The Long Drive

# FAQ

Q: What is the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the Intel Arc B390 in The Long Drive?

A: The combination produces an average frame rate of 95 FPS at 1920x1080 on Low settings, which is the highest measured result in the dataset. At 2560x1440 on Low settings, the average drops to 63 FPS, and at 3840x2160 on Low settings, it falls to 35 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, placing it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (score 69996) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (score 69875). It trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K by 1% (score 70879).

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463 (1.3% lower), while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% lower).

Q: Which settings preset delivers the best frame rate at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset delivers the best measured performance at 1920x1080 with an average of 95 FPS. Medium follows at 78 FPS, High at 49 FPS, and Ultra at 34 FPS, showing a steady decline as graphical demands increase.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested system combinations in this game?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF + Intel Arc B390 combo ranks 2594 out of 2934 tested combinations, placing it in the lower portion of the overall performance distribution for The Long Drive.

Q: Does the GPU support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, the Intel Arc B390 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are the API standards relevant to modern game rendering.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a significant constraint in this pairing. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it at just the 9th percentile among all GPUs, indicating that its graphics throughput is modest compared to the broader market. The GPU's architecture is Xe3-LPG, built on Intel's 3 nm process, with a chip codenamed Panther Lake. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, but its memory configuration is "System Shared" — meaning it relies on system memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width and bandwidth are likewise listed as "System Shared" and "System Dependent," respectively, which means performance can vary based on the host system's memory subsystem.

The GPU's shading units number 1536, with 48 texture mapping units and 24 ROPs. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1). The GPU's TDP is 80 W, and it is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no dedicated power connectors. This is a low-power part, and its performance ceiling is reflected in the measured frame rates.

In The Long Drive, the GPU's limitations become apparent as resolution and settings increase. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields only 12 FPS average, and High yields 18 FPS. Even at 2560x1440, Ultra averages 22 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for most users. The data suggests that the Arc B390's shared memory architecture and low pixel throughput are the primary bottlenecks at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, however, the GPU manages more reasonable results — 49 FPS on High and 95 FPS on Low — indicating that this integrated solution is best suited for lower resolutions and less demanding settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% lower). These comparisons place the Arc B390 in the same performance tier as very old, entry-level discrete GPUs. In practical terms, the Arc B390 is not a gaming-oriented part; its 9th percentile standing means it outperforms only a small fraction of the GPU population.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a much stronger component than the GPU in this pairing. It has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU is based on the Raptor Lake architecture (Raptor Lake-R refresh), built on Intel's 10 nm process node. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, with ECC support available. It uses the Intel Socket 1700 and has PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes (CPU only). The TDP is 125 W, and the processor has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking.

Benchmark results for the i7-14700KF are strong. In Cinebench R23, it scores 44167 in multi-core and 6235 in single-core. Cinebench R20 results are 18550 multi-core and 2618 single-core. Cinebench R15 shows 4452 multi-core and 628 single-core. Geekbench scores are 21462 multi-core and 2578 single-core. PassMark results include 52425 in multithread, 4480 in single-thread, 183056 in integer math, and 134393 in floating point math. The CPU's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 94, and its average benchmark score is 70163.

The nearest CPU rivals are tightly clustered. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996 (0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515 (0.9% lower). The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879 (1% higher). These deltas are small, meaning the i7-14700KF is competitive with the top of the CPU market. Its 94th percentile ranking confirms that it is a high-end processor.

In The Long Drive, however, the CPU's contribution is limited by the GPU. The measured frame rates show that at 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 95 FPS, which is the best result across all tested configurations. At 2560x1440 Low, it drops to 63 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it falls to 35 FPS. The pattern across resolutions at the same settings shows a clear GPU-bound trend — the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates as pixel count increases. This suggests that the i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient for The Long Drive's CPU demands, which are modest for a driving simulation.

The CPU's high single-thread score in Cinebench R23 (6235) and Geekbench single-core (2578) indicates strong per-core performance, which is often important for game logic and physics in simulation titles. The multi-core scores (44167 in Cinebench R23, 21462 in Geekbench) also demonstrate that the CPU can handle any background tasks or streaming workloads without issue. The bottleneck in this system is unequivocally the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for The Long Drive with the Intel Core i7-14700KF and Intel Arc B390 covers three resolutions and four settings presets each. The dataset provides average FPS for all configurations, with minimum and maximum FPS only recorded for Medium settings.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 95 FPS average
• Medium: 78 FPS average, with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS
• High: 49 FPS average
• Ultra: 34 FPS average

The 1080p Low result of 95 FPS is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The drop from Low to Medium is 17 FPS (from 95 to 78), while the drop from Medium to High is 29 FPS (from 78 to 49). The step from High to Ultra is 15 FPS (from 49 to 34). The Medium preset's minimum of 66 FPS suggests that even at this resolution, there are moments of significant frame time spikes, but the average remains solidly playable.

