The Long Drive

The Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B370 combination delivers a deeply constrained gaming experience in The Long Drive, with benchmark results placing this pairing at rank 2700 out of 2934 tested combos. The data indicates a system where the integrated-class GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, reducing even a strong desktop processor to frame rates that are largely unplayable at higher settings.

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

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The processor features a hybrid layout with a shared 25 MB L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus. The chip's integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but irrelevant here, as the system pairs the CPU with a discrete-class Arc B370.

In synthetic CPU benchmarks, the i7-12700K posts strong numbers: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and a single-core score of 1850.5, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 15790 and a single-core score of 2308. The processor's 3DMark results scale predictably with thread count, from 1043 in single-thread to 9979 in max-threads, and its PassMark multi-thread score of 34404 places it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals in the database—the Intel Core i5-13600T, Core i7-12700KF, Core i7-13700T, and Core 5 213PE—all score within a narrow band around 35300–35428, with delta percentages ranging from -0.1% to -0.4%, indicating that the i7-12700K is essentially neck-and-neck with those parts in aggregate CPU performance.

However, in The Long Drive, the CPU's headroom is entirely untapped. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system produces 86 FPS, which is the single highest result across all configurations. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 31 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 11 FPS. This pattern—where FPS scales almost linearly with resolution and settings rather than plateauing—strongly suggests that the CPU is never the limiting factor. The i7-12700K's 20 threads and high boost clocks are capable of feeding frames far faster than the GPU can render them, but the benchmark results show that the processor's performance is effectively masked by the graphics subsystem. The game likely relies on single-threaded or lightly-threaded physics and world simulation, and the i7-12700K's single-core score of 1850.5 in Cinebench R23 and 1043 in 3DMark single-thread is more than sufficient for that workload. The data indicates that even the weakest CPU in the nearest rivals list would produce nearly identical FPS in this game, as the bottleneck lies elsewhere.

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

The Intel Arc B370 is a 3 nm part from the Xe3-LPG architecture, designed as an integrated graphics processor for mobile platforms, with a 25 W TDP and no power connectors. Its base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2400 MHz, and it features 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. The GPU has 10 ray tracing cores, a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s, and 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Critically, the memory configuration is "System Shared" with system-dependent bandwidth, meaning the GPU is entirely reliant on the host system's RAM for both capacity and throughput.

The Arc B370's synthetic benchmark is a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 1184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, delta -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, delta -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, delta -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, delta 1.4%). These delta percentages are all within 1.4% of the Arc B370's score, meaning the GPU performs at a level comparable to mid-range discrete cards from over a decade ago. This is a fundamental limitation for The Long Drive, which appears to demand far more graphics throughput than the Arc B370 can deliver.

The measured FPS data confirms this. At 1080p Low, the system averages 86 FPS, but at 1080p High, it drops to 44 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it plummets to 31 FPS. The gap widens dramatically at higher resolutions: at 1440p, Low yields 56 FPS, High yields 29 FPS, and Ultra yields 20 FPS. At 4K, the numbers become marginal—Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 26 FPS, High 16 FPS, and Ultra 11 FPS. The GPU's shared memory and lack of dedicated VRAM likely exacerbate performance issues at higher resolutions, as the system must allocate system memory for both the game's assets and the GPU's frame buffer, potentially causing significant bandwidth contention. The data shows that the Arc B370 is the clear limiting component in every configuration, as the FPS scales directly with the GPU's workload rather than the CPU's capabilities.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play The Long Drive with this hardware?*

A: According to the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where the system achieves playable frame rates at Low or Medium settings. At 1080p Low, the average is 86 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it is 71 FPS. At 1440p, the best case is 56 FPS on Low, which may be acceptable, but 4K at any setting falls below 31 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its closest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, delta -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, delta -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, delta -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, delta 1.4%). All of these are within roughly 1.4% of the Arc B370's score, indicating essentially identical rasterization performance.

Q: Is the Core i7-12700K a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The benchmark results show that FPS scales almost entirely with resolution and graphics settings, not with CPU load. The i7-12700K's multi-threaded score of 19784 in Cinebench R23 and its 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicate far more processing power than the Arc B370 can utilize. The GPU is the limiting component at every measured configuration.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 86 on Low to 31 on Ultra, a reduction of 55 FPS. The Medium setting yields 71 FPS, and High yields 44 FPS. This steep decline suggests that the game's Ultra preset imposes a graphics load that the Arc B370 cannot handle efficiently.

