Road 96

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the Intel Arc B570 lands at rank 2324 out of 2903 tested combos for Road 96. That places this configuration in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, which is a surprising result for a hardware pairing that features a 90th-percentile CPU and a GPU sitting at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The data suggests that despite strong individual component rankings, the combination does not translate into a competitive position for this particular adventure title.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 90 versus all CPUs indicates that the Core Ultra 5 245 is a top-tier processor in synthetic workloads. Its average benchmark score of 48,995 places it nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49,196, a -0.4% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228, a -0.5% delta). The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H trails by just 0.6% (48,698), while the Intel Core i5-14600K is only 0.8% behind (48,618). These are all essentially neck-and-neck results, meaning the CPU is not a weak link in this combo.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 20,556 puts it within a hair of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534, a 0.1% delta) and the Intel Arc A750 (20,582, a -0.1% delta). The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and AMD Radeon R9 M390X are also remarkably close, with deltas of 0.4% and -0.5% respectively. This clustering suggests the Arc B570 is a mid-pack performer that trades blows with last-generation mobile and desktop parts.

Given that Road 96 is an adventure game—a genre typically not known for extreme hardware demands—the low combo rank is puzzling. The measured FPS data shows playable framerates at most settings, yet the rank indicates that many other combinations simply do better. The implication is that the Arc B570, despite its respectable benchmark scores, may struggle with specific rendering paths or driver optimizations in this title, dragging the combo down relative to what the CPU alone could achieve.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base and boost clocks are both set at 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU's 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines give it a raw compute capacity of 11.52 TFLOPS FP32. These specifications place it as a solid mid-range part on paper, but the measured results in Road 96 tell a more nuanced story.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 14,195 and DirectX 12 score of 72 indicate moderate DirectX performance, while the Geekbench Vulkan score of 96,844 shows stronger low-level API capabilities. For a game like Road 96, which is an adventure title with stylized visuals rather than a modern 3D showcase, the Arc B570's 10 GB VRAM should be more than sufficient. The memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is also respectable for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

However, the data reveals a telling pattern: at 4K Ultra settings, the combo only manages 23 FPS average, with no minimum or maximum recorded. This suggests the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling. The 4K Medium setting yields 36 FPS average with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 41, showing some headroom but still below the 60 FPS threshold. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it sits above the median but far from enthusiast territory, and this becomes evident as resolution and settings scale up.

The Arc B570's pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are adequate for the game's visual complexity, but the 160-bit memory bus may become a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 10 GB VRAM capacity is not the issue—rather, the bandwidth constraints likely explain why 4K performance drops so precipitously. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 145 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 23 FPS, a massive reduction that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 85 FPS average; at 1440p High, it drops to 54 FPS; and at 4K High, it falls to 29 FPS. That is a 68% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is a steeper drop than what a CPU-bound workload would exhibit. The pattern is consistent across all settings: Low settings show 145 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K—a 66% total drop. Medium settings scale from 106 FPS at 1080p to 67 FPS at 1440p to 36 FPS at 4K, a 66% reduction. Ultra settings go from 67 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 1440p to 23 FPS at 4K, a 66% drop as well.

The consistency of this ~66-68% scaling across all settings strongly indicates that the GPU is the dominant constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the scaling to flatten out at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload remains constant while the GPU's increases. Instead, the linear decline suggests that the Arc B570 is being pushed to its limits at each resolution step.

Interestingly, the gap between settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 78 FPS (145 vs. 67). At 1440p, that gap shrinks to 49 FPS (92 vs. 43). At 4K, it narrows further to 26 FPS (49 vs. 23). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that settings adjustments have diminishing returns—the hardware ceiling is being hit regardless of visual fidelity. The 4K Medium setting shows a minimum of 30 FPS, which is just at the edge of playability, while 4K Low at 49 FPS is the only 4K option that approaches a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows a wide range of performance across the four settings. Low settings produce 145 FPS average, making for an exceptionally smooth experience. Medium settings drop to 106 FPS average, with a minimum of 90 and maximum of 122—still well within smooth territory. High settings yield 85 FPS average, which is perfectly playable for an adventure game. Ultra settings bring the average down to 67 FPS, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold but with less headroom. The 1080p results indicate that this resolution is the sweet spot for the Arc B570 in Road 96.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance becomes more moderate. Low settings still deliver 92 FPS average, which is excellent. Medium settings produce 67 FPS average, with a minimum of 57 and maximum of 78—playable but with occasional dips below 60. High settings drop to 54 FPS average, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. Ultra settings fall to 43 FPS average, which is noticeably less fluid. The 1440p data suggests that Medium is the practical ceiling for a consistently smooth experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are challenging. Low settings yield 49 FPS average, which is borderline acceptable for a slower-paced adventure game. Medium settings drop to 36 FPS average, with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 41—this is playable but with visible stuttering in busy scenes. High settings fall to 29 FPS average, and Ultra settings bottom out at 23 FPS average. The 4K results clearly show that this combo is not suited for high-fidelity 4K gaming in Road 96, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

