The Long Drive

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a mid-range combination for playing The Long Drive. Benchmark results show a system that can handle the game comfortably at standard resolutions, but one that demands careful settings management at higher resolutions to maintain playable frame rates. The data indicates a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and performance, making the choice of graphics preset the single most important decision for this hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60+ FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, the combination achieves over 60 FPS on all tested settings, including 166.9 FPS on Low and 85.7 FPS on High. At 2560x1440, only the Low and Medium presets surpass the 60 FPS threshold, with 106.7 FPS and 91.2 FPS respectively.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Long Drive?*

A: No, 4K gaming is not viable with this combo. The highest 4K score is 57.6 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 3840x2160 drops to 32.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 21.9 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score is 20875. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12500, scores 20897, placing the AMD chip just 0.1% behind. The performance difference is negligible, with the gap to the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE also being only 0.1%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance ranking relative to other graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B580 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 23021, which is just 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060's score of 23181, making the two cards nearly equivalent in raw compute.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p?

A: The gap is substantial. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 166.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 56.7 FPS. This represents a performance drop of 110.2 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest graphical preset.

Q: Does the CPU hold the GPU back in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is well-matched. With a multi-core score of 16429 in Cinebench R23 and a Passmark multithread score of 19330, the processor has sufficient headroom. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 166.9 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at high frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. For a driving simulation like The Long Drive, which often involves physics calculations and world-streaming logic, the multi-threaded performance is relevant. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429 and 3DMark max-thread score of 5411 indicate strong parallel processing ability.

The chip's single-thread performance is also important for game logic and frame pacing. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2319 and 3DMark single-thread score of 836 are solid figures for its class. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache helps maintain data locality, and its 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures the cores are fed with data. In the benchmark data for this game, the processor demonstrates its capability by enabling high frame rates at lower resolutions; at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches 166.9 FPS, which indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at that level.

The Ryzen 5 5500 ranks in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, making it a capable mid-range processor. Its average benchmark score of 20875 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-12500, which scores 20897, a delta of just -0.1%. This means the two processors are effectively interchangeable in performance for this type of workload. The processor's 65W TDP suggests it is power-efficient, and its unlocked multiplier allows for overclocking, which could provide a modest performance boost in CPU-bound scenarios.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the primary driver of visual performance in this configuration. It uses the Xe2-HPG architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This memory capacity is significant for a game like The Long Drive, which may load large, open-world environments. The GPU has 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2670 MHz.

The GPU's raw compute power is evidenced by its FP32 performance of 13.67 TFLOPS and its Passmark G3D score of 15748. In the benchmark results, the GPU's performance scales as expected with resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the card easily handles the game, achieving 133 FPS on Medium settings. The performance drops at higher resolutions, showing the card's limits; at 2560x1440 with High settings, the frame rate is 54.8 FPS, and at 3840x2160 with the same settings, it drops to 32.6 FPS.

The Arc B580 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, placing it above the mid-point of the performance spectrum. Its average benchmark score of 23021 is just 0.7% below that of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which scores 23181. This indicates that the B580 offers competitive performance against a well-known mainstream GPU. With a 190W TDP and a recommendation for a 450W PSU, the card requires adequate power delivery but is not overly demanding.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how settings affect performance. For the best balance of visual quality and smooth gameplay, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 133 FPS, which is well above the smoothness threshold. Even at 2560x1440, Medium maintains 91.2 FPS, offering a significant visual upgrade over Low while staying comfortably playable.

For users with a 1080p display who prioritize high frame rates, the Low preset is a strong option, delivering 166.9 FPS. This is ideal for competitive play or very high refresh rate monitors. The High preset offers a good middle ground, but the drop from Medium to High is steep. At 1920x1080, the frame rate falls from 133 FPS to 85.7 FPS, a loss of 47.3 FPS.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo. It pushes the system hard, resulting in 56.7 FPS at 1080p and 37.3 FPS at 1440p. These numbers are below the ideal smoothness threshold for an action-oriented driving game. At 4K resolution, Ultra is unplayable at 21.9 FPS. The data shows that the performance cost of Ultra is high for the marginal visual gains it provides over High.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1364 out of 1734 tested combos for The Long Drive. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance table, indicating that while it is a functional setup, there are many other combinations that achieve higher frame rates.

The ranking reflects the system's limitations at higher resolutions and settings. While the combo can produce high frame rates at 1080p, its performance at 1440p and 4K is less competitive. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking and the CPU's 79th percentile ranking create a system that is balanced, but neither component is top-tier. Consequently, the overall combo rank is dragged down by the demanding nature of the game at higher settings. This system is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it performs well relative to its class, and it can handle 1440p with settings adjustments.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the average FPS measured for this specific CPU and GPU combination in The Long Drive.

1920x1080:

• Low: 166.9 FPS
• Medium: 133 FPS
• High: 85.7 FPS
• Ultra: 56.7 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 106.7 FPS
• Medium: 91.2 FPS
• High: 54.8 FPS
• Ultra: 37.3 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 57.6 FPS
• Medium: 49.9 FPS
• High: 32.6 FPS
• Ultra: 21.9 FPS

The data shows a consistent scaling pattern. At each resolution, the Low preset provides the highest frame rate, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The performance cost of moving from Medium to High is particularly noticeable. At 1440p, the drop is from 91.2 FPS to 54.8 FPS, a fall of 36.4 FPS. The system's performance is best described as strong for 1080p, adequate for 1440p on lower settings, and insufficient for 4K gaming at acceptable quality levels.