Road 96

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM4 platform. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features a 32 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core, alongside 64 KB of L1 cache per core. Its memory bandwidth is rated at 51.2 GB/s via dual-channel DDR4 support. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 15,045 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,124 points in single-core tests. Geekbench results show 7,372 multi-core and 1,536 single-core points, while PassMark’s multithread test yields 17,700. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 17,035, placing it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1260P (0.2% higher average score), the Intel Core i5-11400 (0.2% lower), and the AMD EPYC 7742 (0.2% higher), indicating the 3600 sits in a tight performance cluster.

In Road 96, the Ryzen 5 3600’s thread count and clock speeds provide a solid foundation for the game’s logic and scene transitions. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 94 FPS average, which suggests the CPU can feed frames well above playable thresholds when graphical load is minimal. The 12 threads allow for smooth handling of background tasks, which is relevant for an adventure game with narrative-driven sequences that may load assets dynamically. The 3.60 GHz base clock ensures consistent performance in less demanding scenes, while the 4.20 GHz boost clock helps during sudden action moments. However, the CPU’s percentile ranking (71st) indicates it is not a top-tier part, and in this game, its influence appears secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS scaling when resolution changes.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Medium settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 69, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 79.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to the Intel Core i5-11400 in average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average score of 17,035, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-11400’s average score of 17,067.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tested settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 15, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the combo achieve 60 FPS or higher at any resolution?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average FPS is exactly 60. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 94.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations in Road 96?

A: The combo ranks 2,575 out of 2,903 tested combinations.

Q: How does the GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1,482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX’s score of 1,463.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate for this combo in Road 96. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 94 FPS average, which is the highest recorded for any resolution and settings combination. Medium at 1080p drops to 69 FPS, still fluid, while High yields 56 FPS and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. For players prioritizing smoothness, the Low preset at 1080p is the most effective, providing nearly double the frame rate of Ultra at the same resolution. However, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a balanced experience: 69 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS, ensuring minimal stutter during gameplay. The minimum FPS data for Medium (59) is notably higher than the average of High (56), suggesting that Medium avoids the worst frame dips while keeping visuals acceptable.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves exactly 60 FPS average, which is playable but not as smooth as 1080p Low. Medium at 1440p drops to 44 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS, which may cause noticeable judder in fast-moving scenes. High at 1440p yields 35 FPS, and Ultra is 28 FPS. Given that Road 96 is an adventure game with a strong narrative focus, frame rate consistency matters more than absolute visual quality. The 1080p Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it maintains a 59 FPS minimum while providing better graphical detail than Low. Pushing to 1440p requires dropping to Low to maintain 60 FPS, which negates the resolution benefit. Therefore, the data supports 1080p Medium as the best overall experience, balancing visual quality with reliable performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2,575 out of 2,903 tested combinations in Road 96, placing it in the lower 11% of all tested systems. This low ranking is primarily driven by the GPU’s weak performance profile, as the Intel Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU alone is in the 71st percentile, but the combination drags the overall rank down significantly. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing, as the CPU’s relative strength cannot compensate for the graphics card’s low benchmark scores. The Intel Arc B390’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1,482 is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% higher than the GT 710, both of which are entry-level parts from over a decade ago. This places the combo in a performance tier where 1080p gaming at medium-to-low settings is the realistic ceiling, and higher resolutions or ultra settings become unplayable.

The ranking also reflects the game’s modest hardware demands. Road 96 is an adventure title with stylized visuals, so it does not require a high-end GPU to run. Yet, even with this lighter workload, the combo only manages a mid-80s percentile rank among all tested systems. The 2,575th position out of 2,903 indicates that most other combinations, even those with older CPUs, outperform this pairing due to superior graphics hardware. The CPU’s 71st percentile ranking shows it is not the bottleneck; removing the GPU constraint would likely boost the combo’s standing considerably. This analysis highlights that the Ryzen 5 3600 has ample headroom, but the Arc B390 severely limits the overall gaming experience in Road 96.

Resolution Scaling

Examining the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a steep decline that isolates the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 94 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low, the FPS drops to 60, a 36% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 32 FPS, which is a 66% drop from 1080p. This pattern is consistent across all settings: at Medium, the FPS goes from 69 (1080p) to 44 (1440p) to 23 (4K). High settings show 56 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings start at 43 FPS at 1080p, fall to 28 FPS at 1440p, and bottom out at 15 FPS at 4K.

The scaling ratio between 1080p and 4K is roughly 3:1 in pixel count, but the FPS drops by approximately 66-70% depending on the settings. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU workload does not scale linearly with pixel count. Instead, the dramatic FPS reduction indicates that the Intel Arc B390 cannot handle the increased pixel throughput. The GPU’s memory is labeled "System Shared" with "System Dependent" bandwidth, which means it relies on the CPU’s memory subsystem. This architecture likely struggles with the bandwidth demands of 4K rendering, as evidenced by the 32 FPS average at Low settings and 15 FPS at Ultra. The data implies that the Arc B390 is only viable for 1080p gaming, with 1440p possible only at Low settings, and 4K entirely impractical for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 94 FPS, with no min or max values recorded. Medium at 1080p averages 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 79. High settings at 1080p yield 56 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 43 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 51 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s performance is highly sensitive to graphical fidelity settings.

At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 60 FPS exactly. Medium averages 44 FPS, with a minimum of 37 and a maximum of 50. High settings average 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p narrows to 32 FPS, showing that resolution scaling compresses the performance range. At 3840x2160, Low settings average 32 FPS. Medium averages 23 FPS, with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 27. High settings average 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 17 FPS, suggesting that at this resolution, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing settings yields minimal improvement. The Medium preset at each resolution is the only setting with complete min/max data, providing insight into frame time consistency: at 1080p, the 59-79 FPS range shows decent stability, while at 1440p, the 37-50 FPS range indicates more variance, and at 4K, the 20-27 FPS range is tight but unplayable.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 3 nm process. It features 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations units, along 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 entirely "System Shared," meaning there is no dedicated VRAM; instead, it uses the system’s memory with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." This architecture is a fundamental constraint, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is limited to 51.2 GB/s on the Ryzen 5 3600’s dual-channel DDR4 setup.

In synthetic testing, the Arc B390 scores 1,482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% lower score), the GeForce 800M (1.5% lower), the GT 625 OEM (2.5% lower), and the GT 710 (2.7% lower). These rivals are all legacy entry-level parts, underscoring the Arc B390’s position at the very bottom of the performance hierarchy. The GPU’s pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS. Despite the modern 3 nm process and Xe3-LPG architecture, the shared memory interface throttles real-world gaming performance. In Road 96, the GPU’s limitations manifest clearly: at 1080p Low, it manages 94 FPS, but this drops to 32 FPS at 4K Low. The 9th percentile ranking and the low scores relative to decade-old discrete GPUs explain why the combo ranks 2,575th out of 2,903 in this game. The Arc B390 is not a gaming-oriented solution; its role here is to provide basic display output, and the data confirms that it lacks the bandwidth and raw throughput for demanding resolutions or settings.