The pattern across all resolutions is that the Arc B570's performance scales linearly with pixel count, and the CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads (with a 5.10 GHz boost clock) are never the limiting factor. The 3.50 GHz base clock and 24 MB of L3 cache provide ample headroom for the game's logic, but the GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute simply cannot keep up with 4K rendering demands at higher settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm process. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz, combined with 24 MB of shared L3 cache, make it a formidable CPU for gaming workloads. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,924 and single-core score of 4,648 demonstrate strong both-threaded and single-threaded performance.

In Road 96, the CPU's role is minimal because the game's adventure genre typically relies more on GPU rendering than CPU physics or AI. The PassMark multi-thread score of 38,706 and single-thread score of 4,394 indicate that the CPU has far more compute headroom than the game requires. The data compression score of 400,942 and floating-point math score of 120,548 further confirm that this processor is overqualified for the demands of this title.

The CPU's 90th-percentile ranking means it outperforms 90% of all CPUs, yet the combo still ranks in the bottom 20% for this game. This discrepancy highlights that the Arc B570 is the bottleneck. The CPU's nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 49,196, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49,228, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H at 48,698, and the Intel Core i5-14600K at 48,618—all sit within 0.8% of the Core Ultra 5 245's average score. Any of these CPUs paired with a stronger GPU would likely achieve a much higher combo rank.

The fact that the CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads are fully utilized in synthetic benchmarks (Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 13,828) but underutilized in this game suggests that Road 96 is not a heavily threaded title. The single-core performance (Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1,952) is more relevant, and it is more than adequate for the game's logic. The CPU's 65W TDP also indicates it runs efficiently, but this efficiency does not translate into higher FPS when the GPU is the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Road 96 at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p and 1440p with certain settings. At 1080p, all settings except Ultra exceed 60 FPS (Low: 145, Medium: 106, High: 85). At 1440p, only Low (92 FPS) and Medium (67 FPS) clear 60 FPS. At 4K, no setting reaches 60 FPS, with Low maxing out at 49 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Road 96?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. Even at Ultra settings, the combo delivers 67 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, High and Ultra settings fall below 60 FPS, and at 4K, even Low settings struggle to maintain 50 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20,556 is within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534), Intel Arc A750 (20,582), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20,480), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20,662). These are statistically equivalent scores, indicating the B570 is a mid-pack performer.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent 66-68% drop across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

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

A: The measured data shows 67 FPS average at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 78 FPS. This is a playable experience, though the minimum dips below 60 FPS.

Q: Does the 10 GB VRAM of the Arc B570 cause any issues in Road 96?

A: The 10 GB VRAM capacity is not the limiting factor. The GPU's 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are more likely constraints at high resolutions. The 4K results show severe FPS drops regardless of settings, indicating bandwidth limitations rather than capacity issues.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p gaming, High settings at 85 FPS average provide the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. Ultra settings at 67 FPS are also viable if maximum fidelity is desired, as they remain above 60 FPS. Medium settings at 106 FPS offer a high-refresh-rate option, while Low settings at 145 FPS are unnecessary for this genre.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 67 FPS average are the recommended choice. This setting maintains a playable framerate with a minimum of 57 FPS, which is acceptable for an adventure game. Low settings at 92 FPS are the smoothness-oriented alternative, but the visual compromise may not be worth it. High settings at 54 FPS and Ultra at 43 FPS fall below the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided for consistent smoothness.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that only Low settings at 49 FPS are viable. Medium settings at 36 FPS with a 30 FPS minimum are borderline, while High at 29 FPS and Ultra at 23 FPS are too choppy for a comfortable experience. Given the adventure genre's pacing, 4K Low might be acceptable, but 1440p Medium is the recommended compromise between visual quality and performance.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize 1080p High or 1440p Medium, depending on the display's native resolution. The combo's CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU's performance ceiling makes 4K gaming impractical for this title. The measured data shows that the Arc B570's 11.52 TFLOPS of compute and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are best utilized at 1080p, where the combo can deliver smooth framerates across all settings except Ultra at 4K.