High On Life

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a starkly imbalanced configuration for High On Life, a 2022 FPS. The benchmark data shows the GPU is the dominant bottleneck, with the combo ranking in the bottom 12th percentile of all tested configurations. While the 12-core CPU offers immense headroom, the integrated graphics solution severely limits playability, making this a pairing that only functions at lower resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in High On Life?

A: The combo ranks 2608 out of 2958 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12th percentile of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 1482. It is 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710.

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved by this combination at 1080p?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 78 FPS, which was achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 1440p in High On Life?

A: No. The highest average frame rate at 2560x1440 is 55 FPS, which occurs on the Low preset. All other settings at this resolution produce average frame rates below 45 FPS.

Q: What is the performance delta between the Ryzen 9 5900X and its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X has an average benchmark score of 41376, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H's score of 41263.

Q: How much of a frame rate drop is observed between 1080p Low and 4K Low?

A: The average frame rate drops from 78 FPS at 1920x1080 Low to 33 FPS at 3840x2160 Low, representing a significant 58% reduction in performance.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the defining component in this system's High On Life performance. It is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and Panther Lake chip. The data shows its performance is extremely limited, with a benchmark percentile ranking of just 9th among all GPUs. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is a mere 1482, placing it in direct competition with legacy entry-level discrete GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, which it outperforms by only 2.7%.

In terms of specifications, the GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations pipelines. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores. Its boost clock is rated at 2500 MHz, and it operates with a power draw of 80 W. However, the most critical limitation is its memory configuration; the memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main memory (DDR4 for this CPU) rather than dedicated VRAM. The bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which further emphasizes its reliance on the rest of the system.

This shared memory architecture is a primary reason for the low frame rates in High On Life. The game's textures and assets must be stored in and accessed from system RAM, which is significantly slower than dedicated graphics memory. The lack of dedicated VRAM creates a severe performance bottleneck, particularly as resolution increases and memory pressure grows. The GPU's raw compute capabilities, rated at 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32, are entirely undermined by this memory constraint, making it unsuitable for a smooth gaming experience at higher detail levels.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and dramatic scaling pattern across resolutions, confirming the GPU as the performance limiter. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 78 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 55 FPS, a 30% decrease. At 4K Low, the average falls to 33 FPS, which is a further 40% drop from 1440p and a 58% drop from the 1080p baseline.

This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For example, on High settings, the average frame rate is 50 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. The scaling is nearly linear with the increase in pixel count, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The rendering pipeline is saturated by the sheer number of pixels, and the system's performance is directly proportional to the resolution workload. This behavior indicates that the CPU, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The Ryzen 9 5900X has ample headroom to feed frames to the GPU, but the Arc B390 simply cannot process them fast enough, especially as the pixel count increases.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall ranking for High On Life, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B390 sits at position 2608 out of 2958 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 12th percentile, indicating that the vast majority of systems tested will deliver better performance in this game. The high rank number is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which itself ranks in the 9th percentile against all other GPUs.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU performance is stark. The Ryzen 9 5900X is a high-end desktop processor, ranking in the 87th percentile against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 41376 puts it ahead of rivals like the Intel Core i7-14650HX (which it beats by 0.5%) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (which it beats by 0.3%). This is a processor with significant multi-threaded capability, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262 and a 3DMark max threads score of 10075. Conversely, the GPU is a low-power integrated solution.

This pairing creates a massive bottleneck that drags the entire system's gaming performance down. The data shows that while the CPU is capable of high-end computing tasks, its potential in gaming is entirely unrealized due to the GPU's limitations. The combo rank of 2608 is a direct reflection of this imbalance, showing that the system is only suitable for the least demanding gaming scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings for High On Life depend entirely on the target resolution and the user's tolerance for lower frame rates. The data shows that the system is only capable of providing a consistently playable experience at the lowest settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset is the only option that provides a comfortable frame rate, averaging 78 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 61 FPS, which is acceptable for some, but the High and Ultra presets fall to 50 FPS and 38 FPS respectively, which may feel less smooth in a fast-paced FPS. For a target of 60 FPS or higher, Low is the clear choice.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset averages 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, and High and Ultra drop to 35 FPS and 26 FPS respectively. None of these are ideal for a competitive FPS. At 3840x2160, the system is not capable of delivering a playable experience on any preset. The highest average is 33 FPS on Low, with Ultra dropping to a slideshow-like 16 FPS. For a smooth experience, users should stick to 1080p with the Low preset, or be prepared to accept significant compromises in visual quality and frame rate at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a complete breakdown of the average frame rates measured for this configuration in High On Life.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 78 FPS average
• Medium: 61 FPS average (52 FPS min, 70 FPS max)
• High: 50 FPS average
• Ultra: 38 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 55 FPS average
• Medium: 43 FPS average (36 FPS min, 49 FPS max)
• High: 35 FPS average
• Ultra: 26 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 33 FPS average
• Medium: 26 FPS average (22 FPS min, 30 FPS max)
• High: 21 FPS average
• Ultra: 16 FPS average

The data shows a clear and consistent degradation in performance as both resolution and settings increase. The only configuration that approaches a high refresh rate experience is 1080p with Low settings. The limited performance at 4K, where even the Low preset fails to hit 35 FPS, makes it unusable for this game. The provided min and max frame rates for the Medium preset at each resolution show a relatively tight band, suggesting consistent performance rather than intermittent stutters.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a high-end desktop processor that is vastly more powerful than what the Intel Arc B390 GPU can utilize in this gaming scenario. It features 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its performance is confirmed by a strong set of benchmarks, including a Geekbench multicore score of 14118 and a Passmark multithread score of 39002. The CPU's performance is further validated by its 87th percentile ranking against all CPUs.

In the context of High On Life, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls, and to prepare frames for the GPU to render. Given the GPU's low performance, the CPU is likely idle for a significant portion of the time, waiting for the GPU to catch up. This is evident from the resolution scaling behavior, which shows performance dropping with increasing resolution—a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's capabilities are far beyond what is necessary for this game, even at 1080p with a high refresh rate target.

The data suggests that if this CPU were paired with a more capable GPU, the frame rates in High On Life would be dramatically higher. The 5900X has more than enough single-threaded and multi-threaded performance to handle the game's demands. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GPU. The CPU's launch MSRP was $549, and it supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. However, none of this processing power can mitigate the GPU's fundamental inability to render the game at higher resolutions and settings.