The Long Drive

# The Long Drive: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + Intel Arc B390 — Measured Performance Analysis

The pairing of AMD's Ryzen 5 3600 with Intel's Arc B390 integrated graphics produces a highly constrained gaming experience in The Long Drive, a driving simulation that scales predictably across resolutions but never escapes the GPU's fundamental throughput limits. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the CPU is rarely the bottleneck, and where even dropping to 1080p Low settings only achieves 95 FPS average — a figure that highlights the Arc B390's modest 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 compute and its 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The data shows a combo that ranks 2594th out of 2934 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all CPU-GPU pairings for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the limiting component sits. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 49 FPS at 1920x1080 to 32 FPS at 2560x1440 — a 35% reduction — and then plummets to 18 FPS at 3840x2160, which is 63% below the 1080p figure. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the Arc B390's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s simply cannot keep pace with the quadrupled pixel count from 1080p to 4K.

Low settings show the same pattern with higher absolute numbers. The 95 FPS at 1080p drops to 63 FPS at 1440p (a 34% decrease), then to 35 FPS at 4K (a 63% decrease from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across quality presets suggests that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, not the specific settings being applied. Medium settings reinforce this: 78 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p (35% lower), and 29 FPS at 4K (63% lower). The pattern is nearly identical at every preset, which points to the GPU's raw fillrate and shading capacity as the hard ceiling.

Ultra settings are the outlier in terms of playability, but the scaling behavior remains consistent. The 34 FPS at 1080p drops to 22 FPS at 1440p (35% lower) and 12 FPS at 4K (65% lower). This near-uniform scaling curve across all four presets indicates that the Arc B390 is operating in a purely throughput-limited regime; the Ryzen 5 3600's six cores and twelve threads are not constraining frame rates at any resolution. The CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score of 696 and passmark_single_thread score of 2562 are more than sufficient for a driving simulation at these frame rates, which rarely exceed 95 FPS even at the lowest settings.

The practical interpretation is that users targeting 4K on this combo will face sub-30 FPS at every quality setting, with only Low achieving a playable (just barely) 35 FPS. At 1440p, Medium and Low are viable, while High sits at 32 FPS — borderline. At 1080p, the entire range from Low to High is playable, with Ultra teetering at 34 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in The Long Drive?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings except Ultra exceed 45 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium reach playable frame rates (63 and 51 FPS respectively), while 3840x2160 fails to reach 35 FPS even at Low settings.

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

A: The GPU's 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 1482 places it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460). It is 2.7% faster than the GeForce GT 710 (1443). These are all entry-level mobile or OEM parts, which explains the low performance ceiling.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 3600 holding back the Arc B390?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 71st percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17035, sitting within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core i5-11400. The frame rates in The Long Drive show GPU-bound scaling — the consistent 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 63% drop to 4K across presets indicates the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS and maximum of 90 FPS. This is the highest-quality preset that maintains a 60+ FPS minimum at 1080p, making it the sweet spot for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is 4K playable with any settings on this combo?

A: No. The best 4K result is 35 FPS at Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth. Medium drops to 29 FPS, High to 18 FPS, and Ultra to 12 FPS. None of these are competitive for a driving simulation.

Q: How does this combo rank overall in The Long Drive?

A: The combination ranks 2594th out of 2934 tested CPU-GPU pairings, placing it in the bottom 12% of all combinations. This reflects the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking (averaging 1482 in its sole benchmark) rather than any CPU deficiency.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 brings six cores and twelve threads from the Zen 2 Matisse architecture, clocked at 3.60 GHz base and 4.20 GHz boost. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth provide ample headroom for The Long Drive's simulation workloads. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded capability — 15045 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 17700 in Passmark multithread — but the single-thread scores (2124 in Cinebench R23, 2562 in Passmark) are what matter most for this title's frame pacing.

In this game, the CPU's role is secondary. The measured FPS data shows no scenario where the Ryzen 5 3600's core count or clock speed becomes the constraint. At 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the system reaches 95 FPS average — a figure that the CPU can easily feed given its 3dmark_2_threads score of 1361 and 3dmark_4_threads score of 2579. Even at the highest frame rate in the dataset, the CPU utilization would be moderate, as The Long Drive is not a heavily threaded title.

The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17035, places it in the same performance tier as the Intel Core i5-11400 (17067, 0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007, 0.2% slower). This means the processor is far more capable than the GPU. The Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking (1482 average in Steel Nomad DX12) is the clear performance ceiling. Users considering upgrades should look at the GPU first; the CPU has headroom to drive significantly faster graphics cards in this title.

