The Long Drive

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and Intel Arc B390 combination delivers a playable experience at 1080p with reduced settings, but the data shows a severe GPU bottleneck that cripples higher resolutions and demanding presets. The combo ranks in the bottom 12% of all tested configurations, largely due to the Arc B390’s integrated-class performance, which falls behind even entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a dramatic collapse as resolution increases, indicating that the Intel Arc B390 is the overwhelming limiting factor in this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 95 FPS, but this drops to 63 FPS at 1440p and 35 FPS at 4K—a reduction of 33.7% from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44.4% from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is completely saturated even at the lowest resolution, with the CPU having ample headroom to spare.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further confirms the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p, the difference between Low (95 FPS) and Ultra (34 FPS) is a 64.2% performance loss. At 1440p, Low delivers 63 FPS while Ultra falls to 22 FPS (a 65.1% drop). At 4K, the situation becomes dire: Low produces 35 FPS, but Ultra plummets to just 12 FPS—a 65.7% reduction. The consistency of this ~65% penalty across resolutions suggests that the Arc B390’s 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is simply insufficient for the game’s visual demands at higher quality presets.

The 4K numbers are particularly telling. Even at Low settings, the combo only manages 35 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a driving simulation. Medium settings at 4K yield 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS, indicating significant frame time variance. The Ultra preset at 4K is essentially unplayable at 12 FPS. The data strongly suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo under any settings, as the GPU’s memory bandwidth is "System Dependent" and its pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s cannot keep up with the 8.3 million pixels of 3840x2160.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings shows a 34.6% drop (78 to 51 FPS), while the drop from 1440p to 4K at Medium is 43.1% (51 to 29 FPS). This non-linear degradation indicates that the GPU’s fillrate and texture units become progressively more stressed as resolution increases. The Arc B390 has only 48 TMUs and 24 ROPs, which are extremely low figures for modern gaming, and these hardware limitations manifest directly in the measured frame rates. The Ryzen 5 5600’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than capable of feeding this GPU, as evidenced by the fact that even the weakest CPU benchmarks would not bottleneck a GPU that scores just 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2594 out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the 11.6th percentile of all configurations. This is a remarkably low ranking, driven almost entirely by the GPU’s performance. The Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). These are all entry-level or integrated graphics solutions from previous generations, which contextualizes just how weak the Arc B390 is for gaming.

The CPU, by contrast, is a strong performer. The Ryzen 5 5600 ranks at the 74th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20468. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (20454, 0.1% slower), AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (20425, 0.2% slower), AMD EPYC 9454P (20422, 0.2% slower), and AMD EPYC 7713 (20363, 0.5% slower). The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18309 and single-core score of 2584 demonstrate solid processing power, and its 3DMark single-thread score of 882 indicates that even lightly-threaded games will not be CPU-limited.

The massive disparity between the CPU’s 74th percentile ranking and the GPU’s 9th percentile ranking creates an extreme bottleneck scenario. In The Long Drive, the combo’s overall ranking of 2594 out of 2934 suggests that most other tested combos—even those with weaker CPUs—outperform this pairing because they have more capable graphics solutions. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 5600 is wasted in this configuration, as the Arc B390 cannot utilize the CPU’s full potential. For context, the CPU’s PassMark multi-thread score of 21541 and single-thread score of 3256 indicate it could easily drive frame rates well above 100 FPS in most scenarios if paired with a competent GPU, but the Arc B390’s 12 RT cores and 1536 shading units are simply not enough for modern gaming workloads.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 95, and even High settings produce 49 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings (63 FPS) remain above 60 FPS, while 4K is not viable at any setting—the best 4K result is 35 FPS on Low.

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

A: The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which places it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443). All four nearest rivals are within 2.7% of the Arc B390’s score, indicating that this GPU performs at the level of decade-old entry-level graphics solutions.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600 the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The Ryzen 5 5600 ranks at the 74th percentile among all CPUs, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18309 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 5659. The GPU, however, ranks at the 9th percentile. The performance data in The Long Drive shows that FPS scales dramatically with resolution and settings, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation, not CPU limitation.

Q: What settings should be used for 1440p gaming?

