Roblox

Roblox, a sandbox title from 2006, presents an unusual benchmark scenario for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B370. The data shows a system where the integrated graphics processor is the primary bottleneck, while the 24-core CPU operates far below its potential. This analysis walks through the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, examining how each component contributes to the final frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 154 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average drops to 103 FPS, a reduction of 51 FPS or roughly 33%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 58 FPS, which is 96 FPS below the 1080p result and represents a 62% decline from the baseline.

This scaling behavior points directly to the integrated GPU as the limiting component. The Arc B370 uses System Shared memory and has a base clock of 300 MHz with a boost of 2400 MHz. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it is slower than 95% of tested graphics processors. When the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, the GPU's shading units (1280) and ROPs (20) must process far more fragments, and the data indicates they cannot keep pace.

The pattern holds across all settings. At High settings, the drop from 1080p (124 FPS) to 1440p (83 FPS) is 41 FPS, and then to 4K (47 FPS) is another 36 FPS. The medium settings row, which is the only one with min and max FPS data, shows a similar trajectory: 140 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K remains substantial, confirming that the GPU's rendering throughput, capped at 6.144 TFLOPS FP32, is exhausted long before the CPU's capabilities are tested.

The CPU's performance headroom is evident from its benchmark scores. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus achieves 51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7303 in single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with a 0.2% higher average score and the AMD EPYC 7F72 with a 1.3% higher score. A processor with this level of compute power does not constrain frame rates in a game like Roblox, which is not known for heavy multi-threaded workloads. The resolution scaling data thus tells a straightforward story: every FPS loss from 1080p to 4K is attributable to the Arc B370's limited fill rate and shader throughput.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, boosting to 5.80 GHz. The CPU has 36 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 3 MB. In the context of Roblox, this hardware is dramatically overprovisioned.

Benchmark results show the CPU's raw strength. PassMark multi-thread score is 60860, and PassMark single-thread score is 4823. Data compression and encryption tests yield 698346 and 52563 respectively, while floating point math reaches 214760. These numbers indicate a processor that excels at parallel workloads and heavy computation. However, Roblox's measured FPS does not improve with this headroom. At 1080p Low, the system produces 154 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional, and the bottleneck is clearly not the CPU.

The nearest rivals for the 290K Plus include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% faster average), AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% faster), and AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% faster). The 290K Plus sits 1.3% below the AMD EPYC 7F72. These deltas are small, indicating that all these CPUs perform within a narrow band. For Roblox, such differences are immaterial because the game's engine does not scale with core count or high clock speeds in a way that would show up in the measured FPS. The CPU's single-core performance, represented by 7303 in Cinebench R23, is more relevant for game logic, but even this is far beyond what Roblox requires.

The CPU's 125 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth are ample for the System Shared GPU memory architecture. The Arc B370 draws from the same memory pool, and the CPU's memory bandwidth ensures that data transfer is not a limiting factor. In summary, the CPU role in this combo is to provide a stable, high-performance foundation that never becomes the constraint. The data shows no scenario where increasing resolution or settings reduces CPU-bound performance; instead, all FPS variation tracks the GPU's capabilities.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts to 2400 MHz. Its memory is System Shared, meaning it uses the CPU's DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM, and its bandwidth is System Dependent.

The GPU's benchmark results are modest. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, and it sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (0.2% faster), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% faster), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (0.7% faster). The AMD FirePro M2000 is 1.4% slower. These comparisons place the Arc B370 in a performance tier that is several generations old, which explains the measured FPS in Roblox.

At 4K Ultra settings, the combo manages only 38 FPS average, a playable but not smooth experience. At 1080p Ultra, it reaches 101 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle lower pixel counts with higher settings. The boost clock of 2400 MHz helps at lower resolutions, but the 20 ROPs limit pixel fill rate. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. These figures are low by modern discrete GPU standards, and they directly cap the frame rate as resolution increases.

