The Long Drive

# The Long Drive: Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + Intel Arc B570 — Benchmark Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a combination that ranks 2342nd out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This is a system where the CPU is clearly the dominant component, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution and settings climb. The data shows a playable experience at 1080p with lower settings, but 4K Ultra falls to unplayable territory, making this pairing best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming with adjusted quality levels.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boosts up to 5.80 GHz, drawing 125 W TDP on the Intel Socket 1851 platform. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, plus ECC support is available. The processor also includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units, though the discrete Arc B570 handles the gaming workload here.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303. The PassMark multithread score is 60860, while single-thread performance registers 4823. These numbers place the CPU in the 96th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with an average score of 83807 (0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4584PX at 83090 (1.1% higher), the AMD EPYC 9135 at 82980 (1.2% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7F72 at 85072 (1.3% lower). The performance delta between these processors is minimal, indicating the 290K Plus sits in a tightly contested tier of high-end CPUs.

For The Long Drive, a driving simulation game, the CPU's role is substantial because the game involves continuous world simulation, physics calculations, and object interactions. The 24 threads provide ample parallel processing capacity for these workloads, and the high boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance for game logic that may not scale perfectly across all cores. The data indicates that at 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 146 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower graphical loads. However, the measured FPS pattern across resolutions shows diminishing returns as resolution increases, which points to the GPU taking over as the limiting factor.

The benchmark results in Cinebench R20 (multicore 21727, single-core 3067) and PassMark integer math (166194) further confirm that this CPU has substantial computational headroom. The data compression score of 698346 and floating-point math score of 214760 indicate strong general processing capability. For a driving sim, this means the CPU can handle complex vehicle physics, terrain streaming, and AI traffic without breaking a sweat, leaving the GPU as the primary determinant of final framerate.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) using a 5 nm TSMC process. It features the BMG-G21 chip with 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units, plus 18 ray tracing cores. The GPU runs at a 2500 MHz base and boost clock, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). It comes with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card draws 150 W TDP, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and fits in a dual-slot form factor measuring 272 mm in length. It connects via PCIe 4.0 x8 and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Arc B570 achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 83514, and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 96844. The PassMark G3D score is 14195, with GPU compute at 7281. The GPU sits in the 65th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (0.1% lower), the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (0.1% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X at 20662 (0.5% higher). These deltas are extremely small, meaning the Arc B570 performs essentially on par with a mobile RTX 3070 and the previous-generation Arc A750.

For The Long Drive, the GPU's 10 GB VRAM and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are relevant for texture streaming and rendering geometry. The pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for the game's open-world environments. The FP32 compute of 11.52 TFLOPS supports the shading and lighting calculations required in a driving simulation with dynamic weather and time-of-day effects. However, the measured FPS data reveals that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 19, which is unplayable, while 4K Low reaches 53 FPS. This pattern clearly indicates that the Arc B570's performance envelope is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming rather than 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2342nd out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive. This places the pairing in the 20th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 80% of combinations deliver higher average framerates in this game. The ranking reflects a mismatch between the CPU's high-end capabilities and the GPU's mid-range positioning. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. This discrepancy suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would yield significantly better results, as the CPU has abundant headroom to feed a faster graphics card.

The combo rank is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance ceiling, particularly at higher resolutions and settings where the Arc B570's 10 GB VRAM and 160-bit memory bus become limiting factors. In games like The Long Drive, which may not be heavily optimized for Intel's graphics architecture, the GPU's driver overhead could further impact performance. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 146 FPS, which is respectable, but this drops to 52 FPS at 1080p Ultra, indicating a steep performance penalty for higher quality settings. The rank of 2342 out of 2934 suggests that many other GPU pairings, even with weaker CPUs, outperform this combination due to the GPU's limitations.

