The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation that launched in 2019, presents an interesting challenge for the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B570 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is capable of delivering high frame rates at mainstream resolutions but struggles to maintain playability at the highest settings and resolutions. The benchmark results show a clear performance hierarchy across the tested configurations, with the Arc B570’s 10 GB of VRAM and the Ryzen 9 7900X's 12-core architecture playing distinct roles in the final frame counts.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the "Medium" preset offers the most balanced experience, providing a significant performance boost over "High" settings while retaining a level of visual fidelity that is likely superior to "Low". At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. This is a 45 FPS improvement over the High preset's 75 FPS average, representing a 60% increase in performance. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the min and max values, is also strong, suggesting a smooth gameplay experience.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset continues to be the sweet spot, delivering an average of 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS. This is a solid result for a driving simulation, where a stable frame rate is more critical than a high maximum. The High preset at this resolution drops to an average of 49 FPS, which is noticeably less fluid. While 4K resolution with Medium settings is technically playable at 44 FPS average, the minimum of 37 FPS suggests potential stutters, making it a less ideal choice for a consistently smooth experience.

The "Low" preset is the only way to achieve frame rates above 100 FPS at 1440p (96 FPS average) and above 140 FPS at 1080p (146 FPS average). However, the visual compromise is often considered too severe for a game that relies on environmental detail. The "Ultra" preset is the most demanding, with average frame rates plummeting to 52 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and a nearly unplayable 19 FPS at 4K. The data strongly implies that for most users, the Medium preset provides the best trade-off between visual quality and performance, ensuring a playable frame rate across all tested resolutions. Users with high-refresh-rate 1080p displays may prefer Low to maximize FPS, but the 120 FPS average from Medium is likely more than sufficient for a simulation title.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, is the primary driver of the frame rate differences between settings. Its role is clearly defined by the measured data, which shows a significant performance cliff when moving from Medium to High settings. The GPU's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s, is likely a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows that at 4K, the High preset yields only 27 FPS average, a dramatic drop from the 44 FPS average at Medium. This suggests that the higher texture and geometry loads at High settings are exceeding the B570's memory capacity or bandwidth, causing a severe performance penalty.

The GPU's core clocks are consistent, with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz. The B570's shading units (2304) and texture mapping units (144) are fixed hardware, and their utilization is dictated by the game's engine and the chosen settings. The measured performance at 1080p Medium (120 FPS) shows that the GPU is capable of high throughput when the memory subsystem is not overwhelmed. The performance difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 26 FPS (146 vs 120), which is smaller than the 45 FPS jump from Medium to High (120 vs 75). This pattern suggests that the GPU's fixed-function hardware is not the bottleneck at lower settings; instead, the memory bandwidth and capacity become the primary constraint as visual complexity increases.

The Arc B570's benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, is only 0.1% behind, showing they are closely matched in synthetic tests. However, in The Long Drive, the B570's performance is heavily influenced by the memory load. The 4K Ultra result (19 FPS) is particularly telling, as it indicates that the GPU is fundamentally unable to handle the demands of the highest settings at that resolution. The data suggests that the B570 is a capable 1080p and 1440p card for this game, but its 10 GB memory configuration is a hard limit for 4K gaming with this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a smooth experience?

A: The data indicates that the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the smoothest experience, with an average frame rate of 120 FPS and a minimum of 102 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is also viable, with a 79 FPS average and a 67 FPS minimum.

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

A: The benchmark results show that 4K gaming is possible but not ideal. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 44, with a minimum of 37. The High preset drops to 27 FPS, and Ultra is the only unplayable configuration, with an average of 19 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570's memory affect performance?

A: The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory appears to be a significant factor. The data shows a large performance drop between Medium and High settings, particularly at higher resolutions. For example, at 2560x1440, the average FPS falls from 79 on Medium to 49 on High, suggesting the memory bandwidth or capacity is being saturated.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a primary bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 7900X has a high multi-core score (29300 in Cinebench R23) and a strong single-core score (2016.5), which should be more than sufficient for a driving simulation. The frame rate differences between settings are more consistent with a GPU limitation.

Q: What is the performance difference between the "High" and "Ultra" presets?

A: The "Ultra" preset is significantly more demanding. At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 75 on High to 52 on Ultra. At 2560x1440, it drops from 49 FPS to 34 FPS. At 4K, the drop is even more severe, from 27 FPS to 19 FPS.

Q: How does the frame rate scale with resolution?

