To The Core

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a compelling dataset for To The Core, an idle game where frame rates reach exceptionally high levels. The measured results show a configuration that is heavily GPU-bound at lower settings, but the combination of the six-core Rocket Lake processor and the Battlemage graphics card delivers smooth gameplay across the board. This analysis breaks down the optimal settings, ranking, and component roles based strictly on the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for To The Core indicates that the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions, providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium with only a modest performance cost. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 187.7 FPS, which is 27.7 FPS lower than Medium's 215.4 FPS but still far above any display refresh rate ceiling. The jump from High to Ultra is more punishing, costing 37.8 FPS at 1080p (from 187.7 to 149.9 FPS), making Ultra a less attractive option for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the High preset maintains a robust 127.9 FPS, while Medium achieves 142.9 FPS. The gap between these settings narrows at this resolution, suggesting the GPU is beginning to become the limiting factor. However, High remains the sweet spot as it provides a 26.5 FPS advantage over Ultra's 101.4 FPS, ensuring smooth motion even in demanding scenes. For 3840x2160, the High preset drops to 72.8 FPS, which is still playable, but the Medium setting at 79.5 FPS offers a safer margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

The data shows that Low settings produce the highest frame rates at every resolution, with 255.9 FPS at 1080p and 97.3 FPS at 4K. However, the performance delta between Low and High is substantial, and the visual fidelity loss in an idle game is rarely worth the extra frames. The High preset is the recommended choice, as it delivers a 187.7 FPS average at 1080p and remains above 120 FPS at 1440p, making it the most efficient configuration for this hardware combination.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for To The Core, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1343rd out of 1756 combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested configurations, indicating that while it is far from the top performers, it is not near the bottom either. The percentile ranking for the CPU is 75th, meaning the i5-11400F outperforms 75% of all CPUs in the database, yet the overall combo rank suggests the GPU is holding the system back in this particular title.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, which scores nearly identically (17189 vs 17181, a 0% delta), and the Intel Core i7-1260P, which is 0.2% slower. This indicates the i5-11400F is a solid mid-range processor. For the GPU, the Arc B580's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, with the Arc B580 trailing by 0.7% in average benchmark score. The AMD Radeon 760M is 0.1% ahead, and the NVIDIA P106-100 is 0.3% ahead. These close margins suggest the B580 is competitive with entry-level discrete GPUs from the previous generation.

The rank of 1343 out of 1756 combos implies that many systems with newer or higher-end CPUs and GPUs achieve better frame rates in To The Core. However, the measured FPS data shows this combo still produces excellent playable results, particularly at 1080p and 1440p. The discrepancy between the synthetic benchmark percentiles and the in-game rank highlights that game performance depends heavily on the specific workload, and this idle game may not fully utilize the CPU's capabilities, making the GPU the primary determinant of the final ranking.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the dominant component in this pairing for To The Core, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions and settings. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for an idle game, even at 4K resolution, where the High preset still achieves 72.8 FPS. The 12 GB capacity ensures no VRAM limitations are encountered, as the game's texture and asset requirements are easily satisfied.

Clock speeds for the B580 are listed at a base and boost of 2670 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU's compute capabilities include 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The FP32 performance is rated at 13.67 TFLOPS, which provides ample raw compute power for this title. The 20 RT cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate are present but are unlikely to be heavily utilized in an idle game, which typically relies on simpler rendering paths.

The performance data shows that the B580 scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 255.9 FPS, but this drops to 149.9 FPS at Ultra, a 41% reduction. At 4K, the Low preset yields 97.3 FPS, while Ultra drops to 59.9 FPS, highlighting the GPU's limitations at the highest resolution and settings. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking versus all GPUs confirms it is an upper-mid-range part, but its performance in To The Core is strong enough to deliver high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions, with the 190W TDP suggesting efficient power delivery for the performance on offer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration shows remarkable headroom. The Low preset achieves a staggering 255.9 FPS, which is the highest average recorded in the dataset. Moving to Medium drops performance to 215.4 FPS, still an excellent result. The High preset delivers 187.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset rounds out the settings at 149.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 106 FPS swing, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, but even the lowest result is above 144 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance remains highly playable. The Low preset hits 173 FPS, which is a substantial 82.9 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result, showing the impact of increased pixel count. Medium achieves 142.9 FPS, while High maintains 127.9 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one to fall below the 120 FPS mark, landing at 101.4 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is 26.5 FPS, making High the more sensible choice for maintaining a high refresh rate.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. The Low preset is still capable of 97.3 FPS, which is above 60 FPS but far from the lower-resolution results. Medium drops to 79.5 FPS, and High follows closely at 72.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 59.9 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern: at 4K, only the Low preset provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while High and Medium are borderline but playable. The Delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 37.4 FPS, demonstrating that the B580 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p for this game.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates across all settings, with the Low preset achieving 255.9 FPS and the High preset at 187.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset still delivers 127.9 FPS, making it a viable option for higher-resolution displays.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 101.4 FPS, which is 26.5 FPS lower than the High preset's 127.9 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra is significant, making High the more efficient choice for smoother gameplay.

Q: Is 4K gaming feasible with the Intel Arc B580?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 97.3 FPS, while the High preset averages 72.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only setting that falls below 60 FPS at 59.9 FPS, indicating that 4K is playable but requires lower settings for a stable frame rate.

Q: How does the CPU's performance affect the game's frame rates?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has a 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs and scores 17181 in average benchmarks, which is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U. In this title, the CPU appears sufficient, as the FPS scaling is more closely tied to GPU settings.

Q: What is the GPU's performance ranking relative to its rivals?

A: The Arc B580 has a 66th percentile ranking and an average benchmark score of 23021. It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 by 0.7%, while the AMD Radeon 760M is 0.1% ahead. This places it in a competitive position with mid-range GPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 255.9 FPS, while Ultra delivers 149.9 FPS. This represents a 106 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset carries a substantial performance penalty for this configuration.