To The Core

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a surprisingly robust experience in To The Core, an Idle genre title. The data reveals a configuration that scales predictably with resolution, but the relationship between the CPU's processing power and the GPU's rendering capabilities creates distinct bottlenecks depending on the settings chosen. This analysis breaks down the measured performance metrics to understand where the limits lie.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The transition from 1080p to 4K shows a dramatic and consistent drop in frame rates, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary constraint as pixel count rises. At the "Ultra" settings preset, the average frame rate falls from 151.2 FPS at 1920x1080 down to 56.2 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 63%. This steep decline is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario, where the Arc B580's rendering throughput is the ceiling.

The pattern holds across all settings. At "High" settings, the drop is from 185 FPS at 1080p to 68.7 FPS at 4K, a 62.9% decrease. Even at "Low" settings, where the load on the GPU is lightest, the frame rate declines from 253.6 FPS at 1080p to 96.3 FPS at 4K, a 62% reduction. This uniformity suggests that the scaling factor is almost entirely dependent on the GPU's ability to fill pixels at higher resolutions, not on any CPU-side limitation. The CPU's workload in an idle game like this is likely minimal, so the performance curve is a direct reflection of the B580's pixel throughput.

Interestingly, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K. For example, at "Medium" settings, the FPS drops from 214 at 1080p to 145.5 at 1440p (a 32% decrease), but then falls further to 81.1 at 4K (a 44% decrease from 1440p). This non-linear scaling is typical of a GPU hitting memory bandwidth or compute limits at higher resolutions. The Arc B580's 456.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K workload exposes a steeper performance cliff.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B580, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, appears well-suited for To The Core's demands. The memory clock is listed at 2375 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective, providing that 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The data suggests that this bandwidth is sufficient even at 4K, as the game still achieves playable frame rates above 56 FPS at the highest settings. The GPU's base and boost clocks are identical at 2670 MHz, suggesting a stable operating point under load.

The GPU's architecture, Xe2-HPG, is built on a 5 nm process from TSMC, containing 19,600 million transistors. In benchmark scores, this GPU sits at the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23021. Its closest rival in the data is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which has an average score of 23181, a delta of -0.7%. This means the B580 is essentially performance-equivalent to the RTX 4060 in synthetic tests. In To The Core, this translates to the measured FPS figures, which show strong performance but not class-leading results.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is a key asset. While the game appears to run well even at 4K Ultra with 56.2 FPS, the headroom provided by the memory pool prevents potential stuttering or texture thrashing that could occur in an idle game with many on-screen elements. The Pixel Rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and Texture Rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are the raw throughput metrics that drive the resolution scaling observed, confirming that the GPU is the active ingredient in determining FPS at different settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B580 achieves a combo rank of 1371 out of 1756 total combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the overall distribution, which might seem surprising given the high frame rates measured. However, this rank is relative to all other CPU and GPU combinations tested, many of which likely feature higher-end components.

The rank suggests that while this combo is competent, it does not break into the upper echelons of performance. The CPU itself is at the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-9700, which scores 19831, a delta of only 0.1%. The GPU is at the 66th percentile. The combined rank of 1371/1756 indicates that the sum of these parts is less than the whole of higher-tier configurations.

What does this mean for the game? It implies that in a field of over 1,700 combinations, most of which are likely more powerful, this setup will deliver solid but not top-tier performance. The measurement shows that the combo is capable of exceeding 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, but the rank indicates that many other combos can push even higher. This is a context statement: the absolute FPS numbers are good, but the relative standing among all tested hardware is what defines its tier.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the "High" settings preset appears to offer the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, it achieves 185 FPS, which is well above the threshold for high refresh rate monitors. At 1440p, it drops to 125.2 FPS, still excellent for smooth gameplay. At 4K, it maintains 68.7 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS target for most displays.

While "Ultra" settings provide higher visual fidelity, the performance cost is significant. The drop from "High" to "Ultra" at 4K is from 68.7 FPS to 56.2 FPS, a 18.2% decrease. This might not be worth the visual gain for a game in the Idle genre, where smoothness and responsiveness are often more important than marginal graphical improvements. The "Medium" preset offers a middle ground, with 214 FPS at 1080p, 145.5 FPS at 1440p, and 81.1 FPS at 4K, but "High" provides a better frame rate buffer at 4K.

The "Low" setting is the only one that pushes past 250 FPS (253.6 at 1080p), which could be relevant for competitive play. However, for the best overall experience, "High" is the recommended preset. It delivers over 120 FPS at 1440p and remains above 60 FPS at 4K, ensuring a fluid experience without the performance penalty of "Ultra".

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across the board. The "Low" preset yields 253.6 FPS, "Medium" yields 214 FPS, "High" yields 185 FPS, and "Ultra" yields 151.2 FPS. The scaling from "Low" to "Ultra" shows a 40.4% reduction in FPS, which is substantial but leaves the user with ample headroom even at the highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but start to show the increased pixel load. The "Low" preset achieves 168 FPS, "Medium" achieves 145.5 FPS, "High" achieves 125.2 FPS, and "Ultra" achieves 101.1 FPS. The drop from "Low" to "Ultra" is 39.8%, which is similar to the 1080p scaling, indicating that the GPU is still coping well with the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. The "Low" preset delivers 96.3 FPS, "Medium" delivers 81.1 FPS, "High" delivers 68.7 FPS, and "Ultra" delivers 56.2 FPS. The difference between "Low" and "Ultra" is 41.6%, which is the largest percentage gap across all resolutions. This suggests that at 4K, the visual settings have a more pronounced impact on the GPU load, pushing it closer to its limits.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It belongs to the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. In synthetic benchmarks, it performs strongly, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249. Its average benchmark score of 19850 puts it just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K.

In the context of To The Core, an Idle game, the CPU's role is likely secondary to the GPU. The game's genre suggests that the computational load is not heavily threaded or demanding on core count. The data shows that the FPS scales almost entirely with resolution changes, which is a GPU-bound behavior. There is no scenario in the measured data where the frame rate is artificially capped by CPU performance, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p Low (253.6) and the fact that the CPU can handle the draw calls and game logic without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide ample bandwidth for feeding the GPU. The processor's 3DMark scores, such as 910 for single-thread and 5873 for 16-threads, indicate a balanced performance profile. However, in this specific game, the CPU's 65W TDP and six cores are more than sufficient, allowing the Arc B580 to operate as the sole performance determinant. The data implies that upgrading the CPU would yield no tangible FPS gains in this title, as the GPU is the limiting factor at all settings and resolutions tested.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at the "High" settings preset?

A: At 1080p "High", the average FPS is 185. At 4K "High", the average FPS drops to 68.7, a reduction of 62.9%.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B580 more comparable to an NVIDIA RTX 4060 or an AMD Radeon 760M in this context?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (23181) and 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon 760M (22999). It sits closest to the RTX 4060 in raw score.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K with "Ultra" settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 4K with "Ultra" settings is 56.2, which is below 60. However, at 4K "High" settings, the average FPS is 68.7, which is above 60.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to the Intel Core i7-9700 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is 0.1% higher than the i7-9700's score of 19831.

Q: What is the best settings preset to use at 1440p to stay above 120 FPS?

A: At 1440p, the "High" preset achieves 125.2 FPS, and the "Medium" preset achieves 145.5 FPS. Both are above 120 FPS, but "Medium" provides a higher frame rate.

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in the database?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B580 combination is ranked 1371 out of 1756 total tested combos in To The Core.