Road 96

# Road 96 Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-14400F + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a strikingly unbalanced gaming experience in Road 96, a 2021 adventure title. Benchmark measurements reveal a system where the GPU consistently becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial multi-core capability remains largely underutilized. The measured frame rates across twelve resolution/settings combinations show a clear pattern: this combo delivers playable performance only at 1080p with lower presets, struggling significantly as resolution and quality demands increase. The Arc B390, an integrated GPU based on the Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture, demonstrates performance characteristics that place it in the bottom percentile of all tested GPUs, fundamentally constraining what the otherwise capable i5-14400F can achieve in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU as the dominant bottleneck. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 drops average FPS from 94 to 32, a reduction of 62 frames per second. This represents a scaling factor of roughly 2.9x, meaning the 4K result is only about 34% of the 1080p performance. Such aggressive scaling indicates the render pipeline is saturated at higher pixel counts, with the Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate simply unable to keep pace with the four-fold increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K.

The Medium preset shows similar degradation characteristics. At 1080p, the system achieves 69 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 79 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops the average to 44 FPS (with min/max of 37/50), and at 4K the average falls further to 23 FPS (min/max 20/27). The consistent frame time behavior across resolutions, evidenced by the relatively tight min-max ranges, suggests the GPU is working at steady utilization rather than experiencing transient spikes. However, the 4K Medium result at 23 FPS falls well below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered minimally playable for adventure titles.

High settings present an even steeper curve. At 1080p, the average is 56 FPS, which drops to 35 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 19 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p transition alone costs 21 FPS (a 37.5% reduction), while the 1440p to 4K step costs another 16 FPS (a 45.7% reduction). This non-linear scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth, listed as "System Dependent" and shared with the CPU, becomes increasingly strained as resolution grows. The Arc B390's reliance on system memory rather than dedicated VRAM compounds this issue, as higher resolutions demand more memory bandwidth for frame buffer operations.

Ultra settings deliver the poorest scaling performance. The 1080p average of 43 FPS drops to 28 FPS at 1440p and 15 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result represents just 34.9% of the 1080p Ultra figure, confirming that the GPU's architectural limits are reached regardless of quality preset. Notably, the delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 17 FPS (32 vs 15), whereas at 1080p the same preset gap yields 51 FPS (94 vs 43). This compression of performance differences at higher resolutions is a classic indicator of pixel-bound operation, where the GPU's fixed-function units (ROPs and texture units) become the primary constraint rather than shader complexity.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU (IGP) with a 3 nm process node and Xe3-LPG architecture. Its specifications include 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz and base clock of 300 MHz. The GPU's memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, which means bandwidth and capacity are "System Dependent." This architectural choice has profound implications for Road 96 performance, as the game's texture streaming and frame buffer requirements compete with CPU memory access on the same bus.

Benchmark data from 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places the Arc B390 at a score of 1482, which corresponds to the 9th percentile among all tested GPUs. This extremely low percentile ranking is reflected in the nearest rivals, which include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (average score 1443, deltaPct 2.7), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, deltaPct 2.5), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, deltaPct 1.5), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, deltaPct 1.3). The Arc B390's score is only 1.3% higher than the GT 520MX, a GPU from an entirely different era, underscoring how limited this integrated solution is for gaming workloads.

The GPU's FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s provide theoretical context for the measured results. At 1080p Low, the 94 FPS average suggests the GPU can handle the game's simpler shader workloads, but the 4K Ultra result of 15 FPS indicates that the pixel fill rate of 60.00 GPixel/s becomes the limiting factor. Road 96's adventure genre typically involves rendered environments with moderate geometric complexity, yet even so, the Arc B390's 24 ROPs are insufficient for 4K output at any quality level.

