Road 96

# Road 96 Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The combination of AMD's Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 produces a distinctive performance profile in Road 96, an adventure title from 2021. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that scales predictably with graphical load but demonstrates clear bottlenecks at higher settings. The CPU, a 16-core Zen 5 mobile processor with a 5.10 GHz boost clock, sits in the 95th percentile of all processors, while the RTX 4070, an Ada Lovelace GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, ranks in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Together, they deliver playable frame rates at most settings, though the data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution and quality increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 119 FPS at 1080p to 75 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 37%, and then further to 40 FPS at 4K, representing a 66% decline from the 1080p baseline. This scaling behavior is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 4070's rendering workload increases roughly proportionally with pixel count.

Low settings exhibit the steepest relative drop across resolutions. The system delivers 201 FPS at 1080p, falls to 128 FPS at 1440p (a 36% reduction), and reaches 68 FPS at 4K (a 66% decline). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and High presets suggests that the scaling factor is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the dominant constraints at higher pixel counts.

Medium settings provide the most complete data, including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 147 FPS with a range of 125–169 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 94 FPS with a range of 80–108 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 50 FPS with a range of 42–57 FPS. The frame time consistency, as inferred from the min-max spread, remains relatively stable across resolutions, suggesting that the game does not introduce stuttering or hitches as resolution increases.

Ultra settings show the most demanding scenario. The system manages 93 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, indicating that this preset is only suitable for lower resolutions with this hardware combination. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra (a 37% drop) mirrors the High preset's scaling, reinforcing that resolution is the primary variable affecting performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 operates with a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, paired with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In Road 96, the GPU's role becomes increasingly prominent as settings and resolution rise. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 201 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most displays, indicating that the GPU is not fully utilized at this setting. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 31 FPS, revealing that the GPU's compute and memory resources are saturated.

The RTX 4070's 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs provide substantial raw throughput, as reflected in its PassMark G3D score of 26927 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854. The GPU's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS is sufficient for Road 96's adventure genre graphics, which typically favor geometric complexity and texture detail over heavy particle effects. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this title, as the measured frame rates do not show sudden drops that would indicate memory swapping or texture thrashing.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.1% ahead), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% ahead), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% behind). These close margins suggest that the RTX 4070's performance in synthetic benchmarks translates well to real-world gaming, though Road 96's specific rendering workload may favor certain architectures. The GPU's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, but the 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS demonstrates that it is not a high-refresh-rate 4K solution for demanding presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers an average of 68 FPS, Medium delivers 50 FPS with a range of 42–57 FPS, High delivers 40 FPS, and Ultra delivers 31 FPS. Medium is the highest preset that maintains an average above 50 FPS, though High remains technically playable at 40 FPS.

Q: How does the system perform at 1080p for high-refresh-rate displays?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 201 FPS, Medium achieves 147 FPS with a range of 125–169 FPS, High achieves 119 FPS, and Ultra achieves 93 FPS. All presets exceed 90 FPS, making the system suitable for 144Hz displays at High or Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in Road 96?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35314 and single-core score of 2044, provides ample headroom. The consistent frame rate scaling with resolution and settings points to GPU-bound performance, especially at 4K and Ultra presets.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system delivers an average of 94 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 80 FPS and 108 FPS respectively. This represents a smooth experience for most display configurations.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Road 96 at maximum settings?

