Road 96

Road 96, an adventure title with stylized visuals, shows unusual scaling behavior with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and presets reveal a system that is heavily influenced by graphics settings, yet demonstrates significant headroom at lower resolutions. The data indicates that this pairing is capable of delivering high frame rates, but the experience varies widely depending on the chosen balance between visual fidelity and performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, but the pattern varies dramatically by preset. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 309.7 at 1920x1080 to 102.6 at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 67%. This massive drop at the lowest settings suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU is not the primary bottleneck, as the CPU is capable of pushing the frame rate to very high levels. The scaling from 1440p to 4K on Low is also severe, going from 199 FPS down to 102.6, indicating that the GPU begins to take on more load as resolution increases.

For High settings, the drop is less drastic in percentage terms. The system delivers 181.9 FPS at 1080p, 114.6 FPS at 1440p, and 62.7 FPS at 4K. This shows a more balanced curve where the GPU workload scales more predictably with pixel count. The transition from 1440p to 4K on High results in a 45% performance loss, which is a typical indicator of the GPU becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The Ultra preset presents the most demanding scenario, with average FPS of 145.7 at 1080p, 92.5 at 1440p, and 47.7 at 4K. Here, the scaling from 1080p to 4K is a 67% reduction, similar to Low settings, but the absolute numbers are much lower. This suggests that at Ultra, the combination of resolution and settings fully saturates the GPU, making it the clear bottleneck. The data shows that for this combo, the CPU has enough power to drive high frame rates at 1080p, but the RTX 4070 SUPER’s capabilities are best observed at 1440p and 4K, where its performance characteristics become the defining factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 7168 shading units and 224 tensor cores. Its memory configuration of 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is a substantial resource for a game like Road 96. The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and a base clock of 1980 MHz are key to its performance, but the benchmark results show that its role changes with resolution.

At 1080p with Low settings, the GPU is not the limiting factor, as the 309.7 FPS average is likely constrained by the CPU or game engine’s frame rate limits. However, as settings and resolution increase, the GPU’s workload grows. The drop from 225.7 FPS at Medium 1080p to 145.7 FPS at Ultra 1080p shows a clear performance cost for higher visual quality. This indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is being tasked with more complex rendering, and its 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is being utilized more effectively.

At 4K, the GPU’s role becomes dominant. The difference between Low (102.6 FPS) and Ultra (47.7 FPS) is substantial, showing that the card’s memory bandwidth and compute capabilities are being pushed to their limits with the highest settings. The 12 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for this game at 4K, but the data suggests that the rendering complexity at Ultra is what causes the significant performance hit. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 84 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576, places it as a high-end performer, but in this specific title, it is the settings, not the resolution alone, that dictate its effectiveness.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, provides a strong foundation for this gaming workload. Its boost clock of 4.80 GHz and base clock of 3.80 GHz are competitive, and its 32 MB of L3 cache helps with data access. The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359, indicate a processor that excels in both multi-threaded and single-threaded tasks.

In Road 96, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings. The jump from 181.9 FPS at High 1080p to 309.7 FPS at Low 1080p demonstrates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve very high frame rates when the GPU’s load is light. The 3DMark scores, with a single-thread score of 959 and a 16-thread score of 7683, show a processor that can handle the game’s logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck in these scenarios.

However, at higher resolutions like 4K, the CPU’s importance diminishes relative to the GPU. The fact that the FPS drops consistently with each preset increase at 4K, from 102.6 on Low to 47.7 on Ultra, shows that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s performance is adequate to keep up with the GPU’s demands, as evidenced by the stable frame rates that do not show signs of stuttering or CPU-related dips. The processor’s percentile ranking of 86 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29774, confirms its position as a capable gaming CPU, but in this title, it is not the component that determines the ceiling at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The average FPS is 181.9 at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the performance at 4K compare to 1080p on the Ultra preset?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 145.7 at 1080p to 47.7 at 4K, a significant reduction of about 67%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, as the average FPS of 309.7 indicates the system is capable of very high frame rates, likely limited by the game engine or GPU’s minimum workload.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a high frame rate above 60 FPS?

A: The system can maintain an average FPS above 60 at 4K on Medium (78.9 FPS) and High (62.7 FPS) settings, and at 1440p on all tested settings, including Ultra (92.5 FPS).

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 4070 SUPER have?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS is 144.3 on Medium and 92.5 on Ultra, a difference of 51.8 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination is ranked 301 out of 1684 tested combos for Road 96. This places it in the top 18% of all systems tested for this game, indicating a strong performance level. The rank is a composite measure that takes into account the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings, and it reflects the combo’s ability to handle the game’s demands.

This rank is consistent with the individual components’ standings. The CPU’s percentile of 86 versus all CPUs and the GPU’s percentile of 84 versus all GPUs both suggest high-end hardware that should perform well. The fact that the combo is ranked 301 out of 1684, rather than higher, likely reflects the game’s specific engine characteristics, which may not fully utilize the extreme performance of both components at all times. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system may be hitting a cap, which would not improve the rank compared to systems with faster CPUs.

The nearest rivals for the CPU include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE with a deltaPct of 0.1, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS with a deltaPct of -0.3, showing that the 5800XT is in a tightly contested performance bracket. For the GPU, the NVIDIA RTX A6000 is a close rival with a deltaPct of -0.2, and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE is also nearby with a deltaPct of -0.3. This indicates that the performance of this combo is well-aligned with other high-end pairings, and its rank of 301 is a fair representation of its capabilities in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with even Ultra achieving an average of 145.7 FPS. For a smooth competitive or high-refresh-rate experience, the Medium preset at 225.7 FPS offers a great balance, but the High preset at 181.9 FPS is also excellent and provides better visual fidelity without a significant performance penalty.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended starting point, delivering 114.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 144.3 FPS is also a strong option for those prioritizing frame rate. The Ultra preset at 92.5 FPS is still very playable and is the best choice for visual quality if a frame rate above 90 FPS is acceptable.

At 3840x2160, the choice becomes more critical. The Medium preset at 78.9 FPS is the best option for a smooth experience, offering a significant improvement over High (62.7 FPS) while maintaining good visual quality. The High preset is also viable at 62.7 FPS, but it may dip closer to the lower end of acceptable frame rates in more demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 47.7 FPS is not recommended for 4K as it falls below the 60 FPS standard. The Low preset at 102.6 FPS is an option for maximizing frame rate, but the visual compromises are substantial. For the best overall experience at 4K, the Medium preset provides the most balanced combination of performance and image quality.