The Long Drive

The Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B570 pairing produces a mixed bag of results in The Long Drive, a driving simulation that clearly responds more to GPU load than to CPU muscle. The data shows a combo that can deliver smooth, high-refresh gameplay at 1080p with medium settings, but which falls apart at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops to a nearly unplayable level. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across three resolutions and four quality presets, explaining what the numbers mean for this specific hardware combination.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The CPU's cache layout includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel interface, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700. Its TDP is 58 W.

In the context of The Long Drive, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. Evidence for this comes from the benchmark data at 1080p, where the frame rates change dramatically between settings. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 146 FPS average. At 1080p Medium, that drops to 120 FPS, and at 1080p High, it falls to 75 FPS. The 4-core design is sufficient to feed the GPU at these levels, as the frame rate scaling aligns with the GPU's workload rather than hitting a CPU ceiling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS across settings at the same resolution, which is not the case.

The processor's benchmark scores reinforce this interpretation. In Cinebench R23, the i3-12100F scores 11860 multi-core and 1674 single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 7252 multi-core and 1932 single-core. The single-thread performance is solid for a quad-core part, which helps in games that rely on a few heavily threaded tasks. The 3DMark scores also support this: 4051 with 16 threads, 4026 with 8 threads, and 2859 with 4 threads. The close parity between the 8-thread and 16-thread scores (4026 vs 4051) suggests that the processor's four physical cores handle the workload effectively, with hyper-threading providing only a marginal gain.

The CPU's percentile rank is 68 among all tested processors, and its average benchmark score is 13494. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492 (0% delta), the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452 (0.3% delta), and the Intel Core 5 120UL at 13594 (-0.7% delta). These numbers place the i3-12100F in a competitive position for its class, but for The Long Drive, the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows a clear GPU-bound pattern, where lowering resolution or settings increases FPS in a way that would not occur if the CPU were the bottleneck.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) using a 5 nm process from TSMC. Its chip, designated BMG-G21, contains 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 2375 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective. The GPU core operates at a fixed 2500 MHz for both base and boost clocks.

The Arc B570 features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 18 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 23.04 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). The GPU's TDP is 150 W, and it requires a single 8-pin power connector. The suggested PSU is 450 W. The card occupies a dual-slot form factor, measuring 272 mm in length and 115 mm in height. It connects via PCIe 4.0 x8 and offers display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1.

The GPU's role in The Long Drive is dominant. The measured FPS data shows a strong correlation between resolution and performance. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 146 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 53 FPS. This scaling indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at higher resolutions. The 10 GB VRAM is adequate for the game's lower presets, but the 160-bit bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth limit performance when the pixel workload increases.

The Arc B570's benchmark scores place it in a specific performance tier. Its Passmark G3D score is 14195, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2649. In Geekbench, it scores 83514 in OpenCL and 96844 in Vulkan. The GPU's percentile rank is 65 among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avg score 20534, 0.1% delta), the Intel Arc A750 (avg score 20582, -0.1% delta), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (avg score 20662, -0.5% delta). These rivals are close in overall score, but in The Long Drive, the Arc B570's performance at 4K suggests that the game may be sensitive to memory bandwidth, where the 380.0 GB/s figure could be a limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings to use. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 120 FPS average with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. This is the only preset at 1080p that offers a fully smooth experience with a high frame rate. The Low preset reaches 146 FPS, which is higher, but the Medium preset's 120 FPS is still well above the threshold for smooth gameplay, and the min FPS of 102 indicates that the frame pacing is stable. The High preset at 1080p drops to 75 FPS, which is playable but represents a significant step down from Medium. The Ultra preset at 1080p falls to 52 FPS, which may feel less responsive.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. This is the best balance at this resolution. The Low preset reaches 96 FPS, but the Medium preset's 79 FPS is still smooth, and the visual quality improvement justifies the drop. The High preset at 1440p produces 49 FPS, which is borderline, and the Ultra preset falls to 34 FPS, which is not recommended for smooth play.

At 4K, none of the presets deliver a fully smooth experience. The Low preset achieves 53 FPS, which is playable but with some compromise. The Medium preset produces 44 FPS average with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The High preset drops to 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset is at 19 FPS, both of which are too low for comfortable gameplay.

The recommended preset is Medium at 1080p for the best experience. This setting offers 120 FPS average with a minimum above 100 FPS, ensuring smooth motion. For users prioritizing higher visual quality, the Low preset at 1440p with 96 FPS is a viable alternative, but the Medium preset at 1080p provides a better combination of frame rate and visual fidelity. The data suggests that the Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it produces the lowest frame rates at every resolution.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i3-12100F + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2342 out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive. This places the combo in the lower half of the rankings, which is consistent with the measured FPS data showing that the system struggles at higher resolutions. The rank of 2342 indicates that a significant portion of other hardware combinations achieved better performance in this game.

