Revolution Idle

Revolution Idle, an idle game from 2023, presents an unusual benchmark scenario where the installed hardware combination of an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Arc B390 produces heavily constrained frame rates. The measured results show a performance profile that is decidedly low-end, placing this combo at rank 2629 out of 2986 tested combinations. The data reveals a system that is severely limited by its graphics component, with frame rates that struggle to maintain playability even at lower resolutions, making this a case study in GPU-bound performance within a genre that typically demands very little from hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, a pattern that clearly identifies the graphics processor as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 62 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches a smooth experience. Moving up to 2560x1440 at the same Low settings, the average FPS drops to 39, a reduction of 23 FPS or roughly 37%. The scaling continues to 4K at 3840x2160, where the average falls further to 21 FPS, representing a 66% decrease from the 1080p baseline.

This scaling behavior is characteristic of a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel throughput. The frame rate penalty from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is even more punishing, indicating that the Intel Arc B390, with its 24 ROPs and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, simply lacks the raw fill rate and compute resources for higher resolutions. The data shows that for High settings, the progression is 45 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K. This consistent halving of performance with each resolution step-up points to a purely pixel-bound workload, where the CPU's role becomes negligible.

The limiting component is unambiguous. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is a capable modern desktop processor, but the benchmark results indicate that its performance headroom is irrelevant in this game. The FPS deltas between resolutions are far too large to be attributed to CPU limitations. The drop from 62 FPS at 1080p Low to 21 FPS at 4K Low is a 3x reduction in performance, a scaling curve that is the signature of a GPU hitting its memory bandwidth or shading limits. The Arc B390's memory is "System Shared" with "System Dependent" bandwidth, meaning it relies on the system's DDR5 memory, which is a further constraint that manifests at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600, built on the Zen 4 architecture, is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It features a 32 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU has a single-thread score of 999 in 3dmark and 1852 in Cinebench R23, with multi-thread scores of 6503 and 12735 respectively. Its average benchmark score of 26324 places it in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, and it sits just 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX in the nearest rivals comparison.

However, the measured FPS data for Revolution Idle tells a different story. The game, being an idle genre title, likely has minimal CPU thread requirements. The data shows that even at the lowest resolution and settings, the system only achieves 62 FPS, which is not a frame rate that suggests any sort of CPU bottleneck. If the Ryzen 5 7600 were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar FPS across different resolutions, as the CPU workload would remain constant. Instead, the FPS scales dramatically with resolution, confirming that the CPU is not a constraint in this scenario.

The CPU's role here is to feed the GPU with enough data, and given its high single-thread performance (3910 in Passmark single-thread), it is more than capable of handling the game's logic. The data indicates that the processor is effectively idle, waiting on the GPU to render each frame. The fact that the combo ranks at 2629 out of 2986, despite having a top-quartile CPU, underscores that the overall performance is dragged down entirely by the GPU. The Ryzen 5 7600's potential is untapped, as the game's frame rate is dictated by the graphics pipeline, not the processor's ability to calculate game state.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a steep performance decline across all settings as resolution increases. For example, at Low settings, the average FPS goes from 62 at 1920x1080 to 39 at 2560x1440, and then to 21 at 3840x2160. This pattern indicates that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component, as its pixel throughput and fill rate are insufficient for higher resolutions, causing the frame rate to be directly tied to the number of pixels being rendered.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 a bottleneck for this game?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12735 and a single-core score of 1852, are robust. However, the measured FPS scaling with resolution shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain constant regardless of resolution. The data shows a clear GPU-bound scenario, where the processor is waiting on the graphics card.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p playability?

A: According to the measured data, the only configuration that achieves a playable frame rate is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 62 FPS. All other presets at 1080p fall below 60 FPS, with Medium at 47 FPS, High at 45 FPS, and Ultra at 29 FPS. Therefore, Low settings at 1080p is the only viable option for a smooth experience.

Q: How does this combo's performance compare to other hardware combinations?

A: The combo ranks at 2629 out of 2986 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems. This low ranking is primarily due to the Intel Arc B390's performance, which is in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score of 1482 in 3dmark Steel Nomad is just 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B390 a discrete graphics card?

A: No. The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP), as indicated by its bus interface and slot width. It is part of the Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture. Its memory is "System Shared," meaning it uses the system's main memory rather than having its own dedicated VRAM, which contributes to its performance limitations.

Q: Does the game use multiple CPU cores effectively?