The GPU's TDP is 25 W, and it uses no power connectors, reinforcing its integrated nature. The Arc B370 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which means it can run Roblox's rendering features, but the hardware execution units are too few for high resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, even Low settings (58 FPS) fall short of the 60 FPS target, while Medium settings (53 FPS) and High settings (47 FPS) drop further. The GPU role is therefore decisive: it dictates that this combo is suitable for 1080p gaming but struggles at 1440p and 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Roblox?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 154, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 38, which is the lowest measured result in the data.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this system?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 5th percentile, while the CPU has a 96th percentile rank and scores 51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 103 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 67 FPS average, a difference of 36 FPS.

Q: What are the min and max FPS values at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the min FPS is 119 and max is 161, with an average of 140. At 2560x1440 Medium, min is 80 and max is 108, with an average of 94. At 3840x2160 Medium, min is 45 and max is 61, with an average of 53.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rival?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184, which is 0.2% slower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570's score of 1186 and 0.5% slower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770's score of 1190.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four resolutions and four settings, providing a full matrix of results. At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings yield 154 FPS average, Medium yields 140 FPS with a min of 119 and max of 161, High yields 124 FPS, and Ultra yields 101 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle the lower pixel count even with higher graphical demands.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings produce 103 FPS average, Medium produces 94 FPS with a min of 80 and max of 108, High produces 83 FPS, and Ultra produces 67 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 51 FPS, indicating that the GPU's fill rate is being challenged. At Ultra settings, the 1440p result is 34 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra result.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings produce 58 FPS average, Medium produces 53 FPS with a min of 45 and max of 61, High produces 47 FPS, and Ultra produces 38 FPS. None of the 4K settings reach 60 FPS average, and the Ultra setting falls below 40 FPS. The data shows that 4K is only viable for less demanding scenes, and even then, the experience will be inconsistent.

The Medium settings rows include min and max FPS data, which is absent for other settings. At 1080p Medium, the min of 119 FPS suggests that frame drops are still within a comfortable range. At 1440p Medium, the min of 80 FPS is acceptable for most players. At 4K Medium, the min of 45 FPS indicates noticeable stuttering in complex scenes. This granular data reinforces the conclusion that the GPU's performance ceiling is around 1440p for Medium settings and below for higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, High settings (124 FPS) provide a smooth experience with better visual quality than Low (154 FPS) or Medium (140 FPS). Ultra settings at 1080p (101 FPS) are also viable, but High offers a better balance between fidelity and frame rate headroom. For players prioritizing maximum visual quality, Ultra at 1080p is playable, but High is the recommended preset because it keeps the average FPS well above 100.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings (94 FPS) are the best choice for a balanced experience. Low settings (103 FPS) are only 9 FPS faster, and the visual improvement from Medium is worth the small drop. High settings (83 FPS) are still playable, but the jump from Medium to High costs 11 FPS, which may be noticeable in fast-paced scenes. Ultra settings at 1440p (67 FPS) are borderline, and the data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot.

At 3840x2160, no setting achieves 60 FPS average. Low settings (58 FPS) are the closest, followed by Medium (53 FPS), High (47 FPS), and Ultra (38 FPS). For 4K, Low settings are recommended if the goal is to maximize frame rate, but even then, the experience will not be consistently smooth. Medium settings at 4K offer a min FPS of 45, which may result in noticeable dips. The recommendation is to avoid 4K for this combo unless the user accepts a lower frame rate, or to stick with 1440p Medium for the best overall experience.

The data indicates that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can handle High or Ultra settings comfortably. At 1440p, Medium settings provide the best trade-off. At 4K, the GPU is overmatched, and users should lower expectations or resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + Intel Arc B370 combo ranks 2774 out of 3010 tested combinations for Roblox. This places it in the bottom 8% of all combos in the database. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations, as the CPU's high percentile (96th) does not compensate for the GPU's low percentile (5th).

The nearest GPU rivals, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, are older parts, and this combo's rank aligns with that performance tier. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and AMD EPYC processors, would likely achieve similar rankings if paired with the same GPU, because the bottleneck is not the processor.

For Roblox specifically, this combo is not competitive with higher-tier GPU pairings. The rank of 2774 out of 3010 indicates that most other tested combos deliver better frame rates. The CPU's strength is irrelevant to the game's performance here; the Arc B370's 1184 3DMark score and 5th percentile ranking are the determining factors. Users seeking better Roblox performance would need to pair the CPU with a more capable GPU, as the current setup is constrained by the integrated graphics solution.