The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation with a 2019 release date, presents a demanding workload that scales dramatically with visual fidelity. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the Intel Arc B580, using the provided benchmark data. The results show a system that is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but becomes increasingly constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, with the CPU providing a stable foundation throughout.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the "Low" settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 165 FPS at 1080p to 109 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 60 FPS at 4K. This represents a 51% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not perfectly linear, as the jump from 1080p to 1440p causes a 34% drop, while the subsequent jump to 4K causes a 45% drop from the 1440p figure. This non-linearity indicates that the rendering load increases more than proportionally with pixel count, a common trait in modern game engines.

For the "Medium" preset, the average FPS at 1080p is 136, which falls to 90 at 1440p and then to 50 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, identical to the Low preset's relative decline. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 44%, showing a similar curve. The gap between the Low and Medium presets narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, Medium is 21 FPS slower than Low, but at 4K, the gap widens to 10 FPS. This suggests that the additional visual effects in Medium become more expensive to render at higher pixel counts.

The "High" preset shows an even steeper decline. Starting at 85 FPS at 1080p, it drops to 56 FPS at 1440p and then to 31 FPS at 4K. The relative performance loss from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, consistent with other presets, but the loss from 1440p to 4K is 45%. The "Ultra" preset is the most demanding, with average frame rates of 59 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and just 21 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 34%, and the 1440p to 4K drop is 46%.

The data shows that the most significant performance hit occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K, regardless of the preset. For instance, at the High preset, the 4K average of 31 FPS is nearly half the 1440p average of 56 FPS. This indicates that the limiting component is being pushed to its absolute limit at 4K, where the sheer number of pixels overwhelms the graphics processor. The consistent ~34% drop from 1080p to 1440p across all presets suggests the game scales predictably in that range, but the 4K resolution is a distinct breakpoint.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, plays the dominant role in these results. The memory configuration provides a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s, which is critical for feeding the GPU's 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs at high resolutions. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2670 MHz, and its performance is measured against rivals such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, where it shows a deltaPct of 0.6% and -0.7% respectively in average benchmark scores. This places the Arc B580 in a competitive position, but the measured game data shows its limitations at 4K.

The game's performance at 4K Ultra, with an average of 21 FPS, clearly indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are insufficient for the demands of 4K Ultra settings in this title. Even at 4K Low, the average of 60 FPS shows the GPU is working hard, as this is the only preset at that resolution that achieves a playable frame rate. The transition from Low to Medium at 4K results in a 10 FPS drop, and the jump to High causes another 19 FPS reduction, illustrating the steep cost of each graphical enhancement.

The GPU's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a key metric, but the data suggests that memory bandwidth and fill rate are more critical for The Long Drive at high resolutions. The 12 GB memory capacity is sufficient, but the 192-bit bus width limits the data throughput compared to wider-memory rivals. The benchmark results show that the Arc B580's average score is 23021, placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, has a nearly identical average score, but the Arc B580's modern architecture with DirectX 12 Ultimate support allows it to handle the game's rendering demands more efficiently, though the raw FPS numbers at 4K tell the story of a GPU that is out of its depth at the highest fidelity.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for the Ultra preset at 1920x1080?

A: The measured average FPS for the Ultra preset at 1920x1080 is 59 FPS. This is the only preset at 1080p that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that Ultra settings are very demanding even at the lowest tested resolution.

Q: How does the performance at 2560x1440 High compare to 3840x2160 High?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 High is 56 FPS, while at 3840x2160 High it drops to 31 FPS. This represents a 45% decrease in performance when moving up to 4K, highlighting the significant pixel-count burden on the GPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K, the average FPS drops to 21 FPS on Ultra and 31 FPS on High, which are low frame rates that would typically indicate a GPU bottleneck. The CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its high multi-threaded benchmark scores.

Q: What is the best preset to achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience at 2560x1440?

A: The "Medium" preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average of 90 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. The "Low" preset reaches 109 FPS, while "High" drops to 56 FPS. Therefore, Medium is the highest preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to the Ultra preset at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 achieves an average of 165 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 59 FPS. This makes the Low preset approximately 2.8 times faster than Ultra, demonstrating the massive performance cost of enabling all visual features.

Q: Does the game ever exceed 100 FPS at 4K?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 60 FPS on the Low preset. All other presets at 4K fall below 60 FPS, with Medium at 50 FPS, High at 31 FPS, and Ultra at 21 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the "Medium" preset is the recommended choice for most scenarios. At 1920x1080, it delivers a high average of 136 FPS, with a minimum FPS of 116 and a maximum of 156, ensuring a smooth and responsive experience. This preset offers a significant visual upgrade over "Low" while still maintaining frame rates that are more than sufficient for a driving simulation, where smooth motion is critical.

