Assetto Corsa

Assetto Corsa, a racing simulation from 2014, remains a demanding title for low-power hardware. The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and Intel Arc B370 produces a playable but limited experience. The data shows this combo ranks 2669 out of 2897 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested combos. This is primarily due to the Intel Arc B370, which ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, creating a significant bottleneck. While the CPU is capable, the GPU holds the system back, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data clearly indicates that the Low preset is the only reliable choice for a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 106 FPS, which is the only tested configuration to break the 100 FPS threshold. This is a 41% improvement over the Medium preset's 75 FPS, making it the only setting that provides significant headroom above the standard 60 FPS target.

The Medium preset is a viable secondary option, but only at 1080p. The data shows an average of 75 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS, meaning it can hold a 60 FPS lock in most scenarios. However, this is a risky choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, as the minimum FPS is close to that target. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset drops to an average of 52 FPS and a minimum of 44 FPS, which is not consistently smooth and falls below the 60 FPS target.

The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for this hardware combination. At 1080p, the High preset averages 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, while Ultra averages 46 FPS. At 1440p, High averages 39 FPS, and at 4K, it drops to 24 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the worst-performing configuration, with an average of only 19 FPS.

For the best experience per the measured data, users should prioritize the Low preset at 1080p. If a higher visual fidelity is desired, the Medium preset at 1080p is the only other configuration that maintains an average FPS above 60. The data suggests that any attempt to play at 1440p or higher will require the Low preset, but even then, the 74 FPS average at 1440p is lower than the 106 FPS achieved at 1080p.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the defining component in this system's performance, and its limitations are evident throughout the data. The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. It features 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The GPU's performance is further constrained by its memory configuration, which is "System Shared". This means it has no dedicated VRAM and instead relies on system memory, making its bandwidth "System Dependent".

This shared memory architecture is a critical weakness. The GPU's performance is heavily dependent on the speed of the system's DDR4 memory, which has a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s for the CPU. This is a significant bottleneck for a GPU, especially at higher resolutions where the demand for memory bandwidth increases. The GPU's benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, confirming its entry-level status.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary limiting factor in this game. When comparing the 1080p Low preset (106 FPS) to the 1080p Ultra preset (46 FPS), the difference is 60 FPS, indicating that the GPU is struggling to process the increased graphical load of higher settings. The nearest rivals to the Arc B370, based on average benchmark scores, are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4%). This places the Arc B370 in a very low performance tier, comparable to integrated and entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly demonstrates the GPU bottleneck. At the Low preset, the average FPS decreases from 106 at 1920x1080 to 74 at 2560x1440, a 30% drop. It then falls further to 45 at 3840x2160, which is a 58% drop from the 1080p score. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is unable to handle the increasing pixel count.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. With the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 75 at 1080p to 52 at 1440p (a 31% drop) and then to 32 at 4K (a 57% drop from 1080p). The High preset shows a similar trend: 56 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p (a 30% drop), and 24 FPS at 4K (a 57% drop from 1080p). The Ultra preset goes from 46 FPS at 1080p to 32 FPS at 1440p (a 30% drop) and finally to 19 FPS at 4K (a 59% drop from 1080p).

The uniformity of these percentage drops, regardless of the settings preset, is a clear indicator that the limiting component is the GPU. The CPU is not the bottleneck; if it were, the FPS would not scale so dramatically with resolution. The data shows that the Arc B370 simply does not have the pixel-pushing power or memory bandwidth to maintain playable frame rates at 1440p or 4K, even on the Low preset. The 1080p resolution is the only viable option for this hardware, and even there, the user must choose between higher settings or higher frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is derived directly from the measured FPS table.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average FPS of 106. This is the highest score in the entire dataset and the only configuration to exceed 100 FPS.
• Medium: Average FPS of 75, with a minimum of 64 and a maximum of 86. This shows a playable range but with a minimum that is close to the 60 FPS target.
• High: Average FPS of 56. This is below the 60 FPS target, indicating a less smooth experience.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 46. This is the lowest score at 1080p, showing a significant performance hit for the highest settings.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average FPS of 74. This is a playable score but a 30% drop from the 1080p Low result.
• Medium: Average FPS of 52, with a minimum of 44 and a maximum of 60. The minimum FPS falls below the 60 FPS target, making this setting inconsistent.
• High: Average FPS of 39. This is a noticeable step down and is not suitable for smooth gameplay.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 32. This is a very low score, making the game difficult to play.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average FPS of 45. While technically playable, this is a significant drop from 1080p and is on the edge of smoothness.
• Medium: Average FPS of 32, with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 36. This is not a playable experience.
• High: Average FPS of 24. This is a slideshow-like frame rate.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 19. This is the lowest score in the entire dataset.

The data shows a clear hierarchy. The best experience is at 1080p with the Low preset. Users who prefer higher settings can try Medium at 1080p, but must accept the risk of frame drops below 60 FPS. All other configurations are either below the 60 FPS target or are entirely unplayable.

FAQ

Q: Can I play Assetto Corsa at 4K with this hardware?

A: Technically, yes, but the experience is not recommended. The best 4K result is an average of 45 FPS on the Low preset. All other settings at 4K produce average frame rates below 32 FPS, which is not a smooth or enjoyable experience.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS experience?

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, with an average of 106 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is the only other option with an average above 60 FPS, but its minimum FPS is 64, which is close to the target.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear limiting factor. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, with an average drop of about 58% in FPS. This resolution dependency indicates that the Intel Arc B370 is unable to keep up with the rendering demands.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: Based on average benchmark scores, the Arc B370 is statistically tied with several older, low-end GPUs. It is 0.2% slower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and ATI Radeon HD 5770, and 0.7% slower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M. It is 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000.

Q: What is the FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is 60 FPS. The Low preset averages 106 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 46 FPS. This large gap highlights the significant performance cost of the Ultra settings on this GPU.

Q: Is the Medium preset a good choice for this system?

A: It is a conditional choice. At 1080p, it provides an average of 75 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. However, its minimum of 64 FPS means it may not hold a steady 60 FPS in all situations. At 1440p and 4K, the Medium preset's average FPS falls to 52 and 32, respectively, making it a poor choice for those resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a capable 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. In the context of this game, the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, but the GPU's limitations become the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this assessment. In Cinebench R23, it scores 16429 points in multi-core and 2319 points in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 7976 multi-core and 1730 single-core. These scores place the CPU at the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a mid-range performer. In terms of its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 19593. It is 0.1% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617), 0.4% slower than the Intel Core i5-12500 (19668), 0.5% faster than the Intel Core i7-10700F (19499), and 0.7% slower than the Intel Core i5-11600KF (19723). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating that the CPU's performance is very much in line with its direct competitors.

For Assetto Corsa, a racing simulation that can be CPU-intensive with many AI cars, the Ryzen 5 5500 provides adequate processing power. The data shows that at 1080p with the Low preset, the system can achieve 106 FPS, which means the CPU is not holding back the frame rate in this scenario. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are sufficient for the game's demands. The 65W TDP and 7nm process node also indicate an efficient processor. The CPU is not the reason for the low frame rates at higher resolutions; that responsibility lies entirely with the Intel Arc B370. The data indicates that the CPU is a solid foundation for a budget system, but it is paired with a GPU that is too weak to take full advantage of it in this particular game.