The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 9600X with Intel’s integrated Arc B390 graphics, a combination that produces a starkly CPU-bound experience at lower resolutions, only to collapse under the weight of the GPU at 4K. Benchmark data shows this is a system that can deliver playable frame rates in esports-like conditions at 1080p Low, but it struggles to maintain smooth motion in higher-fidelity scenarios. The measured results reveal a clear division of labor: the Ryzen 5 9600X provides ample processing headroom, while the Arc B390’s integrated architecture becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution and settings increase.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about system balance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 95 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 63 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls further to 35 FPS. This represents a 63% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, indicating that the integrated GPU is being saturated as pixel count rises.

The scaling becomes even more severe when settings are increased. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 49 FPS at 1080p, to 32 FPS at 1440p, and finally to just 18 FPS at 4K. That is a 63% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is a steeper decline than the Low setting curve. This pattern suggests that while resolution is a major factor, the additional shading and texture work at higher settings compounds the load on the GPU.

Ultra settings show the most extreme degradation. The combo manages 34 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and only 12 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K drop here is 65%, but the absolute numbers are so low that the experience becomes unplayable at 4K. The data indicates that the limiting component is clearly the Intel Arc B390, as the CPU’s performance metrics suggest it is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The scaling pattern is consistent with an integrated GPU that has limited raw throughput and relies on system memory, which becomes a severe bottleneck as the resolution demands more bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for The Long Drive, this specific pairing ranks 2594 out of 2934 combos. That places it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested, which is a poor showing for a modern CPU like the Ryzen 5 9600X. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations rather than the CPU’s capabilities, as the Arc B390 is an integrated solution with a percentile rank of just 9 against all other GPUs.

The CPU itself, however, is a different story. The Ryzen 5 9600X has a percentile rank of 81 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 81% of processors in the database. This stark contrast between the CPU’s high percentile and the combo’s low game rank indicates that the system is heavily GPU-limited. The combo rank of 2594 out of 2934 suggests that most other tested systems include a discrete GPU, which easily outperforms the integrated Arc B390 in a graphics-intensive driving simulation.

When looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 9600X sits very close to several other processors in average benchmark score. It is just 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, and roughly 0.5% to 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS. These are all multi-core processors, but the 9600X holds its own in synthetic tests. That performance, however, does not translate into a high game rank because the integrated GPU cannot leverage the CPU’s capabilities effectively.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, which are high frequencies that should provide strong single-threaded performance. The CPU’s synthetic benchmark scores support this, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2923. These are competitive numbers that place the CPU well above average.

In terms of cache, the 9600X features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a 32 MB shared L3 cache. This cache configuration is typical for a modern desktop processor and should help with game logic and physics calculations. The CPU also supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for gaming.

For The Long Drive, which is a driving simulation, the CPU is responsible for physics, AI, and game logic. The 6 cores and 12 threads are likely enough to handle these tasks without becoming a bottleneck. The 3DMark results show the CPU scales well with thread count, going from 2456 in the 2-thread test to 7590 in the max-thread test. This indicates that the processor can utilize additional threads effectively, but the game may not require all 12 threads to run well.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 95 FPS, which is a respectable frame rate. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions, but instead we see a steep decline as resolution increases. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU is waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of how this combo performs across different resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers its best results. With Low settings, it averages 95 FPS, which is smooth and playable. Medium settings drop the average to 78 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 66 and 90 FPS respectively. High settings further reduce the average to 49 FPS, and Ultra settings bring it down to 34 FPS.

At 1440p, the performance takes a noticeable hit. Low settings average 63 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth than 1080p. Medium settings average 51 FPS, with a minimum of 44 and a maximum of 59 FPS. High settings drop to 32 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 22 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1440p is only viable at Low or Medium settings for a playable experience.

The 4K results are poor across the board. Low settings average 35 FPS, which is borderline playable but not ideal. Medium settings average 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 33 FPS. High settings drop to 18 FPS, and Ultra settings average just 12 FPS. None of these 4K results are smooth, and the Ultra setting is effectively unplayable.

The data shows a clear pattern: the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can handle Low to Medium settings with playable frame rates. At 1440p, Low settings are acceptable, but higher settings become problematic. At 4K, the combo is not suitable for this game, even at Low settings. The minimum and maximum FPS readings for Medium settings at each resolution show some variance, but not enough to suggest frame pacing issues are the root cause.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel’s 3 nm process node. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, which are relatively high clocks for an integrated solution. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores.

The Arc B390 uses system shared memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. This is a significant limitation for gaming, as the GPU must share bandwidth with the CPU. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means it varies based on the system configuration. In this case, the CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, but the GPU’s access to that bandwidth is not guaranteed to be efficient.

The GPU’s theoretical performance is 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16 (2:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. These specifications suggest that the GPU has some computational capability, but its performance in The Long Drive is limited by the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth.

The GPU’s benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is 1482, which puts it in the 9th percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which it outperforms by 1.3%, and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, which it beats by 1.5%. These are all older, low-end GPUs, which highlights the Arc B390’s position as a very basic graphics solution.

The GPU’s 80 W TDP and IGP form factor mean it is designed for low-power systems rather than high-performance gaming. The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this combo, as its performance degrades rapidly with increasing resolution and settings. The CPU provides ample headroom, but the GPU cannot keep up with the demands of The Long Drive at higher quality settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows the best experience is at 1080p with Low settings, where the combo averages 95 FPS. Medium settings at 1080p are also viable, averaging 78 FPS, but High and Ultra settings drop to 49 and 34 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The benchmark results clearly indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU has a percentile rank of 81 against all CPUs, while the GPU has a percentile rank of only 9. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which is a sign of GPU saturation.

Q: Can this combo run The Long Drive at 4K?

A: At 4K, the best result is 35 FPS at Low settings. Medium settings average 29 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 18 and 12 FPS respectively. None of these results are smooth, so 4K is not recommended for this game.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE in average benchmark score. It is 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, and 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS.

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

A: The Intel Arc B390 outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX by 1.3%, the NVIDIA GeForce 800M by 1.5%, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM by 2.5%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 by 2.7% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2594 out of 2934 tested combinations for The Long Drive, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. This low rank is due to the integrated GPU’s performance limitations rather than the CPU.