Road 96

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER in Road 96 is a study in balanced performance, but the data reveals distinct bottlenecks as resolution scales. This is an adventure game that, by its nature, prioritizes narrative and style over raw compute, yet the FPS figures across three resolutions tell a story about where the limits of this hardware combo lie.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS deltas from 1080p to 4K are gaming, and they point to a clear shift in the limiting component. At 1080p with low settings, the combo posts 308 FPS; moving to 1440p low drops that to 196, and 4K low lands at 104. That's a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K at low settings, which shows that even at "low" the GPU is shouldering a heavier load as pixel count climbs. The scaling, however, is not linear. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 36%, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 47%. This suggests diminishing returns, but still a continuous GPU-bound curve.

In contrast, at ultra settings, the pattern flips. 143 FPS at 1080p, 9_ at 1440p, and 48 at 4K. The 1440p-to-4K drop is again 47%, but the 1080p-to-1140p drop is 36%, same as low. The consistency of the 47% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings is a clear indicator that the GPU is the primary limiter at that resolution. The CPU, a 6-core 12-thread Zen3 part, has headroom to spare at 4K; the data shows that the high, medium, and low presets all have this pattern.

The 1080p-to-1440p scaling tells a different story. At low settings, the 196 FPS at 1440p is exactly 64% of the 1080p score. At medium, 144 is 64% of 226. At high, 116 is 64% of 182. At ultra, 91 is 63.6% of 143. This near-uniform scaling across settings is a strong signal that at 1080p, the CPU is beginning to set the pace. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by the 3dmark single-thread score of 836, is respectable, but it's not the 4-core (or higher core count) that would push 1080p FPS higher. The data shows that 1080p ultra at 143 FPS is likely CPU-bound, because the GPU is capable of much more (indicated by the 308 FPS at low settings).

In short: at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5500 is the limiting factor; at 4K, the RTX 4070 SUPER is firmly the bottleneck; at 1440p, it's a balanced middle. This is the signature of a balanced "mid-range" pairing, but the specifics are what matter.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne). Its base clock is 3.60 GHz and boost clock is 4.20 GHz. It has 16 MB of L3 cache and is built on a 7 nm process. It's a solid mid-range CPU, and the benchmark data supports this. Its 3dMark max-thread score of 5411 and multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 16429 are respectable, but its single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 2319, 3dMark single-thread 836) is the key factor in this game.

Road 96 is an adventure game, and adventure games typically rely more on single-thread performance than heavy multi-threading. The results confirm this. At 1080p, the FPS is likely capped by the CPU's single-thread power. The 1080p low average of 308 FPS is a strong number, but the CPU's 3dMark single-thread score of 836 places it in a certain class. The nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (delta -0.1%), Intel Core i5-12500 (delta -0.4%), Intel Core i7-10700F (delta +0.5%), and Intel Core i5-11600KF (delta -0.7%). These are all similarly performing CPUs, and the 5500's percentile rank (73rd percentile) confirms it's a capable but not top-tier part.

In this game, the CPU's role is to feed a high-end GPU. At 1080p, the 6 cores and 12 threads are enough to keep the GPU fed at 308 FPS on low, but the gap between low (308) and medium (226) at 1080p is 82 FPS, which is a 27% drop. That's a large drop for a single preset level, and it indicates that the CPU is not the sole factor; the GPU also scales with settings. The CPU's 16 MB L3 cache is modern, but the fact that the 1080p ultra score (143 FPS) is only 46% of the low score (308) shows that the CPU is not the absolute limit; the GPU's work at ultra settings is still substantial.

The CPU's memory support is DDR4 dual-channel with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth. This is not a fast memory subsystem by modern standards, but for an adventure game like Road 96, it's sufficient. The PCIe Gen 3 interface is a potential limitation for the GPU, but the GPU also supports PCIe 4.0, so it will run at Gen 3 speeds. This is not likely to be a bottleneck in this game, as the PCIe bandwidth demands for a game like this are not extreme. The 5500's TDP of 65 W and AM4 socket make it a practical choice for a mid-range.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the star of this pairing. It's a 12 GB GDDR6X card with a 192-bit bus and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2475 MHz, base 1980 MHz. It has 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The GPU's 83rd percentile among all GPUs (with an average benchmark score of 43223) puts it firmly in the high-end category. The nearest rivals are the Quadro M6000 24 GB (delta -0.1%), RTX 5050 Mobile (delta -0.1%), Quadro M6000 (delta -0.2%), and RTX 4090 Mobile (delta -1%). This is a strong, modern GPU.

In Road 96, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. 4K ultra is 48 FPS, 4K high is 61, 4K medium is 76, and 4K low is 104. This scaling with settings shows a GPU-bound scenario. The 12 GB of VRAM is likely ample for this game at 4K, but the sheer pixel count is what's taxing the GPU. The 4K medium min FPS of 65 and max of 88 show that the game is playable at medium, but it's not a smooth 60 at ultra.

