Road 96

Road 96, a narrative road-trip adventure from 2021, is not typically a stress test for high-end hardware, but the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination still provides a clear picture of how this mobile platform handles the game across different resolutions and settings. The data set is complete with average frame rates for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, with select minimum and maximum values for Medium settings, offering a methodical look at performance scaling and the balance between CPU and GPU demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Road 96?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 delivers the highest average frame rates across all settings, reaching 179 FPS on Low and 106 FPS on High. At 2560x1440, the averages remain playable, from 114 FPS on Low down to 53 FPS on Ultra. 3840x2160 is the most demanding, with the Ultra preset averaging only 28 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4060’s 8 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop sharply with increased settings, from 60 FPS on Low to 36 FPS on High and only 28 FPS on Ultra. This indicates that while the 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for lower presets, the higher settings at 4K push the GPU to its limits, likely due to both memory capacity and raw processing power.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 67 FPS, while Medium averages 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. The Medium preset offers a higher average and a documented minimum above 70 FPS, making it a strong choice for consistent performance.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 8945HX a bottleneck for the RTX 4060 in this game?

A: The CPU’s benchmark scores are very high, with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713. In Road 96, the frame rates scale predictably with resolution, suggesting the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings, while the CPU’s 16 cores and 32 threads are more than sufficient for the game’s demands.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 179 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. This represents a drop of 96 FPS, or roughly 54%, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1742 out of 2903 tested combos in Road 96. This places it in the lower half of the database, though the game’s performance remains playable at most settings below 4K Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is a mobile GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a chip designated AD107. It features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units, along with 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores. The GPU’s memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. Its clock speeds are a base of 1830 MHz and a boost of 2460 MHz, with memory running at 2125 MHz or 17 Gbps effective.

In Road 96, the GPU’s role is directly reflected in the measured FPS across different settings. At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 delivers high average frame rates, from 179 FPS on Low to 83 FPS on Ultra. The step from Low to Medium reduces the average from 179 FPS to 131 FPS, a drop of 48 FPS, while moving from Medium to High brings it down to 106 FPS, and from High to Ultra down to 83 FPS. This scaling shows the GPU’s performance headroom at 1080p, allowing for high refresh rates even at the Ultra preset.

At 2560x1440, the averages are lower but still strong: 114 FPS on Low, 83 FPS on Medium, 67 FPS on High, and 53 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS, indicating that the GPU maintains a playable range even during demanding scenes. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is significant, highlighting the increased pixel load on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4060 struggles with higher settings. The Low preset averages 60 FPS, Medium averages 44 FPS, High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages only 28 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS. This data suggests that the 8 GB VRAM and the GPU’s compute power are insufficient for smooth performance at 4K with anything above Low settings. The benchmark results for the RTX 4060 itself, such as a Passmark G3D score of 19545 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302, place it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range part that excels at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 achieves a rank of 1742 out of 2903 combos for Road 96. This rank places the combo in the lower half of all tested systems, which might seem surprising given the individual component performance. However, this ranking is specific to this game, and Road 96’s relatively low graphical demands mean that even mid-range GPUs can achieve high frame rates, with the ranking determined by how each combo performs in the measured scenarios.

The CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX, is a high-end mobile processor with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX with an average score of 76155, which is 0.1% ahead, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with a score of 75779, which is 0.6% behind. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 76212, and it delivers strong multi-core performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713.

The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, has a 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with a score of 17666, which is -0.2% different, and the AMD Radeon 780M with a score of 17588, which is 0.3% different. This indicates that the RTX 4060’s raw GPU performance is comparable to other mid-range parts, but its combination with the Ryzen 9 8945HX in this specific game results in a rank that is lower than the CPU’s percentile would suggest.

The combo’s rank of 1742 out of 2903 means that a majority of other tested systems achieve higher frame rates in Road 96. This is likely due to the game’s optimization and the fact that many desktop or higher-end mobile GPUs can outperform the RTX 4060 at higher resolutions. The data shows that the combo is capable of excellent performance at 1080p and good performance at 1440p, but its rank reflects the broader comparison across all settings and resolutions in the test suite.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Road 96 with this combo covers three resolutions and four settings, providing a complete view of performance. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 179 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. The Medium preset averages 131 FPS, with a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 151 FPS, showing a consistent range. The High preset averages 106 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. This resolution shows that the combo can easily handle high refresh rate gaming, with even the Ultra preset staying above 80 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 114 FPS, which is a drop of 65 FPS from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 83 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS, indicating that the frame rate remains stable for most of the game. The High preset averages 67 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 53 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 61 FPS, from 114 to 53, which is a significant reduction but still leaves the Ultra preset playable.