Comparing to the nearest GPU rivals, the Arc B570 performs within 0.5% of the RTX 3070 Mobile, Arc A750, Quadro M4000M, and Radeon R9 M390X in synthetic benchmarks. This means that in real-world gaming, the Arc B570 should deliver framerates similar to those other cards, assuming driver parity. The fact that this combo ranks in the lower quartile indicates that The Long Drive may be particularly demanding on GPU resources, especially at higher settings, where the 4K Ultra result of 19 FPS shows the GPU is simply overwhelmed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all settings. With Low settings, the average FPS is 146, providing a smooth and highly responsive experience. Medium settings yield 120 FPS average, with a minimum of 102 FPS and maximum of 138 FPS, offering a solid balance between visual quality and performance. High settings drop to 75 FPS average, which remains playable but shows a significant step down from Medium. Ultra settings bring the average down to 52 FPS, which is still technically playable but may feel less smooth for fast-paced driving sequences.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings achieve 96 FPS average, still very playable. Medium settings deliver 79 FPS average, with a minimum of 67 FPS and maximum of 91 FPS, maintaining good playability. High settings reduce the average to 49 FPS, which is borderline for a driving sim where smooth motion is important. Ultra settings drop to 34 FPS average, which feels choppy and is not recommended for serious play.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become starkly apparent. Low settings produce 53 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal. Medium settings deliver 44 FPS average, with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS, showing noticeable stuttering. High settings drop to 27 FPS average, which is marginal. Ultra settings bring the system to its knees with 19 FPS average, making the game essentially unplayable at 4K with maximum quality.

The data reveals that the minimum FPS values, where available, show a consistent pattern: at 1080p Medium, the minimum is 102 FPS; at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 67 FPS; and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 37 FPS. These minimums are important for understanding frame time consistency, as drops below 60 FPS can cause noticeable hitches in gameplay. The gap between average and minimum FPS also widens at higher resolutions, indicating less consistent frame delivery as the GPU becomes more stressed.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides clear insight into which component is the bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 146 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p to 53 at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 64%, which is significant but not as steep as the theoretical pixel count increase of 4x. This suggests that the CPU is still contributing to performance at lower settings, helping to mitigate the GPU load.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 120 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, and from 1440p to 4K is 44%. At High settings, the pattern continues: 75 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K, with drops of 35% and 45% respectively. At Ultra settings, the scaling is 52 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K, showing drops of 35% and 44%.

The consistency of these percentage drops across settings (roughly 34-35% from 1080p to 1440p, and 44-45% from 1440p to 4K) indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at all resolutions above 1080p. The pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p, yet FPS drops by only 35%, which means the CPU is helping to some degree. However, the 4K resolution has 2.25x the pixels of 1440p, and the FPS drops by 45%, which is more in line with GPU-bound scaling. The fact that the scaling percentages are nearly identical across all quality settings suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capacity are the constraining resources, not the CPU.

The 10 GB VRAM on the Arc B570 may also play a role at higher resolutions, as texture data and geometry buffers can exceed this capacity at 4K with higher settings, leading to potential memory swapping and performance degradation. The 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are relatively modest for 4K gaming, and the data confirms that this GPU is not suited for 4K gameplay in The Long Drive, regardless of CPU capability.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo playable at 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1080p the system delivers 146 FPS at Low settings, 120 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 102 FPS), 75 FPS at High, and 52 FPS at Ultra. All of these are playable, though Ultra may feel less smooth for some users.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: The data shows 1440p Medium is a strong choice, delivering 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS. 1080p Medium is even better at 120 FPS average, making it the sweet spot for high refresh rate displays.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 53 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 44 FPS, High to 27 FPS, and Ultra to 19 FPS. For a smooth experience at 4K, Low settings are the maximum viable option.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), 0.1% higher than the Arc A750 (20582), 0.4% higher than the Quadro M4000M (20480), and 0.5% lower than the Radeon R9 M390X (20662). Performance is essentially equivalent among these cards.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus ranks in the 96th percentile among CPUs with an average benchmark score of 84003, while the Arc B570 ranks in the 65th percentile among GPUs. The CPU has substantial headroom in this pairing.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p Ultra?

A: The measured average FPS at 1440p Ultra is 34, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This setting is not recommended for this combination, as Medium or High settings provide much better frame rates.