Intel Arc B580 & i3-1200F Budget Gaming Benchmarks: Surprisingly Good Performance

Intel Arc B580 & i3-1200F Budget Gaming Benchmarks: Too Good to Be True or Actually Surprisingly Good

Peace be with you, and welcome to our in-depth test of a somewhat unconventional gaming setup. Today, we are putting the new Intel Arc B580 graphics card to the test, pairing it with the most affordable gaming processor on the market: the Intel Core i3-1200F. Now, although the latter might raise eyebrows, the performance and insights we come up with are rather far from trivial. Let us dive in and see whether or not this budget pairing will be enough to deliver a worthwhile gaming experience.

The Unlikely Duo: Arc B580 and Core i3-1200F

Our testing today may seem a little weird, but it is actually very relevant. Despite the fact that the Core i3-1200F has a budget-friendly price point at around $60-$70 US, it is actually quite capable for gaming. It is actually a great match for cards like the RTX 3060, 3050, or 2060, providing quite good performance even in online titles. For those who might think this processor is weak, know that it includes PCIe, which is essential on modern graphics cards.

We test at 2K resolution, which is a sweet spot for many gamers considering a card in the price range of the B580-some $250. This setup reflects the real world for many gamers who may have processors such as a Ryzen 5 3000 series, Ryzen 5 5000 series, or Intel Core i5 10th or 11th gen. The i3-1200F performs similarly enough to those CPUs that our benchmarks are highly representative.

Game Performance Summary: FPS Benchmarks at a Glance

Below, we have provided a quick summary table with average FPS obtained for both the Intel Arc B580 and i3-1200F in all tested games, running at 2K resolution. Note that these are only average frame rates and can actually vary greatly depending on the real game scene and settings used. For detailed settings and other information, refer to the respective sections of each game above.

Average FPS Benchmarks at 2K Resolution

Depth Game Benchmarks: From Old to New

Now, the moment of truth-game benchmarks. We ran the rig through various titles, from older classics to demanding modern games, to really put this budget combination through its paces.

Counter-Strike 2 (CS2)

We started with a tough scenario for this pairing: CS2 is a DX11 title that tends to be sensitive to single-core CPU performance. Though CS2 supports Vulkan, our testing was in DX11 - the potentially weaker point for the Arc B580.

At 2K Medium settings, processor utilization was reliably high, often hitting 100%, while the graphics card utilization was at around 50%. Averaging at around 100 FPS, frame rates did seem to drop considerably. An i3-1200F paired with another card might do well at a much more stable 150+ FPS in CS2, but with this Arc B580 combination, it was rather unstable, particularly concerning frame drops. Frame rates would fluctuate between 70-80 FPS and 100 FPS, indicating an unstable experience, particularly for competitive online gaming.

Curiously enough, after initial oscillations and settling, the processor consumption began to decrease while the frame rate increased slightly-a somewhat unpredictable process. The old problem persisted, though: instability and frame rate oscillations were still present in this DX11, CPU-limited online game. It runs smoothly enough but is not fit for competitive playing due to inconsistencies in frame delivery.

Cyberpunk 2077

Moving to a more graphically intensive modern title, we put Cyberpunk 2077 at 2K High settings with XeSS - Xe Super Sampling Quality upscaling. Intel's upscaler XeSS was the clear star versus FSR-FidelityFX Super Resolution during this testing and presented a much cleaner, much less juddered, visually fun experience in actual gaming.

On average frame rate hovered in and around 80 FPS for the settings. Great, yet apparently not the fullest utilization of this Arc B580. Overall, however, the experience was a positive one. Cranking it up to Ultra with XeSS Ultra Quality still yielded eminently playable frame rates of 70-80 FPS, and that shows leverage of the card's power to deliver high fidelity visuals. We even pushed this to RT (Ray Tracing) Ultra with XeSS Balance and kept a playable 50-60 FPS. Performance in ray tracing was surprisingly robust, showcasing Arc B580 capability in modern demanding games when it is well supported.

Dying Light 2

We ran Dying Light 2 at 2K High with RT High (ray tracing highest level) and no upscaling. While DX11 holds this game back on Arc B580, it still managed a good 40-50 FPS, which is quite good given the quality of ray tracing being used. XeSS Quality fired frame rates up to around 70 FPS, again showcasing how well XeSS works. XeSS did a much better job of sustaining image quality, with a notably smoother image than FSR in areas of fine detail, such as hair and foliage.

Our Dying Light 2 tests reinforced the Arc B580's potential in modern, DX12 and ray tracing-heavy titles. It also hinted at potential limitations in older DX11 games - consistent with our CS2 findings.

Far Cry 4

Testing older titles like Far Cry 4 revealed some unexpected issues. Initially, the game launched without sound. Restarting the game and even the system was required to resolve the sound issue. Performance, once sound was restored, was decent, averaging 80-90 FPS, but card utilization was not optimal. Despite being an older title, the game did not fully engage the Arc B580. This highlights potential compatibility quirks with older games.

Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V)

GTA V, tested at near-maximum settings-almost the highest settings-was a pretty good experience at about 70 FPS. As a DX11 title, this could offer a better performance on GTA V compared to other cards in the same price segment, like RTX 4060. Performance goes slightly lower when going through grassy outside-city spots but regains its 70-80 FPS inside the city. While playable and smooth, GTA V again tended to highlight how the Arc B580 could be DX11-bound compared to the competition.

