To The Core

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B370 lands at rank 3439 out of 3725 tested combinations in To The Core. That places this combo in the bottom 8% of all measured systems, a position that reflects the Arc B370's standing as a low-tier graphics solution rather than any particular CPU bottleneck. The data shows a system that can run the game, but only at modest settings and resolutions before frame rates become uncomfortable.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 1184 puts it in the 5th percentile among all tested graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in the database are all legacy parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, delta -0.7%). The Arc B370 is within 1.4% of the AMD FirePro M2000 (score 1168). In other words, this GPU is competing with hardware from over a decade ago, and its percentile rank of 5 confirms that in the broader GPU landscape, it is a very weak performer.

The CPU side is more respectable. The Core i5-9400 scores in the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals are clustered tightly: the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, delta -0.2%), the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, delta -0.4%), the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, delta 0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, delta 0.4%). This CPU is essentially in the middle of the pack, which means the overall combo ranking is dragged down almost entirely by the GPU. Benchmark results indicate that in To The Core, the Arc B370 is the limiting factor in virtually every scenario.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake family, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosts to 4.10 GHz. The processor has a 9 MB shared L3 cache, with 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, which provides 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's TDP is rated at 65 W, and it connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes.

For a game like To The Core, which is an idle genre title, the CPU requirements are typically not extreme. The six physical cores without hyper-threading are sufficient for most game logic, and the 4.10 GHz boost clock helps with single-threaded performance. The CPU's Cinebench R23 scores are 6629 for multi-core and 935 for single-core, while Geekbench shows 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. These numbers indicate a processor that can handle the game's simulation and UI updates without difficulty.

The data suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 132 FPS average. That is a high frame rate that the CPU can feed without issue. Even at 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 30 FPS, the constraint is clearly the GPU's rendering capability, not the processor's ability to issue draw calls. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs versus the GPU's 5th percentile tells the story: the processor is roughly mid-pack, while the graphics card is near the bottom.

The i5-9400's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is adequate for this game, and the dual-channel DDR4 support is standard for its generation. The processor's integrated UHD 630 graphics exist, but the system uses the discrete Arc B370, so the iGPU is irrelevant for gaming here. The CPU's end-of-life production status means it is an older part, but its performance in this title remains serviceable, as the measured frame rates show.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is a mobile-class integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process at Intel. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation units. The GPU includes 10 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2400 MHz. The memory configuration is listed as "System Shared," meaning it uses system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." The GPU's TDP is a remarkably low 25 W, and it connects via IGP (integrated graphics processor) bus interface.

This is a graphics solution designed for portability and power efficiency, not gaming performance. The fp32 compute is 6.144 TFLOPS, with fp16 at 12.29 TFLOPS. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. While the architecture supports modern APIs including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, the raw rendering throughput is very limited.

In To The Core, the GPU's performance is the decisive factor. At 1080p High settings, the system averages 97 FPS. That is playable, but dropping to 1440p High reduces the average to 65 FPS, and 4K High yields just 37 FPS. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 confirms the low performance tier, and the GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs is a stark indicator. The nearest rivals, all ATI/AMD parts from the HD 5000 and 7000 series era, show just how far behind modern mainstream GPUs this part sits.

The shared memory architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for system memory bandwidth, which can further limit performance in memory-heavy scenarios. For an idle game like To The Core, which may not require heavy texture streaming, this is less of an issue, but the fundamental throughput ceiling remains. The 25 W TDP is notable for a part that still delivers playable frame rates at 1080p, but the performance ceiling is low, and the measured data reflects that reality.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B370 in this game?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 2254. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking and average score of 1184 indicate the graphics card is the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 132 FPS, showing the CPU can feed the GPU adequately.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 on average. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (delta -0.5%), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (delta -0.7%), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (delta 1.4%). All of these are within 1.4% of the Arc B370's performance.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 112, with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS. This is a smooth experience for an idle game.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 37. At Ultra settings, it drops to 30 FPS. Low settings at 4K yield 51 FPS. The experience is playable at Low but marginal at higher presets.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance like?

A: The i5-9400 scores 935 in Cinebench R23 single-core, 392 in Cinebench R20 single-core, and 1389 in Geekbench single-core. These scores, combined with the 4.10 GHz boost clock, are sufficient for the game's logic and UI.

Q: Does the Arc B370's shared memory hurt performance?

A: The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on system RAM, which can create contention with the CPU. The low overall performance of the GPU is consistent with this architecture.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the average is 97 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops the average to 65 FPS, a reduction of 32 FPS or roughly 33%. At 4K High, the average falls to 37 FPS, which is a further drop of 28 FPS from 1440p, representing a 43% decrease. From 1080p High to 4K High, the total loss is 60 FPS, or about 62% of the original frame rate.

The scaling pattern is similar across all settings presets. At Low settings, 1080p yields 132 FPS, 1440p yields 89 FPS, and 4K yields 51 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 43 FPS (33%), and from 1440p to 4K is 38 FPS (43%). At Medium settings, the averages are 112 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. At Ultra, the numbers are 78 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K.

The resolution scaling indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor. As resolution increases, the number of pixels the GPU must render grows, and the frame rate drops accordingly. The CPU's workload does not scale as dramatically with resolution, so the consistent FPS drops across all settings point to the Arc B370's limited fill rate and compute throughput. The fact that even Low settings at 4K only reach 51 FPS, while 1080p Low reaches 132 FPS, reinforces that the GPU's rendering capacity is the constraint.

The min and max FPS data for Medium settings at each resolution shows the variance. At 1080p Medium, the range is 95 to 129 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 64 to 87 FPS. At 4K Medium, it is 37 to 50 FPS. The spread becomes tighter at higher resolutions, which suggests the GPU is consistently saturated and cannot burst above a certain threshold. This is characteristic of a GPU that is working near its maximum capacity at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which settings presets offer the best experience for this hardware. At 1080p, all presets are playable: Low averages 132 FPS, Medium averages 112 FPS, High averages 97 FPS, and Ultra averages 78 FPS. For a smooth experience with good visual quality, the Medium preset at 1080p is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS, ensuring no noticeable stutter. The jump from Medium to High costs 15 FPS on average, which may not be worth the visual difference in an idle game.

At 1440p, the situation changes. Low averages 89 FPS, Medium averages 75 FPS, High averages 65 FPS, and Ultra averages 53 FPS. The Medium preset is still the best balance, with a minimum of 64 FPS that remains above the 60 FPS threshold. High at 1440p drops to 65 FPS average, which is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra at 1440p falls to 53 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset.

At 4K, no preset achieves a fully smooth experience. Low averages 51 FPS, Medium averages 43 FPS, High averages 37 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, but even it dips below 60 FPS. For users who must play at 4K, Low is the only sensible option, but the experience will be compromised. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS, indicating inconsistent frame pacing.

The overall recommendation is to run To The Core at 1080p with Medium settings. This provides the best combination of visual fidelity and performance, with an average of 112 FPS and a minimum of 95 FPS. For users with 1440p displays, Medium is still viable, but expect lower frame rates. At 4K, the hardware is not sufficient for a consistently smooth experience, and users should lower expectations accordingly. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it delivers a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target across all presets.