A: The frame rate does not scale linearly with resolution. For example, at Medium settings, the FPS drops from 120 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p (a 34% decrease), and then to 44 at 4K (a 44% decrease from 1440p). This suggests that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly capable of high frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 146 FPS, while Medium reaches 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. The High preset produces a 75 FPS average, and the Ultra preset is the most demanding, with a 52 FPS average. This resolution shows a wide spread in performance, indicating that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. The Low preset still delivers a very playable 96 FPS average. The Medium preset, with a 79 FPS average and a 67 FPS minimum, remains a strong choice for a smooth experience. The High preset drops to a 49 FPS average, which may be acceptable for some, but it is notably less fluid than Medium. The Ultra preset becomes quite demanding, with an average of only 34 FPS, which would likely be considered too choppy for a driving game.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset is the only one that achieves a playable average, with 53 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 44 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS, which is on the edge of playability. The High preset falls to 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 19 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: the higher the resolution, the more dramatic the frame rate penalty for increasing settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 94 FPS (146 vs 52), while at 4K it is only 34 FPS (53 vs 19), showing that the GPU is being saturated at higher resolutions regardless of the settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2342 out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is surprising given the individual component specifications. The rank of 2342 suggests that while the CPU is a high performer, the GPU is holding back the overall system performance in this particular game. The Arc B570's percentile of 65 indicates it is better than most GPUs, but its performance in this title is clearly not top-tier.

The combination's rank is likely influenced by the game's specific demands on the GPU. The data shows that the system is capable of 120 FPS at 1080p Medium, which is a good result. However, many other tested combos may feature more powerful GPUs that can sustain higher frame rates at higher settings. The combo's rank of 2342 out of 2934 means that roughly 592 combos perform worse, but it also means that a significant number of systems deliver better performance. The CPU's high percentile rank (91st) does not compensate for the GPU's comparatively lower performance in this game, resulting in a mid-to-low tier overall ranking.

This ranking highlights the importance of GPU selection for The Long Drive. The Ryzen 9 7900X is a powerful processor, but its capabilities are not fully utilized in this title due to the GPU's limitations. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would likely result in a much higher combo rank. The current rank indicates that the system is well-balanced for some games, but for this specific driving simulation, the GPU is the limiting factor in achieving a top-tier ranking.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its high multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29300, is far beyond what a driving simulation would typically require. In The Long Drive, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The benchmark results show that the frame rate is heavily dependent on the graphics settings and resolution, which are typically GPU-bound tasks.

The CPU's strong single-core performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2016.5, is also important for game logic, physics, and AI calculations. However, the data does not suggest that the CPU is a bottleneck in any of the tested configurations. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 146 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would require a capable CPU to feed the GPU. But the fact that the frame rate drops consistently with increasing resolution and settings points to the GPU being the primary performance limiter.

The Ryzen 9 7900X's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide a solid foundation for the system. The data indicates that the CPU is not struggling to keep up with the GPU in this title. The combo rank of 2342 out of 2934 suggests that the CPU is performing its role adequately, but the overall system performance is capped by the GPU. The CPU's high benchmark scores, such as a PassMark multi-thread score of 51406, do not directly translate to higher frame rates in this game, as the graphics load is the dominant factor. Ultimately, the CPU is a strong performer that does not hinder the system's capabilities, but it also does not boost the system's rank in this particular game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At Medium settings, the average FPS scales from 120 at 1080p, to 79 at 1440p, and finally to 44 at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. This non-linear scaling is a classic indicator that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as the pixel count increases. The Arc B570's 10 GB of memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely being strained at higher resolutions, as the demand for texture data and frame buffer memory grows.

At High settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average FPS drops from 75 at 1080p, to 49 at 1440p (a 35% drop), and then to 27 at 4K (a 45% drop from 1440p). The fact that the percentage drop is similar to Medium suggests that the GPU is consistently the bottleneck, but the base frame rate is lower due to the higher settings. At Low settings, the system shows the best scaling, with 146 FPS at 1080p, 96 FPS at 1440p (a 34% drop), and 53 FPS at 4K (a 45% drop). This indicates that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

The data strongly suggests that the CPU is not a significant factor in resolution scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain more consistent across resolutions, especially at lower settings. Instead, the consistent percentage drops across all settings point to the GPU's pixel throughput and memory subsystem as the limiting factors. The system's performance at 4K is particularly telling, as even the Low preset cannot maintain 60 FPS, confirming that the Arc B570 is not designed for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming in this title. The scaling behavior indicates that for the best experience, users should stick to 1080p or 1440p to fully utilize the system's capabilities.