The GPU's 12 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API support are present in the specification, but the measured FPS data suggests these features provide no meaningful benefit in Road 96, which likely does not utilize ray tracing given its 2021 release date and stylized aesthetic. The Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6 support indicate API versatility, yet the performance ceiling remains fundamentally tied to the GPU's raw throughput capabilities. The system-shared memory architecture, combined with the GPU's 80 W TDP, positions this as a low-power integrated solution that prioritizes efficiency over gaming performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides substantial compute resources that far exceed what Road 96 requires for its rendering workload. This CPU features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz, built on Intel's 10 nm process with Raptor Lake architecture. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB shared L3 cache, delivering strong multi-threaded performance as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and single-core score of 3055.

The CPU's benchmark results place it in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (avg score 32233, deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, deltaPct 0.2), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354, deltaPct -0.2), and Intel Core i7-12800H (32121, deltaPct 0.5). These deltas of less than 1% indicate that the i5-14400F sits in a tightly competitive performance band, though for Road 96 specifically, the CPU's capabilities are vastly underutilized.

Evidence for CPU underutilization comes from the resolution scaling behavior. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 94 FPS average, which likely approaches the game's engine-level frame rate ceiling or the GPU's practical limit. However, the fact that performance drops by more than half when moving to 4K Low (32 FPS) strongly suggests the GPU, not the CPU, is the binding constraint. A CPU-bound scenario would show relatively flat FPS across resolutions, whereas this system exhibits dramatic drops, confirming GPU limitation.

The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 25470 and single-thread score of 3701 indicate strong general-purpose performance. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support provide adequate bandwidth for most workloads, yet the system-shared GPU memory architecture means the CPU and GPU compete for the same memory controller resources. This contention could exacerbate frame time variability in scenes with heavy texture streaming, though the measured min-FPS values (e.g., 59 FPS at 1080p Medium) suggest the CPU maintains consistent frame delivery when the GPU can keep up.

Road 96, as an adventure game, likely involves moderate CPU workloads for game logic, NPC interactions, and scripted events. The i5-14400F's 16 threads provide ample headroom for such tasks, and the boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance for engine-level operations. However, the CPU's 10-core configuration offers no tangible benefit in this title, as the measured FPS data shows no scenario where CPU performance becomes the limiting factor, even at the lowest resolution and settings where GPU load is minimized.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo balances visual quality against playable frame rates. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 69 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 79 FPS, providing smooth gameplay with moderate visual fidelity. This represents the best combination of performance and quality, as the Low preset at 94 FPS sacrifices visual detail for marginal perceptible smoothness, while High at 56 FPS and Ultra at 43 FPS introduce increasingly noticeable quality improvements but at the cost of frame rate.

For 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option, achieving 60 FPS average. The Medium preset at 44 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, potentially introducing noticeable stutter during fast camera movements, while High at 35 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS fall below typical playability standards for adventure games. The 1440p Low result at exactly 60 FPS appears to be a deliberate optimization point, possibly aligning with the GPU's vsync or refresh rate synchronization capabilities.

At 4K, no preset delivers playable performance. The Low preset at 32 FPS is the highest result, followed by Medium at 23 FPS, High at 19 FPS, and Ultra at 15 FPS. Even the Low preset's 32 FPS average falls below the 30 FPS minimum that many players consider acceptable, and the lack of min-FPS data for this configuration suggests potential for instability. Users targeting 4K should either lower the resolution or accept substantial frame rate compromises.

The Ultra preset offers no meaningful benefit at any resolution given the GPU's constraints. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 43 FPS versus Medium's 69 FPS, a 26 FPS penalty for what is likely incremental visual improvement in a stylized adventure game. The data clearly indicates that Medium at 1080p represents the sweet spot for this combo, offering 69 FPS average with a 59 FPS minimum that maintains reasonable frame pacing throughout gameplay.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Road 96 at 1080p smoothly?

