Overpower

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a playable but constrained experience in Overpower, with performance that scales predictably with resolution and settings. The data shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the aging six-core CPU still holds its own at lower settings where frame rates climb. This combination ranks near the bottom of the tested pool, but the measured results reveal a clear path to a smoother experience through settings adjustments.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, indicating that the Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 65 at 1920x1080 to 58 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 11%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 cuts the average to 49, which is 25% below the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern shows that even at the lowest settings, the GPU cannot maintain performance when the resolution quadruples the pixel workload.

The Medium preset tells a similar story, with averages of 41 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K here is 24%, nearly identical to the Low preset’s drop. High settings show a slightly larger relative decline, moving from 38 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p and finally 28 FPS at 4K — a 26% loss from the lowest to highest resolution tested. Ultra settings follow the trend with 31 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K, a 23% drop.

What stands out is that the 1440p to 4K transition is consistently more punishing than the 1080p to 1440p step. For instance, on High settings, moving from 1440p to 4K costs 6 FPS, while the 1080p to 1440p step costs only 4 FPS. This nonlinear scaling suggests the Arc B370’s memory bandwidth, which is system dependent, becomes increasingly inadequate as the frame buffer demand grows. The measured minimums for Medium settings reinforce this: at 1080p the minimum is 34 FPS, at 1440p it drops to 31, and at 4K it falls to 26, showing that the worst-case frame times degrade faster than the averages.

The takeaway is that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo consistently exceeds 30 FPS across all presets, and even then, only Low and Medium achieve averages above 40. At 1440p and 4K, the system struggles to maintain a stable 30 FPS on anything above Low, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component once the resolution rises. The CPU’s role becomes more prominent at 1080p Low, where the 65 FPS average suggests the i5-9400 can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread Coffee Lake part with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its benchmark results place it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. In Cinebench R23, it scores 6629 multi-core and 935 single-core, while Geekbench shows 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. These figures indicate a processor that is competent for gaming but no longer competitive with modern mid-range parts.

In Overpower, the CPU’s influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 65 FPS. This is the highest result across all tested configurations, suggesting that at this setting, the GPU has enough headroom to let the CPU stretch its legs. However, the gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is significant — 65 FPS versus 41 FPS — which points to the GPU being the primary constraint even at this resolution. The i5-9400’s six threads are sufficient to avoid becoming a hard bottleneck, but the architecture’s age shows in the fact that it cannot push frame rates higher when paired with a GPU that ranks in the 5th percentile.

The nearest rivals for the i5-9400 include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which scores 2259 with a delta of -0.2%, and the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2264 with a delta of -0.4%. These are essentially identical performance levels, meaning the i5-9400 is not an outlier in either direction. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 with a delta of 0.4%, again showing negligible differences. This clustering suggests that the CPU is not the differentiator in Overpower; any of these processors would likely produce similar frame rates when paired with the same GPU.

The CPU’s 65-watt TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 42.7 GB/s are typical for its generation. The 9 MB shared L3 cache is adequate, but the lack of hyper-threading means the six cores handle six threads only. In a game like Overpower, which is an Action title from 2023, the data shows that the CPU can sustain 65 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU’s limitations cap performance at higher settings. The benchmark results indicate that the i5-9400 retains enough single-thread strength, as shown by its 935 Cinebench R23 single-core score, to avoid dragging down frame rates in this particular title.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is a 3 nm part based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, with a boost clock of 2400 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz. It features 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities include 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s. The GPU’s memory is system shared, meaning bandwidth is system dependent, which is a critical factor in how it performs across resolutions.

The Arc B370’s benchmark presence is minimal, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184. This places it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%). These are legacy parts from over a decade ago, which underscores how far behind the Arc B370 sits relative to modern GPUs. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 with a delta of -0.7%, and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 with a delta of 1.4%. The tight clustering of these scores, all within roughly 2% of each other, shows that the Arc B370 is entry-level in the extreme.