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is yet another Unreal Engine 4-based title that was quite demanding. Without ray tracing, at Ultra settings, frame rates tended to hover around 40 FPS - which would hint at a CPU bottleneck. Card utilization was around 70%, so the i3-1200F appeared to hold back the Arc B580 in this CPU-bound title. We noticed frame drops and instability, playable but not quite the smoothest. Hogwarts Legacy reinforces that with the Arc B580, a stronger processor is quite needed for demanding UE4 titles.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West at 2K Highest settings was quite demanding, surprisingly enough, but the Arc B580 managed around 50 FPS with full card utilization. That came out of left field, really proving that this card can push challenging titles with an inexpensive processor attached. Flipping on XeSS Ultra Quality amped the frame rates up to a far smoother 60 FPS, again with minimal visible loss of visual fidelity. Horizon Forbidden West proved the Arc B580 can indeed look great while delivering playable performance in extremely taxing modern titles-specially with some upscaling greasing the wheels.

Spider-Man Remastered

Spider-Man Remastered is notoriously CPU-dependent, and again showed the processor strain. While frame rates were generally above 60 FPS, they were lower than expected for the Arc B580. We did experience some freezing issues, where the game would lock up for a second before continuing. Curiously, these freezes also occurred on a system with a high-end i9 processor, which points to driver-related texture loading problems rather than just CPU limitations. This points to the potential driver quirks and instability of the Arc B580 with some titles, even with strong CPUs.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 at 2K Ultra settings was super; there was no reason to complain. The frame rate did not drop down, neither stuttering. The card utilization stood perfect at 99%. Just in case the Arc B580 truly did extraordinarily well in this game, its GPU performance surprised with silky-smooth along with high fidelity visuals even on this budget i3-1200F.

Starfield

Starfield was an ambitious title. At 2K High settings, Native resolution frame rates averaged at around 40 FPS. With upscaling via either FSR Quality or XeSS Ultra Quality, performance barely managed a bump. Card utilization stayed at the same ~90%, while CPU usage was not maxing out. All in all, the optimization issues in Starfield and just general demanding nature of it kept the performance with the Arc B580 in check, even with upscaling.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at 2K Ultra settings, with HairWorks ON, was an exquisite experience, always well above 100 FPS. Frame rates even at HairWorks ON Plus (the highest HairWorks setting) never dropped below 60 FPS; the Arc B580 was maxed out in this game with no bottlenecking. The Witcher 3 showcased how nicely the Arc B580 could push frame rates for visually rich games.

Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 at 2K RT Ultra settings were pretty okay, with card utilization hovering in the 90s and never reaching 100%, which would suggest there is some slight CPU bottlenecking. Disabling ray tracing did help improve frame rate stability somewhat, but overall the visual quality of the game felt largely the same, so ray tracing in Far Cry 6 feels very much like a bad value for its performance cost. Overall, Far Cry 6 was playable and enjoyable but with some minor CPU limitations.

Dying Light

Dying Light (the original) at DX11 showed significant screen tearing without V-Sync enabled. For some reason, enabling V-Sync locked frames to 30 FPS, which made the experience suboptimal. Without V-Sync, the tearing was distracting. Dying Light highlighted potential V-Sync and older game compatibility issues.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Even the very old DX9 title GTA: San Andreas showed some framerate lag and drops, which was not expected from such an old and light game. This probably comes from the less optimized handling of older APIs by the Arc B580. The game was playable, but it was not perfect - drops were noticeable even in this undemanding title.

Stalker 2

Stalker 2 crashed several times during shader compilation. This crash happened multiple times, even with different processors, which may show potential driver incompatibility with newer games or specific game configurations. Stalker 2 really showed potential instability with very new titles.

Call of Duty 2

Another older title, Call of Duty 2, just kept crashing and would not even make it past its launch screen after several attempts. That is just further setting a pattern that there could be some compatibility issues with the Arc B580 on older DX9 and DX10 games.

Conclusion and Recommendations: Buyer Beware

Summarizing the Intel Arc B580 is complicated. Here are key takeaways and recommendations:

• Old Game Compatibility: If you have a lot of older games, do not buy this card. We experienced quite a few crashes, sound problems, and suboptimal performance on older DX9, DX10, and even some older DX11 titles.
• Online Gaming: For online play, particularly in most DX11 titles, strong processor power will be needed to reach stable and high frame rates. This may bottleneck with the i3-1200F for some online games, thus making them unstable.
• 2K and Modern Games: The Arc B580 really shines with a 2K monitor and modern, DX12-based games. It really shines in newer titles, especially with ray tracing and XeSS upscaling.
• Processor Pairing: While initially suggesting a Core i5-12400 or Ryzen 5 5600 as minimum pairings in previous discussions, our testing today indicates that a Ryzen 5 7500F or equivalent (or better) is now the recommended minimum processor to avoid CPU bottlenecks and ensure better performance in a wider range of games, especially future titles.
• Value and Pricing: With regards to pricing and value, it depends on how much cheaper the Arc B580 is than an RTX 4060 in your market. If competitively priced and if the limitations we mentioned are within your threshold, the Arc B580 can be considered.
• Driver Maturity: Drivers have indeed gotten better, but nowhere near as mature or as stable as AMD or NVIDIA's drivers-especially in older games. There will be quirks and possible compatibility issues.

Overall, the more affordable Intel Arc B580 with a budget i3-1200F is somewhat of a mixed bag. It can easily do well in modern, DX12 games with upscaling and ray tracing, but weaknesses in older games, possible driver instability, and CPU dependence in specific scenarios mean it should not be recommended universally. Thus, it really worth considering, when you only game at 2K with modern titles, if you have strong enough processor, like Ryzen 5 7500F or better, and the B580 is considerably cheaper than an RTX 4060. Other than that, proceed with extreme caution, as there may be better options elsewhere.

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