The Long Drive

The Long Drive presents an unusual hardware challenge: it is a low-fidelity driving simulation with a vast, procedurally generated world, placing a unique load on both processor and graphics hardware. This analysis examines the measured performance data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics. The data indicates a system heavily constrained by its graphics solution, where CPU headroom is ample but the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck across most settings and resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS for the Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B390 combination at 1920x1080 with High settings is 49 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, placing the Arc B390 1.3% ahead.

Q: What is the best-performing preset for this combo at 4K resolution?

A: According to the measured data, the Low preset yields the highest average frame rate at 3840x2160, achieving 35 FPS, compared to 29 FPS on Medium and 18 FPS on High.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this system?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the Intel Core i5-14600KF ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating a massive performance disparity between the two components.

Q: What is the frame rate range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows that at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 51, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS.

Q: What is the overall rank of this specific CPU and GPU combination for this game?

A: This combo is ranked 2594 out of 2934 tested combinations in The Long Drive, placing it in the lower percentile of tested systems.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results for this specific hardware configuration show a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset is the only one that delivers a frame rate above 90 FPS, hitting an average of 95. The Medium preset follows at 78 FPS, which is playable but shows a significant drop from Low. High mode drops to 49 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. Based on this data, the Low preset is the only setting that provides a consistently fluid experience at this resolution.

Moving up to 2560x1440, the performance degradation becomes more pronounced. The Low preset is still the top performer, delivering an average of 63 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 51 FPS, which may be acceptable for some users, but the gap between Low and Medium widens. High and Ultra settings fall to 32 FPS and 22 FPS respectively, making them difficult to recommend for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that 1440p is playable only when using the Low or Medium presets.

At 3840x2160, the integrated GPU struggles significantly. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 35 FPS. The Medium preset yields 29 FPS, while High and Ultra produce 18 FPS and 12 FPS, respectively. The data suggests that 4K resolution is not a viable option for this system, even on the lowest settings. The recommendation is to prioritize the Low preset for the most responsive experience at any resolution, with Medium being a possible compromise at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a high-end desktop processor with 14 cores and 20 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its benchmark scores are substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594. The processor’s percentile rank of 90 indicates it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the database. This raw compute power is more than sufficient for a game like The Long Drive, which is not known for heavy physics simulation or complex AI.

The processor’s boost clock of 5.30 GHz is a key asset for gaming, as it provides high single-thread performance that many titles rely on. However, the measured frame rates in this analysis are far below what this CPU is capable of producing. For example, the CPU’s Geekbench single-core score of 2445 is strong, yet the system only achieves 49 FPS at 1080p High. This discrepancy indicates that the CPU is not the performance bottleneck in this configuration.

The data implies that the CPU is waiting on the GPU for the vast majority of frames. The Core i5-14600KF is effectively idle, or at least underutilized, while the Intel Arc B390 struggles to render frames. This is a classic case of a CPU being far more powerful than the accompanying graphics solution. The processor's performance headroom is vast, but it cannot be utilized because the GPU cannot feed it data fast enough.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined performance of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B390 is ranked 2594 out of 2934 tested combinations in The Long Drive. This places the system in the bottom 12% of all tested configurations. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the graphics card, as the CPU is a top-tier part. The combination of a 90th-percentile CPU with a 9th-percentile GPU creates a massive imbalance that drags the overall ranking down.

This ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows that even at 1080p Low, the system only achieves 95 FPS. Many other combinations, presumably with more balanced or superior GPUs, would achieve significantly higher frame rates. The low combo rank is a clear indicator that this system is not optimized for gaming performance in this title. The data shows that the GPU is the primary constraint, preventing the high-performing CPU from demonstrating its full potential in this game.

The ranking also highlights that while the CPU is a strong contributor to overall system capability, it cannot compensate for a weak GPU. The benchmark results indicate that the Intel Arc B390 is the defining component of this combo’s performance, and its low benchmark score directly correlates with the system’s poor overall rank. For users looking at this data, the combo rank serves as a warning that this specific pairing is not suitable for demanding gaming scenarios.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and built on a 3 nm process. Its performance profile is extremely limited. It has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which it beats by 1.3%, and the GeForce GT 710, which it outperforms by 2.7%. These rivals are all very old, low-end parts, confirming the B390's entry-level status.

The GPU’s memory configuration is "System Shared," which means it uses a portion of the system's main memory. This is a significant limitation, as it reduces the memory bandwidth available for both the CPU and GPU. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is notable, but the low number of shading units (1536) and ROPs (24) limits its actual rendering throughput. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, figures that are simply too low for modern gaming.

The data shows that the GPU is the definitive limiting factor in this system. Its low benchmark scores and percentile rank are directly reflected in the low average FPS values across all tested resolutions and settings. The GPU’s inability to handle the game's rendering load is the primary reason for the system's poor performance. The Intel Arc B390 is simply not a gaming-grade component, and its presence in this combo ensures that frame rates will be low regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across different settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows: Low preset averages 95 FPS, Medium averages 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 90, High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra averages 34 FPS. The progression shows a steep decline as graphical fidelity increases.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 63 FPS, Medium averages 51 FPS with a range of 44 to 59, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, with the Low preset losing 32 FPS and High losing 17 FPS. This indicates a sensitivity to resolution, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. The Low preset averages 35 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium averages 29 FPS with a range of 24 to 33, High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. The data shows that 4K resolution is not viable for this combo, as even the lowest settings fail to reach 60 FPS. The frame rate loss from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 60 FPS, a 63% reduction.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear and consistent pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS for the Low preset drops from 95 to 63, a decrease of 32 FPS, or roughly 34%. For the High preset, the drop is from 49 to 32, a decrease of 17 FPS, or about 35%. This similar percentage drop across different presets indicates that the system is scaling predictably with resolution, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound workload.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more severe. The Low preset drops from 63 FPS to 35 FPS, a 44% reduction. The High preset drops from 32 FPS to 18 FPS, a 44% reduction as well. This non-linear scaling, where the percentage loss increases with resolution, is a classic sign of a GPU hitting its memory bandwidth or fill-rate limits. The "System Shared" memory configuration of the Arc B390 likely contributes to this bottleneck, as the GPU has to compete with the CPU for memory access.

The data strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload would not change. However, the significant and consistent FPS drops at higher resolutions point directly to the GPU's inability to process the increased pixel count. The Intel Core i5-14600KF has more than enough headroom to handle the game's logic at any resolution, but the Intel Arc B390 is overwhelmed, making it the definitive performance ceiling for this system.