The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the Intel Arc B570, and the measured frame rates show a system that is clearly limited by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet still capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p on lower presets. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, is far more powerful than what this driving simulation demands, while the GPU’s 10 GB of VRAM and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth become the deciding factors as resolution climbs. The data shows a predictable scaling pattern: at 1920x1080 Low the combo hits 146 FPS, but at 3840x2160 Ultra it drops to 19 FPS, indicating that owners should prioritize the GPU when upgrading for this title.

FAQ

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

A: Based on measured FPS, 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers 146 FPS average, which is the highest recorded. At 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 96 FPS, still smooth. At 3840x2160, even Low only reaches 53 FPS, so 1080p or 1440p with lower presets are the practical choices.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw benchmark score?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 (20582). It also leads the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M by 0.4% and trails the AMD Radeon R9 M390X by 0.5%.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5950X a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Ryzen 9 5950X scores 26017 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1614 in singlecore, placing it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX, scores 52073 average (0.2% higher), showing the CPU has ample headroom.

Q: What settings preset provides the most consistent frame pacing?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 shows a min FPS of 102 and max of 138, averaging 120 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the min is 67 and max is 91, averaging 79 FPS. These are the only presets with recorded min/max values, indicating they are the most stable.

Q: How much VRAM does the Arc B570 have, and does it matter for this game?

A: The Arc B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus. Given that the frame rate drops from 53 FPS at 4K Low to 27 FPS at 4K High, the memory capacity and bandwidth (380.0 GB/s) are likely contributing to the steep performance loss at higher settings.

Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested configurations for The Long Drive?

A: This specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 2342 out of 2934 total combos tested. That places it in the lower half of all pairings, which aligns with the GPU’s 65th percentile ranking among all graphics cards.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for The Long Drive strongly favors the Low preset, especially at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, Low delivers 146 FPS average, which is more than double the 75 FPS of High and nearly triple the 52 FPS of Ultra. The Medium preset offers a middle ground at 120 FPS average, with a min of 102 and max of 138, making it the best choice for players who want some visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats: Low hits 96 FPS, Medium drops to 79 FPS (min 67, max 91), High falls to 49 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 34 FPS. For 1440p users, Medium is the sweet spot, as it stays above 60 FPS minimum while providing better visuals than Low.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes challenging. Low averages 53 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a driving game that benefits from fluid motion. Medium drops to 44 FPS (min 37, max 50), High falls to 27 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 19 FPS. Given these numbers, the recommendation is to use Low settings for 4K, but even then, the 53 FPS average suggests the GPU is near its limits. The Arc B570’s 10 GB VRAM and 160-bit memory bus are insufficient for high preset workloads at this resolution. The data shows that the biggest jump in performance comes from switching from High to Low, which more than doubles frame rates at all resolutions. For the best experience, prioritize frame rate over visual quality, as the CPU has no trouble feeding the GPU in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces the average from 146 FPS to 96 FPS, a 34% decrease. Going from 1440p to 2160p at Low brings the average down from 96 FPS to 53 FPS, another 45% drop. Across the full range from 1080p Low to 4K Low, the frame rate falls by 64%. At High settings, the scaling is even more severe: 75 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K. That is a 64% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which indicates that the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count and texture demands.

The data suggests that The Long Drive is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The Ryzen 9 5950X has 16 cores and 32 threads, with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, and it ranks in the 91st percentile among CPUs. It is unlikely that the processor is limiting performance at any resolution. Instead, the Arc B570’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s also becomes a limiting factor, as the 160-bit bus cannot feed the GPU fast enough for high-resolution textures. The frame rate scaling shows that every increase in resolution costs far more than the pixel count alone would suggest, pointing to memory bandwidth and fill rate constraints. Players with this combo should treat 4K as a Low-settings-only proposition and focus on 1080p or 1440p for a better experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 146 FPS average
• Medium: 120 FPS average (min 102, max 138)
• High: 75 FPS average
• Ultra: 52 FPS average

At 1080p, the Arc B570 handles the game well. Low settings produce 146 FPS, which is more than enough for any display. Medium stays above 100 FPS even at the minimum, with a min of 102 and max of 138. High drops to 75 FPS, still playable but not ideal for competitive driving. Ultra falls to 52 FPS, which is borderline. The gap between Low and Ultra is 94 FPS, showing the heavy cost of the highest preset.