A: Yes, at Medium settings the combo achieves 69 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS, while Low settings reach 94 FPS average. High settings at 56 FPS and Ultra at 43 FPS are also playable, though with diminishing frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for this GPU/CPU pairing in Road 96?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets remain at least playable, with 43 FPS at Ultra being the minimum. At 1440p, only Low settings hit 60 FPS, and at 4K, no preset exceeds 32 FPS average.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX's 1463, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M's 1460, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM's 1446, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710's 1443. It ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Road 96?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. Resolution scaling shows FPS dropping by 62 frames from 1080p Low (94 FPS) to 4K Low (32 FPS), a pattern consistent with pixel-bound GPU limitation rather than CPU constraints. The i5-14400F's 16 threads and 4.70 GHz boost clock provide far more compute than this game requires.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 44 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS. This falls short of the 60 FPS target, indicating that Medium at 1440p is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide any advantage in this game?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 43 FPS versus Medium's 69 FPS, a 37.7% performance penalty. At 4K, Ultra drops to 15 FPS. Given the modest visual differences typical of Ultra settings in adventure games, the data suggests Medium is the optimal choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all presets. Low settings achieve 94 FPS average, Medium reaches 69 FPS (min 59, max 79), High produces 56 FPS, and Ultra yields 43 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent 25 FPS penalty between Low and Medium, 13 FPS between Medium and High, and 13 FPS between High and Ultra, totaling a 51 FPS spread across the four presets.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings deliver 60 FPS average, Medium achieves 44 FPS (min 37, max 50), High produces 35 FPS, and Ultra falls to 28 FPS. The 1440p Low result is notable for matching the 60 FPS target exactly, while all other presets fail to reach this threshold. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 32 FPS, smaller than at 1080p due to the GPU becoming increasingly pixel-bound.

At 3840x2160, performance is severely constrained. Low settings reach 32 FPS average, Medium achieves 23 FPS (min 20, max 27), High produces 19 FPS, and Ultra drops to 15 FPS. No 4K configuration reaches 30 FPS, rendering this resolution impractical for gameplay. The 17 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming that pixel throughput is the dominant limiting factor regardless of quality settings.

The Medium preset is the only configuration with complete min/max data across all resolutions, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the 59-79 FPS range indicates 20 FPS of variance, at 1440p the 37-50 FPS range shows 13 FPS variance, and at 4K the 20-27 FPS range demonstrates 7 FPS variance. This decreasing variance with increasing resolution suggests that higher pixel counts smooth out frame pacing, likely because the GPU's consistent work queue reduces CPU-side stutter potential.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2575 out of 2903 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the bottom 11.3% of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU's 9th percentile performance among all tested GPUs, which fundamentally caps the system's gaming capability despite the CPU's 83rd percentile ranking.

The disconnect between CPU and GPU performance tiers is stark. The i5-14400F's average benchmark score of 32279 places it within 0.5% of its nearest rivals, including the Core i9-11900 and Ryzen 7 6800HS, yet the Arc B390's 1482 Steel Nomad score is only 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. This pairing creates a system where the CPU contributes negligible performance headroom for Road 96, while the GPU determines the playability ceiling.

In the context of Road 96's 2903 tested combos, the 2575 ranking means 328 configurations perform worse, likely those with older or lower-end GPUs combined with weak CPUs. However, the ranking also indicates that the vast majority of tested systems deliver better frame rates in this title. The 1080p Medium result of 69 FPS is respectable, but the rapid performance collapse at higher resolutions prevents this combo from achieving mid-pack status.

The Arc B390's integrated nature and system-shared memory architecture are significant disadvantages for gaming. Unlike discrete GPUs with dedicated VRAM and bandwidth, this IGP must contend with CPU memory traffic, and the measured results reflect this limitation. For Road 96 specifically, the 4K Ultra result of 15 FPS represents just 16% of the 1080p Low performance, illustrating how severely the GPU's architectural constraints impact high-resolution gaming. This combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at Medium or lower settings, where the i5-14400F's strengths can at least partially compensate for the GPU's weaknesses.