In Overpower, the GPU’s limitations are evident across every resolution. At 1080p, the Ultra preset yields just 31 FPS, while Low yields 65 FPS — a 34 FPS swing that demonstrates how sensitive this GPU is to settings changes. The system shared memory configuration means that the GPU competes with the CPU for bandwidth, which likely explains why the 4K results are so poor. At 4K Ultra, the average is 24 FPS, which is barely playable, and at 4K High it is 28 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 31 FPS is the only 4K configuration to exceed 30 FPS, and it does so narrowly.

The GPU’s texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s are modest figures that align with its low shading unit count. The 20 ROPs are particularly limiting for high-resolution rendering, as pixel throughput becomes a bottleneck. The 2400 MHz boost clock is respectable, but the architecture’s low absolute performance means that clock speed cannot compensate for the lack of raw compute resources. The data shows that the Arc B370 is the clear limiting factor in this combination, especially at 1440p and 4K, where even Low settings struggle to maintain 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination in Overpower?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets achieve at least 31 FPS. For a smoother experience, 1080p Low yields 65 FPS, while 1080p Medium yields 41 FPS.

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

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, slightly lower.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck in Overpower?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 65 FPS, suggesting the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU. At higher settings, the GPU’s limitations cap performance, so the CPU is not the primary bottleneck.

Q: What is the difference between 1080p and 4K performance at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 41 at 1080p to 36 at 1440p and 31 at 4K. The minimum FPS also falls from 34 at 1080p to 26 at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 2742 out of 2980 tested combinations in Overpower, placing it in the bottom 8% of systems.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average is 31 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 28 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 24 FPS. Only 1080p Ultra is marginally playable.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2742 out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the 92nd percentile from the bottom. This means that roughly 92% of tested systems outperform this pairing, which is consistent with the individual component rankings. The CPU sits at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, making the GPU the clear drag on the overall ranking.

The measured frame rates reinforce this low ranking. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 31 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold that many games target for smooth gameplay. At 4K Ultra, the 24 FPS average is firmly in slideshow territory. The system’s best result, 65 FPS at 1080p Low, is respectable but only achievable by sacrificing visual quality. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the Core i7-1068NG7 and Core i3-10305, would likely not change the ranking much, as their scores are within 0.4% of the i5-9400.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, all scoring between 1168 and 1192, are legacy parts that would likely perform worse in modern titles. The fact that the Arc B370 is only 0.2% faster than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 in the 3DMark test is telling. This ranking indicates that the combo is suitable for 1080p gaming at low to medium settings, but it is not competitive with even entry-level modern systems. The data does not lie: 2742 out of 2980 is a poor result, and users should temper expectations accordingly.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for this combo. For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1080p Medium is the recommended starting point, yielding 41 FPS on average with a minimum of 34 FPS. This is the only Medium preset across all resolutions that stays above 30 FPS at all times, making it the safest choice for a consistent experience. The 1080p High preset offers 38 FPS, a modest drop of 3 FPS, but the visual uplift may be worth it for some users who prioritize image quality over raw frame rate.

For users who demand smooth gameplay above all else, 1080p Low delivers 65 FPS, which is more than double the frame rate of 1080p Ultra. The 24 FPS gap between Low and Medium at 1080p (65 vs 41) suggests that the Low preset removes significant GPU load, likely by reducing shadow quality, texture resolution, and post-processing effects. This makes 1080p Low the only configuration that approaches the 60 FPS target, which is important for fast-paced action games where response time matters.

At 1440p, the options are limited. Low yields 58 FPS, which is playable, while Medium drops to 36 FPS and High to 34 FPS. Ultra at 1440p produces 28 FPS, which is not recommended. For 4K, the data shows that Low (49 FPS) is the only viable option, while Medium (31 FPS) is borderline and High (28 FPS) and Ultra (24 FPS) are too slow for comfortable play. Given these results, the optimal strategy is to play at 1080p with Medium settings for a balanced experience, or drop to Low if frame rate consistency is paramount. Avoid 4K unless you are willing to accept sub-30 FPS performance, as the system shared memory configuration simply cannot handle the bandwidth demands of 4K rendering.