To The Core

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a decidedly mixed bag of performance in To The Core, a title that appears far more forgiving on the CPU side than the GPU. The data shows a system that can push well past 200 FPS at 1080p on lower settings, yet struggles to maintain a locked 60 FPS at 4K on the highest preset. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, contextualizes the combo’s standing among other tested configurations, and answers key questions about where the bottleneck lies.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly delineates the roles of the CPU and GPU in this pairing. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves a measured 225 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 152 FPS, a 32% reduction, and at 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 87 FPS, which is a 61% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline as resolution increases is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario; the Intel Core i9-14900K has ample headroom to feed frames, but the Intel Arc B570's rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor.

The pattern persists across all settings, but the magnitude of the drop varies. For instance, at High settings, the transition from 1080p (165 FPS) to 1440p (111 FPS) is a 33% decrease, and then to 4K (64 FPS) is another 42% decrease from the 1440p result. While the percentage drops are similar, the absolute frame times increase significantly. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS collapses to 51, meaning the system fails to clear the 60 FPS threshold that many users target for smooth gameplay. This suggests that at 4K, the Arc B570’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 160-bit bus are being saturated, not just by resolution but by the increased texture and shading complexity of the Ultra preset.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (225 FPS) and Ultra (133 FPS) is 92 FPS. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 63 FPS (152 vs. 89). At 4K, the gap shrinks further to just 36 FPS (87 vs. 51). This compression of performance across settings at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is hitting a hard architectural limit, likely related to its raw fillrate and memory bandwidth, rather than being constrained by the specific workload of a given preset.

The data implies that for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, 1080p is the only resolution where this combo truly excels, with all settings delivering above 133 FPS. For a balanced 1440p experience, High settings at 111 FPS is respectable, but pushing to Ultra drops the experience to 89 FPS. At 4K, the system is only viable for less demanding presets, as even Medium settings yields just 73 FPS. The scaling behavior confirms that the i9-14900K is not the primary constraint in this title; it is the Arc B570 that determines the performance ceiling as pixel count rises.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand database of tested hardware combinations for To The Core, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B570 lands at rank 2380 out of 2991 total combos. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested configurations, which is a stark contrast to the individual component performance. The i9-14900K alone sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, while the Arc B570 rests in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. This discrepancy highlights that the combo's low rank is almost entirely a function of the GPU's relative weakness compared to the CPU's top-tier status.

The rank suggests that users with this pairing are getting a CPU that is vastly more powerful than what the GPU can utilize in this specific game. The data indicates that the i9-14900K is not the limiting factor; its average benchmark score of 79097 is nearly four times higher than the Arc B570's average of 20556. Consequently, the combo's performance is anchored by the GPU. For context, the GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -0.1), indicating that the B570 is performing as expected for its class. However, in a game like To The Core, that level of GPU performance is insufficient to push the combo higher in the rankings.

This low ranking is not a condemnation of the CPU, but rather a reflection of the imbalance in this pairing. While the i9-14900K is a top-5% component, the Arc B570 is a mid-range offering. In a database where combos are ranked by their in-game FPS, a powerful CPU paired with a modest GPU will inevitably rank lower than a balanced pairing. The data suggests that for this game, a less powerful CPU paired with a more powerful GPU would likely yield a higher combo rank. The 2380th position serves as a quantitative warning that this specific CPU-GPU combination is not optimal for To The Core if the goal is to maximize standing against other tested systems.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K bottlenecking the Intel Arc B570 in To The Core?*

A: No. The data shows that FPS drops dramatically when moving from 1080p to 1440p and again to 4K. For example, at Low settings, the average FPS falls from 225 at 1080p to 87 at 4K. This resolution-dependent scaling indicates the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU.

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

A: For high refresh rates, 1080p is the best choice, with even Ultra settings delivering 133 FPS. For a good balance at 1440p, High settings (111 FPS) is the sweet spot. 4K is only playable on Low settings (87 FPS) or Medium (73 FPS), as Ultra drops to 51 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its closest rivals?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the Arc B570 (avg score 20556) is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, deltaPct -0.1). It is slightly ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, deltaPct 0.4).

Q: Is this a good combo for 4K gaming?

A: The data suggests no. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is just 51, which is below the 60 FPS target. Even at 4K High, it only reaches 64 FPS. The system is better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K (avg score 79097) is 1.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (77740) but 0.3% slower than the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79371) and 1.2% slower than the AMD EPYC 7413 (80041).