A: The measured data shows no evidence of VRAM-related performance degradation. The 4K Ultra preset averages 31 FPS, which is a consistent result rather than a sudden drop that would indicate memory limitations. The 12 GB GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for this title.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 37648 places it 0.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507), and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135). These differences are minor and unlikely to produce noticeable variations in Road 96 performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance across all presets. The Low setting produces an average of 201 FPS, making it the only tested configuration to exceed 200 FPS. Medium settings yield 147 FPS average with a minimum of 125 FPS and maximum of 169 FPS, providing a wide performance envelope. High settings achieve 119 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 93 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 54% reduction in frame rate, from 201 FPS to 93 FPS, highlighting the significant impact of quality settings at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings deliver 128 FPS average, which is 36% lower than the 1080p result. Medium settings produce 94 FPS average with a range of 80–108 FPS, maintaining consistency with the 1080p Medium spread of 125–169 FPS in relative terms. High settings achieve 75 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 59 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first configuration to dip below 60 FPS average, though the 59 FPS result is marginally playable.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance drops significantly. Low settings deliver 68 FPS average, which is playable but well below the 1440p Low result. Medium settings produce 50 FPS average with a minimum of 42 FPS and maximum of 57 FPS, maintaining a playable range. High settings achieve 40 FPS average, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings fall to 31 FPS average, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. The 4K results show a 54% reduction from Low to Ultra, mirroring the 1080p scaling pattern.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1541 out of 2903 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the 47th percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking is notable given the individual component standings: the CPU sits in the 95th percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. The disparity between component rankings and the in-game combo ranking suggests that Road 96's performance is influenced by factors beyond raw hardware capabilities.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (1.6% higher average score), AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (1.6% higher), Intel Core i9-14900K (1.7% lower), and AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX (2% higher). These rivals span desktop and workstation segments, indicating that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395's mobile positioning does not hinder its computational performance. However, in Road 96, the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, so the CPU's strong benchmark scores do not translate into a proportionally high in-game ranking.

The combo ranking of 1541 out of 2903 suggests that many configurations with similar or lower GPU rankings achieve better frame rates in this title. This could be due to Road 96's optimization for certain GPU architectures or the specific rendering techniques used. The RTX 4070's nearest GPU rivals — the Tesla P4, Radeon RX Vega 56, and RTX 4080 Mobile — all have similar average benchmark scores, yet the in-game performance may vary based on driver support and game-specific optimizations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 features 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The processor's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and quad-channel LPDDR5X memory support with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth provide substantial data throughput for game logic and asset streaming. In Road 96, an adventure title that likely prioritizes single-threaded performance for game logic and physics, the CPU's single-core capabilities are more relevant than its multi-core throughput.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2044 and Geekbench single-core score of 2464 position it competitively among modern processors. The PassMark single-thread score of 4147 further confirms its strong per-core performance. These results suggest that the CPU can handle Road 96's processing demands without becoming a bottleneck, even at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom.

The 16-core configuration provides ample multi-threaded performance for background tasks and any parallel workloads the game may utilize. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35314 and Geekbench multi-core score of 20992 demonstrate that the CPU can sustain high throughput across all cores. In Road 96, where frame rates at 1080p Low reach 201 FPS, the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game state updates is sufficient to avoid limiting performance.

The CPU's 95th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 77740, places it ahead of 95% of tested CPUs. Its nearest rivals in this metric include the Threadripper PRO 9945WX (1.6% higher score) and the Core i9-14900K (1.7% lower score), indicating that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 performs at the level of high-end desktop processors despite its mobile market segment.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable performance, with Ultra achieving 93 FPS average. For players with 60Hz displays, Ultra settings provide the best visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the refresh rate. For 144Hz displays, High settings at 119 FPS average offer a good balance between visual fidelity and frame rate, while Medium at 147 FPS provides additional headroom for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 94 FPS average with a range of 80–108 FPS, making it the recommended choice for balanced performance. High settings at 75 FPS average remain playable, but the 59 FPS average at Ultra may produce noticeable frame time variations on displays with variable refresh rates. Players prioritizing smoothness should select Medium, while those preferring visual quality can choose High with the understanding that frame rates will be lower.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the highest recommended setting, delivering 50 FPS average with a range of 42–57 FPS. This provides a playable experience on most displays, though the minimum frame rate of 42 FPS may be noticeable in fast-moving scenes. Low settings at 68 FPS average offer a smoother experience at the cost of visual fidelity. High and Ultra presets at 40 FPS and 31 FPS respectively are only suitable for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate consistency.

The data indicates that Medium settings provide the most consistent experience across all resolutions, with the smallest relative drop from 1080p to 4K when considering the min-max range. The 4K Medium result of 50 FPS average with a 42–57 FPS range demonstrates that this preset is viable for 4K gaming, while the 31 FPS Ultra result falls below the playability threshold for most users.