Does the Core i5-12400F Bottleneck the Arc B580?

Short answer: Only at 1080p. The Core i5-12400F limits the Arc B580 by 20% at 1080p, which mostly shows in high-frame-rate games. At 1440p (2% CPU) and 4K (25% GPU) the pair is balanced, so this is a good match for a 1440p monitor.

Best resolution for this pair: 1440p
Bottleneck: 20% CPU at 1080p, 2% CPU at 1440p, 25% GPU at 4K
Average FPS (9 demanding games, High): 87 at 1080p, 64 at 1440p, 37 at 4K
Recommended power supply: 550 W or more

Table of ContentsShow or hide all 10 sectionsShowHide

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580 bottleneck at 1080p, 1440p and 4K

Resolution	Bottleneck	Limiting part	What it means
1080p	20%	CPU (mild)	The CPU limits the card a little in high-frame-rate games.
1440p	2%	CPU (balanced)	Balanced. Both parts are well used.
4K	25%	GPU (moderate)	The graphics card is fully used. This is the normal, healthy kind of limit.

From our bottleneck calculator with its default settings: Battle Royale game type, 16 GB RAM, High detail, typical background load. How we calculate.

Check this pair with your own settings

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580: bottleneck by type of game

The same pair can be balanced in one game and CPU-bound in another, because some games lean much harder on the processor. For this build the CPU is felt most in strategy and simulation games, at 42% at 1080p.

Game type	1080p	1440p	4K
Esports (CS2, Valorant)	38% CPU	27% CPU	1% CPU
Battle royale (Fortnite, Warzone)	20% CPU	2% CPU	25% GPU
Open world (Cyberpunk, RDR2)	1% GPU	19% GPU	37% GPU
Strategy and simulation (Flight Sim, Cities)	42% CPU	33% CPU	12% CPU
Racing (Forza, F1)	11% CPU	9% GPU	32% GPU

Bottleneck from our calculator for each game type, 16 GB RAM, High detail.

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580 FPS in popular games

Estimated average FPS and 1% lows on the High preset, native resolution, no ray tracing, with 16 GB of RAM. Across nine demanding games the Arc B580 with the Core i5-12400F averages about 87 FPS at 1080p, 64 FPS at 1440p and 37 FPS at 4K. At 1440p the graphics card sets the limit in every game listed.

Game	1080p High	1440p High	4K High
Counter-Strike 2	288 (207 low)	205 (160 low)	120 (93 low)
Valorant	392 (282 low)	280 (218 low)	163 (127 low)
Fortnite	122 (95 low)	87 (68 low)	51 (40 low)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7	85 (67 low)	61 (48 low)	36 (28 low)
Battlefield 6	96 (75 low)	68 (53 low)	40 (31 low)
ARC Raiders	105 (82 low)	75 (58 low)	44 (34 low)
Marvel Rivals	74 (58 low)	53 (41 low)	31 (24 low)
Cyberpunk 2077	83 (65 low)	59 (46 low)	34 (27 low)
Black Myth: Wukong	57 (44 low)	40 (32 low)	24 (18 low)
Hogwarts Legacy	78 (56 low)	56 (44 low)	33 (25 low)
Baldur's Gate 3	80 (53 low)	75 (54 low)	44 (34 low)
Elden Ring	60 (43 low)	59 (46 low)	34 (27 low)

Estimates from our FPS calculator model, which is calibrated against published review results. Expect real results within about ±12%. Elden Ring is locked to 60 FPS by the game.

Calculate FPS for any game with this pair

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580: specs at a glance

Part	Key specs	Platform	Power
Core i5-12400F	6 cores / 12 threads, Alder Lake (2022)	LGA1700, DDR4 / DDR5	65 W rated, up to about 117 W
Arc B580	12 GB GDDR6, Battlemage (Xe2) (2024)	XeSS 2 upscaling and XeSS Frame Generation	About 190 W board power

Manufacturer specifications. Maximum CPU power is AMD’s package power limit or Intel’s maximum turbo power.

