The Long Drive

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a specific performance profile in The Long Drive, a driving simulation that appears to scale significantly with both resolution and graphical presets. Data indicates this combination is positioned in the lower-to-mid tier of tested configurations, requiring careful settings management to achieve smooth gameplay, particularly at higher resolutions. The benchmark results show a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate, with the CPU’s strong multi-threaded foundation not fully compensating for the GPU’s limitations at 4K.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combo in The Long Drive?*

A: This specific combination ranks 2342 out of 2934 tested combos in the game, placing it in the 21st percentile of all tested configurations.

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-14700F compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701), 0.3% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469), 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53288), and 0.8% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206).

Q: What is the best 1080p result recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate at 1920x1080 is 146 FPS, achieved with Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 120 FPS, while High and Ultra presets produce 75 FPS and 52 FPS, respectively.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo achieve a 60 FPS average?

A: At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 96 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p achieves 79 FPS, and the High preset at 1440p reaches 49 FPS. At 1080p, the High preset yields 75 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 75 FPS at 1920x1080 to 49 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 27 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 64% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and size?

A: The Intel Arc B570 features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. Its memory clock is 2375 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 2342 out of 2934 tested combinations is a significant indicator of its performance ceiling in The Long Drive. This rank places it below the median, meaning a majority of other tested CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates in this specific title. Given the data, the primary constraint is the Intel Arc B570, which, while scoring in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, does not have the raw throughput to push high frame rates at demanding settings. The CPU, conversely, holds a much stronger position, being in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, which suggests the processor is not the bottleneck in this configuration.

The delta between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's low rank points to a GPU-limited scenario. The data shows that the i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620, placing it within 1% of its nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (score of 53288). This indicates the CPU has ample headroom for gaming workloads. However, the Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is within 0.5% of competitors like the Intel Arc A750 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, suggesting a mid-range graphics solution. In The Long Drive, this mid-range GPU performance is insufficient to leverage the CPU's full potential, resulting in the overall low rank for the pair.

The performance gap is most evident at 4K Ultra, where the combo manages only 19 FPS, and at 1440p Ultra, where it drops to 34 FPS. These scores are far below what would be considered playable for a smooth experience. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average of 52 FPS is marginal. The data suggests that the Arc B570's architecture, with 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs, is better suited for lower resolutions and less demanding presets. The 19,600 million transistors on a 5 nm process provide a capable foundation, but the memory bus width of 160 bits and 10 GB VRAM appear to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions in this simulation.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the decisive component in this pairing for The Long Drive. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data shows a sharp decline at 4K. The GPU's base and boost clock are both set at 2500 MHz, which is a modest frequency for the architecture. With a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s, the card has theoretical limits that align with its mid-range positioning, scoring in the 65th percentile of all GPUs.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations are stark. At High settings, the average FPS is 27, and at Ultra, it falls to 19 FPS. This suggests that the 10 GB framebuffer is being saturated or that the 160-bit memory interface cannot provide data fast enough for the rendering engine at this resolution. The difference between Low (53 FPS) and Medium (44 FPS) at 4K is 9 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High (27 FPS) is a more severe 17 FPS drop, indicating a non-linear scaling with settings complexity. The highest recorded frame rate at 4K is 50 FPS (Medium max FPS), which is still below the desired 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, the GPU performs more reasonably. The Low preset achieves 96 FPS, and Medium reaches 79 FPS, with a max FPS of 91. However, the High preset drops to 49 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. This pattern shows that the Arc B570 can handle the geometry and texture loads at 1440p on lower presets, but struggles when the visual effects and draw distances are increased. The GPU's 144 texture mapping units and 80 ROPs are likely the bottleneck in these higher-fidelity scenarios, as the fill rate requirements exceed its capabilities. The performance at 1080p is more promising, with High settings delivering 75 FPS and Medium hitting 120 FPS, showing that the card is well-matched to this resolution for most presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's capabilities across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 146 FPS, Medium produces 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS, High produces 75 FPS, and Ultra produces 52 FPS. These figures show a clear step-down as settings increase, with the difference between Medium and High being a significant 45 FPS drop.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease as expected. Low settings average 96 FPS, Medium averages 79 FPS with a range of 67 to 91 FPS, High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra averages 34 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 50 FPS (from 146 to 96), which is a 34% reduction. At High settings, the drop is 26 FPS (from 75 to 49), a 35% reduction. This consistent scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at these resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the performance degrades significantly. Low settings yield an average of 53 FPS, Medium yields 44 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS, High yields 27 FPS, and Ultra yields 19 FPS. The 4K results are notable because even the Low preset fails to maintain a stable 60 FPS, indicating that the Arc B570 is not suited for 4K gaming in this title. The gap between Medium and High at 4K (17 FPS) is larger than the gap between Low and Medium (9 FPS), which implies that the High preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU's resources. The minimum FPS of 37 at 4K Medium also shows that there are significant frame time spikes, which could lead to noticeable stuttering.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F plays a supporting role in this configuration, providing substantial processing power that is not fully utilized at higher resolutions. With 20 cores and 28 threads, the CPU is capable of handling complex simulations and background tasks. Its boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics. The CPU's benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a single-core score of 4958, placing it in the 91st percentile against all CPUs.