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 63 FPS average
• Medium: 51 FPS average, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 22 FPS average

The 1440p Low result of 63 FPS is a 33.7% reduction from the 1080p Low result of 95 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 51 FPS, which is a 34.6% reduction from the 1080p Medium result of 78 FPS. The High preset at 1440p (32 FPS) is 34.7% lower than 1080p High (49 FPS). The Ultra preset at 1440p (22 FPS) is 35.3% lower than 1080p Ultra (34 FPS). This consistent ~35% reduction across all settings when moving from 1080p to 1440p indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the scaling is nearly uniform.

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 35 FPS average
• Medium: 29 FPS average, with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS
• High: 18 FPS average
• Ultra: 12 FPS average

The 4K Low result of 35 FPS is a 44.4% reduction from the 1440p Low result of 63 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K (29 FPS) is 43.1% lower than 1440p Medium (51 FPS). High at 4K (18 FPS) is 43.8% lower than 1440p High (32 FPS). Ultra at 4K (12 FPS) is 45.5% lower than 1440p Ultra (22 FPS). Again, the scaling is consistent, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of the system.

The Medium preset's min/max data provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the frame range spans 66 to 90 FPS, a 24 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 44 to 59 FPS, a 15 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 24 to 33 FPS, a 9 FPS spread. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is operating near its maximum capacity, leaving less variance in frame times.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700KF + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2594 out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the 88.4th percentile from the bottom — meaning it outperforms only about 11.6% of tested systems. This low ranking is directly attributable to the GPU's weak performance, as the CPU is in the 94th percentile among all CPUs.

The combo's rank of 2594 contrasts sharply with the CPU's individual standing. The i7-14700KF's average benchmark score of 70163 places it at the top of its nearest rival group, with only the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (70879) scoring higher by 1%. The GPU, however, sits at the 9th percentile, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 that is just 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443). This massive disparity between CPU and GPU performance is the defining characteristic of this combo.

In games where the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates — which includes most modern 3D titles like The Long Drive — the combo's overall ranking will be dragged down by the GPU. The measured FPS data confirms this: even at 1080p Low, the best-case scenario, the combo only achieves 95 FPS, which is moderate but not exceptional. At 4K, the results are largely unplayable, with the Ultra preset averaging just 12 FPS.

The ranking also reflects that The Long Drive, as a driving simulation, may have specific rendering demands that the Arc B390 cannot meet. The GPU's 24 ROPs and 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance are low by modern standards, and its shared memory architecture means it competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The result is a combo that, despite having a top-tier CPU, falls into the bottom 12% of tested systems for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and the user's preference for visual fidelity versus smoothness.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the best experience with an average of 95 FPS. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that exceeds 90 FPS. The Medium preset averages 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS, which is also playable and offers better visual quality. For users who prioritize a smooth, consistent frame rate, Low is the safest choice. For those who want a balance of quality and performance, Medium is viable, as its minimum of 66 FPS stays above the 60 FPS threshold. High (49 FPS) and Ultra (34 FPS) are not recommended for responsive gameplay, though they may be acceptable for users who prefer visual fidelity over frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 63 FPS, which is the only 1440p setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS. Medium averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS, which is playable but may have noticeable frame drops during intense scenes. High (32 FPS) and Ultra (22 FPS) are below the playable threshold for most users. The recommendation at 1440p is Low for the best experience, or Medium if minor stuttering is acceptable.

At 3840x2160, no settings preset achieves a playable average frame rate. Low averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 29 FPS (minimum 24 FPS), High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. None of these are suitable for fast-paced gameplay, though Low at 35 FPS might be tolerable for slow-paced driving if the user is willing to accept a less fluid experience.

Overall, the data indicates that this combo is best used at 1920x1080 with Low or Medium settings. The 1080p Medium preset provides a reasonable compromise — 78 FPS average with a 66 FPS minimum — while 1080p Low maximizes performance at 95 FPS. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and users should expect significant frame rate degradation. The GPU's 9th percentile standing and the combo's 2594th rank out of 2934 combos make it clear that this system is not designed for high-resolution or high-settings gaming in The Long Drive.