Road 96

# Road 96 Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 5 7400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The combination of AMD's 6-core Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA's flagship RTX 4090 produces a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics for Road 96. This adventure title, released in 2021, shows remarkable scaling across resolutions with this pairing, yet the data reveals that the RTX 4090's immense power is often constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 392 FPS average, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 61 FPS — a spread that spans more than sixfold and tells a clear story about where the workload shifts as pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced resolution-dependent behavior that highlights the shifting balance between CPU and GPU limitations. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 392 FPS, which drops to 249 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 132 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 66% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and an additional 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter, as the RTX 4090's raw throughput is far beyond what a 6-core, 12-thread processor can feed at such low graphical load.

Moving to Medium settings reveals a similar trend but with tighter absolute numbers. The 1080p Medium average of 287 FPS falls to 183 FPS at 1440p and 97 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops between resolutions are 36% and 47% respectively, showing that the GPU begins to take on more responsibility as settings increase, yet the CPU still exerts considerable influence at 1080p. At High settings, the pattern continues: 231 FPS at 1080p, 147 FPS at 1440p, and 78 FPS at 4K — reductions of 36% and 47% respectively.

Ultra settings present the most GPU-bound scenario, with 181 FPS at 1080p dropping to 115 FPS at 1440p and 61 FPS at 4K. The 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K indicate that at Ultra, the RTX 4090 is finally working near its full potential, though the 1080p figure still suggests some CPU constraint given the card's capabilities. The consistent 47% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings is particularly telling — it suggests that the GPU's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count, while the 1080p-to-1440p gaps vary more, reflecting the CPU's role as the initial bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Interpreting the measured rows for optimal experience requires balancing frame rate against visual fidelity. At 1080p, even Ultra settings deliver 181 FPS average, which exceeds the refresh rate of most displays and provides a silky-smooth experience. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 287 FPS with a documented minimum of 244 FPS and maximum of 330 FPS, indicating excellent frame pacing. For users with high-refresh monitors, Medium at 1080p provides headroom well beyond 240 Hz, while High at 231 FPS still comfortably exceeds 200 Hz.

At 1440p, the sweet spot appears to be High settings, delivering 147 FPS average. This is substantially above the 115 FPS of Ultra while representing a significant visual upgrade over Medium's 183 FPS. The 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum of 155 FPS and maximum of 210 FPS, which could suit competitive-minded players, but High's 147 FPS average remains well within the range of high-refresh 1440p displays. For those prioritizing frame rate above all, Low at 1440p produces 249 FPS, but the visual sacrifice may not be justified given the title's art style.

At 4K, the choice becomes more strategic. Medium settings deliver 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh displays. High settings at 78 FPS provide better visual quality while remaining above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 61 FPS is technically playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The data suggests that 4K Medium offers the best balance, as the 97 FPS average with an 82 FPS minimum ensures consistent performance without dipping below 60 FPS in the measured scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on Zen 4 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide the computational foundation for this pairing. The CPU's benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and single-core score of 3072, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. This positions it as a strong mid-range processor, though clearly not in the same league as the GPU it is paired with.

The data reveals that Road 96's engine is capable of utilizing the CPU's resources effectively at lower resolutions. The 392 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the game's draw call and physics processing can be fed efficiently by this processor's 6 cores. However, the fact that 1080p Ultra still achieves only 181 FPS — a 54% drop from Low — indicates that the GPU's workload increases substantially with settings, but the CPU still manages to keep up. The nearest rivals to this CPU include the Intel Core i5-14600T with an average score of 32707 (0.1% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H at 32812 (0.2% lower), showing this chip sits in a competitive performance tier.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB per-core L2 cache likely contribute to its ability to maintain high frame rates in a game like Road 96, which may not demand extreme multi-threading. The PassMark multi-thread score of 25645 and single-thread score of 3689 reinforce that this processor excels at both single-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads common in adventure games. The 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 support further ensures the CPU can quickly feed data to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 7400F and RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 124 out of 2903 tested combinations in Road 96, placing it in the top 4.3% of all pairings. This ranking is impressive given that the CPU is not a flagship model, suggesting that the RTX 4090's dominance compensates for the processor's mid-range standing. The fact that this pairing outperforms 2779 other combinations indicates that Road 96's engine responds strongly to GPU capability, even when paired with a more modest CPU.

