Revolution Idle

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration places it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.3% ahead), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% ahead), and Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (0.8% ahead), while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 trails by 0.8%. The data indicates this CPU is a high-end desktop part, well-suited for demanding workloads, but the measured FPS in Revolution Idle tells a different story.

For an idle game, the CPU's role is typically minimal, and the benchmark results confirm this. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 62 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all configurations. This suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower settings. However, as resolution increases, the FPS drops significantly — from 62 FPS at 1080p Low to 21 FPS at 4K Low — indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU's strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594, Geekbench single-core score of 2445) ensures that game logic, simulation ticks, and UI updates in an idle game are handled efficiently, but the rendering pipeline is clearly constrained by the graphics solution.

The i5-14600KF's multi-core capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 38697, are far beyond what Revolution Idle requires. The game's genre typically relies on background calculations and periodic updates rather than continuous high-FPS rendering. Yet, the measured FPS are surprisingly low, which points entirely to the GPU. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample headroom for any game logic, but the data shows that even at 1080p Low, the system only reaches 62 FPS — a figure that would be trivial for this CPU if the GPU were capable. The conclusion is clear: the i5-14600KF is not the bottleneck, and its performance headroom is largely unused in this combination.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with a TDP of 80 W. Its memory is system shared, meaning it draws from the CPU's DDR4 or DDR5 pool, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." The GPU's pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, and it delivers 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The Arc B390's benchmark results are underwhelming. Its only measured benchmark, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, yields a score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1.5% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (2.5% ahead), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (2.7% ahead). These are all entry-level or legacy discrete GPUs, and the Arc B390 essentially matches them. This explains the low FPS figures in Revolution Idle: the GPU is fundamentally limited, and its performance is comparable to decade-old budget graphics cards.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU's weakness is evident. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 9, which is barely playable even for an idle game. At 1080p Ultra, the average improves to 29 FPS, but this is still below the 30 FPS threshold commonly considered acceptable. The GPU's system-shared memory means there is no dedicated VRAM, and performance depends heavily on the CPU's memory bandwidth and capacity. The Arc B390's 12 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are irrelevant in this context, as Revolution Idle is a 2D-style idle game that likely does not leverage such features. The data shows that the GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, with FPS dropping by roughly half when moving from Low to Ultra settings at any given resolution.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for playable FPS?

A: The data shows that 1080p Low achieves the highest average FPS at 62. The next best is 1080p Medium at 47 FPS, followed by 1080p High at 45 FPS. For a smoother experience, 1440p Low at 39 FPS is also viable, though 4K is not recommended as even Low settings only reach 21 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in overall performance?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, placing it 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G. It is 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388.

Q: Is the GPU strong enough for modern gaming?

A: No, the Intel Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile. It is only 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, indicating entry-level performance that struggles even in an idle game.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings yield 62 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 29 FPS. This represents a 33 FPS drop, or approximately 53% lower performance, showing that the GPU is heavily taxed by higher settings.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The Arc B390 uses system-shared memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the CPU's memory subsystem, and the absence of dedicated VRAM likely contributes to the low FPS, especially at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth demands increase.

Q: What is the CPU's launch MSRP?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has a launch MSRP of $294.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), providing a complete picture of performance. At 1080p, the system starts at 62 FPS on Low, drops to 47 FPS on Medium, 45 FPS on High, and falls to 29 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting at 1080p has a recorded min FPS of 40 and max FPS of 54, indicating some variability but generally stable performance. The gap between Low and Medium is 15 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 16 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 1440p, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings achieve 39 FPS, Medium achieves 30 FPS (with min 25 and max 34), High achieves 28 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 21 FPS, which is a 54% reduction. This pattern mirrors the 1080p results, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary constraint. At 4K, the numbers become marginal: Low settings yield 21 FPS, Medium yields 16 FPS (with min 13 and max 18), High yields 15 FPS, and Ultra drops to 9 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is effectively unplayable, and even 4K Low is below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

The data reveals a consistent trend: each doubling of resolution (from 1080p to 1440p to 4K) roughly halves the FPS at equivalent settings. For instance, at Low settings, 1080p yields 62 FPS, 1440p yields 39 FPS (a 37% drop), and 4K yields 21 FPS (a 46% drop from 1440p). This linear scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load increases with pixel count. The CPU's performance headroom is never fully utilized, as even the lowest FPS figures at 4K Ultra are not limited by processor speed but by the GPU's inability to render frames quickly.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides critical insight into the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, FPS drops from 62 at 1080p to 39 at 1440p to 21 at 4K. This represents a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the drop is from 47 to 30 to 16, a 66% reduction as well. At High settings, the drop is from 45 to 28 to 15, a 67% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 29 to 18 to 9, a 69% reduction. The consistency of these percentages — all around 66-69% — strongly indicates that the GPU is the sole limiting factor, as a CPU bottleneck would show less FPS variation with resolution changes.

The data also shows that the FPS penalty for increasing settings is relatively uniform across resolutions. From Low to Ultra, the FPS drops by 33 at 1080p (62 to 29), 21 at 1440p (39 to 18), and 12 at 4K (21 to 9). The absolute drop decreases with resolution because the GPU is already saturated at higher pixel counts, leaving less headroom for additional settings-related load. This behavior is typical of a GPU that is operating at or near its maximum capacity even at the lowest settings, which aligns with the Arc B390's 9th percentile ranking.

The resolution scaling analysis confirms that the Intel Core i5-14600KF is not contributing to the FPS limitations. The CPU's performance is far above what the GPU can deliver, and the measured FPS are directly proportional to the number of pixels being rendered. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions, but the data shows a clear inverse relationship between resolution and FPS. This is definitive evidence that the Arc B390 is the constraining component, and any attempts to improve performance would require a more capable GPU rather than a faster processor.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this system is 1080p with Low settings, delivering 62 FPS. This is the only settings combination that achieves a frame rate above 60 FPS, which is the standard for smooth gameplay. The 1080p Medium setting at 47 FPS is a reasonable alternative if visual quality is prioritized, but the 15 FPS cost may not be worth it for an idle game where visual fidelity is secondary to responsiveness. The 1080p High setting at 45 FPS is nearly identical to Medium, suggesting that the Medium preset offers a better balance of performance and quality.

For users who prefer higher resolutions, 1440p Low at 39 FPS is the only viable option, as it remains above 30 FPS. The 1440p Medium setting at 30 FPS is borderline, and the min FPS of 25 indicates potential stuttering. The 1440p High and Ultra settings at 28 and 18 FPS, respectively, are not recommended due to sub-30 FPS averages. At 4K, no settings combination is recommended, as the highest result is 21 FPS on Low, which is below the minimum threshold for acceptable gameplay. The 4K Ultra setting at 9 FPS is effectively unplayable.

The data suggests that the best experience per the measured rows is achieved by sacrificing resolution and settings to maintain a higher FPS. Given that Revolution Idle is an idle game, the visual complexity is likely minimal, and the difference between Low and Ultra settings may not be noticeable. Therefore, the recommendation is to use 1080p Low for the smoothest experience, or 1080p Medium if the user wants a slight quality improvement and can tolerate a 15 FPS reduction. Users with 1440p displays should accept 1440p Low as a compromise, while 4K users should consider lowering their display resolution to 1080p to achieve playable frame rates. The system's combo rank of 2629 out of 2986 combinations in this game further underscores that this hardware pairing is far from optimal for Revolution Idle, and the settings recommendations reflect the need to mitigate the GPU's severe limitations.