Road 96

Road 96 presents an interesting case study for the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination, as the measured frame rates reveal a system that transitions from being firmly GPU-bound at high resolutions to potentially CPU-limited at 1080p. The data indicates that this pairing offers a broad range of performance across different settings, but its behavior at the extremes of resolution and quality presets provides the clearest insight into its balance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly depending on the quality preset. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 169.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 106.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 62.7 FPS, and then further down to 56.1 FPS at 3840x2160. This scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p Low, the system is not fully stressed, as the frame rate is exceptionally high, indicating that either the CPU or GPU is hitting a ceiling that is not purely graphical. The drop to 4K is substantial, representing a 66.9% decrease from the 1080p figure, which points to the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

Moving to the High preset, the scaling is more linear. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 100, which falls to 62.1 at 2560x1440, and then to 33.3 at 3840x2160. The transition from 1440p to 4K here results in a 46.4% performance loss, which is significant but less severe than the drop seen from 1080p to 1440p on the Low preset. This indicates that at High settings, the workload is more consistently distributed, and the GPU’s capabilities are being taxed more evenly across resolutions. The 4K High result of 33.3 FPS is below the threshold for smooth playability, suggesting that this resolution is only viable with lower settings.

At the Ultra preset, the performance curve becomes steep. The system manages 81 FPS at 1080p, but this falls to 48 FPS at 1440p, a 40.7% drop, and then plummets to 23.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest of all measured data points, and the scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 51.3% reduction. This pattern strongly suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity, making this preset impractical at 4K. The data overall indicates that the limiting component shifts from the GPU at higher resolutions to a more balanced state at 1080p, where the CPU’s performance becomes more relevant.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is a critical factor in the 4K results, where the demand for texture data and frame buffer capacity increases exponentially. The GPU’s boost clock of 1650 MHz and base clock of 1470 MHz are standard for this class, and the 2176 shading units are tasked with processing the game’s visuals. The benchmark results for the GPU show a passmark_g3d score of 16462, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, which indicates it is a mid-range performer.

The data suggests that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Road 96 at 1080p and 1440p, as the frame rates at these resolutions are generally playable even at High and Ultra settings. However, the 4K results, particularly the 23.4 FPS at Ultra, indicate that the GPU’s compute power, rated at 7.181 TFLOPS FP32, is not enough to maintain fluid performance at that resolution with maximum settings. The nearest rival to the RTX 2060 SUPER is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, which has an average benchmark score of 19680, a 0.5% delta. This close margin suggests that the 2060 SUPER is performing near the top of its class, but the data shows it still struggles with the highest demands of Road 96. The GPU’s 12 nm process node and 175 W TDP are notable characteristics, but the measured FPS is the definitive indicator of its real-world capability in this specific game.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination is ranked 1276 out of 1684 tested combos for Road 96. This places it in the lower 24.2% of all possible pairings, which is a surprising result given the individual components’ performance metrics. The CPU, for instance, has an average benchmark score of 25064, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, has a nearly identical score of 25057 with a 0% delta. Similarly, the GPU’s average benchmark score of 19774 is respectable. Yet, when combined, the pairing does not excel in this particular game.

This ranking suggests that Road 96 may be sensitive to a specific aspect of the hardware that is not well-represented by general synthetic benchmarks. The combo rank indicates that many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher frame rates, possibly due to better optimization or a more favorable balance of CPU and GPU capabilities. The data shows that while the individual parts are competent, their synergy in Road 96 is less effective than in other titles. This is a crucial insight for users considering this combination, as the low rank implies that the system may not deliver the expected performance relative to other configurations, even if its component-level scores are strong.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 100.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combo?

A: At 4K, the average FPS is 33.3 on High and 23.4 on Ultra, both of which are below 60 FPS, indicating that 4K is only playable at lower settings, such as Low where it reaches 56.1 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25064, which is a 0% delta compared to the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X’s score of 25057.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus width and a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the best resolution for smooth gameplay?

A: The 1920x1080 resolution provides the highest frame rates across all presets, with a maximum of 169.3 FPS at Low and a minimum of 81 FPS at Ultra, making it the most suitable for consistent performance.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among tested configurations?

A: The combo is ranked 1276 out of 1684 tested combos for Road 96.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance for this combo is achieved at 1920x1080 with the High preset, which delivers an average of 100 FPS. This frame rate is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the High preset offers a significant improvement in visual fidelity over Medium, which achieves 125 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is 19 FPS (100 vs 81), and while Ultra provides the best visuals, the performance cost is considerable. For users prioritizing frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a 25% increase in FPS over High, making it a strong alternative if a higher refresh rate display is used.

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 62.1 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target, making it a viable option for 1440p gaming. The Medium preset at 1440p achieves 77.6 FPS, providing a more comfortable margin for frame time consistency. It is recommended to avoid the Ultra preset at 1440p, as the 48 FPS average may result in noticeable stuttering in fast-paced scenes. For 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset, with 56.1 FPS, is acceptable for playable performance, but the visual compromise is substantial. The Medium and High presets at 4K fall below 60 FPS, and Ultra is not recommended. Therefore, the best overall experience is at 1080p High, with 1440p Medium as a secondary option for users with higher-resolution displays who can tolerate a slight reduction in visual detail.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Phoenix, and manufactured on a 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz are strong figures, and its 16 MB of shared L3 cache is typical for this segment. The CPU’s synthetic benchmarks are impressive, with a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943, indicating robust multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities. Its average benchmark score of 25064 places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, has a delta of 0%, confirming their near-identical performance in general workloads.

In Road 96, the CPU’s role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution, indicating a GPU bottleneck. However, at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, the average FPS of 169.3 is exceptionally high, suggesting that the CPU may be approaching its limit in driving the game’s logic and draw calls. The CPU’s 12 threads and high boost clock are likely sufficient to prevent a major bottleneck, but the data shows that the system’s performance at 1080p Low is not scaling proportionally with the GPU’s potential, hinting at a possible CPU limitation at very high frame rates. The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s also plays a role in feeding the GPU with data, though this is not directly measurable from the FPS data alone. The 65 W TDP of the 8400F indicates an efficient part that does not generate excessive heat, allowing the GPU to operate without thermal constraints from the CPU cooler. Overall, the CPU is a capable partner that does not hold back the GPU in this game except potentially at the lowest resolution and settings.