Overpower

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a unique configuration for the 2023 action title Overpower, where the data indicates a severe bottleneck caused by the integrated graphics processor. Benchmark results show this combination ranks at 2,638 out of 2,980 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems, with the GPU's performance percentile at 9% compared to all other graphics cards.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall ranking of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + Intel Arc B390 combination in Overpower?*

A: The combo ranks 2,638 out of 2,980 tested combinations, placing it in the 11th percentile overall. This indicates that the vast majority of tested systems deliver higher frame rates in this game.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1,482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, which is 1.3% higher than the GT 520MX's score of 1,463. This places the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, showing it operates at an entry-level performance tier.

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved at 1920x1080 resolution?

A: The highest average FPS at 1080p is 72, achieved with Low settings. This represents a significant jump from the 45 FPS average seen at Medium settings, indicating that Low settings are required for smoother gameplay.

Q: Does the Arc B390 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The memory configuration is listed as "System Shared" for size, type, and bus width, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the system's DDR5 memory rather than having its own dedicated video memory.

Q: What is the boost clock speed of the Intel Arc B390?

A: The GPU has a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 7900X perform relative to the Intel Core i7-14700F in average benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X has an average benchmark score of 53,288, which is 0.6% lower than the Core i7-14700F's score of 53,620. The Ryzen 9 7900X sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

How This Combo Ranks

The data positions this configuration at rank 2,638 out of 2,980 tested combos in Overpower. This is a remarkably low standing, placing the system in the bottom 11.5% of all tested configurations. The ranking is primarily attributable to the Intel Arc B390, which sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU itself is in the 91st percentile. This extreme discrepancy between component tiers creates a situation where the processor's capabilities are almost entirely irrelevant to the final frame rates.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 1,482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it alongside other legacy or entry-level parts. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1,463 (1.3% lower), while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1,443 (2.7% lower). This cluster of scores demonstrates that the Arc B390 is competing with decade-old discrete GPUs and low-end integrated solutions, which directly explains the low combo rank. The CPU's position in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53,288, contrasts sharply with the GPU's 9th percentile standing, confirming that the graphics component is the limiting factor in this pairing.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a 3 nm process node. It features 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation pipelines, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts to 2500 MHz, producing a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS.

Critically, the memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and size are all listed as "System Shared," and bandwidth is "System Dependent." This architecture relies on the Ryzen 9 7900X's dual-channel DDR5 memory, which has a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. However, sharing this bandwidth between CPU and GPU operations creates contention, particularly at higher resolutions where memory pressure increases. The GPU's 80 W TDP and IGP slot width confirm it is designed for basic graphical output rather than gaming performance, and the benchmark scores reflect this positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear hierarchy across settings. Low settings deliver an average of 72 FPS, which is the only playable result at this resolution. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS average, with a minimum of 38 and maximum of 52. High settings produce 42 FPS average, while Ultra settings yield 35 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium is 27 FPS, whereas the gap between Medium and High is only 3 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades further. Low settings average 64 FPS, representing a 12.5% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 40 FPS (minimum 34, maximum 46), High settings average 37 FPS, and Ultra settings average 31 FPS. The pattern remains consistent, with Low settings providing the only average above 60 FPS. The difference between Medium and High narrows to just 3 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 6 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results become largely unplayable. Low settings average 54 FPS, which is a 25% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 34 FPS (minimum 29, maximum 39), High settings average 32 FPS, and Ultra settings average 26 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows an average loss of approximately 15% across settings, with the GPU struggling to maintain even 60 FPS at the lowest settings. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions (38 at 1080p, 34 at 1440p, 29 at 4K) indicate frame time consistency deteriorates as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael), manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 170 W. The processor includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 64 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, providing 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate strong multi-threaded performance. Cinebench R23 multicore scores 29,300, while the single-core score is 2,016.5. Geekbench multicore reaches 19,267, and single-core is 2,617. PassMark multithread scores 51,406, with single-thread at 4,238. The 3DMark tests show scores of 12,536 for max threads, 10,972 for 16 threads, 7,798 for 8 threads, and 4,151 for 4 threads.

In the context of Overpower, the CPU's role is minimal. The measured frame rates are entirely constrained by the GPU. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and its position against rivals like the AMD EPYC 7313P (0.2% higher score) and Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (0.3% lower score) confirm it is a high-end processor. However, the Arc B390 cannot utilize this computational headroom. The system's bottleneck is so severe that the CPU likely spends most of its time idle, waiting for the GPU to render frames.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear directive for users of this configuration. At 1920x1080, Low settings are the only viable option for smooth gameplay, delivering 72 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but falls short of the 60 FPS target. High and Ultra settings at 42 and 35 FPS respectively are not recommended for action gameplay, where frame pacing is critical for responsiveness.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation becomes more restrictive. Low settings deliver 64 FPS, which is acceptable, but any other preset falls below 40 FPS. Medium settings at 40 FPS average, with minimums of 34 FPS, would introduce noticeable stutter during intense action sequences. High and Ultra at 37 and 31 FPS are unsuitable. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only achieve 54 FPS, and the minimum frame rate at Medium is 29 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play.

The optimal experience is therefore locked to 1080p with Low settings. This configuration provides the only average above 60 FPS and avoids the minimum FPS drops seen at Medium settings (which bottom out at 38 FPS). Users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate might consider Medium settings at 1080p for the 45 FPS average, but the data suggests this comes with a significant performance penalty relative to the visual improvement.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU's fundamental limitations. At Low settings, the progression is 72 FPS at 1080p, 64 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. This represents a 11.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 15.6% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 25%. For Medium settings, the averages are 45, 40, and 34 FPS, showing drops of 11.1% and 15% respectively. High settings go from 42 to 37 to 32 FPS, with drops of 11.9% and 13.5%. Ultra settings range from 35 to 31 to 26 FPS, with drops of 11.4% and 16.1%.

The consistent pattern of approximately 11% loss from 1080p to 1440p and 15% loss from 1440p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. A CPU-bound scenario would show smaller percentage drops at higher resolutions, as the GPU would be less stressed. Here, the scaling is relatively uniform across settings, which is characteristic of a GPU that is already at its computational limit. The system-shared memory architecture compounds this issue, as higher resolutions require more memory bandwidth, which the shared DDR5 system memory must provide while also serving the CPU. The Ryzen 9 7900X's 83.2 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient to feed the GPU at 4K resolutions, further constraining performance. The data shows that this combination is only viable for 1080p gaming at the lowest settings, and any resolution increase or setting adjustment results in a disproportionate frame rate penalty.