Road 96

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with the Intel Arc B390 in Road 96?

A: This combination ranks 2575 out of 2903 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the lower percentile of systems tested for this title. The rank reflects a pairing of a top-tier CPU with a very modest integrated GPU.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in raw GPU benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710 (1443). The performance deltas are extremely tight, indicating the B390 sits at the very bottom of the discrete GPU performance spectrum, despite its modern architecture.

Q: What is the best playable settings combination for this system at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 94 FPS, which is the only setting tier that provides a comfortably smooth experience above 60 FPS. The Medium preset yields 69 FPS, which is playable, while High drops to 56 FPS and Ultra falls to 43 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9700F bottleneck the Arc B390 in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 9700F has a PassMark single-thread score of 4691 and a multithread score of 36470, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The Arc B390, however, sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The massive gap between CPU and GPU performance tiers indicates the integrated graphics will bottleneck the system in Road 96.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K on the Low preset?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the system averages 94 FPS. At 3840x2160 Low, the average drops to 32 FPS. This represents a 62 FPS (or approximately 66%) reduction in average frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the Arc B390's memory bandwidth a concern for this game?

A: The Arc B390 uses System Shared memory with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." The Ryzen 7 9700F supports DDR5 with a dual-channel memory bus and a peak bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The shared memory architecture means the GPU's effective bandwidth is tied to the system memory configuration, which is a notable constraint for frame delivery in Road 96.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with a TDP of 80 W. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster output units, and 12 ray tracing cores. Its theoretical peak performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 operations and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16 (2:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s.

The most significant constraint for the Arc B390 is its memory configuration. It uses System Shared memory, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which ties the GPU's memory performance directly to the host system's DDR5 memory subsystem. The Ryzen 7 9700F provides a dual-channel memory bus with a theoretical bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, but this is shared between CPU and GPU workloads.

In Road 96, the measured FPS data clearly reflects these GPU limitations. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the system manages only 15 FPS average. At 1080p Ultra, it reaches 43 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution shows a consistent pattern: the GPU struggles with higher graphical fidelity. At 1080p, the jump from Low (94 FPS) to Ultra (43 FPS) represents a 51 FPS drop, or roughly 54% performance loss. At 1440p, the same settings transition drops from 60 FPS to 28 FPS. At 4K, it falls from 32 FPS to 15 FPS.

The Arc B390's benchmark results reinforce its weak standing. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals being legacy NVIDIA parts from over a decade ago. The 1.3% delta over the GT 520MX and 2.7% delta over the GT 710 indicate that despite its modern architecture and feature set (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, OpenGL 4.6), the raw rasterization performance is extremely limited.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2575 out of 2903 tested combos in Road 96. This places the system in the bottom 12% of all tested configurations, a direct reflection of the GPU's severe performance limitations.

The ranking is particularly striking given the CPU's standing. The Ryzen 7 9700F is a high-end desktop processor, released in September 2025 with a launch MSRP of $289. It ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69996. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, 0.2% delta), Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163, -0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515, 0.7% delta), and Intel Core i7-14700K (69355, 0.9% delta). This CPU is clearly capable of feeding a much more powerful graphics solution.

The Arc B390, by contrast, ranks in the 9th percentile of GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1482. The discrepancy between the CPU's 94th percentile ranking and the GPU's 9th percentile ranking is the defining characteristic of this combo. The system's overall rank of 2575 out of 2903 is almost entirely dictated by the GPU's performance ceiling.

In practical terms, this combo performs no better than systems with decade-old discrete GPUs. The Arc B390's nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks — the GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710 — are all extremely low-end parts. The B390 edges them by margins of 1.3% to 2.7%, which is within run-to-run variance. The pairing of a 94th-percentile CPU with a 9th-percentile GPU creates a severely imbalanced system that wastes the CPU's potential in graphics-bound scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for Road 96 depend heavily on the target resolution and the user's frame rate preferences.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 94 FPS, which is the only configuration that provides a clearly smooth experience above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset achieves 69 FPS, which is playable but with less headroom. High drops to 56 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. For a consistent, fluid experience at 1080p, Low is the recommended preset.

At 2560x1440, only the Low preset manages to hit 60 FPS exactly. Medium drops to 44 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 28 FPS. For 1440p gaming, Low is the only viable option for maintaining 60 FPS, while Medium could be acceptable for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets provide a playable experience. Low averages 32 FPS, Medium 23 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. The 4K resolution is not suitable for this game on this hardware.

The data indicates that the Medium preset at 1080p (69 FPS) offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, assuming the user can tolerate an average frame rate in the high 60s. However, for those who demand a locked 60 FPS or higher, Low at 1080p (94 FPS) or Low at 1440p (60 FPS) are the safer choices. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions due to the significant performance penalty it imposes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings tiers (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), providing a complete picture of the system's performance envelope.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its best results. Low yields 94 FPS average, Medium 69 FPS (with min 59 and max 79), High 56 FPS, and Ultra 43 FPS. The Medium preset is the only tier with reported min/max values, showing a range of 59 to 79 FPS. The scaling pattern is consistent: each settings tier up costs roughly 13-15 FPS on average.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. Low averages 60 FPS, Medium 44 FPS (min 37, max 50), High 35 FPS, and Ultra 28 FPS. The 1440p Medium range of 37 to 50 FPS shows that even at this resolution, frame pacing is variable. The gap between Low and Medium is 16 FPS, while High to Ultra is only 7 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the higher settings tiers.

At 3840x2160, the system is largely unplayable. Low averages 32 FPS, Medium 23 FPS (min 20, max 27), High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. The 4K Medium range of 20 to 27 FPS indicates severe frame delivery issues. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 17 FPS, showing that the GPU is saturated regardless of settings.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only tier with complete min/max data. At 1080p, the range is 59-79 FPS (a 20 FPS spread); at 1440p, it's 37-50 FPS (a 13 FPS spread); at 4K, it's 20-27 FPS (a 7 FPS spread). The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is consistently hitting its performance ceiling.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU has a 65 W TDP and uses the AMD Socket AM5 platform. It is manufactured on TSMC's 4nm process node, containing 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die.

The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 89.6 GB/s peak bandwidth, plus ECC memory support. The CPU provides PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes and is fully unlocked for overclocking. It has a launch MSRP of $289.

In PassMark benchmarks, the 9700F scores 4691 in single-thread tests, 36470 in multithread tests, 421988 in data compression, 21488 in data encryption, 33688 in extended instructions, 183 in find prime numbers, 77955 in floating point math, 120788 in integer math, 2122 in physics, and 45890 in random string sorting. Its average benchmark score is 69996, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, 0.2% faster), Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163, 0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515, 0.7% faster), and Intel Core i7-14700K (69355, 0.9% faster). These deltas are negligible, indicating the 9700F performs essentially on par with these high-end alternatives.

In the context of Road 96, the CPU's role is to feed the Arc B390 with draw calls and game logic. Given the GPU's severe performance limitations, the CPU is almost certainly never the bottleneck. The 9700F's strong single-thread performance (4691) and high multithread score (36470) are far more than Road 96 requires, especially at the low settings where the game is playable. The measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU-induced frame drops; the performance is consistently limited by the GPU across all resolutions and settings.