In The Long Drive, which is a driving simulation, the CPU is responsible for physics calculations, vehicle dynamics, and world state updates. The data suggests that the i7-14700F is not a limiting factor at 1080p, where frame rates are high. At 1080p Low, the 146 FPS average is likely near the engine's or the GPU's limit, rather than the CPU's. The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample space for game data, reducing latency. The 65W TDP suggests efficient operation, but the CPU's performance is not the reason for the low combo rank.

The CPU's influence becomes more apparent when comparing results at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate differences between Low and Medium (26 FPS) are smaller than the differences between Medium and High (45 FPS), which points to the GPU handling the increased visual load. However, the CPU's strong scores, such as a PassMark multi-thread score of 41317 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19620, indicate it can feed the GPU effectively at all tested settings. The bottleneck analysis shows that the Arc B570's performance ceiling is reached before the i7-14700F's capacity is exhausted, confirming that the CPU is not the primary constraint in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1920x1080, the High preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 75 FPS. The Medium preset offers a higher 120 FPS average, which is beneficial for players with high-refresh-rate monitors, but it comes at the cost of visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with an average of 52 FPS, is not recommended for a consistent experience, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, providing a 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS, which ensures a mostly smooth experience with some margin. The Low preset yields an even higher 96 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may be too significant for some players. The High preset at 1440p, with 49 FPS, is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 34 FPS is not suitable for gameplay. For 4K gaming, the data suggests that only the Low preset, with an average of 53 FPS, approaches playability, while Medium (44 FPS) and below are too slow for a satisfactory experience.

The best overall experience, balancing visual quality and performance, is achieved with the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p Medium, the 120 FPS average with a minimum of 102 FPS provides a highly responsive and fluid experience, making it ideal for a driving simulation where smooth motion is crucial. At 1440p Medium, the 79 FPS average is acceptable, but the 67 FPS minimum could cause occasional hitches. For players prioritizing visual fidelity, the High preset at 1080p offers a good compromise, but for maximum smoothness, Medium is the clear recommendation. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions due to its low frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling of frame rates from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 75 at 1080p to 49 at 1440p, and finally to 27 at 4K. This represents a 35% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 45% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 64%, which is a steep decline. This pattern indicates that the rendering load increases exponentially with resolution, and the Arc B570's processing units and memory bandwidth are unable to keep pace.

At Low settings, the scaling is similar. The average FPS drops from 146 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p and 53 at 4K. The percentage drops are 34% and 45% for each step, respectively. The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across Low and High settings suggests that the resolution scaling is consistent and independent of the graphical preset. This is a strong indicator that the GPU's fill rate and pixel processing capabilities are the limiting factors, rather than any specific game setting or CPU bottleneck.

The data also shows that the difference between 1080p and 1440p is less severe than the difference between 1440p and 4K. For example, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (120 FPS) to 1440p (79 FPS) is 41 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (44 FPS) is 35 FPS. This non-linear scaling is typical for GPUs, as the number of pixels at 4K (8.3 million) is significantly higher than at 1440p (3.7 million) and 1080p (2.1 million). The Intel Core i7-14700F's role in this scaling is negligible, as its performance does not change with resolution. The conclusion from the data is that the GPU is the sole limiting component at resolutions above 1080p, and any attempts to improve 4K performance would require a more powerful graphics card.