Pc Building Simulator

Pc Building Simulator, a simulation title focused on the assembly and management of PC hardware, presents a unique benchmark scenario where the CPU is typically the dominant component. The data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B390, however, reveals a severe bottleneck that inverts this expectation. While the 12-core processor provides ample computational headroom, the integrated graphics solution of the Arc B390, which shares system memory, becomes the definitive limiting factor across all tested resolutions. This combination, ranking 2650th out of 3002 tested combos, demonstrates a fundamental mismatch where a top-tier CPU is hamstrung by an entry-level GPU, resulting in frame rates that are more indicative of integrated graphics performance than the powerful processor sitting beside it.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across the three tested resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—paints a clear picture of a GPU-bound scenario. At the "Low" settings preset, which is the least demanding on the graphics processor, the average FPS drops from 125 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p, a significant 36.8% reduction. Continuing to 4K (3840x2160), the average further plummets to 41 FPS, which is only 32.8% of the performance seen at 1080p. This steep and consistent decline with increasing pixel count is the classic signature of a system where the graphics processing unit is saturated and cannot keep up with the render workload.

The trend persists, albeit with a less dramatic percentage drop, at higher settings. At the "Medium" preset, the average FPS goes from 88 at 1080p to 56 at 1440p (a 36.4% decrease) and then to 29 at 4K (a 48.2% decrease from 1440p). Similarly, at "High" settings, the average FPS is 62 at 1080p, 39 at 1440p, and 21 at 4K. This consistent pattern, where performance is nearly halved with each major resolution step, strongly indicates that the Intel Arc B390's rendering capabilities are the primary constraint. The CPU, with its high core count and clock speeds, is not the bottleneck; it is waiting idly for the GPU to finish its work.

The implications of this scaling are clear. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see much smaller performance differences between resolutions, particularly at lower settings where the CPU workload remains relatively constant. Instead, the data shows that the GPU is working at its maximum capacity even at 1080p, and its performance degrades predictably as the pixel count increases. This means that for users of this specific combination, lowering the resolution is the single most effective way to increase frame rates, as it directly alleviates the pressure on the Arc B390. The 4K results, with an average FPS of 20-41 depending on settings, are largely unplayable for a smooth experience, while the 1080p results, ranging from 59 to 125 FPS, offer a much more viable range.

Settings Recommendations

Given the severe GPU bottleneck, the choice of settings preset becomes a critical lever for playability. The data shows a wide performance spread between the "Low" and "Ultra" presets, with the "Ultra" preset consistently producing the lowest frame rates. At 1080p, the "Ultra" preset averages 59 FPS, which is just barely above the "High" preset's 62 FPS and significantly below the "Medium" preset's 88 FPS. This suggests that the jump from "High" to "Ultra" yields minimal performance cost but also, based on the data, no measurable benefit in this specific configuration. The "Low" preset at 1080p, with an average of 125 FPS, provides more than double the performance of the "Ultra" preset.

For a playable experience, the "Medium" preset appears to be the optimal balance. At 1080p, it delivers an average of 88 FPS, which is a substantial improvement over the 62 FPS of the "High" preset and provides a much smoother experience than the 59 FPS of "Ultra". The "Medium" preset also provides a minimum FPS of 75 at 1080p, which suggests good frame pacing and fewer stutters compared to the lower average of the "High" and "Ultra" presets. Moving to 1440p, the "Medium" preset still manages an average of 56 FPS, which is acceptable for a simulation game, while the "High" and "Ultra" presets dip to 39 and 38 FPS respectively, which may feel less fluid.

At 4K, no preset provides a consistently good experience. The "Low" preset, with an average of 41 FPS, is the only one that approaches playability, while "Medium" (29 FPS), "High" (21 FPS), and "Ultra" (20 FPS) are all too slow for a smooth experience. The data strongly suggests that users should stick to 1080p or 1440p resolution. For 1080p, "Medium" is the recommended preset for a good balance of visual quality and performance, while "Low" can be used if higher frame rates are desired. For 1440p, "Medium" is the highest preset that maintains a reasonable average FPS, and "Low" is recommended for a more responsive experience. The "Ultra" preset, in this configuration, offers no tangible advantage and results in the lowest frame rates across all resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 provides the most playable frame rates across all settings presets. The average FPS at this resolution ranges from 59 on "Ultra" to 125 on "Low". The 2560x1440 results are playable on lower presets, while 3840x2160 results are generally too slow for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the "Ultra" preset compare to "High" in performance?

A: The performance difference between "Ultra" and "High" is minimal. At 1080p, "Ultra" averages 59 FPS compared to 62 FPS for "High". At 1440p, the difference is 38 FPS versus 39 FPS. This suggests that the "Ultra" preset provides no significant performance benefit over "High" in this configuration.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system for Pc Building Simulator?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation. If the CPU were the bottleneck, performance would be less dependent on resolution. The CPU's high benchmark scores further support this conclusion.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a balance of visuals and performance at 1080p?

A: The "Medium" preset appears to be the optimal choice. It delivers an average of 88 FPS at 1080p, which is a significant improvement over the 62 FPS of the "High" preset. It also has a minimum FPS of 75, suggesting more consistent frame delivery.

Q: Can this combination run the game at 4K resolution?