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580: what to expect at each resolution

1080p

At 1080p the CPU bottleneck is 20%, so the Arc B580 will often run below full load. You will feel it most in fast multiplayer games and in 1% lows (stutter). Expect about 83 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 122 FPS in Fortnite and 288 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

1440p

At 1440p the pair is balanced (2% CPU), so both parts are well used. Expect about 59 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 87 FPS in Fortnite and 205 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

4K

At 4K the Arc B580 is the limit (25% GPU), which is normal and means you are getting the card’s full speed, unlike at 1080p. Expect about 34 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 51 FPS in Fortnite and 120 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High. For 4K, turn on DLSS, FSR or XeSS in Quality or Balanced mode.

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580: best upgrade for this build

This build is already near the limit of what the Core i5-12400F can feed. A faster graphics card would push the bottleneck onto the CPU, so upgrade both together next time. See the best GPU for the Core i5-12400F for the full list.

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580: power supply for this pair

The Core i5-12400F can draw up to about 117 W and the Arc B580 about 190 W. With 100 W for the rest of the system and 25% headroom, a good 550 W power supply (80 Plus Gold or better) is a safe choice. Use the PSU wattage calculator to include your exact drives, fans and overclocking.

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580: settings tips for this pair

Raise graphics settings and resolution: the GPU has spare power, the CPU does not. Higher settings cost almost no FPS here.
Use native resolution or DLAA / FSR Native AA instead of a Performance upscaling mode, which would only shift more load to the CPU.
Lower CPU-heavy settings: crowd density, object view distance, physics and simulation quality.
Turn on XMP or EXPO so the RAM runs at its rated speed, and use two sticks for dual channel.
Close browsers, launchers and overlays while gaming to free up CPU time.

Core i5-12400F + Arc B580: frequently asked questions

Does the Core i5-12400F bottleneck the Arc B580?

Only at 1080p. The Core i5-12400F limits the Arc B580 by 20% at 1080p, which mostly shows in high-frame-rate games. At 1440p (2% CPU) and 4K (25% GPU) the pair is balanced, so this is a good match for a 1440p monitor.

Is the Core i5-12400F good enough for the Arc B580 at 1440p?

Yes. At 1440p the bottleneck is 2% CPU, which is in the balanced range, so you get close to the card’s full speed.

How many FPS does the Core i5-12400F with the Arc B580 get?

On High settings we estimate about 87 FPS at 1080p and 64 FPS at 1440p on average across nine demanding games, for example 59 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p and 122 FPS in Fortnite at 1080p.

Should I upgrade the CPU or the GPU first?

The CPU. The graphics card already has spare power, so a faster GPU would add little until the processor is faster.

What power supply do I need for the Core i5-12400F and Arc B580?

About 550 W from a good brand with an 80 Plus Gold rating. That covers the CPU (up to about 117 W), the graphics card (about 190 W), the rest of the system and some headroom.

Core i3-12100F + Arc B58027% 1080p12% 1440p18% 4KSee full results Core i5-12400F + RTX 30608% 1080p12% 1440p33% 4KSee full results Core i5-12400F + RTX 406018% 1080p1% 1440p27% 4KSee full results Core i5-12400F + RTX 4060 Ti24% 1080p7% 1440p22% 4KSee full results Core i5-12400F + RTX 407029% 1080p16% 1440p15% 4KSee full results Core i5-12400F + RTX 506022% 1080p5% 1440p23% 4KSee full results

All CPU and GPU pair results

Keep exploring

Sources: Tom’s Hardware GPU hierarchy, Tom’s Hardware CPU hierarchy, TechSpot CPU and GPU scaling tests, TechPowerUp GPU database, and manufacturer specifications from AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. Bottleneck and FPS figures come from our own bottleneck and FPS models.