Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS that rewards high frame rates, and the Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers a playable experience across all tested resolutions. The data shows a clear hierarchy where lower settings and lower resolutions yield dramatically higher average FPS, with the combo ranking in the 2534th position out of 2883 tested combinations. This places the system in the lower half of the database, indicating that while the CPU is a strong performer, the integrated GPU is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the heaviest performance penalty occurring when moving from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 331 average FPS, which represents the absolute peak performance in this dataset. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces that figure to 282 average FPS, a decline of approximately 15%, while the jump to 4K Low brings the average down to 225 FPS, a further 20% reduction from the 1440p result. This scaling behavior indicates that the Intel Arc B390’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions but cannot compensate for the increased pixel count at higher settings.

For High settings, the pattern continues but with less absolute headroom. The 1080p High result of 207 average FPS falls to 177 at 1440p and then to 141 at 4K. The relative drops are steeper percentage-wise than at Low settings, suggesting that the GPU is becoming saturated more quickly when additional shading and texture work is applied. Medium settings show a similar trend: 218 FPS at 1080p, 186 at 1440p, and 149 at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, yields 198 FPS at 1080p, 169 at 1440p, and 135 at 4K, making it the only preset where the 4K result dips below the 140 FPS mark.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each preset tells the story of a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel throughput. At Low settings, the 4K average is 68% of the 1080p value, meaning the GPU retains a relatively larger fraction of its performance when the workload is lighter. At Ultra settings, the 4K average is 68% of the 1080p value as well, but the absolute numbers are much lower, starting from a lower baseline. This consistency in relative scaling suggests that the Arc B390’s fill rate and memory bandwidth, both tied to the system’s shared memory configuration, are the primary constraints rather than any specific shader complexity in Valorant’s engine.

Notably, the Medium preset at every resolution provides the only min/max FPS data in the entire dataset. At 1080p Medium, the average is 218 FPS with a minimum of 185 and a maximum of 250. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 186 FPS with a minimum of 158 and a maximum of 214. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 149 FPS with a minimum of 126 and a maximum of 171. These ranges indicate that frame pacing remains relatively stable, with the minimum never falling more than 15% below the average, which is a positive sign for competitive play where consistent frames matter more than peak values.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance for this combo is the Medium preset at 1440p. This configuration delivers 186 average FPS, which is 5% higher than the High preset at the same resolution and 10% higher than the Ultra preset. The 1440p Medium result also provides the best min/max spread in the dataset, with a minimum of 158 FPS that stays comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on competitive monitors. Moving up to 4K Medium yields 149 average FPS with a 126 FPS minimum, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

For players prioritizing the highest possible frame rates, 1080p Low is the clear choice, as it produces 331 average FPS, the single highest figure recorded across all configurations. This setting is ideal for esports-focused play where reaction time is paramount, and the visual compromises are acceptable given Valorant’s stylized art direction. However, the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 113 FPS, a 34% reduction, which may not be worth the marginal visual improvements for competitive players.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend for this combo. At 1080p it produces 198 average FPS, which is still smooth, but at 1440p it drops to 169 FPS and at 4K it falls to 135 FPS, the lowest result in the entire dataset. The High preset sits between Medium and Ultra in performance, with 207 FPS at 1080p and 177 at 1440p, but it offers no advantage over Medium in terms of stability, as the Medium preset consistently outperforms it by 5-6% at every resolution. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware, providing the best combination of frame rate headroom and visual fidelity across all three resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a 3 nm process node, and its performance profile in Valorant is heavily constrained by its system-shared memory design. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, but the memory configuration is entirely dependent on the host system, with bandwidth listed as “System Dependent” and a bus width of “System Shared.” This means the GPU’s ability to feed its 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs is directly tied to the CPU’s memory subsystem, which introduces latency and bandwidth limitations that a dedicated graphics card would not face.

The GPU’s raw compute capabilities are modest, with an FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s. These figures place the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M, both of which are ancient mobile parts. The deltaPct values against these rivals are small, ranging from 1.3% to 2.7%, indicating that the Arc B390’s performance is on par with hardware from over a decade ago. This explains why Valorant, despite being a lightweight esports title, cannot push higher frame rates at 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU’s 12 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 are largely irrelevant for Valorant, which is not a graphically demanding game. The benchmark result for the Arc B390 is limited to a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test score of 1482, which is the only data point available for this GPU. This score, combined with the measured FPS in Valorant, paints a picture of a GPU that can handle esports titles at lower settings but will struggle with any modern AAA game at high resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Valorant?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 331, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds 300 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 135 on Ultra settings to 225 on Low settings. The Medium preset at 4K produces 149 average FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K or the Intel Arc B390 the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The CPU has a high average benchmark score of 35287 and ranks in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile and has an average benchmark score of 1482.

Q: What settings provide the most stable frame delivery?

A: The Medium preset at any resolution is the only configuration with recorded min/max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 185 FPS and the maximum is 250 FPS, showing a tight 65 FPS spread.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2534th out of 2883 total combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of the database. This indicates that most other tested combos deliver higher performance in Valorant.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 282 average FPS while Ultra settings produce 169 average FPS, a difference of 113 FPS or approximately 40% lower performance at Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2534 out of 2883 tested combinations places it firmly in the lower quartile of systems in the database. This position is driven almost entirely by the Intel Arc B390’s weak GPU performance, as the Intel Core i7-12700K is a strong CPU that ranks in the 84th percentile of all processors. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 35287 is within 0.4% of its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-13600T, Intel Core i7-12700KF, Intel Core i7-13700T, and Intel Core 5 213PE, all of which have deltaPct values between -0.1% and -0.4%. This indicates that the CPU is performing as expected for its class, with no thermal or power throttling issues affecting its output.

The GPU, by contrast, is in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all NVIDIA parts from the early 2010s. The deltaPct values against these rivals range from 1.3% to 2.7%, meaning the Arc B390 is only marginally faster than the GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M. This level of GPU performance is simply insufficient to push Valorant to high frame rates at demanding settings, which explains why the combo ranks so low despite having a capable CPU.

The rank disparity between the CPU and GPU components is stark: the CPU is in the top 16% of all processors, while the GPU is in the bottom 9%. This imbalance means that any upgrade path for this combo would focus on replacing or supplementing the integrated GPU with a dedicated graphics card, as the CPU has significant headroom to support a much faster GPU without becoming a bottleneck. In its current configuration, the combo is best suited for 1080p esports play at Low or Medium settings, where it can achieve competitive frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is based on the Alder Lake architecture and manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process node. It features 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache, which provides ample capacity for game data in a title like Valorant that has relatively small working sets.

The CPU’s benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and a Geekbench multicore score of 15790. Single-threaded performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1043. In a game like Valorant, which is known to be CPU-bound at high frame rates, these scores suggest the CPU is capable of pushing well over 400 FPS in ideal conditions, but the measured results top out at 331 FPS due to the GPU limitation.

The CPU’s role in this combo is to provide consistent frame pacing rather than to maximize peak FPS. The measured Medium preset results show that the CPU can maintain minimum FPS values that are only 15% below the averages, indicating that it is not experiencing stuttering or frame drops. The CPU’s 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier, combined with its active production status and launch MSRP of $409, make it a mid-range enthusiast part that has aged well since its release in November 2021. In this specific game, the CPU’s performance is more than adequate, and the data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield far greater FPS improvements than overclocking or upgrading the CPU.