At 2560x1440, the "Medium" preset continues to be the optimal choice, delivering an average of 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. While the "High" preset is playable at 56 FPS, it falls below the 60 FPS threshold, which can lead to noticeable stuttering in a fast-paced driving game. The "Low" preset achieves 109 FPS but sacrifices too much visual detail for the marginal gain in smoothness.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The "Low" preset is the only one that reaches an average of 60 FPS, but it does so with minimal graphical fidelity. The "Medium" preset provides an average of 50 FPS, which is borderline playable but may be too choppy for some users. It is recommended to use the "Medium" preset at 4K if visual quality is a priority, as the 50 FPS average is a better experience than the 31 FPS of the High preset. The "Ultra" preset is not recommended at 4K, as the 21 FPS average is unplayable. At 1080p and 1440p, "Ultra" is also a poor choice, as it produces an average of 59 FPS and 39 FPS respectively, which are below the desired 60 FPS threshold for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at the system's capabilities across nine distinct configurations. At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from a high of 165 FPS on Low to a low of 59 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset achieves 136 FPS, with a minimum of 116 and a maximum of 156 FPS. The High preset reaches 85 FPS. These results show that at 1080p, the system is capable of high refresh rates at all but the most demanding settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are significantly lower. The Low preset averages 109 FPS, while Medium drops to 90 FPS, with a range of 76 to 103 FPS. The High preset averages 56 FPS, and Ultra falls to 39 FPS. This resolution is where the GPU starts to become a clear limiting factor, as the pixel count increases by 78% compared to 1080p, and the average FPS for each preset drops by roughly a third.

At 3840x2160, the performance is heavily constrained. The Low preset is the only one that manages an average of 60 FPS. The Medium preset averages 50 FPS, with a minimum of 42 and a maximum of 57 FPS. High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages just 21 FPS. The 4K resolution has four times the pixels of 1080p, and the data shows that the Arc B580 is not capable of maintaining smooth frame rates at this resolution with any setting above Low. The gap between presets also widens at 4K, with a 10 FPS difference between Low and Medium, a 19 FPS difference between Medium and High, and a 10 FPS difference between High and Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 provides a robust foundation for this gaming system. With 14 cores and 14 threads, it offers substantial multi-threading capability, and its boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. These results place the CPU in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, has a nearly identical average benchmark score with a deltaPct of -0.4%.

In the context of The Long Drive, the CPU's role is to handle the game's simulation and physics logic, which is not heavily dependent on thread count. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution, as the frame rates are consistently limited by the GPU, especially at higher settings. The CPU's high single-thread performance ensures that it can feed the GPU with draw calls and game state updates without becoming a limiting factor. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed and the frame rate is 165 FPS, the CPU is able to keep up, as evidenced by the absence of any CPU-related performance anomalies in the data.

The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample storage for game data, reducing latency and improving responsiveness. Its memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR5 interface is sufficient for the game's needs. The data suggests that the CPU has significant headroom, as the performance scaling is almost entirely dependent on the GPU and resolution. For a driving simulation, which often involves complex physics calculations for vehicle dynamics, the Core Ultra 5 245's strong multi-threaded performance, indicated by its Passmark multithread score of 38706, ensures that the game's logic runs smoothly without impacting the frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and Intel Arc B580 achieves a rank of 2203 out of 2934 combos for The Long Drive. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, specifically in the 25th percentile. This ranking is likely due to the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU is a high performer. The combo's performance is constrained by the Arc B580, which has an average benchmark score of 23021 and sits in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, showing that it is a mid-range card.

The ranking of 2203 suggests that many other combinations provide better overall performance in this game. This is likely because The Long Drive is not optimized for Intel's Arc architecture, and the GPU's drivers may not be fully matured for this title. The CPU's high percentile ranking of 90% indicates that it is not the cause of the low combo rank. The data shows that the combo is capable of excellent performance at 1080p, with 165 FPS on Low settings, but the low rank is a result of the system's inability to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where it drops to 21 FPS on Ultra.

Compared to other combos, this system's performance is fundamentally a story of the GPU being the limiting factor. The CPU has the power to support a much more powerful graphics card, as evidenced by its benchmark scores being close to rivals like the Intel Core i5-14600K, which has a deltaPct of 0.8%. The combo's rank of 2203 out of 2934 indicates that it is a budget-to-mid-range system that is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles with the demands of 4K gaming in The Long Drive. The overall average benchmark score of the CPU is 48995, and the GPU's is 23021, which together form a system that is capable, but not top-tier, in this specific game.