Overpower

The Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a playable but constrained experience in Overpower, with benchmark results indicating that the graphics card is the primary performance driver at lower resolutions while the aging six-core processor becomes increasingly relevant as resolution drops. The measured frame rates show a clear hierarchy across the four settings presets, with the data revealing that the Arc B570’s performance scales predictably with resolution, but the CPU’s six threads limit the ceiling at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Overpower shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly depending on the graphics preset. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 110 FPS, which drops to 98 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 84 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 23.6% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 14.3% reduction from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU still has headroom at the lower resolution. The relatively modest drop between 1440p and 4K at Low settings suggests that the CPU is beginning to limit performance even at 1440p, as the GPU has less work to do per frame.

At Medium settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p average is 69 FPS, which falls to 62 FPS at 1440p (a 10.1% drop) and then to 52 FPS at 4K (a 16.1% drop). This more uniform scaling across resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as settings increase, with the additional shading work at higher resolutions consuming the Arc B570’s bandwidth. The High preset shows a similar trend: 64 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p (10.9% drop), and 49 FPS at 4K (14.0% drop). The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, delivers 53 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p (11.3% drop), and 40 FPS at 4K (14.9% drop).

The key observation is that the gap between 1440p and 4K narrows as settings increase. At Low, the 4K frame rate is 85.7% of the 1440p frame rate, while at Ultra, it is 85.1%. This suggests that the CPU’s six cores and six threads are not the primary bottleneck at 4K, where the GPU is fully saturated. However, the 1080p to 1440p scaling tells a different story: at Low settings, the drop is sharp (12 FPS), indicating that the GPU is still the limiting component even at 1080p. The data shows that this combo is GPU-bound across all tested settings, with the Arc B570’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth providing sufficient throughput for the game’s assets.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 at Medium settings offers the best balance, with an average of 62 FPS and a minimum of 52 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, unlike the 4K Medium preset which averages 52 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 110 FPS, but the lack of hyper-threading means the CPU can become a limiting factor in CPU-bound scenarios, though the data shows the GPU is still the primary bottleneck across all presets.

Q: Is the Arc B570 capable of 4K gaming in this title?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 84 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 52 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for competitive play. The 4K Ultra preset is not recommended based on the measured results.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The Low preset averages 98 FPS, while Ultra averages 47 FPS, a performance deficit of 51 FPS. This represents a 52% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load on the GPU.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2373 out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the lower 20% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the mid-range nature of both components, with the CPU in the 47th percentile and GPU in the 65th percentile.

Q: Does the game favor the GPU or CPU in this setup?

A: The data indicates a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 110 FPS, and increasing resolution to 4K Low reduces this to 84 FPS, a 23.6% drop. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a graphics-limited workload, though the CPU’s six threads still provide adequate support.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache. In Overpower, the CPU’s role is to feed the Arc B570 with draw calls and physics data, and the measured results suggest it does so without becoming a hard bottleneck. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 place the CPU in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, indicating mid-pack performance for its generation.

The lack of hyper-threading is notable, as the six threads must handle all game logic and rendering overhead. However, the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (110 to 84 FPS) shows that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU would produce a flatter curve if it were the bottleneck. The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which scores 0.2% lower, and the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 0.4% higher. These tight margins indicate that the i5-9400 is competitive with other mid-range processors from its era.

At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 53 FPS, which is 48.2% lower than the Low preset’s 110 FPS. This significant drop is primarily due to the GPU’s workload increasing with higher settings, but the CPU’s six threads must also handle more complex scene geometry. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz helps maintain single-threaded performance, which is critical for game logic. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide adequate bandwidth for the CPU’s needs, though the 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is modest by modern standards.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2373 out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the 20th percentile of all configurations. This below-average ranking is consistent with the component-level percentiles: the CPU sits in the 47th percentile, and the GPU in the 65th percentile. The combo’s rank suggests that while the GPU is above average, the CPU drags down the overall performance in this title.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher score) and the Intel Arc A750 (0.1% lower score), indicating that the Arc B570 is competitive with a previous-generation mobile flagship. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% lower score) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% higher score), showing that the i5-9400 is comparable to other mid-range processors. However, in Overpower specifically, the combo’s rank of 2373 out of 2980 indicates that many other pairings outperform it, likely due to newer CPUs with higher thread counts.

The ranking reflects the measured FPS data, which shows the combo struggling to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Medium (52 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (47 FPS). At 1080p, the combo performs adequately, with 69 FPS at Medium and 64 FPS at High, but it falls short of the 110 FPS achieved at Low settings. This suggests that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates across most presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 69 FPS and a minimum of 59 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, and the minimum frame rate ensures no significant stuttering. The High preset at 1080p averages 64 FPS, which is also playable, but the Medium preset offers a 5 FPS improvement with only a modest reduction in visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the only option that maintains an average above 60 FPS, with 62 FPS and a minimum of 52 FPS. The High preset averages 57 FPS, which is close to the target but may experience occasional dips below 60 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p averages 98 FPS, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1440p offers a smooth experience, but Medium is the recommended compromise.

At 3840x2160, the data shows that only the Low preset achieves a playable frame rate, with an average of 84 FPS. The Medium preset averages 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and the High and Ultra presets are not recommended for competitive play. Users with 4K displays should either reduce the resolution to 1440p or accept the Low preset’s visual compromises. The Ultra presets at all resolutions deliver the lowest frame rates (53 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, 40 FPS at 4K) and are best avoided unless visual fidelity is the primary concern.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Overpower covers four settings presets across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 110 FPS, followed by Medium at 69 FPS (with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 79 FPS), High at 64 FPS, and Ultra at 53 FPS. The 41 FPS gap between Low and Medium settings at 1080p indicates that the Medium preset imposes a significant load on the GPU, likely due to additional texture filtering and shadow effects.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 98 FPS, which is 12 FPS lower than at 1080p. The Medium preset averages 62 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and maximum of 71 FPS. The High preset averages 57 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 47 FPS. The relative performance between settings at 1440p mirrors the 1080p data, with Low being 36 FPS faster than Medium and 51 FPS faster than Ultra. The minimum frame rates for Medium at 1440p (52 FPS) are only 3 FPS below the average, indicating consistent frame pacing.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 84 FPS, which is a 14 FPS drop from 1440p. The Medium preset averages 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS, showing a wider variation than at lower resolutions. The High preset averages 49 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. The 4K data reveals a 32 FPS difference between Low and Medium settings, which is smaller than at 1080p (41 FPS) and 1440p (36 FPS), suggesting that at 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor regardless of settings. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 40 FPS, is the lowest measured result and is not recommended for smooth gameplay.