At 1440p, the GPU is still the primary, but the CPU is more involved. The 1440p ultra 91 FPS, high 116, medium 144, low 196. The GPU's 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is likely a positive factor here, as Road 96 has a stylized, visually rich environment. The 12 GB VRAM is more than enough for 1440p; the game won't be VRAM-limited.

The GPU's architecture is Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. This means it has the latest feature set for modern games. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are present, but Road 96 doesn't appear to be heavily ray-traced based on the data; the FPS numbers don't suggest a heavy RT load. The GPU's 220 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU are typical for this class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Let's go through the exact numbers, resolution by resolution.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 308 FPS average. This is the highest score in any configuration. It's a massive number, indicating the game is very easy to run at low settings. The CPU is likely the limit here, as the GPU is not stressed.
• Medium: 226 FPS average, with a min of 192 and max of 260. This is a 27% drop from low, which is significant. The min of 192 is still very high.
• High: 182 FPS average. A further 20% drop from medium.
• Ultra: 143 FPS average. The gap from high to ultra is 21%. At 1080p, even ultra is above 60, but the drop from low to ultra is 54%.

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 196 FPS. A 36% drop from 1080p low.
• Medium: 144 FPS (min 122, max 165). This is exactly the same as the 1080p ultra, which is a coincidence but useful: 1440p medium equals 1080p ultra in FPS.
• High: 116 FPS. A 36% drop from 1080p high.
• Ultra: 91 FPS. A 36% drop from 1080p ultra. The 1440p ultra is 91 FPS, which is 64% of the 1080p ultra score.

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 104 FPS. A 47% drop from 1440p low.
• Medium: 76 FPS (min 65, max 88). The gap to low is 28 FPS.
• High: 61 FPS. This is just above 60, which is the classic target for console players.
• Ultra: 48 FPS. This is the only configuration that falls below 60. The 4K ultra is not a smooth experience.

The scaling pattern is clear: 1080p to 1440p is a ~36% drop across all settings, while 1440p to 4K is a ~47% drop. The 4K ultra is the only one that dips below 60 FPS. 4K high is at 61, which is borderline.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combo of the Ryzen 5 5500 and RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 656th out of 3713 tested combos in Road 96. That puts it in the 82.3rd percentile of all tested combos. This is a strong ranking, but not a top-tier one. The combo is in the top 17.7% of all combos tested, which is a good result. The ranking indicates that this pairing is well above average for this game.

The rank of 656 out of 3713 means there are 655 combos that perform better. These are likely combos with higher-end CPUs (like the Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7) paired with the RTX 4090 or similar. The 5500 is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, but the GPU is strong. At 4K, the GPU is the limit, and the 4070 SUPER is not the fastest (the 4090 is in the rivals list with a delta of -1% for the 4070 SUPER, meaning the 4070 SUPER is 1% behind the 4090 Mobile, but that's a mobile part).

The rank of 656 is a reflection of the balance between the two components. A better CPU (like an i5-12500, which has a similar avg benchmark score) would improve the 1080p numbers, but the 1440p and 4K numbers are still GPU-bound. The 5500 is not a weak CPU, but it's not a top-tier one. The 4070 SUPER is a high-end GPU. The combo is a classic "bottleneck at 1080p" situation.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the best experience is a balance of visual quality and frame rate.

• 1440p Medium is the sweet spot: 144 FPS average (min 122, max 165). This is smooth, and the medium settings in Road 96 likely retain the game's artistic style. The min FPS of 122 is well above 60, so no stutters.
• 1440p High at 116 FPS is also excellent if you want better visuals. The FPS is still well above 60, and the drop from medium to high is 28 FPS, which is acceptable.
• 1080p High at 182 FPS is a great option if you have a 1080p monitor. The 182 FPS gives you headroom for a high refresh rate display (144Hz, 240Hz). If you have a 240Hz monitor, 1080p medium at 226 FPS (min 192) is the way to go.
• 4K High at 61 FPS is the only 4K option that hits the 60 FPS target. If you have a 4K display, use high, not ultra. The 4K medium is 76 FPS, which is even better, but the visual drop from high to medium is noticeable, and the 61 FPS of high is sufficient.
• 4K Ultra at 48 FPS is not recommended. It's below the 60 FPS target and will feel less smooth than high. The 12 GB VRAM is not the issue; it's just the rendering load.

The 1080p ultra at 143 FPS is also a good pick for 120Hz displays, but the 1440p medium gives a higher resolution. A general recommendation: if you have a high refresh 1080p monitor, use 1080p high (182 FPS) or low (308 FPS) for competitive. For a 1440p 144Hz monitor, 1440p medium (144 FPS) is perfect. For 4K 60Hz, 4K high (61 FPS) is the target. The 4K medium at 76 FPS is a safer bet if you want some headroom, but high is the best visual quality at 60 FPS.

The data shows that this combo is capable of a great experience at 1080p and 1440p, and acceptable at 4K with settings tuned. The 4K ultra is the only setting that fails to meet the 60 FPS standard.