Pc Building Simulator

# Pc Building Simulator: AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + Intel Arc B390

Pc Building Simulator, a 2019 Simulation title, shows a dramatic performance cliff when paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B390. The CPU is a top-tier 12-core Zen 5 part, but the GPU is an integrated-class solution with only 1536 shading units, and the benchmark data reflects that extreme imbalance. At 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates on Low settings, but by 4K, it falls below playability across the board. The data indicates a system where the Intel Arc B390 is the definitive bottleneck, holding back what is otherwise a high-end processor.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 125 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average drops to 79 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 41 FPS, which is 67% below the 1080p Low figure. This scaling pattern shows that the rendering pipeline is saturated by the GPU long before the CPU's capabilities become a factor.

The Medium preset tells a similar story. At 1080p, the average is 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 56 FPS (min 47, max 64). At 4K, the average plummets to 29 FPS with a narrow frame window of 25 to 34 FPS. The minimum-to-maximum spread tightens as resolution rises, which indicates the system is hitting a hard performance ceiling imposed by the graphics hardware. The 4K Medium result is barely above the threshold for a smooth experience, and the frame time consistency suggests no headroom for dips.

High settings show a similar descent: 62 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 59 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. The gap between High and Ultra is small at every resolution, with only a 3 FPS difference at 1080p and a 1 FPS difference at 4K. This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not the primary cost; the GPU is already overwhelmed by the base rendering load. The data points to a component that is simply not designed for high-resolution gaming, as the frame rate collapses below 30 FPS at 4K even on Low.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the clear limiting factor in this configuration. Its benchmark data shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low standing, and the nearest rivals confirm it. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, just 1.3% behind, while the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% behind), the GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% behind), and the GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% behind). The Arc B390 is effectively competing with decade-old entry-level discrete cards, which explains why it cannot sustain playable frame rates at higher resolutions.

The GPU's architecture is Xe3-LPG on Intel's 3 nm process, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz. It has 48 texture mapping units and 24 raster output units. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 7.680 TFLOPS. These specifications are modest, and the memory situation is unusual: the GPU uses system shared memory, with the bus width also listed as system shared and bandwidth dependent on the system. This means the Arc B390 has no dedicated VRAM, which is a severe handicap in a game like Pc Building Simulator that likely relies on texture storage and memory bandwidth.

The 4K results illustrate the GPU's limits. At 4K High, the average is 21 FPS; at 4K Ultra, it is 20 FPS. Even at 4K Low, the average is only 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target most gamers expect. The GPU's 12 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are irrelevant when the raw shading throughput is this low. The 1536 shading units are simply not enough to push pixels at 3840x2160, and the data confirms that this is a GPU for 1080p gaming at best, and only on lower presets.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is an entirely different class of hardware. It is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 47737, single-core hits 6739, and Geekbench multicore is 22884 with a single-core score of 3041. The CPU sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF at 55093 (-0.6% delta), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K at 54053 (+1.3% delta), the Intel Xeon 6505P at 53701 (+2% delta), and the Intel Core i7-14700F at 53620 (+2.1% delta). The 9900X3D is competitive with these parts, sitting right at the top of that group.

In Pc Building Simulator, the CPU's role appears to be largely underutilized. The frame rate data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and setting. At 1080p Low, the 125 FPS average could theoretically be limited by the CPU in some games, but the massive drop to 79 FPS at 1440p and 41 FPS at 4K indicates that the GPU is the sole constraint. The CPU has 128 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which are excellent specifications for simulation workloads. However, the measured FPS does not improve when the CPU has more headroom, which suggests Pc Building Simulator is not heavily multithreaded in this scenario.

The CPU's 24 threads and high boost clock would be an asset in a balanced system, but here they are wasted. The 3DMark scores for the CPU are impressive: single-thread 1269, 2-thread 2512, 4-thread 4885, 8-thread 9002, 16-thread 12490, and max-thread 13795. Passmark multithread is 56154. Yet none of this translates into higher frame rates because the GPU cannot keep up. The CPU is operating far below its potential, and the data suggests that any modern mid-range GPU would unlock significantly higher FPS in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Arc B390 ranks 2650th out of 3002 tested combos in Pc Building Simulator. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, which is a poor result given the high-end CPU. The rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU's low standing, as the CPU is in the top 10% of processors. This mismatch is glaring: a top-tier CPU paired with a bottom-tier GPU results in a system that performs worse than many mid-range combinations.

The GPU's percentile of 9 means it is in the bottom 9% of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all NVIDIA parts from a much older era. The GT 710, for example, is a famous low-end card, and the Arc B390 is only 2.7% faster. This context is crucial for understanding the combo rank. The CPU's 91st percentile standing does not compensate for the GPU's abysmal performance. In fact, the combo rank of 2650 out of 3002 is closer to the GPU's percentile than the CPU's, which confirms that the graphics card dictates the overall experience.

The data shows that this combo is not viable for serious gaming at 1440p or 4K. At 1080p, it can manage acceptable frame rates on Low and Medium, but the Ultra preset at 59 FPS is borderline. The rank of 2650 suggests that most other tested combinations, including those with far weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs, will outperform this setup. For a simulator game like Pc Building Simulator, where the player is often building and testing PCs, the visual fidelity matters, and this combo cannot deliver it at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 125 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Medium delivers 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS, which is still very playable. High delivers 62 FPS, which is acceptable for most players, while Ultra drops to 59 FPS, which is just at the edge of playability. For a consistent experience at 1080p, Medium is the sweet spot, as it offers a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining a comfortable frame rate cushion.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. Low delivers 79 FPS, which is good, but Medium drops to 56 FPS (min 47, max 64), which is borderline for a smooth experience. High and Ultra deliver 39 FPS and 38 FPS respectively, which are not recommended for gameplay. For 1440p, the Low preset is the only option that provides a consistently smooth experience. At 3840x2160, no preset is truly playable. Low delivers 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and Medium drops to 29 FPS (min 25, max 34), which is a slideshow. The data indicates that 4K should be avoided entirely with this combo.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium, which offers 88 FPS with a tight frame window (75-102 FPS). This provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. If the player prioritizes frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 125 FPS is the fastest option. For players who insist on 1440p, Low is the only viable preset. The Ultra preset is not worth the performance cost at any resolution, as it only offers a marginal visual improvement over High while sacrificing significant FPS (e.g., 62 to 59 FPS at 1080p).

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and preset for this combo in Pc Building Simulator?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with Medium settings delivers 88 FPS (min 75, max 102), which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p, only Low (79 FPS) is smooth, while 4K is not playable on any preset.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710 (1443). Its GPU percentile is 9, meaning it is in the bottom 9% of all GPUs.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU is in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737. The frame rate drops from 125 FPS at 1080p Low to 41 FPS at 4K Low, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU.

Q: Can this combo run Pc Building Simulator at 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 41 on Low settings, and Medium drops to 29 FPS (min 25, max 34). High and Ultra both average around 20-21 FPS, which is not playable.

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

A: It ranks 2650th out of 3002 combos in Pc Building Simulator. This poor rank is due to the GPU's low performance (9th percentile), despite the CPU's high standing (91st percentile).

Q: What is the highest FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 125 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The maximum FPS recorded in any measured row is 102, which occurs at 1080p Medium.