At 3840x2160, the performance degrades considerably. The Low preset averages 60 FPS, which is the minimum for a smooth experience. The Medium preset averages 44 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS, showing that the frame rate can dip below 40 FPS in some scenes. The High preset averages 36 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 28 FPS. These results indicate that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, and even then, the average of 60 FPS is borderline.

The Medium preset is the only one with documented minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 111 to 151 FPS, a spread of 40 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 71 to 96 FPS, a spread of 25 FPS. At 4K, the range is 38 to 51 FPS, a spread of 13 FPS. This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time variance but also lowering the overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, but the Ultra preset’s average of 83 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. For users with high refresh rate displays, the Medium preset at 131 FPS or the High preset at 106 FPS would be better choices, as they provide higher averages without the visual quality loss of Low. The Low preset at 179 FPS is excessive for most displays, but it could be used for competitive play if frame rate is the primary concern.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with an average of 83 FPS and a minimum of 71 FPS, ensuring that the frame rate rarely drops below a playable level. The High preset at 67 FPS is also acceptable, but the lower minimum on Medium provides more consistency. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is still playable, but the average is below 60 FPS, which may result in noticeable stuttering in fast-paced scenes. The Low preset at 114 FPS is the best for high refresh rate 1440p monitors, but the visual quality is significantly reduced.

At 3840x2160, the only recommended setting is Low, which averages 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 44 FPS is borderline, and the minimum of 38 FPS means that some scenes will be choppy. The High and Ultra presets at 36 and 28 FPS respectively are not recommended for a smooth experience. Given the data, the best overall experience for this combo is to play at 1440p with Medium or High settings, as this provides a good balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, with the Medium’s documented minimum of 71 FPS offering a safety margin.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread mobile processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It features a 64 MB L3 cache, with 64 KB of L1 and 1 MB of L2 per core, and is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and has a TDP of 55 W. Its benchmark performance is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030, placing it in the 95th percentile among all CPUs.

In Road 96, the CPU’s role is less prominent than the GPU’s, as the game is not particularly CPU-intensive. The measured FPS data shows that the frame rates scale primarily with resolution and settings, which are GPU-bound factors. For example, at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 179 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 28 FPS, a difference of 151 FPS that is almost entirely due to GPU load. The CPU’s 16 cores and 32 threads are more than sufficient to handle the game’s logic, AI, and physics, and the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks are processed quickly.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which is 0.1% ahead in average benchmark score, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which is 0.6% behind. These differences are minor, and in Road 96, the CPU’s performance is unlikely to be a limiting factor. The data suggests that the combo’s rank of 1742 out of 2903 is not due to CPU performance but rather the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to maintain high frame rates, as evidenced by the 179 FPS at 1080p Low, which is near the upper limit for many displays.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the GPU becomes the limiting component as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the average FPS across all settings is high, with Low at 179, Medium at 131, High at 106, and Ultra at 83. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 114, 83, 67, and 53 for the same settings, representing reductions of 36%, 37%, 37%, and 36% respectively. This consistent percentage drop indicates that the GPU is handling the increased pixel count in a linear fashion, with the CPU not being a bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the drops become more severe. The Low preset drops from 114 FPS at 1440p to 60 FPS at 4K, a 47% reduction. The Medium preset drops from 83 FPS to 44 FPS, a 47% reduction. The High preset drops from 67 FPS to 36 FPS, a 46% reduction. The Ultra preset drops from 53 FPS to 28 FPS, a 47% reduction. These larger drops at 4K, compared to the 1080p to 1440p transition, suggest that the GPU is approaching its memory bandwidth and compute limits. The 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth on the RTX 4060 are insufficient for the higher texture and shading demands at 4K Ultra, leading to the low average of 28 FPS.

The data shows that the frame rate scaling is not perfectly proportional to the pixel count. From 1080p to 1440p, the pixel count increases by 78%, but the FPS drops by roughly 36-37% on average. From 1440p to 4K, the pixel count increases by 125%, but the FPS drops by roughly 46-47%. This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU’s performance is not purely fill-rate limited but also affected by memory bandwidth and other factors at higher resolutions. The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal, as its performance remains constant across resolutions, and the FPS drops are entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload. For users wanting to play Road 96 at 4K, the data clearly shows that the RTX 4060 is not capable of high settings, and even Low settings yield only a 60 FPS average, making 1440p the practical limit for this combo.