Road 96

Road 96 is a narrative-driven adventure, and the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX with the AMD Radeon 760M combo lands at rank 2892 out of 2903 tested combinations for this specific title. That placement places it in the bottom fraction of a percent of all tested hardware pairings, indicating that this integrated-graphics setup is severely outmatched for the game’s demands, even though the CPU itself is a high-end mobile part. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited, with the Radeon 760M struggling to produce playable frame rates at most settings and resolutions, while the Ryzen 9 8945HX’s substantial processing power remains largely untapped. This is a case where a powerful processor is paired with an integrated GPU that cannot keep pace, resulting in a benchmark profile dominated by the graphics bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2892 out of 2903 is a stark indicator of where this hardware pairing stands for Road 96. Only 11 other tested combinations perform worse, which means this setup is virtually at the very bottom of the performance ladder for this game. The percentile ranking for the CPU itself is 95th, meaning the Ryzen 9 8945HX outperforms 95% of all CPUs in general benchmarks. However, that strength is irrelevant here because the Radeon 760M sits in the 35th percentile for GPUs, a massive gap that dictates the overall experience.

Comparing the individual components to their nearest rivals clarifies the mismatch. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 76212 is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which scores 76155, a delta of just 0.1%. It also trades blows with the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (76492, -0.4%) and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76513, -0.4%), while edging out the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (75779, 0.6%). This tells us the processor is a top-tier performer, capable of handling any computational load Road 96 could throw at it. On the GPU side, the Radeon 760M’s average score of 6019 places it right alongside the AMD Radeon RX 6400 (6001, 0.3%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M (6000, 0.3%), and NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server (5996, 0.4%), while slightly trailing the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 (6049, -0.5%). These are all older or low-end discrete GPUs, or in one case a server-class part, which underscores just how modest the integrated graphics solution is. The ranking for this combo, therefore, is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability but a direct consequence of the GPU’s inability to render the game at acceptable speeds. The data implies that any of the CPU’s rival processors would produce identical frame rates when paired with this same GPU, making the processor choice nearly irrelevant for this game’s performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M is the definitive limiting factor in this configuration. It is an integrated graphics processor built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, using the Phoenix chip and fabricated on a 4 nm process. Its base clock is 800 MHz, which boosts up to 2599 MHz, and it relies on System Shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is system dependent rather than dedicated. The GPU has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units, along with 8 ray tracing cores. Its compute capability is rated at 5.323 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, which is modest for modern gaming. The pixel rate is 41.58 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 83.17 GTexel/s, both figures that reflect its position as an entry-level solution.

For a game like Road 96, which features a stylized art direction but is not a graphically intensive title, one might expect the 760M to cope. The measured FPS data suggests otherwise. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 58 FPS, which is playable, but any increase in quality drops the frame rate precipitously. The GPU’s thermal design power is listed as 15 W, which is extraordinarily low and explains its performance ceiling. The benchmark results show the GPU’s Passmark G3D score is 5310, and its DirectX 11 score is 52, while DirectX 12 is 25 and DirectX 9 is 65. These scores, when compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, show it performing at a level similar to a GeForce GTX 770M from over a decade ago. The data strongly indicates that the Radeon 760M is simply not designed for gaming at higher settings, and its role in this combo is to provide basic graphical output, not to deliver a smooth gaming experience. The ray tracing cores are present, but the overall shader throughput is too low to make use of them effectively in any demanding scenario.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 58 FPS, which is the only truly playable result across all tested configurations. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average FPS drops to 37, a decrease of 21 frames. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average falls to 19 FPS, which is a 67% reduction from the 1080p Low result. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario: as the pixel count increases, the fixed number of shading units and texture units become the bottleneck, and the frame rate falls almost linearly with the resolution increase.

The same trend is evident at every quality setting. For High settings, the FPS goes from 34 at 1080p, to 22 at 1440p, and down to 11 at 4K. Medium settings yield 42 FPS at 1080p, 27 at 1440p, and 14 at 4K. Ultra settings produce 27 FPS at 1080p, 17 at 1440p, and 9 at 4K. These numbers suggest that the limiting component is unambiguously the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect a more shallow decline in FPS as resolution increases, because the CPU’s workload (draw calls, physics, game logic) remains relatively constant regardless of resolution. Instead, the sharp drops indicate that the Radeon 760M cannot handle the increased fill rate and memory bandwidth demands of higher resolutions. The jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with frame rates often halving, which points to the GPU’s shared memory bandwidth becoming exhausted. The data makes it clear that this combo is only viable at 1080p, and even then, only at the lowest quality preset.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS, the only settings preset that provides a consistent, playable experience is Low at 1920x1080, which averages 58 FPS. This is the sole configuration where the frame rate stays comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, though it does not quite reach it on average. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 42 FPS, which is playable but may feel less smooth, and the minimum FPS for that setting is 36, which is still acceptable for a narrative adventure game. High at 1080p drops to 34 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth motion and would likely feel stuttery.