The rank becomes more interesting when considering the GPU's percentile standing. The RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 83rd percentile. This close alignment in percentile rankings likely contributes to the strong overall combo performance, as neither component is drastically mismatched in relative capability. The GPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 with an average score of 60326 (0% difference) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 61896 (2.5% higher), though these comparisons are based on synthetic benchmarks rather than game-specific performance.

The 124th rank out of 2903 combos suggests that while this pairing is strong, there are 123 combinations that perform better in Road 96. These would likely include pairings of the RTX 4090 with higher-tier CPUs, but the data does not specify which combinations rank higher. The gap between this combo and the top-123 is not quantified in the measured data, but the strong absolute FPS numbers at all resolutions indicate that the practical difference may be minimal for most users, particularly at 4K where the GPU becomes the dominant factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 represents the pinnacle of the GeForce 40-series, built on the AD102 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process. Its specifications are staggering: 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The boost clock of 2520 MHz and base clock of 2235 MHz drive the 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This GPU was designed to handle any game at maximum settings, and the data confirms it does so effectively in Road 96.

The GPU's role in determining frame rates becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 71 FPS (132 down to 61), showing that the GPU's workload scales significantly with visual quality. The 4K Medium results show a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS, demonstrating the GPU's ability to maintain consistent frame delivery when not pushed to its limits. The 24 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what Road 96 requires, but this headroom ensures no texture streaming or memory-related stutters occur.

The RTX 4090's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% difference) and AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% higher), though these are workstation cards that would not typically be compared for gaming use. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 38194 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 highlight its compute and rendering capabilities. The 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth becomes particularly relevant at 4K resolutions where large texture sets and high pixel counts demand rapid data transfer.

At 1080p, the RTX 4090's power is largely underutilized, as evidenced by the 392 FPS at Low settings. This represents a scenario where the CPU becomes the limiting factor, and the GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS of compute potential is not fully realized. The 1440p results show a better balance, with High settings achieving 147 FPS — a number that leverages the GPU's capabilities while still respecting the CPU's input. The 4K results fully engage the GPU, with all settings showing frame rates that reflect the card's rendering throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS at 1080p is 392, achieved with Low settings. This represents the absolute ceiling for this pairing at that resolution.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra average of 61 FPS is 84% lower than the 1080p Low average of 392 FPS. This dramatic difference illustrates the massive GPU workload increase from pixel count and visual effects.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested pairings in Road 96?

A: This combination ranks 124th out of 2903 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.3% of all pairings tested for this game.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM provide any advantage in Road 96?

A: The 24 GB VRAM capacity is well beyond Road 96's requirements, ensuring no memory-related bottlenecks. The measured data shows consistent performance without stutters, though the game likely does not stress this capacity.

Q: Which resolution and settings combination yields the highest minimum FPS?

A: The 1080p Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 244 with an average of 287. The 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum of 155 FPS, while 4K Medium shows a minimum of 82 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance relate to Road 96's results?

A: The Ryzen 5 7400F's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3072 and PassMark single-thread score of 3689 indicate strong per-core performance. The high FPS at 1080p Low (392 FPS) suggests the game benefits from this single-thread capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its highest performance envelope. Low settings produce an average of 392 FPS. Medium settings reduce this to 287 FPS, with a documented minimum of 244 FPS and maximum of 330 FPS. High settings deliver 231 FPS average, while Ultra settings achieve 181 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54% reduction in frame rate, indicating the GPU's workload increases substantially with each preset tier.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high but show the expected resolution penalty. Low settings average 249 FPS, Medium settings average 183 FPS with a minimum of 155 FPS and maximum of 210 FPS, High settings deliver 147 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 115 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 36% at Medium to 37% at Ultra, with Low showing a larger 36% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 132 FPS, Medium settings average 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS, High settings achieve 78 FPS, and Ultra settings reach 61 FPS. The 4K resolution imposes a 47% reduction from 1440p across all settings, demonstrating consistent scaling behavior. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (82 FPS) remains above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting the system can maintain smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes at this resolution.