A: Technically yes, but the performance is poor. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 41 on the "Low" preset. All other presets average 29 FPS or lower, which is not a smooth gaming experience. It is not recommended for playable 4K performance.

Q: How does this PC combo rank compared to others tested for this game?

A: This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2650th out of 3002 tested combos for Pc Building Simulator. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, reflecting the significant performance limitation imposed by the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall ranking for this combination in Pc Building Simulator is 2650th out of 3002 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested, a stark indicator of its performance ceiling. The ranking is almost entirely a consequence of the Intel Arc B390's low performance, which sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The processor, in contrast, is a high-end part, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. This massive disparity in component performance classes creates a system where the GPU is a severe bottleneck, preventing the CPU from contributing its full potential to the game's frame rate.

This low ranking is particularly telling for a game like Pc Building Simulator, which is a simulation title that often relies more heavily on CPU performance for game logic and physics. However, the benchmark data shows that the rendering workload, even at 1080p, is enough to saturate the Arc B390. The result is that this combination performs more like a low-end system than the sum of its parts would suggest. The 2650th rank means that the vast majority of other tested combinations, even those with much weaker CPUs, are able to achieve higher frame rates in this game simply by having a more capable graphics processor. This highlights that for this title, the GPU selection is of paramount importance, and pairing a high-end CPU with a low-end GPU is an inefficient use of resources.

The ranking also serves as a warning against building a system with such a large component class imbalance. While the CPU provides excellent multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and Passmark multithread score of 54643, this power is left largely untapped in this gaming scenario. The game's performance is dictated by the GPU, and the ranking accurately reflects this reality. Users looking to improve their standing would need to replace the integrated graphics solution with a discrete GPU, which would completely change the system's performance profile.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has a total of 64 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it demonstrates its strength, scoring 32,172 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 22,174 in Geekbench multicore. Its processing power is further evidenced by a Passmark multithread score of 54,643 and a 3DMark max threads score of 13,929. These figures categorize it as a top-tier consumer CPU, capable of handling demanding multi-threaded workloads with ease.

However, in this specific benchmark for Pc Building Simulator, the CPU's role is largely secondary due to the GPU bottleneck. The measured frame rates do not reflect the CPU's capabilities. For instance, at 1080p with "Low" settings, the average FPS is 125, a number that is far below what this CPU could theoretically push if paired with a more powerful GPU. The game's logic and simulation aspects are likely well within the CPU's ability to handle, but the rendering pipeline is completely stalled by the Intel Arc B390. The CPU's high single-thread performance, scoring 2,253 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3,010 in Geekbench single-core, also does not translate into higher frame rates in this configuration.

The data suggests that the CPU is essentially waiting for the GPU at every frame. The performance scaling with resolution is a direct result of the GPU's workload, not the CPU's. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar frame rates at 1080p and 4K, as the CPU's workload would be the same. Instead, we see a dramatic drop, confirming that the processor is not the constraint. The CPU's role here is to provide the necessary instructions and data for the game to run, but its performance headroom is vast and unused. In systems where the GPU is not a bottleneck, this CPU would be expected to deliver significantly higher frame rates in this title, but the current pairing negates its potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the performance envelope for this combination. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: "Low" settings produce the highest average at 125 FPS. "Medium" settings deliver an average of 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 and a maximum of 102 FPS. "High" settings yield an average of 62 FPS, and "Ultra" settings produce the lowest average at 59 FPS. This shows a clear and consistent drop in performance as the settings preset increases in graphical demand.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are substantially lower. The "Low" preset averages 79 FPS. The "Medium" preset averages 56 FPS, with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 64 FPS. The "High" preset averages 39 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages 38 FPS. The performance at this resolution is roughly 60-65% of what it is at 1080p for the lower presets, and even less for the higher ones. This resolution is only really viable on the "Low" and "Medium" presets for a reasonably smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the performance is severely limited. The "Low" preset is the only one that achieves an average above 30 FPS, with a score of 41 FPS. The "Medium" preset averages 29 FPS, with a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 34 FPS. The "High" preset averages 21 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages 20 FPS. None of these results are indicative of a playable experience for a game that requires any degree of responsiveness. The data across all resolutions and settings shows a system that is consistently and heavily restricted by its graphics processor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its memory is "System Shared", meaning it uses a portion of the system's main memory for graphics operations, and its bandwidth is "System Dependent". It has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. Its compute capability is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. In a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, it scores 1482 points, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

This low percentile ranking is the single most important factor in understanding this system's gaming performance. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M, are all older, entry-level parts, confirming its position at the very bottom of the performance spectrum. In Pc Building Simulator, the GPU's role is to render every frame. The benchmark results show that it is simply not powerful enough to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions or settings. The drop from 125 FPS at 1080p "Low" to 41 FPS at 4K "Low" illustrates how quickly the GPU's limited fillrate and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by the increasing number of pixels.

The GPU's shared memory architecture is also a likely contributor to its performance limitations. Since it relies on system memory, which is slower than dedicated VRAM, it faces additional latency and bandwidth constraints. This is particularly impactful at higher resolutions where more memory is needed for the framebuffer. The data shows that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck in this system. Its performance dictates the frame rates at every resolution and settings preset, and its low overall ranking ensures that the combined system ranks poorly compared to others, regardless of the powerful CPU it is paired with. Upgrading this component would be the single most impactful change for improving performance in this game.