The Long Drive

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers playable frame rates in The Long Drive only at 1080p with Low or Medium settings. At 4K, the combination collapses to a slideshow, with the Ultra preset yielding just 12 FPS. The data indicates that this system is fundamentally constrained by its graphics solution, and users should treat it as a low-resolution, low-detail configuration for this driving simulation.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 95 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 63 FPS, a 34% reduction, and at 4K Low the average falls to 35 FPS, which is a 63% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep scaling curve is typical of a system where the graphics processor is saturated well before the CPU becomes a bottleneck.

The pattern holds across other presets. With Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 78 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p (a 35% drop) and then to 29 at 4K (a 63% drop from 1080p). High settings show a similar trajectory: 49 FPS at 1080p, 32 at 1440p, and 18 at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, produces only 34 FPS at 1080p, 22 at 1440p, and 12 at 4K.

The data reveals that the most significant performance cliff occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K. For Low settings, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is 32 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 28 FPS. For Medium, the gaps are 27 FPS and 22 FPS, respectively. This suggests that the Arc B390's rendering capabilities are exhausted at 4K, and the frame rate collapses to near-unplayable levels regardless of preset.

Looking at the 4K results specifically, the differences between presets are stark. Low settings yield 35 FPS, which is technically playable but marginal. Medium drops to 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 FPS, indicating noticeable stutter. High produces 18 FPS, and Ultra produces 12 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium at 4K is a 17% performance loss, while the jump from Medium to High is a 38% loss, and from High to Ultra is a 33% loss. This non-linear degradation suggests that certain graphical features in the Medium-to-High range are disproportionately expensive for the GPU.

The resolution scaling data strongly indicates that the Arc B390's fill rate and memory bandwidth, which is "System Shared" and "System Dependent," are insufficient for 4K operation in this game. The GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are simply not enough to sustain high frame rates at 3840x2160. For users targeting 1440p, the Low preset provides a reasonable 63 FPS, but anything above Low at 1440p will result in sub-60 FPS averages. The only resolution where this combo achieves a consistently smooth experience is 1080p with Low or Medium settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. In the context of The Long Drive, which is a driving simulation, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics calculations, and object interactions.

The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 95 FPS, which is a strong result and suggests that the processor can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution. The PassMark single-thread score for this CPU is 2872, and its multithread score is 19236. These scores indicate a capable processor that should not struggle with the typical single-threaded or lightly-threaded workloads of a driving sim.

However, the CPU's performance ceiling becomes apparent when examining its benchmark rivals. The nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, has an average score of 36938 with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are statistically tied. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093 (-0.4% delta). The Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 (-0.5% delta). The 5600F's average benchmark score is 36945, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This means it is a strong mid-range processor, but it is not a high-end part that would enable extreme frame rates.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are likely sufficient for the game's simulation aspects, but the measured FPS data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p Medium, the system produces 78 FPS, and at 1080p High it produces 49 FPS. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly when moving from Low to Medium to High at the same resolution indicates that the GPU is struggling with the increased graphical load, not the CPU.

The processor's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for gaming. The 5600F's boost clock of 4.00 GHz is modest by modern standards, but it is enough to keep pace with the Arc B390 at 1080p. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration; the GPU is. The 5600F has enough headroom to push higher frame rates if paired with a stronger graphics card, but with the Arc B390, the system is balanced toward CPU capability and away from GPU performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2594 out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested configurations, indicating a severely underpowered pairing for this game.

The ranking is driven by the GPU's poor performance relative to other parts. The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482 and sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all extremely weak: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% delta), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% delta), the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% delta), and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% delta). The Arc B390 is only marginally faster than these decade-old entry-level parts, which explains why the combo ranks so low.

In contrast, the CPU is a relatively strong component. The 5600F ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D. This creates a stark imbalance: a high-performing CPU paired with a very low-performing GPU. The combo rank of 2594 reflects this imbalance, as the system's overall gaming capability is dragged down by the graphics solution.