Q: Does the Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The GPU's memory is listed as "System Shared" with a type of "System Shared" and system-dependent bandwidth. This means the GPU relies on the host system's RAM for all memory operations, which can lead to performance degradation at higher resolutions or settings that require larger frame buffers.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for The Long Drive?*

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B370 combination is ranked 2700 out of 2934 total combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations. This low ranking is consistent with the GPU's 5th percentile standing among all GPUs.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this system's performance in The Long Drive, with averages recorded for every combination of resolution and quality preset. At 1080p, the lowest resolution tested, the system achieves its best results. On Low settings, the average FPS is 86, which is the single highest number in the entire dataset. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 81. High settings reduce the average to 44 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 31 FPS. This 55 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p illustrates how sensitive the Arc B370 is to graphical complexity.

At 1440p, the performance degrades substantially across the board. Low settings average 56 FPS, which is playable but no longer smooth. Medium averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 53. High settings drop to 29 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 20 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 36 FPS, showing that the GPU's limitations are compounded by the increased pixel count. The 1440p Medium result of 46 FPS is the only configuration besides 1080p that approaches a comfortable frame rate.

At 4K, the system is essentially overwhelmed. Low settings average 31 FPS, which is technically playable but marginal. Medium averages 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. High settings drop to 16 FPS, and Ultra falls to 11 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is just 20 FPS, but the absolute numbers are so low that none of these configurations provide a satisfactory experience. The 4K Medium result of 26 FPS, with its narrow range of 22–30 FPS, indicates that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling regardless of settings.

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

The resolution scaling data reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 86 at 1080p to 56 at 1440p to 31 at 4K. This represents a 34.9% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 44.6% reduction from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the averages are 44 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K, showing a 34.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44.8% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings is a strong indicator that the GPU's rendering throughput, not the CPU or memory subsystem, is the sole limiter.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings is particularly telling: 71 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The halving of FPS from 1080p to 4K (71 to 26, a 63.4% reduction) is roughly proportional to the quadruplying of pixel count (2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels), which is the expected behavior for a GPU that is fully saturated. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor would be unable to feed more frames regardless of pixel count. The data shows the opposite: FPS scales almost exactly with pixel workload, confirming that the Arc B370 is the critical constraint. The i7-12700K's performance is effectively irrelevant to the frame rate in this game, as even the weakest rival CPU would produce identical results with this GPU.

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

Given the measured FPS data, the only viable configurations for a playable experience are at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the average of 86 FPS is the best possible outcome, providing smooth, responsive gameplay. This preset is the clear recommendation for any user who prioritizes frame rate and fluidity. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 81, which is still comfortably playable and likely offers a noticeable visual improvement over Low. The 71 FPS average is high enough that most users would not perceive a difference from the Low preset in terms of smoothness, making Medium the best balance of visual quality and performance.

At 1080p High, the average of 44 FPS is borderline, and it would be playable for some but may feel sluggish. The 31 FPS average at 1080p Ultra is below the threshold for smooth gameplay and should be avoided. At 1440p, only Low settings (56 FPS) are worth considering, but even this is a significant step down from 1080p. The 1440p Medium result of 46 FPS is marginally acceptable, but the higher resolution does not compensate for the loss of frame rate. At 4K, all settings produce averages of 31 FPS or lower, which is not recommended for any gameplay scenario.

The data indicates that the optimal experience is 1080p Medium, which delivers a 71 FPS average with a minimum of 60 FPS, ensuring that frame times remain consistent. Users who absolutely require the highest frame rates should use 1080p Low, but the visual trade-off may not be worth the 15 FPS gain over Medium. For those who insist on higher resolutions, 1440p Low is the only remotely playable option, but the 56 FPS average is inferior to 1080p Medium in both smoothness and visual fidelity when considering the reduced pixel count. The Arc B370's performance ceiling is simply too low for this game to be enjoyed at 1440p or 4K, regardless of settings.