2560x1440:

• Low: 96 FPS average
• Medium: 79 FPS average (min 67, max 91)
• High: 49 FPS average
• Ultra: 34 FPS average

At 1440p, the frame rates drop noticeably. Low still clears 90 FPS, but Medium falls to 79 FPS with a minimum of 67, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. High averages 49 FPS, which will feel stuttery in a driving game. Ultra is down to 34 FPS, which is not recommended for any serious play. The Medium preset with its recorded min/max of 67/91 is the most stable option at this resolution, offering a reasonable balance between quality and speed.

3840x2160:

• Low: 53 FPS average
• Medium: 44 FPS average (min 37, max 50)
• High: 27 FPS average
• Ultra: 19 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmed. Low produces 53 FPS, which is just playable, but any preset above that drops below 45 FPS. Medium averages 44 FPS with a min of 37, which will be noticeable during fast driving. High and Ultra are effectively unplayable at 27 and 19 FPS respectively. The data shows a clear cliff between Low and Medium at 4K, with a 9 FPS drop, and then another steep drop to High. This resolution should only be used with Low settings, and even then, the experience will be suboptimal.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with the BMG-G21 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 18 ray tracing cores. The base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, and the memory runs at 2375 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed. The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications translate to 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate. The card draws 150 W and requires a 450 W PSU, connected via a single 8-pin connector.

In The Long Drive, the GPU’s role is dominant. The measured FPS drops are consistent with a card that is limited by its memory bandwidth and fill rate. At 1080p Low, the 146 FPS average suggests the GPU can handle the game’s basic geometry and textures, but at 4K Ultra, the 19 FPS average shows that the 10 GB VRAM and 160-bit bus are insufficient for high-resolution textures. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 65th among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556, places it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% ahead) and Intel Arc A750 (0.1% behind). This mid-range positioning explains why it struggles at 4K but performs adequately at 1080p and 1440p with lower presets. The Arc B570’s 18 ray tracing cores are not relevant here, as the game does not appear to use RT features based on the measured data, which focuses on standard rasterization. The 2375 MHz memory clock and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are the key constraints at higher settings, as the frame rate scales almost linearly with pixel count until the memory bus saturates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with 64 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 per core. The CPU is manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC, with 8,300 million transistors across two dies. It supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus, offering 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The processor has a TDP of 105 W and uses the AMD Socket AM4. Its benchmark scores are impressive: Cinebench R23 multicore hits 26017, singlecore reaches 1614, and Geekbench multicore scores 15233. The CPU ranks in the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX, scores 52073, which is 0.2% higher, while the Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730, 0.4% lower.

For The Long Drive, the CPU is not a bottleneck. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (146 FPS) and 1440p Low (96 FPS) show that the 5950X can feed the GPU with enough frames, but the GPU’s limitations cap performance. The 16 cores and 32 threads are far more than a driving simulation requires, as such games typically use only a few threads. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by 1614 in Cinebench R23 and 944 in 3DMark single-thread, ensures that the game’s main loop runs efficiently. The 4.90 GHz boost clock provides low latency for game logic, which is more critical than raw core count. The data confirms that upgrading the GPU would yield far more benefit than upgrading the CPU for this title. The 5950X’s 91st percentile ranking and its narrow performance gap to the Core Ultra 5 235HX (0.2%) and Core i7-14700 (0.7% higher) demonstrate that it is a top-tier processor that will not limit any current GPU. Players with this combo should focus on GPU settings and resolution, not CPU-related tweaks, to improve frame rates in The Long Drive.