Road 96

Road 96, the narrative-driven adventure from 2021, presents an unusual challenge for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B370. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics component, with the CPU demonstrating significant headroom that remains largely untapped in this title. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings paint a clear picture of a system where the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, making this combo a study in imbalance rather than synergy for this specific game.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in Road 96?

A: The combo ranks 2680 out of 2903 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, indicating that while the game is playable at lower settings, the overall performance ceiling is quite low compared to other configurations.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its closest rivals in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The Arc B370's average benchmark score is 1184. Its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, which is 0.7% higher. This puts the B370 in a performance class with legacy mobile and entry-level desktop GPUs.

Q: What is the best performance the combo achieves at 1920x1080?

A: The highest average frame rate at 1080p is 85 FPS, achieved with the "Low" settings preset. This is the only measured configuration that approaches high-refresh-rate territory, as the "Medium" preset drops to 62 FPS and "High" falls to 50 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a high-performing processor in general benchmarks?

A: Yes, the CPU data indicates strong performance. It has an average benchmark score of 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its multi-core Cinebench R23 score is 21645, with a single-core score of 3055.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-14400F is very closely matched with its rivals. It scores 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i9-11900. It is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i7-12800H. The differences are marginal.

Q: What is the lowest performance scenario for this combo?

A: The lowest measured performance is at 3840x2160 with the "Ultra" settings preset, where the average frame rate drops to 13 FPS. This is far below playable levels and demonstrates the GPU's inability to handle high resolutions with demanding settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the primary factor limiting performance in Road 96. The GPU's specifications, while modern in architecture, are entry-level in execution. It features a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units. Its processing power is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. Critically, its memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM, with its bandwidth being "System Dependent."

This reliance on shared system memory is a significant bottleneck in a game like Road 96. The GPU's performance percentile is a stark 5th percentile among all GPUs, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is a modest 1184. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, which are over a decade old. This places the B370 in a performance tier that is fundamentally unsuited for high-fidelity gaming at high resolutions. The data shows a direct correlation between the GPU's low standing and the low frame rates observed. For instance, at 1080p "Low," the GPU manages 85 FPS, but when the preset is raised to "Ultra," the frame rate plummets to 39 FPS, showing a clear 46 FPS drop that is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's limited fill rate and shader processing capabilities.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the Intel Core i5-14400F is a potent processor. With 10 cores and 16 threads, it is architecturally capable of handling complex workloads. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy is substantial, featuring 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a 20 MB shared L3 cache. Its general processing power is reflected in an average benchmark score of 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its multi-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 11268.

The CPU's nearest rivals are all within a 0.5% performance delta, indicating a highly competitive mid-to-high-end standing. However, in Road 96, this processing power appears to be largely underutilized. The game is an adventure title that is not typically demanding on CPU resources. The measured frame rates show that even at 1080p "Low," where the CPU would be most likely to become a factor, the performance is more consistent with a GPU limit. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055, is more than sufficient for the game's logic. The bottleneck is clearly not the processor. The data suggests that the i5-14400F is capable of feeding frames far faster than the Arc B370 can render them, leaving a massive performance gap between the two components.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2680 out of 2903 in Road 96 is a definitive statement about its overall performance. This places the system in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU alone would rank much higher if considered in isolation. The pairing of a high-percentile CPU with a 5th-percentile GPU creates a paradoxical system where the potential of the processor is entirely wasted in this gaming context. The rank suggests that the user experience will be defined by the GPU's performance ceiling, not the CPU's capabilities.

This low ranking is not a reflection of a poorly functioning system, but rather a fundamental mismatch in performance classes. The data shows that the combo is not competitive with even mid-range systems from a few years ago. While the CPU is in the top 17% of all processors, the GPU is in the bottom 5%, and in a game like Road 96 that is not CPU-intensive, the final result is dragged down to the bottom percentile. The rank serves as a clear indicator that this configuration is not designed for high-end gaming, and its performance in Road 96 reflects that. The 2680th position out of 2903 is a data point that will be of significant interest to users considering this pairing for gaming purposes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: with "Low" settings, the average FPS is 85. Moving to "Medium" drops the average to 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 72. The "High" preset yields an average of 50 FPS, and "Ultra" brings the average down to 39 FPS. This shows a clear linear degradation as settings are increased, with a 46 FPS difference between "Low" and "Ultra."

At 2560x1440, the performance falls significantly. "Low" settings produce an average of 54 FPS. "Medium" yields an average of 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. "High" drops to 32 FPS, and "Ultra" is only 25 FPS. The gap between "Low" and "Ultra" at this resolution is 29 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results become largely unplayable. "Low" averages 29 FPS. "Medium" averages 21 FPS, with a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 24. "High" is 17 FPS, and "Ultra" is a slideshow-like 13 FPS. The data shows that the combo can handle 1080p at lower settings and 1440p at "Low," but it struggles significantly at higher settings and resolutions. The 4K results are uniformly below 30 FPS, rendering the game effectively unplayable at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is achieved at 1920x1080 with the "Low" settings preset. This configuration yields an average of 85 FPS, which provides a smooth and responsive experience. The "Medium" preset at the same resolution also offers a playable experience at 62 FPS, but the drop to 50 FPS at "High" suggests that the GPU is becoming a limiting factor. For a game like Road 96, which is narrative-driven and doesn't require high frame rates for competitive play, the "Medium" preset at 1080p could offer a better visual balance while maintaining a stable frame rate above 60.

At 2560x1440, the "Low" preset is the only viable option, with an average of 54 FPS. While playable, this is not ideal. The 3840x2160 resolution should be avoided entirely, as even the "Low" preset only manages an average of 29 FPS. The data strongly suggests that users should target 1080p for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. If the user prioritizes frame rate, "Low" is the clear choice. If they prefer better visuals and can tolerate a slightly lower but still smooth frame rate, "Medium" is a suitable alternative. There is no scenario in the data where "High" or "Ultra" settings provide an acceptable frame rate without a significant compromise to smoothness. The "Medium" preset at 1080p offers the best middle ground, delivering 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, ensuring a consistent experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At "Low" settings, the average FPS drops from 85 at 1080p to 54 at 1440p, a 36% reduction. Moving to 4K, the frame rate falls to 29 FPS, a 66% reduction from 1080p. This pattern of significant frame rate loss with increasing resolution is a classic symptom of a GPU-bound scenario. The rendering workload grows exponentially with pixel count, and the Arc B370's limited pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are simply overwhelmed.

The scaling becomes even more dramatic at higher settings. With "Ultra" settings, the frame rate drops from 39 FPS at 1080p to 25 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 13 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop from 1080p). The fact that the performance degradation is proportionally similar across different settings presets indicates that the bottleneck is purely resolution-driven. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller performance gap between 1080p and 4K, as the CPU load would remain relatively constant. Instead, the data shows a steep decline that is directly proportional to the increase in pixel count. This confirms that the Intel Arc B370's rendering capabilities are exhausted well before the Intel Core i5-14400F's processing power is even taxed, making the GPU the unequivocal performance ceiling for this combo in Road 96.