A: At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (63 FPS) achieves a playable frame rate. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS, while High (32 FPS) and Ultra (22 FPS) are below acceptable thresholds. Players targeting 1440p should stick to Low settings for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the Arc B390 support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes. The Intel Arc B390 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. However, the hardware’s raw performance is so limited that these API features do not translate into playable frame rates at higher resolutions or quality settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2594 out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the bottom 11.6% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the severe GPU bottleneck, as the CPU alone would rank much higher if paired with a more capable graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 95 FPS, Medium settings yield 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS, High settings drop to 49 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 34 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset offers the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, with the 66 FPS minimum ensuring that frame drops stay above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades significantly. Low settings average 63 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS, indicating noticeable stutter during demanding scenes. High settings produce 32 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 22 FPS. The 1440p data shows that this resolution is only viable at Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is marginal.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playability. Low settings average 35 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard but technically playable in a slow-paced driving simulation. Medium settings average 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS, showing significant frame time inconsistency. High settings drop to 18 FPS, and Ultra settings collapse to 12 FPS. The 4K results confirm that this resolution is not recommended for this pairing, as even the lowest settings cannot deliver a smooth experience.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution follows a consistent pattern: Ultra settings are approximately 64-66% slower than Low settings across all three resolutions. This consistency suggests that the GPU’s fixed hardware resources (1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs) are the limiting factor, rather than any specific setting or effect. The 12 RT cores are present but provide no meaningful benefit in this game, as the FPS drops are uniform across quality presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this combo is 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This preset delivers an average of 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS, ensuring that the gameplay remains smooth even during intense scenes. The 66 FPS minimum is particularly important for a driving simulation, where frame drops can cause noticeable judder. The Medium preset at 1080p provides a 59% improvement over High settings (49 FPS) while maintaining visual quality that is acceptable for the game’s art style.

For players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, 1920x1080 with Low settings is the best choice, delivering 95 FPS average. This configuration leaves substantial headroom for frame time spikes and ensures that the game runs smoothly on displays with higher refresh rates. However, the visual difference between Low and Medium is noticeable, and the Medium preset’s 78 FPS average is still well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the only viable option is Low settings, which yields 63 FPS. This is a marginal experience, with no headroom for demanding scenes, and the game will likely drop below 60 FPS during complex driving sequences. The Medium preset at 1440p (51 FPS) is not recommended due to its 44 FPS minimum, which falls below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p are unplayable, with frame rates of 32 FPS and 22 FPS respectively.

The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely with this combo. Even Low settings at 4K produce only 35 FPS, and the Medium preset’s 24 FPS minimum indicates severe stuttering. The Ultra preset at 4K is a slideshow at 12 FPS. Given the GPU’s 9th percentile ranking and its performance parity with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, 4K gaming is simply beyond the hardware’s capabilities.

The data also suggests that enabling any form of upscaling or dynamic resolution would be beneficial, although the FACT PACK does not include such measurements. The GPU’s "System Shared" memory and "System Dependent" bandwidth mean that performance can vary based on the system’s RAM configuration, but the measured numbers represent the baseline experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores paint a picture of a capable mid-range processor: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18309 and a single-core score of 2584, while its 3DMark single-thread score is 882 and its max-threads score is 5659.

In the context of The Long Drive, the CPU’s role is largely secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that performance scales almost entirely with resolution and graphics settings, which are GPU-bound workloads. The Ryzen 5 5600’s 12 threads and 4.40 GHz boost clock provide more than enough processing power for the game’s physics and simulation logic, which is typical for a driving game that does not require extreme CPU throughput.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5600 sits within 0.5% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (20454), AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (20425), AMD EPYC 9454P (20422), and AMD EPYC 7713 (20363) in average benchmark score. This indicates that the CPU is competitive with modern processors despite being from the 5000 series. However, this CPU performance is entirely wasted when paired with the Arc B390, which ranks at the 9th percentile among GPUs.

The CPU’s 74th percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 9th percentile ranking creates a massive imbalance. In theory, the Ryzen 5 5600 could support frame rates well above 100 FPS in this game, as evidenced by its PassMark multi-thread score of 21541 and floating-point math score of 38778. The fact that the combo only achieves 95 FPS at 1080p Low settings is entirely attributable to the GPU’s limitations, not the CPU.

For players considering upgrades, the data suggests that replacing the Arc B390 with a more capable GPU would yield dramatic performance improvements without needing to change the CPU. The Ryzen 5 5600’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for modern gaming, and its 32 MB L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide a solid foundation. However, the current pairing demonstrates that even a strong CPU cannot compensate for a GPU that performs at the level of integrated graphics from over a decade ago.