Road 96

Road 96, an adventure title from 2021, is not a demanding game by modern standards, but the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and Intel Arc B370 combination reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor. The results show a system that can achieve playable frame rates at lower resolutions and settings, but which quickly falls behind as graphical demands increase. The benchmark data indicates a stark performance ceiling that is defined almost entirely by the GPU's capabilities, making the pairing's overall ranking near the bottom of all tested combinations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rate data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested presets. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 85 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combination at any resolution or setting. This is the only configuration that approaches what could be considered a high-refresh-rate experience. The Medium preset at 1080p yields a still-respectable 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS, suggesting a stable experience for most of the gameplay. The High preset drops to 50 FPS, which is playable but begins to show the GPU's strain, while the Ultra preset falls to 39 FPS, indicating a noticeable compromise in smoothness.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data suggests that the Medium preset at 1080p is the optimal choice. It offers a significant improvement in visual fidelity over Low while maintaining an average frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. The measured minimum of 53 FPS suggests that while there may be occasional dips, the overall experience should remain fluid. Pushing to High sacrifices 12 FPS on average for a modest visual gain, which may not be worth the performance cost on this hardware. The Ultra preset, with its 39 FPS average, is best avoided as it falls into a range where the game's pacing could feel sluggish. At 1440p, the Low preset's 54 FPS is the only viable option for smoother gameplay, while the Medium preset's 40 FPS is a borderline playable compromise. At 4K, the data shows that no preset is capable of delivering a consistently playable experience, with the highest average being 29 FPS on Low.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. Its benchmark data shows a score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This indicates that its raw graphics processing power is exceptionally low, which is further confirmed by its nearest rivals, which include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, both of which are over a decade old. The Arc B370 operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, but its performance is defined by its meager specifications, including 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This arrangement makes bandwidth "System Dependent" and explains why the GPU's performance scales so poorly with resolution. The data shows a clear and dramatic drop in frame rates as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the average is 85 FPS, but this falls to 54 FPS at 1440p Low, and then to a mere 29 FPS at 4K Low. This trend is consistent across all settings, highlighting that the GPU, with its shared memory and low compute throughput, is simply overwhelmed by the increasing pixel count. The GPU's low pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s further support the conclusion that it is the limiting factor in this pairing.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G is a powerful processor. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a multi-core score of 12830.5 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 1494. It sits in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27051. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-9900K and the Intel Core i5-14400T, which are both highly capable desktop processors. This CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, provides ample processing power for a game like Road 96, which is not typically CPU-intensive.

The data strongly suggests that the CPU is never the bottleneck in this combination. The frame rates are almost entirely dictated by the GPU's performance, as evidenced by the consistent and predictable drops with increased resolution. For instance, at 1080p Ultra, the CPU is likely waiting idly for the GPU to finish rendering each frame, resulting in a 39 FPS average. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see less variation in frame rates across different resolutions. The fact that the FPS drops so steeply from 1080p to 4K at every setting is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The Ryzen 7 5700G's high single-thread performance, as shown by its 899 score in the 3DMark single-thread test, ensures that it can feed the GPU with data without becoming a constraint, even when the GPU is struggling.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and Intel Arc B370 ranks 3427 out of 3713 total combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, a position that is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's weak performance. The CPU's strong showing is essentially negated by the graphics card's inability to keep pace. The data implies that this is a severely unbalanced pairing, where a high-end processor is paired with a very low-end graphics solution.

This ranking is predictable given the GPU's 5th percentile standing. The combination's position in the 3427th spot out of 3713 suggests that users with this setup will have a vastly inferior gaming experience compared to the vast majority of other configurations in the database. The powerful CPU offers no benefit in this context, as the GPU's performance ceiling is so low. The benchmark results indicate that this combo is effective for general productivity, but for gaming, it is severely handicapped. The data suggests that the Arc B370 is the sole reason for this low ranking, and that pairing the Ryzen 7 5700G with even a modestly better discrete GPU would result in a significantly higher rank.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a consistent and dramatic performance penalty as the pixel count increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate drops by roughly 35-40% across all settings. For example, at High settings, the frame rate falls from 50 FPS at 1080p to 32 FPS at 1440p. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, with the High setting falling from 32 FPS to just 17 FPS, a reduction of nearly 47%. This non-linear scaling is a clear indicator of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth and raw compute power.

The trend is consistent across all quality presets, which strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rate to be more consistent across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not increase as much with resolution. The fact that the frame rate halves when moving from 1080p to 4K on the Low preset (85 FPS to 29 FPS) shows that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities are being exhausted. The "System Shared" memory is likely a major contributor here, as the bandwidth available to the GPU is shared with the CPU and is dependent on other system factors. This makes the GPU's performance highly susceptible to the demands of higher resolutions, which require more data to be transferred and processed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a detailed look at the performance envelope of this combination.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: Average 85 FPS.
• Medium: Average 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS.
• High: Average 50 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 39 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly:

• Low: Average 54 FPS.
• Medium: Average 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS.
• High: Average 32 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 25 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the game becomes largely unplayable:

• Low: Average 29 FPS.
• Medium: Average 21 FPS, with a minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS.
• High: Average 17 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 13 FPS.

The data shows that only the 1080p Low and Medium presets provide a consistently smooth experience. The 1440p Low preset is the only other setting that approaches playability, but even it is below the 60 FPS target. The 4K results are all below 30 FPS, confirming that this resolution is not suitable for this hardware. The minimum FPS values recorded for the Medium presets at each resolution also show that the game can stutter, with the 4K Medium preset dropping to 18 FPS. This data reinforces the GPU's role as the limiting factor, as the performance degradation is consistent and predictable across every setting.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this CPU and GPU combo in Road 96?

A: The data indicates that the 1080p Medium preset is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, striking the best balance between visual quality and smooth performance. The 1080p Low preset offers the highest frame rate at 85 FPS, but with reduced visual fidelity.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G or the Intel Arc B370 the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is entirely the limiting factor. The frame rates drop dramatically as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's strong benchmark scores, such as 12830.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, suggest it is not a constraint, while the GPU's 5th percentile ranking confirms its low performance.

Q: How does this combination's performance compare to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 3427 out of 3713 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems. This low rank is directly attributable to the Intel Arc B370, whose performance rivals that of the ATI Radeon HD 5770, a much older graphics card.

Q: Can this system run Road 96 at 4K resolution?

A: No. The highest average frame rate at 3840x2160 is 29 FPS on the Low preset. All other settings at 4K produce averages below 21 FPS, including 17 FPS on High and 13 FPS on Ultra, which are not considered playable.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. The Low preset achieves 85 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages only 39 FPS. This represents a performance drop of over 54%, indicating that the Ultra preset is too demanding for the GPU to handle comfortably at this resolution.

Q: What does the "System Shared" memory of the Intel Arc B370 mean for gaming performance?

A: It means the GPU uses the system's main memory instead of dedicated VRAM, making its memory bandwidth "System Dependent." This arrangement contributes to the GPU's poor performance scaling with resolution, as the shared memory bus becomes a bottleneck when handling the increased data load of higher resolutions.