The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs the Intel Core i5-12400 with the Intel Arc B570, a combination that lands in the 2342nd position out of 2934 tested combos for this title. That ranking places this pairing in the lower half of the database, which aligns with the measured frame rates: the system is capable of playable performance at 1080p and 1440p on medium settings, but it struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K or on the Ultra preset. The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution and graphical load increase, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom for the game's driving simulation logic.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance curve as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 146 FPS at 1080p to 96 FPS at 1440p, then falls to 53 FPS at 4K. That represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the Arc B570's rendering workload increases dramatically with pixel count.

The Medium settings row shows a similar trajectory: 120 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 44%. The High settings follow the same pattern with 75 FPS, 49 FPS, and 27 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, starting at 52 FPS at 1080p and falling to 34 FPS at 1440p, then 19 FPS at 4K.

These numbers suggest that the Arc B570's 10 GB GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU's raw compute throughput becomes the bottleneck at 4K. The fact that the Low preset nearly triples the 4K frame rate compared to Ultra (53 FPS vs 19 FPS) indicates that the game's higher settings introduce effects that are particularly heavy on the GPU's shading units and texture units. The 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate appear sufficient for lower resolutions but fall short when the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

FAQ

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

A: Only on the Low preset, where the average frame rate is 53 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 44 FPS, High falls to 27 FPS, and Ultra is effectively unplayable at 19 FPS. For consistent 60 FPS at 4K, this hardware combination is not suitable.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: The data indicates 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At Medium settings, the system delivers 120 FPS average with a minimum of 102 FPS, providing smooth gameplay. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the edge.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 52 FPS, while High averages 75 FPS. That is a 31% performance penalty for Ultra, with diminishing returns in visual fidelity. The measured data shows no minimum or maximum frame rate for either preset, so the average is the primary comparison point.

Q: Is the Core i5-12400 holding back the Arc B570 in this game?

A: The benchmark data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and multi-thread score of 5890 suggest adequate processing power for this driving simulation. The FPS scaling with resolution points to the GPU as the limiting factor, especially since the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are well above the minimum requirements for most titles.

Q: What kind of frame time consistency can I expect at 1440p Medium?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS, with an average of 79 FPS. That 24 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates occasional frame dips, but the minimum remains above 60 FPS, which should prevent noticeable stuttering.

Q: How does this combo compare to other CPUs in the database?

A: The Core i5-12400 sits at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7643, scores 18697, which is only 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519, placing it 0.9% lower than the i5-12400.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 brings 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is a critical factor in The Long Drive's performance, as the game's open-world driving environment demands constant texture streaming. The 19 Gbps effective memory speed helps maintain consistent frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the 160-bit bus width limits the GPU's ability to feed data at 4K resolutions.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: both base and boost clocks sit at 2500 MHz, with no game clock specified. This flat clock curve means the card runs at a constant frequency under load, which simplifies performance prediction. The 2304 shading units and 144 texture mapping units handle the game's lighting and terrain rendering, while the 80 raster output units manage the final pixel output. The 18 ray tracing cores are present but likely unused in this title, as The Long Drive does not appear to emphasize ray-traced effects in its settings.

The Arc B570's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the raw throughput figure that determines how quickly the GPU can process vertex and pixel shaders. This translates to 200.0 GPixel/s pixel fill rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture fill rate. The pixel rate becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where the GPU must fill four times the pixels of 1080p. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (19 FPS) aligns with a GPU that is heavily pixel-bound, while the 1080p Low result (146 FPS) shows the card has ample headroom when fill rate requirements are modest.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. The PassMark G3D score of 14195 places it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534, a difference of just 0.1%. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 0.1% higher than the B570. These close margins suggest the B570 performs similarly to these mid-range competitors, which is consistent with the measured FPS in The Long Drive.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset averages 146 FPS, providing an exceptionally smooth experience with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings reduce the average to 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and maximum of 138 FPS, indicating solid frame pacing. High settings drop the average to 75 FPS, which remains playable but shows a significant step down from Medium. The Ultra preset averages 52 FPS, which is the lowest 1080p result and suggests that this setting is too demanding for consistent enjoyment.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 96 FPS, still smooth for most players. Medium settings average 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS and maximum of 91 FPS, providing a good balance between visual quality and responsiveness. High settings drop to 49 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer. Ultra settings average 34 FPS, making this preset impractical for 1440p gaming.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 53 FPS, which is borderline acceptable for a driving game where reaction time matters less than in competitive shooters. Medium settings average 44 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS, meaning the game will frequently dip below 40 FPS. High settings average 27 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS, both of which are too low for smooth gameplay. The 4K data confirms that this combo is not suited for high-resolution gaming with this title's higher presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosting to 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture chip uses a 10 nm process and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel bus. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache is sufficient for the game's data requirements, and the 80 KB L1 cache per core handles immediate access needs.

The CPU's benchmark results indicate strong multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257 show that the chip can handle both heavily threaded workloads and single-thread-sensitive tasks. The Geekbench multi-core score of 8564 and single-core score of 1848 reinforce this picture. The PassMark multi-thread score of 18747 and single-thread score of 3456 demonstrate balanced performance across different workload types.

For The Long Drive, the CPU's role is primarily managing the game's physics and simulation logic. The game is a driving simulation, which means vehicle physics, collision detection, and environment interactions all rely on CPU processing. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and max-thread score of 5890 show that the CPU can scale well with additional threads, which is relevant for a game that may spawn multiple AI drivers or complex environmental interactions.

The CPU's 65W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a practical choice for typical desktop builds. The integrated UHD Graphics 730 is present but irrelevant when the Arc B570 is installed. The PCIe Gen 5 support with 16 lanes ensures the GPU has adequate bandwidth, though the Arc B570's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface means it will not utilize the full PCIe 5.0 bandwidth. The CPU's lack of an unlocked multiplier limits overclocking potential, but the 4.40 GHz boost clock provides adequate single-thread performance for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the best experience. The 120 FPS average with a 102 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes, while the 138 FPS maximum shows there is headroom for occasional frame spikes. This combination delivers high frame rates without the steep performance penalty of the Ultra preset.

For players using 1440p monitors, the Medium preset is still the recommended choice. The 79 FPS average with a 67 FPS minimum keeps the game above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a playable experience. The Low preset at 1440p offers 96 FPS average, which is smoother but sacrifices visual fidelity. The High preset at 49 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are below the ideal range for a driving game where quick reactions matter.

At 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, averaging 53 FPS. This is playable but not optimal, and players with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution or accepting reduced visual quality. The Medium preset at 44 FPS with a 37 FPS minimum will cause noticeable stuttering during intense driving sequences.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. Even at 1080p, it only averages 52 FPS, which is lower than the Medium preset at 1440p (79 FPS). The performance cost of Ultra settings does not justify the visual improvements in this title, particularly given the game's art style and driving-focused gameplay. Players seeking the highest visual quality should use High at 1080p, which delivers 75 FPS average, or Medium at 1440p for higher resolution with acceptable performance.