The data indicates that the 5600F is capable of much better gaming performance when paired with a different GPU. The fact that this combo ranks so low is almost entirely attributable to the Arc B390. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 is among the lowest recorded, and its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance is insufficient for modern gaming at higher resolutions. For The Long Drive, this rank means that users should expect significant compromises in visual fidelity and resolution to achieve playable frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently smooth frame rates. At 1080p Low, it produces 95 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it produces 78 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset reaches 63 FPS, which is borderline playable, while 4K is not viable for smooth gameplay.

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

A: The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443). This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600F holding back performance in this game?

A: No. The CPU is in the 85th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 36945, and it is statistically tied with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938, 0% delta). The bottleneck is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the severe frame rate drops at higher resolutions.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 51 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. This is playable but may experience occasional dips below 60 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever produce playable frame rates?

A: No. The Ultra preset yields 34 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. None of these results are consistently smooth, and the 4K result is effectively a slideshow.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combos?

A: The combo ranks 2594 out of 2934 tested configurations in The Long Drive, placing it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems. This low rank is driven by the GPU's weak performance, as the 5600F CPU is a relatively strong component.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive factor in this system's performance profile, and the data shows it is a very weak gaming GPU. It is based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and built on Intel's 3 nm process, but its specifications are limited. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations pipelines. It operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz.

The memory configuration is a major limitation. The Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which in practice means it is constrained by the 51.2 GB/s bandwidth of the 5600F's dual-channel memory subsystem. This shared memory architecture severely hampers performance in a game like The Long Drive, which requires constant texture streaming and geometry processing.

The GPU's compute capabilities are also low. It delivers 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 15.36 TFLOPS of FP16 performance. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. These figures are comparable to entry-level integrated graphics, which is consistent with its 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 confirms this assessment, as the GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M, both of which are over a decade old.

In The Long Drive, the GPU's weaknesses manifest clearly in the resolution scaling. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with Low settings producing only 35 FPS and Ultra producing 12 FPS. Even at 1080p, the GPU struggles with higher presets, dropping from 95 FPS at Low to 49 FPS at High and 34 FPS at Ultra. This indicates that the GPU lacks the raw compute and memory bandwidth to handle the game's graphical demands at higher quality settings.

The GPU's TDP is 80 W, and it is classified as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a slot width of "IGP" and no power connectors. This confirms that it is not a discrete graphics card but rather an integrated solution, likely built into the processor package. The 12 ray tracing cores are present but of limited use given the overall performance constraints. For The Long Drive, the Arc B390 is only suitable for 1080p gaming at Low or Medium settings, and any attempt to increase resolution or quality will result in a significant frame rate penalty.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's priorities for frame rate versus visual quality. The data shows a clear preference for 1080p with Low or Medium settings to achieve a smooth experience.

At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 95 FPS, which is excellent for a driving simulation and provides a very responsive experience. This is the only preset where the system exceeds 90 FPS. For users who prioritize smoothness above all else, this is the recommended configuration.

At 1080p Medium, the average FPS drops to 78, with a minimum of 66 and a maximum of 90. This is still a very playable frame rate and offers a noticeable improvement in visual fidelity over Low. The minimum of 66 FPS indicates that the system maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making this the best balance of quality and performance. The Medium preset at 1080p is the recommended choice for most users, as it provides a 60+ FPS experience with better graphics than Low.

The High preset at 1080p produces 49 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a driving simulation where smooth motion is important. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 34 FPS, which is borderline and may cause noticeable stuttering. For users who want to play at 1440p, the only viable option is the Low preset, which produces 63 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced driving but may feel less responsive.

At 4K, no preset is recommended. The Low preset produces 35 FPS, which is technically playable but below the 60 FPS target, and the Medium preset produces 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 FPS, indicating inconsistent performance. The High preset at 4K produces 18 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 12 FPS, both of which are unplayable.

The data clearly shows that the Arc B390 is not designed for high-resolution gaming. The best experience is achieved at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset, as it offers a 78 FPS average with a 66 FPS minimum, providing a smooth and visually acceptable experience. Users seeking maximum frame rates can drop to Low for 95 FPS, but the Medium preset is the recommended sweet spot for this combination. Avoid High and Ultra presets at any resolution, as the performance penalty is severe and the visual gains are not worth the frame rate loss.