The 65W TDP of the Ryzen 5 3600, combined with the Arc B390's 80W TDP as an integrated part, creates a low-power platform that never approaches thermal or power delivery limits. This is reflected in the stable frame times seen at Medium settings — the 1440p Medium run shows a tight 44-59 FPS range (average 51), indicating consistent performance without throttling events.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset delivers the best experience. At 1920x1080, Medium settings produce 78 FPS average with a 66 FPS minimum and 90 FPS maximum. This is the only preset that maintains a 60+ FPS floor while offering visual quality beyond the bare minimum. Low settings at 1080p yield 95 FPS average but sacrifice the visual fidelity that Medium provides — the jump from Low to Medium costs only 17 FPS (from 95 to 78) while presumably offering substantially better lighting and texture detail.

High settings at 1080p drop to 49 FPS average, which is a 37% reduction from Medium. This is a steep price for the visual upgrade, and the resulting frame rate sits below the 60 FPS smoothness threshold. Ultra at 1080p is even worse at 34 FPS, making it unsuitable for gameplay. At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to Low (63 FPS) or Medium (51 FPS). The Medium preset's 44 FPS minimum is borderline but workable; Low offers a safer margin. At 3840x2160, only Low (35 FPS) approaches playability, and even that is marginal.

The optimal configuration for most users is 1080p Medium. It delivers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the 66 FPS minimum ensuring no drops below refresh-rate territory for 60 Hz displays. For users with 1440p monitors, Medium at 51 FPS average is the highest-quality option that remains playable, though the 44 FPS minimum may cause noticeable stutter in dense scenes. The data suggests that 4K should be avoided entirely — no preset achieves 60 FPS, and the visual quality gains at 4K are moot when frame rates fall to 12-35 FPS.

The pattern across presets is consistent: Low to Medium is a modest 18-22% frame rate cost, while Medium to High is a 37-38% cost, and High to Ultra is another 31-34% reduction. This non-linear scaling suggests that the Medium preset uses GPU resources more efficiently relative to its visual output, making it the value sweet spot in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2594th out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the 11.6th percentile. This is a low ranking that reflects the GPU's position in the market. The Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking (average benchmark score 1482) is the primary driver of this poor standing; the CPU's 71st percentile ranking (average 17035) is not the limiting factor.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all legacy or entry-level parts: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). This places the Arc B390 at the very bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy, despite its modern Xe3-LPG architecture on Intel's 3nm process. The GPU's 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs are simply too few to deliver competitive frame rates in a 3D driving simulation.

The combo's ranking means that roughly 88% of all tested CPU-GPU pairings deliver better performance in The Long Drive. This is not a system for serious gameplay; it is a configuration that will struggle to maintain 60 FPS at 1080p even on Low settings (95 FPS average, but the minimum is not recorded) and cannot approach 60 FPS at 1440p or 4K under any settings. The 12 measured FPS data points all fall below the 100 FPS mark, and only three of them exceed 60 FPS — all at 1080p (Low at 95, Medium at 78, High at 49).

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals in the overall CPU benchmark — the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007, 0.2% slower) and Intel Core i5-11400 (17067, 0.2% faster) — would not change this combo's ranking if swapped in, because the GPU remains the bottleneck. The data indicates that users with this combo should treat it as an entry-level integrated graphics solution, not a dedicated gaming platform.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for The Long Drive with this combo is as follows:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 95 FPS average
• Medium: 78 FPS average, 66 FPS minimum, 90 FPS maximum
• High: 49 FPS average
• Ultra: 34 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 63 FPS average
• Medium: 51 FPS average, 44 FPS minimum, 59 FPS maximum
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 22 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 35 FPS average
• Medium: 29 FPS average, 24 FPS minimum, 33 FPS maximum
• High: 18 FPS average
• Ultra: 12 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data at every resolution, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the 66-90 FPS range represents a 24 FPS spread, which is acceptable. At 1440p, the 44-59 FPS range narrows to a 15 FPS spread, indicating more consistent frame delivery but at lower absolute rates. At 4K, the 24-33 FPS range shows a 9 FPS spread, meaning the system is heavily GPU-limited and frame times are relatively stable but unplayably low.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p across presets is remarkably consistent: Low drops 34% (95 to 63), Medium drops 35% (78 to 51), High drops 35% (49 to 32), and Ultra drops 35% (34 to 22). From 1440p to 4K, the drops are: Low 44% (63 to 35), Medium 43% (51 to 29), High 44% (32 to 18), and Ultra 45% (22 to 12). The slightly steeper drop from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth (System Shared) becomes a secondary constraint at higher resolutions.

The data paints a clear picture: this combo is suitable for 1080p gaming at Low to Medium settings, with Medium being the recommended preset for its balance of quality and 78 FPS average. At 1440p, users must accept Low or Medium settings with sub-60 FPS averages. At 4K, the system is not viable for gameplay, as even Low settings produce only 35 FPS. The Ryzen 5 3600 proves capable throughout, but the Arc B390's integrated nature and low compute throughput (7.680 TFLOPS FP32) cap the experience firmly in entry-level territory.