Q: What do the measured FPS numbers for Medium settings indicate?

A: At Medium settings, the system shows more stable frame times. The measured FPS includes min/max values: at 1080p, it averages 191 FPS with a min of 162 and max of 219. At 1440p, it averages 128 FPS (min 109, max 147), and at 4K, it averages 73 FPS (min 62, max 84). These numbers show a consistent frame pacing without severe stutters.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a complete picture of its performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly CPU-bound at lower settings. The Low preset yields an average of 225 FPS. Stepping up to Medium reduces the average to 191 FPS, with measured minimum and maximum values of 162 and 219 FPS, respectively. High settings produce 165 FPS, while the Ultra preset, which likely enables more demanding effects, still manages a strong 133 FPS. The spread of 92 FPS between Low and Ultra at this resolution suggests the GPU is still keeping up with the CPU's output.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to assert its influence. The Low preset average drops to 152 FPS. Medium settings deliver 128 FPS (min 109, max 147), and High settings yield 111 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 89 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 63 FPS, showing a tighter grouping as the GPU becomes more of a factor. The absolute numbers here are still very playable for most users, but the trend is clear: the GPU is working harder.

At 3840x2160, the Arc B570's limitations are fully exposed. The Low preset averages 87 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 152 FPS at 1440p. Medium settings average 73 FPS (min 62, max 84). High settings drop to 64 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 51 FPS. At this resolution, the combo fails to maintain a consistent 60 FPS on the highest preset. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 36 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU is saturated regardless of the graphical complexity. The 4K Medium min FPS of 62 is the only data point above 60 FPS for that preset, indicating that dips below 60 FPS are common at higher settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the decisive factor in this combo's gaming performance. Its specifications show a mid-range part: 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The GPU is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage) using a 5 nm process at TSMC. It operates at a fixed clock speed of 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is a relatively high frequency. The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. These specs position the card in the 65th percentile of all GPUs.

In To The Core, the GPU's role is to handle the rendering workload, which scales with resolution and settings. The benchmark data shows that the card's performance degrades predictably as pixel count increases. The 4K results, particularly the 51 FPS average at Ultra, suggest that the memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is insufficient to feed the shaders at that resolution. The 10 GB frame buffer is likely also a limiting factor at 4K with high-resolution textures. The card's synthetic benchmark scores, such as its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 and Passmark G3D score of 14195, place it in direct competition with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, both of which have deltaPct values within 0.1% of the B570's average score of 20556.

The fixed 2500 MHz clock speed is notable. It suggests that the card is running at its maximum potential out of the box, with no boost headroom. This means that thermal headroom or power limits are not a factor in boosting performance; the card operates at a constant rate. The implications for To The Core are that the GPU's performance is predictable and consistent, but it also means there is no "turbo" mode to help in the most demanding scenes. The data confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this system, as its performance limits the FPS at all resolutions above 1080p Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a flagship desktop processor, and its specifications are impressive. It features 24 cores (a mix of performance and efficiency cores) and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It has a substantial 36 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The CPU is built on Intel's 10 nm process (Raptor Lake) and has a TDP of 125 W. These specs place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79097.

In To The Core, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, physics, and draw calls. The benchmark results show that the i9-14900K is never the limiting factor in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system produces 225 FPS, but this is likely constrained by the GPU's ability to render frames, not the CPU's ability to submit them. The CPU's immense single-thread and multi-thread capabilities, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 scores of 2262.5 (single-core) and 39399.5 (multi-core), are more than sufficient for this title. The data shows that as resolution increases and the GPU becomes more taxed, the FPS drops, which would not happen if the CPU were the bottleneck.

The CPU's high clock speeds and large cache are advantageous for maintaining high frame times in CPU-bound scenarios, but they are not fully utilized here because the GPU cannot keep up. The i9-14900K's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the Core i9-14900KF (deltaPct -0.3) and the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (deltaPct -0.6), indicating that it is performing at the top of its class. However, in To The Core, this performance headroom is wasted. The combo's rank of 2380 out of 2991 is a direct result of this imbalance. The data suggests that a user looking to maximize FPS in this game would benefit more from upgrading the GPU than the CPU, as the i9-14900K is already delivering far more processing power than the Arc B570 can translate into frames.