Roblox

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a curious case for running Roblox. The data places this combination in a specific performance tier, and the measured results reveal a clear story about how resolution and settings impact the experience. This analysis breaks down the recorded FPS, contextualizes the ranking, and examines the roles of the CPU and GPU based solely on the database metrics.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a predictable pattern: performance scales inversely with resolution, and the gap between settings presets widens as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the combo is comfortably fast across all presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 171 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the entire dataset. Medium averages 155 FPS with a minimum of 132 and a maximum of 179. High drops to an average of 137 FPS, while Ultra still holds an average of 111 FPS. Notably, the minimum and maximum values are only recorded for the Medium preset at this resolution, indicating that the other presets did not have those metrics logged.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the cost of higher pixel counts. Low averages 114 FPS, Medium averages 104 FPS with a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 119. High averages 92 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 33% on Low, from 171 to 114 FPS, and about 33% on Ultra, from 111 to 74 FPS. This suggests a fairly linear scaling penalty with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. The Ultra preset falls to an average of 42 FPS, which is below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. High averages 52 FPS, also below the threshold. Medium averages 59 FPS, just one frame shy of the 60 FPS target, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 67. Only the Low preset clears the threshold, averaging 64 FPS. The data shows that at 4K, the combo is only viable on the lowest settings, and even then, the margin is slim.

The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the spread is 132 to 179 FPS; at 1440p, it is 88 to 119 FPS; and at 4K, it is 50 to 67 FPS. This indicates that frame pacing becomes less stable as resolution increases, with the gap between minimum and average widening.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in the database for Roblox is 3289 out of 3711 tested combinations. This places it in the lower 11% of all tested systems. The percentile rankings for the individual components confirm this position: the Intel Core i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, while the Intel Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The GPU is clearly the limiting factor in this pairing, as its percentile rank is far lower than the CPU's.

Despite the low overall rank, the measured FPS at 1080p and 1440p is quite high, exceeding 60 FPS on all presets. This suggests that Roblox is not a particularly demanding title for this hardware at those resolutions. The rank likely reflects the GPU's weakness at higher resolutions, particularly 4K, where it fails to maintain playable frame rates on most presets. The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, where it performs well above the playable threshold, but it struggles to keep up with other combos in the database when pushed to 4K.

The average benchmark score for the CPU is 2254, and the GPU's average benchmark score is 1482. These are the only aggregate scores available, and they provide a baseline for comparison. The CPU's score is near the middle of the pack, while the GPU's score is very low, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU is the bottleneck for demanding workloads.

Similar Performance Alternatives

According to the database, the nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-9400 are all within a narrow performance band. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower, and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. These deltas are all under half a percent, meaning any of these CPUs would behave nearly identically to the i5-9400 in Roblox. The choice between them would come down to platform features rather than raw performance.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are much older and weaker parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% higher than the Arc B390's 1482. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower. These are all entry-level GPUs from many generations ago. The data suggests that the Arc B390 is roughly on par with these legacy parts in terms of raw score, which explains its low percentile ranking. In practice, however, the Arc B390 supports modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which the older parts do not, so real-world behavior in Roblox could differ despite similar scores.

If a user were to swap the i5-9400 for any of its rivals, the FPS in Roblox would be virtually unchanged, given the sub-1% score differences. Swapping the Arc B390 for a GT 710 or GT 625 OEM would likely produce similar average FPS, but the lack of modern API support could introduce stuttering or compatibility issues that are not captured in the average score.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear from the data. At 1920x1080, this combo can run Roblox at Ultra settings with an average of 111 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets at this resolution are playable. At 2560x1440, the combo also clears the threshold on all presets, with Ultra averaging 74 FPS. This makes 1440p Ultra a viable option.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more restrictive. Only the Low preset is playable, averaging 64 FPS. Medium averages 59 FPS, which is just below the threshold, and High and Ultra are both below 60 FPS. The recorded data indicates that 4K gaming requires the lowest settings to maintain a playable frame rate. The verdict states that the best settings at 4K are Low, with an average of 64 FPS.

In summary, this PC can run Roblox at 1080p and 1440p with maximum settings and high frame rates. It can also run at 4K, but only on Low settings, and even then, the average FPS leaves little headroom.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Roblox at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 42, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The only playable setting at 4K is Low, which averages 64 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 74 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at that resolution.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rival, the GT 710?

A: The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which is 2.7% higher than the GT 710's score of 1443. The performance difference is small, but the Arc B390 supports newer APIs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, all presets exceed 100 FPS on average, with Low reaching 171 FPS. The GPU's low percentile rank (9th) suggests it is the limiting factor, but the FPS is still high enough that the CPU's 47th percentile rank is not a concern.

Q: What average FPS does the Medium preset produce at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 averages 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 67. This is just one frame below the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Roblox?

A: It ranks 3289 out of 3711 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 11% of all tested systems.

Best Settings per Resolution

At each resolution, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is the recommended choice. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 111 FPS, so it is the best setting. For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS, also the best setting. For 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 64 FPS, which is the only preset that clears the threshold. The Medium preset at 4K averages 59 FPS, just below the threshold, so it is not recommended despite being close.

The data shows a clear progression: at 1080p, there is ample headroom to run Ultra with a 51 FPS margin above the threshold. At 1440p, the margin shrinks to 14 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the margin is only 4 FPS on Low, indicating that the system is near its limit at that resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU as resolution changes. At 1920x1080, the CPU is more likely to be the primary driver of performance, as the GPU is not heavily taxed at lower pixel counts. The average FPS on Low is 171, which is very high, and the drop to Ultra is 60 FPS, from 171 to 111. This 35% reduction suggests that the GPU is becoming more involved as settings increase, but the CPU still has headroom.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more prominent. The drop from Low to Ultra is 40 FPS, from 114 to 74, which is a 35% reduction. The absolute FPS values are lower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is working harder to fill the additional pixels. The CPU's performance is likely sufficient, as the frame rates remain above 60 FPS on all presets.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor. The average FPS on Low is 64, and on Ultra it is 42, a 34% reduction. The GPU's low percentile rank (9th) and its system-shared memory architecture suggest that it is overwhelmed by the 4K pixel count. The CPU's performance, while not top-tier, is not the limiting factor here, as the frame rates drop uniformly across presets, which is a signature of GPU-bound rendering.

The scaling between resolutions supports this interpretation. Moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS on Low from 171 to 114, a 33% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS on Low from 114 to 64, a 44% drop. The larger drop at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is running out of capability, while the CPU remains capable of feeding it frames. Therefore, the database suggests that the GPU is the primary constraint for this combo in Roblox, especially at 4K, while the CPU is sufficient for the lower resolutions.