To The Core

# To The Core with Intel Core i7-14700KF + Intel Arc B390

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the Intel Arc B390 delivers playable frame rates in To The Core, but the data reveals a system heavily constrained by the graphics side of the equation. The CPU is a top-tier part with a 94th percentile ranking among all tested processors, while the GPU sits at just the 9th percentile. This massive disparity shows up clearly in the measured FPS: the combo lands at rank 2643 out of 2991 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all pairings. The benchmark results indicate that this is a CPU-rich, GPU-poor pairing where the Arc B390's integrated-class performance limits what the i7-14700KF can deliver in this idle game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings substantial processing muscle to this pairing. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This is a Raptor Lake-R architecture part built on Intel's 10 nm process, with a die size of 257 mm². The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and it offers PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU. The TDP is rated at 125 W, and the multiplier is unlocked for overclocking.

In terms of raw compute benchmarks, the i7-14700KF posts strong numbers across the board. Cinebench R23 multi-core score reaches 44167, while single-core hits 6235. Geekbench results show 21462 multi-core and 2578 single-core. PassMark multithread score is 52425, with single-thread at 4480. The processor also handles specialized workloads well: PassMark data encryption scores 40046, floating point math reaches 134393, and integer math hits 183056. The average benchmark score across all tests is 70163, placing it in the 94th percentile versus all CPUs.

For To The Core specifically, an idle game likely does not stress all 20 cores heavily, but the high single-thread performance and the substantial multi-core headroom ensure the CPU is never the bottleneck. The nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with an average score of 69996 (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515 (0.9% behind). The only rival ahead is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K at 70879, which leads by 1%. These margins are tiny, indicating that the i7-14700KF sits at the very top of the CPU performance hierarchy, with no meaningful separation from its closest competitors.

How This Combo Ranks

The measured data places this CPU-GPU combination at rank 2643 out of 2991 tested combos in To The Core. That is a percentile position of roughly 88.4% from the top, meaning only about 11.6% of tested combinations perform worse. The ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU's weak showing. The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of just 1482, which puts it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmark database are all older NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% behind), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% behind), the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% behind), and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% behind). The Arc B390 leads all of these by small margins, but these are all entry-level or legacy parts. The delta between the CPU's 94th percentile and the GPU's 9th percentile is a 85-point gap, which is extreme and clearly indicates where the bottleneck lies.

In practical terms for To The Core, the combo rank of 2643 means that most other systems tested will outperform this pairing. The CPU is capable of far more, but the Arc B390's integrated graphics simply cannot push high frame rates in this game at higher resolutions or settings. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with any discrete GPU would yield dramatically better results, but as configured, the system's overall gaming performance is held back by the graphics solution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a clear and expected scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 107 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 72 FPS, a reduction of 35 FPS or approximately 33%. At 4K High, the frame rate falls to 41 FPS, which is a 66 FPS drop from 1080p, representing a 62% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the rendering load increases dramatically with pixel count.

The same pattern holds across all settings. At Low settings, 1080p delivers 147 FPS, 1440p delivers 99 FPS, and 4K delivers 56 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 91 FPS, a 62% decrease. At Medium settings, the numbers are 124 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. At Ultra settings, 1080p hits 86 FPS, 1440p drops to 58 FPS, and 4K falls to 33 FPS.

The resolution scaling pattern reveals that the GPU is saturated even at 1080p. The fact that 4K Ultra produces only 33 FPS while 1080p Ultra produces 86 FPS shows that the Arc B390's limited shading units (1536), texture mapping units (48), and raster operation units (24) are simply overwhelmed by higher pixel counts. The GPU's pixel rate is rated at 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, but these figures are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K in this title. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K is roughly linear with pixel count, confirming that the bottleneck is firmly on the graphics side.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 147 FPS at Low settings, 124 FPS at Medium, 107 FPS at High, and 86 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting also has recorded minimum and maximum values of 105 and 143 FPS respectively, showing some variance but generally stable performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 99 FPS at Low, 83 FPS at Medium, 72 FPS at High, and 58 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 71 and maximum of 96 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant at every setting level, with Low losing 48 FPS, Medium losing 41 FPS, High losing 35 FPS, and Ultra losing 28 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal for smooth gameplay. Low settings produce 56 FPS, Medium produces 48 FPS with a minimum of 41 and maximum of 55, High produces 41 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33 FPS. The 4K numbers are all below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for a smooth experience, and even the Low setting at 4K cannot maintain 60 FPS.

The data reveals that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve above 60 FPS at all settings. At 1440p, only Low and Medium settings stay above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below. At 4K, no setting achieves 60 FPS, and the Ultra setting dips to near-unplayable levels. The minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium is 41, which suggests that even the average frame rates mask occasional dips that could cause noticeable stutter in an idle game that may have periodic UI updates or background calculations.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the clear limiting factor in this configuration. This is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Panther Lake chip, using the Xe3-LPG architecture on a 3 nm process. It has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is System Shared, meaning it uses the host system's RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth described as System Dependent.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest: FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 15.36 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio. The TDP is 80 W, and it uses no power connectors since it is integrated. The API support is modern, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but the raw performance is what matters for gaming.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places this GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all over a decade old. The GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710 all score within 2.7% of the Arc B390. This puts the Arc B390's gaming performance on par with very old entry-level discrete GPUs, which explains why it struggles with 4K in To The Core.

The measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 147 FPS, but this drops to 86 FPS at Ultra, showing that the graphics settings have a significant impact on the GPU's workload. The fact that the CPU is far more powerful than the GPU means that any frame rate improvements would require a GPU upgrade. The data indicates that the Arc B390's memory bandwidth being System Dependent is a particular weakness, as shared memory access can introduce latency and bandwidth limitations that dedicated VRAM would avoid.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running To The Core at 4K?

A: The measured data shows 4K performance ranging from 33 FPS at Ultra settings to 56 FPS at Low settings. Only Low settings approach playable territory, while Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 50 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, this combo is not sufficient.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: At 1080p, all settings deliver above 86 FPS, with Low hitting 147 FPS and High reaching 107 FPS. At 1440p, Low and Medium stay above 80 FPS, but High drops to 72 FPS and Ultra falls to 58 FPS. The data suggests 1080p High is the sweet spot for a balance of visual quality and frame rate.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, leading the GeForce GT 520MX by 1.3%, the GeForce 800M by 1.5%, the GeForce GT 625 OEM by 2.5%, and the GeForce GT 710 by 2.7%. These are all very old, low-end parts, and the margins are small.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF holding back the system's gaming performance?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile of all processors with an average benchmark score of 70163. Its nearest rivals are all within 1% of its performance. The GPU is the limiting factor, as its 9th percentile ranking means it is far weaker than the CPU.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 83 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. This is a playable experience, though the minimum FPS indicates some dips that might be noticeable in fast-moving scenes.

Q: How does the combo's overall ranking in To The Core compare to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2643 out of 2991 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested in this game. This low ranking is attributable to the GPU's weak performance, not the CPU.