reduction from 1440p. At Medium, the averages are 191, 128, and 73 FPS, respectively, with the 1080p-to-4K drop being 62%. High follows a similar trend: 165 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K, a 61% total reduction. Ultra shows the steepest relative decline: 133 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K, a 62% drop from 1080p to 4K.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The consistent 41% reduction from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows that the settings load scales predictably, but the resolution scaling—roughly a 32% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 43% drop from 1440p to 4K at Low—suggests the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are being saturated. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2525 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4063, means it is unlikely to bottleneck at any resolution. The data supports this: if the CPU were the constraint, the FPS would not drop so dramatically with resolution, as the CPU workload would remain relatively constant. Instead, the GPU's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 160-bit bus are the likely culprits, as higher resolutions require more memory traffic, which this card cannot sustain at high settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in To The Core?*

A: The data shows 1080p Medium delivers 191 FPS on average, which is the highest playable setting. At 1440p Medium, the average is 128 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 73 FPS. Users with 1080p monitors will get the smoothest experience, while 1440p is also viable, but 4K requires accepting lower frame rates.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide any benefit over Medium?

A: The measured FPS shows Ultra is 30% slower than Medium at 1080p (133 vs 191 FPS), 30% slower at 1440p (89 vs 128 FPS), and 30% slower at 4K (51 vs 73 FPS). The visual improvement from Medium to Ultra is not quantified in the data, but the significant FPS cost suggests Medium is the more efficient choice.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The resolution scaling indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's average benchmark score of 40081 places it in the 87th percentile, while the GPU's average of 20556 is in the 65th percentile. The FPS drops by 62% from 1080p to 4K at Ultra, which is consistent with GPU-bound performance.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in To The Core?*

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 87, and at 4K Medium, it is 73, with a minimum of 62 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 64 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 51 FPS, which may be below the refresh rate of many 4K monitors.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534, 0.1% lower than the Intel Arc A750 at 20582, and 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M390X at 20662. These are marginal differences, indicating similar performance levels.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows a minimum FPS of 109 at 1440p Medium, with an average of 128 and a maximum of 147. This minimum is well above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smooth gameplay without major dips.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) and built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel architecture and a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and it features 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU. The processor's benchmark scores are strong: its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 18760, its Geekbench multicore score is 15371, and its Passmark multithread score is 34470. Its single-thread performance is also notable, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2525 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4063.

In To The Core, an idle game, the CPU's role is likely less critical than the GPU's, but its high single-thread performance ensures that game logic and any simulation elements do not become a bottleneck. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 with an average score of 40048 and the Intel Core 5 221E at 40144, are within 0.4% of the 7700's average score of 40081, indicating that the 7700 performs on par with these alternatives. The CPU's 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it has ample headroom for this title, and the measured FPS data confirms that the GPU, not the CPU, is the limiting factor. The 7700's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for To The Core, as the game is unlikely to utilize all threads heavily, but the high boost clock of 5.30 GHz helps maintain consistent frame times, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's per-core performance can influence maximum FPS. Overall, the data indicates that the Ryzen 7 7700 provides a solid foundation for this combo, but the Intel Arc B570's mid-range GPU performance ultimately defines the system's capabilities in this title.