To The Core

Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B390 form a combination that ranks near the bottom of the tested pool for To The Core, sitting at rank 2643 out of 2991 combos. This places the pairing in the 12th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 88% of combinations deliver higher average frame rates. The data indicates this is a low-tier setup for this title, though the measured results show it remains playable at most settings, with the exception of the most demanding 4K preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2643 out of 2991 tested configurations places it firmly in the lower quartile of performance for To The Core. This is a decisive indicator that the combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the Intel Arc B390 does not compete with higher-end systems in this game. The ranking reflects the GPU’s modest standing; the Arc B390 holds an average benchmark score of 1482 and sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing—the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—are all legacy or entry-level parts, with delta percentages of 1.3, 1.5, 2.5, and 2.7 respectively. This context explains why the combo ranks so low: the GPU is positioned at the very bottom of the performance spectrum, and even a capable CPU cannot compensate for that limitation in a graphics-driven title.

The CPU side tells a different story. The Core i5-11400F ranks at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (delta 0.3%), Intel Core i5-12450H (delta -0.4%), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (delta -0.6%), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (delta 0.6%). These tiny deltas indicate the i5-11400F is competitively positioned in the CPU market, but this strength does not translate into a high game rank because To The Core appears to be heavily GPU-bound. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation: at 1080p Low the combo reaches 147 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 33 FPS, a span that points to the graphics processor as the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is built on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process, and operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation pipelines, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s memory configuration is “System Shared,” meaning it relies on the host system’s RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth described as “System Dependent.” This shared-memory design is a critical factor in To The Core’s performance, as it limits the GPU’s ability to handle high-resolution textures and effects without competing with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

In the measured data, the GPU’s impact is visible across resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 147 FPS, but this falls to 86 FPS at 1080p Ultra, a drop of 41% that reflects the GPU’s struggle with increased graphical load. Moving to 1440p, the pattern continues: 99 FPS at Low versus 58 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as even Low settings only yield 56 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33 FPS. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are modest figures, and the FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS places this GPU in a class that is simply not designed for high-end gaming at large resolutions. The GPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—all NVIDIA parts from the GT 700 series or older—reinforce its entry-level positioning.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on which preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality for this combo. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 124 FPS average, with a minimum of 105 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. This is the optimal choice because it maintains a comfortable margin above 100 FPS while still providing better visual fidelity than Low, which hits 147 FPS but sacrifices graphical detail. High at 1080p produces 107 FPS, which is playable but offers no significant advantage over Medium’s higher frame rate. Ultra at 1080p drops to 86 FPS, which is still smooth for many users but represents a 31% reduction from Medium without a proportional visual gain in an idle game.

At 1440p, the situation shifts. Medium yields 83 FPS average, with a minimum of 71 FPS, which is acceptable for most displays. High produces 72 FPS, and Low reaches 99 FPS, but the latter lacks visual richness. Ultra at 1440p falls to 58 FPS, which may be too low for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. For 4K, the data is less favorable. Medium is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum values—41 and 55 FPS, respectively—with an average of 48 FPS. Low at 4K achieves 56 FPS, which is the highest 4K result, but it requires dropping to the lowest settings. High at 4K yields 41 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33 FPS. The recommendation is to use Medium at 1080p for the best experience, or Medium at 1440p if resolution is a priority, while 4K should be reserved for Low settings to maintain playability.

FAQ

*Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations in To The Core?*

A: The combination ranks 2643 out of 2991 tested combos, placing it in the 12th percentile of all configurations.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 1482. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, delta 1.3%), GeForce 800M (score 1460, delta 1.5%), GT 625 OEM (score 1446, delta 2.5%), and GT 710 (score 1443, delta 2.7%).

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 147, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary limitation. The CPU ranks at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 9th percentile, and FPS scales inversely with resolution, indicating a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: Medium at 1440p provides 83 FPS average, with a minimum of 71 FPS, making it the most balanced option. Low reaches 99 FPS, but Medium offers better visuals at a still-playable frame rate.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset playable with this hardware?

A: No, 4K Ultra yields only 33 FPS average, which is below typical playability thresholds. Even 4K High produces just 41 FPS, so 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings with 56 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K illustrates a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 147 FPS; at 1440p Low, it falls to 99 FPS (a 33% reduction); and at 4K Low, it drops to 56 FPS (a 62% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is consistent with a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel count rather than a CPU that is limited by draw calls or physics. The same pattern appears across all settings: 1080p Medium yields 124 FPS, 1440p Medium yields 83 FPS, and 4K Medium yields 48 FPS—each step down roughly 33% in frame rate as resolution increases.

The limiting component is clearly the Intel Arc B390. The CPU, with 6 cores and 12 threads running at a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, is more than capable of feeding frames at these rates. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340 and single-core score of 2024 indicate solid processing power, and its Passmark multithread score of 16908 supports this. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the data shows a steep decline, which is the hallmark of a GPU-limited system. The shared memory architecture of the Arc B390 exacerbates this, as bandwidth is system-dependent and cannot scale with the demands of higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 12 MB shared L3. Memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU’s synthetic benchmarks are respectable: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 14340, single-core reaches 2024, and Geekbench multicore scores 7737 with single-core at 1777. Passmark tests show strong integer math at 57624 and floating-point math at 34127, with a multithread score of 16908.

In To The Core, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (147 FPS) suggests the CPU can push well over 140 frames, but the GPU cannot maintain that at higher settings. The CPU’s percentile rank of 71 indicates it outperforms most processors, yet the combo’s game rank of 2643 is dragged down by the GPU. This is a case where the CPU is not the limiting factor; the data shows that even at 4K Low, where the GPU is heavily stressed, the FPS of 56 is still above what a weaker CPU would allow if it were the bottleneck. The i5-11400F’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 12 MB L3 cache provide sufficient headroom for this idle game, which likely does not demand intense multi-threaded processing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a full picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average frame rates: Low settings achieve 147 FPS, Medium achieves 124 FPS with a minimum of 105 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS, High achieves 107 FPS, and Ultra achieves 86 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 61 FPS, representing a 41% performance drop when moving to the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are: Low at 99 FPS, Medium at 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS, High at 72 FPS, and Ultra at 58 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings—roughly 30%—which again points to the GPU’s pixel-processing limits.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 56 FPS, Medium at 48 FPS with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 55 FPS, High at 41 FPS, and Ultra at 33 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, and even the best 4K preset (Low) only barely clears 60 FPS, making 4K gaming marginal on this hardware.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is fully playable at any preset, 1440p is playable up to High (with Medium being the sweet spot), and 4K is only viable at Low settings. The Medium presets at each resolution include both minimum and maximum FPS values, providing the most complete picture of stability—at 1080p Medium, the range is 105 to 143 FPS, which indicates consistent performance without major frame-time spikes.