A: The data does not show a direct measurement of core utilization, but the performance pattern suggests it does not rely on many cores. The Ryzen 5 7600 has 6 cores and 12 threads, and its 3dmark scores show decent multi-threading (6503 for max threads). However, given that the FPS is so low and GPU-bound, the game likely only uses a single thread or a few threads for game logic, leaving most of the CPU idle.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates across all tested configurations provides a detailed look at the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system shows its best performance. The Low settings preset achieves an average of 62 FPS, which is the highest average recorded for this combo. The Medium preset follows with 47 FPS, showing a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. The High preset drops to 45 FPS, while the Ultra preset manages only 29 FPS. These numbers indicate that even at 1080p, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates, with only the Low preset crossing the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably. The Low preset averages 39 FPS, which is a significant drop from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 30 FPS, with a minimum of 25 FPS and a maximum of 34 FPS. The High preset drops to 28 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 18 FPS. The trend shows that no preset at 1440p can achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience, and even the Low preset is borderline playable at best.

At 3840x2160, the system is severely challenged. The Low preset averages just 21 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable playability. The Medium preset averages 16 FPS, with a minimum of 13 FPS and a maximum of 18 FPS. The High preset averages 15 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to a mere 9 FPS. These results show that 4K resolution is not a viable option for this hardware combo in Revolution Idle, as even the lowest settings produce frame rates that are too low for a responsive experience. The data suggests that the system is best suited for 1080p gaming with reduced graphical settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the clear performance limiter in this configuration. It is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its specifications include 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and can boost up to 2500 MHz. Its theoretical performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s.

The GPU's memory configuration is a major drawback. It uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM and instead relies on the system's main memory. The bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which in this case is the dual-channel DDR5 memory of the Ryzen 5 7600 platform. However, shared memory access introduces latency and bandwidth contention, which is reflected in the poor performance at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth demands increase.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which it outperforms by only 1.3%, and the GeForce GT 710, which it beats by 2.7%. These comparisons highlight the GPU's low-end positioning. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the system cannot achieve playable frame rates at any resolution above 1080p with moderate settings. The GPU's 12 RT cores are present, but they do not help in this title, as the game is likely not using ray tracing. The GPU's role is to render simple 2D or light 3D scenes, but even that task proves too demanding at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only configuration that provides a playable experience is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which achieves an average of 62 FPS. This is the sole preset that reaches or exceeds the 60 FPS mark that is generally considered the target for smooth gameplay. While 62 FPS is not exceptionally high, it is sufficient for an idle game, where the action is not fast-paced and frame drops are less noticeable.

All other settings at 1080p result in sub-60 FPS averages. The Medium preset at 47 FPS and the High preset at 45 FPS are close, but they represent a 25% and 27% performance decrease respectively compared to Low. The Ultra preset at 29 FPS is not recommended, as it nearly halves the frame rate of the Medium preset. For a game like Revolution Idle, where the visual difference between Low and Ultra is likely minimal due to the genre's simple graphics, the performance penalty of higher settings is not justified.

At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, no settings preset provides a playable frame rate. The highest average at 1440p is 39 FPS on Low, which is still below the 60 FPS target and would result in a noticeable lack of smoothness. At 4K, the best case is 21 FPS on Low, which is unplayable. Therefore, the recommendation is clear: users should run the game at 1920x1080 with Low settings to get the best experience. If the user insists on higher resolutions, they must accept significantly reduced frame rates, which the data shows to be below acceptable levels. The data suggests that the system is only suitable for 1080p gaming in this title, and even then, compromises on visual quality are necessary.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Arc B390 ranks at position 2629 out of 2986 tested combos for Revolution Idle. This ranking places it in the bottom 12% of all systems, indicating that it is one of the weaker configurations for this game. The low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU is a high-performing part in its own right.

The CPU, with its 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 26324, is a strong component. It outperforms the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX by 0.2% and the Intel Core i9-11900KF by 0.4%. However, the GPU's 9th percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 1482, which is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, drags the entire combo down. The GPU's performance is more comparable to entry-level discrete cards from over a decade ago, which explains why the combo ranks so poorly.

The disparity between the CPU's and GPU's performance levels is stark. The system has a top-quartile processor paired with a bottom-decile graphics solution. This imbalance means that the CPU's potential is completely wasted in this game, as the GPU is unable to render frames fast enough to utilize the CPU's processing power. The combo's rank of 2629 out of 2986 shows that there are only 357 tested combinations that perform worse, underscoring how limited this system is for gaming. The data indicates that this combo is not suitable for any modern gaming beyond the most basic titles at low resolutions and settings.