Minecraft

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data for Minecraft with this Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 combination shows a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets. The recorded averages range from a low of 28 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 216 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating that this system's capability is heavily dependent on both resolution and graphical settings.

At 3840x2160, the measured results are the most constrained. The Low preset delivers an average of 71 FPS, which is the only setting at this resolution that clears the playable threshold. Medium drops to an average of 56 FPS, with recorded minimum and maximum values of 48 and 65 FPS respectively. High falls to 45 FPS average, while Ultra bottoms out at 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43 FPS, indicating a steep performance cost for the higher presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture improves substantially. Low reaches 136 FPS average, Medium sits at 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 and a maximum of 124, and High delivers 86 FPS. Ultra remains below the playable line at 54 FPS average. The spread between Low and Ultra here is 82 FPS, with every setting except Ultra exceeding the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, this combination becomes broadly capable. Low produces 216 FPS, Medium averages 171 FPS with a recorded range of 146 to 197, High hits 136 FPS, and even Ultra maintains 85 FPS. The minimum recorded frame rate at 1080p Medium is 146, which is well above the playable threshold. The delta from Low to Ultra is 131 FPS, showing that even the most demanding preset at this resolution leaves substantial headroom.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database verdict identifies the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS for each resolution. At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Low, which achieves an average of 71 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS line, and it does so with a modest margin of 11 FPS. Medium at 56 FPS and High at 45 FPS both fall short, so users targeting 4K must accept the lowest visual tier.

For 2560x1440, the best settings are High, delivering an average of 86 FPS. This represents a significant improvement over the 4K result, and it clears the playable threshold by 26 FPS. Medium at 108 FPS and Low at 136 FPS are also playable, but High is the most demanding preset that maintains 60 FPS or better, making it the recommended choice for visual quality at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which achieves 85 FPS average. This is the only resolution where every preset, including the maximum, is playable. Ultra clears the threshold by 25 FPS, and the margin grows to 76 FPS for High, 111 FPS for Medium, and 156 FPS for Low. The data suggests that 1080p is the natural operating point for this combination, as it can run the game at its highest settings without dropping below 60 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling between resolutions reveals how the CPU and GPU share the workload in Minecraft. At 1080p, the system delivers 216 FPS on Low and 136 FPS on High, which are high frame rates that suggest the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU efficiently at this resolution. The jump from 1080p to 1440p on High settings reduces the average from 136 to 86 FPS, a drop of 50 FPS or roughly 37%. This substantial decrease points to the GPU becoming the primary limiter as pixel count increases.

The transition from 1440p to 4K on High further reinforces this trend. The average falls from 86 to 45 FPS, a reduction of 41 FPS or about 48%. At 4K, even the Low preset only reaches 71 FPS, and Ultra falls to 28 FPS. The recorded data indicates that this Intel Arc B390, which ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. Its benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GT 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710, all of which are low-end parts.

The CPU, by contrast, shows its strength at lower resolutions. The Intel Core i5-9400 has six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 place it in the 47th percentile among all CPUs, roughly matching the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and Intel Core i3-10305. At 1080p, the high frame rates on Medium and Low suggest that the CPU can sustain the game's logic and rendering calls without bottlenecking the GPU. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K on identical presets shows that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities, rated at 60.00 GPixel/s and 7.680 TFLOPS FP32, are the limiting factors as resolution climbs.

The settings scaling also clarifies the component roles. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average from 216 to 85 FPS, a 131 FPS penalty. At 1440p, the same settings span drops from 136 to 54 FPS, an 82 FPS penalty. At 4K, the span is 43 FPS, from 71 to 28. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is saturated and the CPU has less influence on the frame rate. Conversely, the larger spans at lower resolutions suggest that the GPU has more headroom and the CPU's per-core performance, evidenced by the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 94, becomes more relevant.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Minecraft at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset. The recorded average at 3840x2160 on Low is 71 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 56 FPS, High to 45 FPS, and Ultra to 28 FPS, none of which are playable.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p?

A: The database recommends High settings at 2560x1440, which produces an average of 86 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Medium and Low are also playable at 108 and 136 FPS respectively, but Ultra falls short at 54 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at any resolution?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080. The Ultra preset delivers an average of 85 FPS, which is 25 FPS above the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 54 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it averages 28 FPS, both below the line.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710. It ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the minimum recorded frame rate across all tests?

A: The lowest minimum is 48 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 on Medium settings. The highest minimum is 146 FPS, recorded at 1920x1080 on Medium. Several presets lack recorded minimum values in the data.

Q: How does the CPU rank relative to other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 sits in the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minecraft, but the experience is strongly dependent on the target resolution. At 3840x2160, the system is playable only on Low settings, with a measured average of 71 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS threshold by a slim margin, and no other 4K preset reaches the line. Users who prioritize 4K will need to accept the lowest visual quality tier.

At 2560x1440, the system becomes more versatile. High settings deliver 86 FPS, which is the recommended configuration per the database. Medium at 108 FPS and Low at 136 FPS are also playable, offering options for higher frame rates. Ultra remains unplayable at 54 FPS, so maximum settings are off the table at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable. Ultra settings produce 85 FPS, and every preset from Low to High exceeds 136 FPS. The lowest recorded average at this resolution is 85 FPS, which is well above the playable line. This is the resolution where the combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 performs without compromise.

The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p is the strong point, 1440p is playable with High settings, and 4K is limited to Low. The data shows no scenario where the system fails to reach 60 FPS at 1080p, making it a viable machine for Minecraft at mainstream resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's tested combinations for Minecraft, this pairing of Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3282 out of 3710 total combos. This places it in the lower portion of the field, which is consistent with the GPU's low percentile ranking. The Intel Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, and its performance is comparable to several legacy NVIDIA parts, including the GeForce GT 520MX and GT 710.

The CPU, by contrast, is more mid-range. The Intel Core i5-9400 ranks in the 47th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 2254. This is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and Intel Core i3-10305, which score 2259 and 2264 respectively. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing; the GPU's low standing drags the overall combo rank down.

The rank of 3282 out of 3710 means that roughly 88% of tested combos outperform this one in Minecraft. This is a direct consequence of the GPU's modest capabilities, as evidenced by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. The system can still run the game at 1080p with high fidelity, but it cannot compete with combinations that feature more powerful graphics hardware. For users with this specific pairing, the practical takeaway is to target 1080p or 1440p with moderate settings, as the 4K experience is limited to the lowest preset.