The combo's position in the rankings reflects its limited capability at 4K and its moderate performance at 1440p. At 1080p, the combo performs respectably with 120 FPS at Medium, but the ranking suggests that many other combos exceed this level of performance. The GPU's 10 GB VRAM and 160-bit bus are likely contributing factors, as they limit the card's ability to handle high-resolution textures and heavy pixel loads.

The CPU's percentile rank of 68 and the GPU's percentile rank of 65 indicate that both components are mid-pack in their respective categories. However, the combo rank of 2342 out of 2934 shows that the pairing does not synergize well enough to overcome the GPU's limitations in this specific game. The data suggests that users seeking higher frame rates in The Long Drive would benefit from a more powerful GPU, as the CPU appears capable of keeping up with the current frame rates.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides the best experience, with an average FPS of 120, a minimum FPS of 102, and a maximum FPS of 138. This is the only configuration that delivers a consistently smooth frame rate above 100 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the Arc A750 scores 20582, a delta of -0.1%. This means the Arc A750 is slightly faster overall, but the difference is minimal. In The Long Drive, the Arc B570's performance at 4K Low (53 FPS) and 4K Medium (44 FPS) indicates that the card's memory bandwidth is a limiting factor.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p, the frame rate varies significantly between Low (146 FPS) and High (75 FPS), which shows that the GPU's workload is the main driver of performance. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and single-core score of 1674 suggest that it has enough headroom to feed the GPU at these frame rates.

Q: What is the difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average FPS of 96, while the Ultra preset achieves 34 FPS. This represents a 62 FPS drop, or roughly 65% lower performance. The Medium preset at 1440p provides 79 FPS average, which is a more balanced option.

Q: How does the combo's ranking in this game compare to the individual component rankings?

A: The CPU ranks in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. However, the combo ranks 2342 out of 2934 combos, which is in the lower half. This discrepancy suggests that the specific pairing is less effective in The Long Drive than the individual component scores might imply.

Q: Can this hardware achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: According to the measured data, no. The highest FPS at 3840x2160 is 53 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset produces 44 FPS, High produces 27 FPS, and Ultra produces 19 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the 60 FPS threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are the highest. The Low preset delivers 146 FPS average. The Medium preset delivers 120 FPS average, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. The High preset drops to 75 FPS average. The Ultra preset falls to 52 FPS average. This shows a clear progression where higher settings reduce performance, but even the Ultra preset at 1080p remains above 50 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases noticeably. The Low preset achieves 96 FPS average. The Medium preset achieves 79 FPS average, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. The High preset drops to 49 FPS average. The Ultra preset falls to 34 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 17 FPS, which is smaller than the 26 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly lower. The Low preset achieves 53 FPS average. The Medium preset achieves 44 FPS average, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS. The High preset drops to 27 FPS average. The Ultra preset falls to 19 FPS average. The data shows that the GPU cannot handle 4K with this combination, as even the Low preset does not reach 60 FPS.

The complete list of measured FPS values is as follows: 1080p Low 146, 1080p Medium 120 (min 102, max 138), 1080p High 75, 1080p Ultra 52. 1440p Low 96, 1440p Medium 79 (min 67, max 91), 1440p High 49, 1440p Ultra 34. 4K Low 53, 4K Medium 44 (min 37, max 50), 4K High 27, 4K Ultra 19. These numbers represent the complete measured dataset for this combo.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling shows a clear pattern of performance degradation as pixel count increases. Starting from 1080p Low at 146 FPS, the frame rate drops to 96 FPS at 1440p Low, a decrease of 50 FPS or about 34%. At 4K Low, the frame rate drops further to 53 FPS, which is 93 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, representing a 64% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar. At 1080p, the average FPS is 120. At 1440p, it drops to 79 FPS, a 41 FPS decrease. At 4K, it falls to 44 FPS, which is 76 FPS lower than the 1080p result. The minimum FPS also scales proportionally: 102 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. This consistent scaling across settings reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the bottleneck.

The High preset shows an even more pronounced drop. At 1080p, it delivers 75 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 49 FPS, a 26 FPS decrease. At 4K, it falls to 27 FPS, a 48 FPS decrease from 1080p. The Ultra preset follows the same trend, with 52 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all presets, ranging from 63% to 67%.

This scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, specifically its memory bandwidth and fill rate. The Arc B570's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 160-bit bus become insufficient as the pixel workload grows. The CPU's performance, by contrast, does not show signs of being a bottleneck, as the frame rates scale smoothly with resolution changes. The data suggests that users of this combo should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best experience, as 4K performance is consistently below 60 FPS even on the lowest settings.