At higher resolutions, the situation becomes untenable. 1440p Low is 37 FPS, which is borderline, but Medium at 1440p is 27 FPS, and High is 22 FPS, with Ultra at just 17 FPS. None of these are recommended for a comfortable experience. At 4K, the highest average FPS is 19 on Low, which is a slideshow. Therefore, the data strongly suggests that users should run the game at 1080p with the Low preset. If image quality is prioritized over frame rate, Medium at 1080p is the best compromise, as it maintains an average above 40 FPS. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not viable, as even at 1080p it only manages 27 FPS. The measured rows show that the difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 16 FPS, which is significant, while the jump from Medium to High costs another 8 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 7 FPS. The performance cost of each quality tier is substantial, reinforcing that Low is the only sensible choice for this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data for Road 96 with this combo is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 58 FPS. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS. The High preset averages 34 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 27 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low averages 37 FPS. Medium averages 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. High averages 22 FPS. Ultra averages 17 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 19 FPS. Medium averages 14 FPS, with a minimum of 12 FPS and a maximum of 16 FPS. High averages 11 FPS. Ultra averages 9 FPS.

These numbers tell a consistent story. The system is barely usable at 1080p, with only Low settings achieving a frame rate that approaches the standard for playability. The Medium preset at 1080p is the only other configuration that stays above 30 FPS on average. All other settings and resolutions fall below 30 FPS, with 4K results ranging from 9 to 19 FPS, which are effectively unplayable. The data also shows that the minimum FPS figures, where recorded, are close to the averages, indicating that frame pacing is relatively stable but at a low level. For example, 1080p Medium has an average of 42 with a minimum of 36, and 1440p Medium has an average of 27 with a minimum of 23. This stability suggests there are no sudden spikes in rendering load, but rather a constant state of GPU saturation. The absence of min/max data for other presets means we cannot assess frame time variance there, but the averages are low enough to be conclusive about the overall experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range, and fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a thermal design power of 55 W. The cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 64 MB of L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, providing 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This is an exceptionally powerful mobile CPU, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and single-core score of 6030. Its Passmark multithread score is 51405, and its single-thread score is 3907.

For Road 96, this CPU is massively overqualified. The game is not particularly demanding on processing power, and the measured FPS is entirely dictated by the GPU. The data shows that the combo’s performance is consistent with what one would expect from the Radeon 760M alone, regardless of the CPU’s capabilities. The CPU’s nearest rivals all have nearly identical average benchmark scores, and the delta percentage between them is negligible. This means that swapping the Ryzen 9 8945HX for an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX or an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D would produce no meaningful change in frame rates, because the GPU would remain the limiting factor. The CPU’s role here is to feed the GPU with data, and at the low frame rates being produced, it is far from being stressed. The 16 cores and 32 threads are irrelevant for this game’s single-threaded or lightly-threaded rendering workload. The data implies that a much weaker CPU could achieve identical results, making the Ryzen 9 8945HX a wasted resource in this specific configuration for this specific game.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of playing Road 96 at 60 FPS?

A: No. The only measured configuration that comes close is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which averages 58 FPS. All other settings and resolutions fall below 50 FPS, with most well below 30 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this hardware?

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 provides the highest average FPS at 58. The Medium preset at 1080p is a secondary option at 42 FPS, but Low is the only preset that approaches a smooth frame rate.

Q: How does the Radeon 760M compare to its nearest rival, the RX 6400?

A: The Radeon 760M has an average benchmark score of 6019, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6400’s score of 6001. The performance is essentially identical, placing them in the same tier.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 8945HX bottlenecking the Radeon 760M?

A: No. The data indicates the opposite. The CPU is far more powerful than the GPU, and the frame rates are limited by the GPU’s rendering capability, not the CPU’s processing speed.

Q: What kind of frame rate can I expect at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS for 2560x1440 with High settings is 22 FPS. This is not a smooth experience and is below the threshold for comfortable play.

Q: Does the Radeon 760M support ray tracing for this game?

A: The GPU has 8 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which includes ray tracing features. However, given the low overall performance, enabling ray tracing would likely result in even lower frame rates than the already low numbers measured. The data does not include specific ray tracing benchmarks for this title.