Revolution Idle

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the Intel Arc B390 is ranked 2629th out of 2986 tested combinations in Revolution Idle, placing it in the bottom 12% of all tested combos. This is a remarkably low standing for a system built around a 14-core, 20-thread desktop processor that sits in the 90th percentile against all CPUs. The bottleneck is overwhelmingly the graphics side: the Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution that ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482 that places it in the company of decade-old discrete mobile parts. The data shows a profound imbalance, where a top-decile CPU is dragged down by a GPU that performs at roughly the level of a GeForce GT 710, which trails the Arc B390 by just 2.7% in average score. In practical terms, this combo delivers playable frame rates only at 1080p with Low settings, and even then it barely crosses the 60 FPS threshold, making it a poor match for a game that is otherwise not demanding on paper.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2629 out of 2986 tested combinations reflects a system that is fundamentally constrained by its weakest link. Benchmark results indicate that the Intel Core i5-14600K is a high-performing CPU, sitting in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, which scores 48698 and is just 0.2% faster, and the AMD EPYC 4345P, which scores 48470 and is 0.3% slower. The CPU is clearly not the issue. The GPU, however, is a different story entirely. The Intel Arc B390 scores just 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it in the 9th percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3% slower), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% slower), and the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% slower). This puts the Arc B390 in the same performance class as entry-level mobile GPUs from over a decade ago. The combination of a 90th-percentile CPU with a 9th-percentile GPU produces a net result that is far below what either component would suggest individually. The measured frames per second confirm this: at 1080p Ultra, the system manages only 29 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 9 FPS. This rank is a clear indictment of the GPU’s inability to keep pace with the CPU’s potential.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is built on the Xe3-LPG architecture, specifically the Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) generation, and it operates as an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 3 nm process node. Its base clock is 300 MHz, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz, and it features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations pipelines. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with the bus width and bandwidth also marked as system-dependent, meaning the GPU relies on the host system’s memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a critical limitation for gaming, as the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck in scenarios that demand high data throughput. The GPU’s raw compute figures are modest: it delivers 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 15.36 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (at 2:1 ratio), with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The TDP is just 80 W, and it has no power connectors, reinforcing its status as an integrated solution. In Revolution Idle, the GPU’s limitations are stark. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 47 FPS, but this drops to 16 FPS at 4K Medium. The data shows a GPU that is barely capable of 1080p gaming at low-to-medium settings, and its performance collapses entirely at higher resolutions. The 9th percentile ranking among GPUs, alongside rivals like the GeForce GT 710, underscores that this is not a gaming-oriented part.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound system. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 62 FPS, which is the only setting and resolution combination that reaches a smooth 60 FPS target. Moving to 1440p Low, the average FPS falls to 39, a 37% reduction from 1080p Low. At 4K Low, it drops further to 21 FPS, which is a 66% reduction from the 1080p Low baseline. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. For High settings, the system delivers 45 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K. Medium settings show 47 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the worst, with 29 FPS at 1080p, 18 FPS at 1440p, and just 9 FPS at 4K. The consistent halving of performance from 1080p to 1440p, and then again from 1440p to 4K, indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU work per frame does not scale with pixel count. Instead, the sharp decline shows that the Arc B390’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by increasing resolution. The data strongly suggests that this combo should be used at 1080p, and even then, only at Low or Medium settings for a playable experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in Revolution Idle?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 62, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only tested configuration that reaches or exceeds 60 FPS. All other settings and resolutions produce lower frame rates, with 1080p Medium at 47 FPS being the next best.

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

A: The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which places it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710 (1443). These are all very low-end GPUs, and the margins are minimal.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600K a strong processor relative to other CPUs?

A: Yes. The i5-14600K sits in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. It is 0.2% slower than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698) and 0.3% faster than the AMD EPYC 4345P (48470), indicating it is a top-tier processor in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among tested systems in this game?

A: The combo ranks 2629th out of 2986 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested combos, a result that is heavily influenced by the GPU’s low performance rather than the CPU’s capability.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B390 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," meaning the GPU uses the host system’s memory. The memory bandwidth is also marked as "System Dependent," which means its performance varies based on the system’s memory configuration.

Q: What are the clock speeds of the Intel Arc B390?

A: The base clock is 300 MHz, and the boost clock is 2500 MHz. These clocks are relatively low for a modern GPU, and combined with the system-shared memory, they contribute to the GPU’s limited gaming performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has an integrated UHD Graphics 770, though the system under test uses the discrete Arc B390 instead. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU performs strongly: it scores 24491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2064 in single-core, 13709 in Cinebench R20 multi-core and 1935 in single-core, and 16673 in Geekbench multi-core with 2491 in single-core. Its Passmark scores are equally robust, with a multithread score of 38682, a single-thread score of 4270, and strong results in integer math (125737) and floating-point math (92794). The CPU’s performance in Revolution Idle, however, is largely irrelevant because the game is not CPU-intensive. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 62, which is a reasonable frame rate, but the CPU’s power is untapped because the GPU cannot keep up. At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 9, which is a GPU limitation, not a CPU one. The CPU’s 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks or streaming, but in this specific game, the data shows that the GPU is the sole bottleneck. The CPU’s 90th percentile ranking and its proximity to rivals like the Xeon Gold 5318H (0.2% slower) and EPYC 4345P (0.3% faster) confirm that it is not the limiting factor in this combo.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only configuration that delivers a smooth experience is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which achieves an average of 62 FPS. This is the recommended setting for any user seeking a playable frame rate. If visual quality is a priority, 1080p Medium is a viable alternative, with an average of 47 FPS and a minimum of 40 FPS, which is still within an acceptable range for an idle game. 1080p High drops to 45 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth. 1080p Ultra is not recommended, as it falls to 29 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold for comfortable play. At 1440p, the situation worsens. Low settings produce 39 FPS, Medium produces 30 FPS, High produces 28 FPS, and Ultra produces 18 FPS. None of these are ideal, but Low is the only one that approaches playability. At 4K, all settings are effectively unusable, with Low at 21 FPS, Medium at 16 FPS, High at 15 FPS, and Ultra at 9 FPS. The data indicates that this combo is strictly a 1080p machine for Revolution Idle. The best experience is achieved at 1080p Low, which offers the highest average FPS. For users who prefer higher visual fidelity, 1080p Medium provides a solid compromise with a 47 FPS average and a 40 FPS minimum. Any setting above Medium at 1080p, or any resolution above 1080p, results in a degraded experience that is not recommended. The GPU’s 9th percentile ranking and its low fill rate make high resolutions and settings impractical, so users should prioritize frame rate over visual quality with this hardware.