To The Core

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a highly playable experience in To The Core, an idle game that scales aggressively with resolution. Across the measured 1080p, 1440p, and 4K presets, the combo shows a clear pattern: the Arc B570 is the primary performance driver, while the 12-core Alder Lake CPU provides ample headroom. The data indicates this pairing sits near the middle of the pack among tested configurations, ranking 2380th out of 2991 combos, which places it in the 79th percentile of all tested systems. This is a balanced setup for a genre that rarely stresses high-core-count processors, but the GPU’s 10 GB VRAM and 160-bit bus become increasingly relevant as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a GPU-bound workload. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 165 FPS at 1920x1080 to 111 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 64 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 61% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a typical pattern for a game that relies heavily on pixel throughput rather than complex CPU-side logic. The scaling is nearly linear in terms of pixel count: moving from 1080p to 1440p increases pixels by 78%, and the High preset drops by 33% in FPS; moving from 1440p to 4K increases pixels by 125%, and the FPS drops by another 42%.

At Low settings, the same pattern holds but with higher absolute numbers. The combo produces 225 FPS at 1080p, 152 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 32% from 1080p to 1440p and 43% from 1440p to 4K, showing that even at the lowest preset, the GPU’s shading units—2304 in total—are the limiting factor. The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 133 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K, with a 33% drop followed by a 43% drop. The consistency of these percentage deltas across presets strongly suggests that the CPU, with its 20 threads and 25 MB of L3 cache, is never the bottleneck; the Arc B570’s rendering pipeline is what determines the frame rate.

The most telling data point is the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum FPS readings. At 4K Medium, the average is 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 and a maximum of 84, a 22 FPS spread that indicates occasional frame hitches. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 and a maximum of 147, maintaining a similar 38 FPS spread. At 1080p Medium, the average is 191 FPS with a minimum of 162 and a maximum of 219, a 57 FPS spread. The widening spread at lower resolutions suggests that the CPU’s single-thread performance—measured at 1043 in 3dmark single-thread—starts to introduce minor frame pacing variance, though it never drags the average below playable levels.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570’s specifications directly explain its behavior in To The Core. The GPU runs at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock, which is a modest clock speed for a modern graphics card, but its 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is sufficient for an idle game’s visual effects. The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 4K textures but not exceptional. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra—51 FPS average—shows that the memory subsystem and the 80 ROPs are working near their limits when pixel fill rates peak.

The GPU’s 18 ray tracing cores and 144 TMUs are present, but To The Core is not a ray-traced title, so those units likely sit idle. Instead, the workload falls on the 2304 shading units and the texture units. At 4K High, the 64 FPS average suggests the GPU is delivering roughly 147 million pixels per second (64 FPS × 8.3 million pixels), which aligns with its 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate capabilities when accounting for typical efficiency losses. The Arc B570’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is not a bottleneck here, as the game’s data streaming requirements are modest.

Comparing the Arc B570 to its nearest rivals, the benchmark averages show it is effectively a mid-pack GPU. The data lists the Arc B570’s average benchmark score as 20556, which is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 (20582). Against the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662), the Arc B570 is 0.5% slower, and it is 0.4% faster than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480). These tiny percentage differences mean that in To The Core, the Arc B570’s frame rates are essentially interchangeable with those of the RTX 3070 Mobile and the Arc A750, though the desktop-class Arc B570 has the advantage of a 150 W TDP versus mobile parts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2380 out of 2991 tested configurations places it in the 79.6th percentile, meaning it outperforms approximately four out of five tested systems. This is a solid result for a mid-range CPU and GPU pairing, especially considering that the i7-12700KF itself sits in the 85th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35365. The GPU is comparatively weaker, sitting in the 65th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 20556. The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-percentile GPU yields a system that is above average but not exceptional for To The Core.

The CPU’s nearest rivals—the Intel Core i7-13700T (35403, -0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, +0.2% delta), and the Intel Core 5 213PE (35428, -0.2% delta)—all produce nearly identical average scores, so the choice of CPU matters little for this game. The i7-12700KF’s 12 cores and 20 threads are far more than To The Core needs, as evidenced by its 3dmark 16-thread score of 9282 versus a single-thread score of 1043. The game likely uses fewer than eight threads, meaning the CPU’s 3dmark 8-thread score of 7211 is the more relevant metric, and it is still likely underutilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide range of performance depending on the preset. Low settings produce an average of 225 FPS, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. Medium settings drop to 191 FPS on average, with a minimum of 162 and a maximum of 219. High settings yield 165 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 133 FPS. All four presets at 1080p are comfortably above 60 FPS, and even the Ultra preset’s 133 FPS average is sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but starts to show the GPU’s limits. Low settings average 152 FPS, Medium drops to 128 FPS (minimum 109, maximum 147), High averages 111 FPS, and Ultra falls to 89 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is still above 60 FPS, but the margin narrows compared to 1080p. The Medium preset’s minimum of 109 FPS indicates that even the worst-case frames are playable on a 144Hz monitor.

At 3840x2160, the combo transitions from high-refresh territory to standard 60 FPS territory. Low settings average 87 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS (minimum 62, maximum 84), High averages 64 FPS, and Ultra drops to 51 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one that fails to maintain 60 FPS, and its 51 FPS average means 4K Ultra is not recommended for a smooth experience. The Medium preset’s 62 FPS minimum is borderline, but the 73 FPS average makes it the best choice for 4K gaming.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p users, the Ultra preset is the optimal choice. The 133 FPS average is high enough for any monitor, and the visual quality improvement over High (165 FPS) is worth the 32 FPS cost. There is no reason to play at Medium or Low on a 1080p display, as even Ultra exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors.

For 1440p users, the High preset at 111 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset at 89 FPS is still playable, but the 22 FPS drop from High is noticeable. The Medium preset at 128 FPS is smoother, but the visual downgrade is not justified when High still clears 100 FPS. If the display is 144Hz, High is the clear winner; if it is 60Hz, Ultra becomes viable.

For 4K users, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. The 73 FPS average with a 62 FPS minimum provides a consistently smooth experience, whereas High at 64 FPS is playable but close to the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 51 FPS should be avoided, as it will produce visible stuttering during demanding scenes. Low at 87 FPS is technically smoother, but the visual quality loss is severe for a game that benefits from higher detail settings.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run To The Core at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, but only on Low or Medium settings. Low averages 87 FPS, and Medium averages 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS. High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS on average.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570 in this game?

A: No. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent across presets, indicating the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU’s single-thread score of 1043 and 8-thread score of 7211 are sufficient for the game’s demands.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to the Arc A750 in this game?

A: The two GPUs are effectively tied. The Arc B570’s average benchmark score is 20556, which is 0.1% behind the Arc A750’s 20582. In To The Core, this translates to negligible FPS differences.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p 144Hz monitor?

A: The High preset at 111 FPS is the best fit. It does not hit 144 FPS, but it is the highest visual quality that stays above 100 FPS. Medium at 128 FPS is smoother but requires a visual downgrade.

Q: Does the game use the CPU’s 20 threads?

A: The data suggests no. The CPU’s 3dmark max-thread score is 9983, but the game’s performance scales uniformly with resolution, which is a GPU-bound behavior. The CPU likely uses fewer than eight threads.

Q: Is the 10 GB VRAM on the Arc B570 sufficient for 4K in this game?

A: Yes. The 4K Medium preset averages 73 FPS with a 62 FPS minimum, indicating no VRAM-related stuttering. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the game’s texture workloads.