Road 96

Road 96, an adventure title from 2021, presents an interesting benchmark scenario when paired with an Intel Core i3-12100F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. The data shows a combination of a high-end GPU with a more modest CPU, and the measured results reveal how this pairing handles the game across various resolutions and settings. The RTX 4080, a 5 nm Ada Lovelace part with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth, is clearly the dominant component in this system, while the 4-core, 8-thread i3-12100F provides the necessary processing power to keep the frame pipeline fed.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Road 96 with this combo for a high refresh rate experience?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution for high refresh rates. At this resolution, the combo achieves an average of 226 FPS on Low settings and 165 FPS on Medium settings, which are well above the 144 Hz threshold. While 1920x1080 yields even higher frame rates, the jump to 1440p offers a significant visual upgrade for a relatively small performance cost.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in the benchmark database?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209, a delta of only 0.1%. This indicates the 4080 is effectively performance-equivalent to the 4080 SUPER in the aggregate benchmark suite.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 in this game?

A: The data suggests that at 1920x1080, the CPU is more likely to be a limiting factor. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra settings is compressed compared to higher resolutions (e.g., 354 FPS to 164 FPS at 1080p vs. 119 FPS to 55 FPS at 4K). This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU's processing power is a more significant constraint on maximum frame rates.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers an average of 165 FPS, while the High preset delivers 133 FPS. This represents a 32 FPS difference, or roughly a 24% drop in performance when moving from Medium to High, likely due to increased GPU load from higher-quality textures and effects.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 have a high amount of VRAM, and how much does it have?

A: Yes, the RTX 4080 is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory. This is a substantial amount of VRAM that provides ample headroom for high-resolution textures and complex scenes in Road 96, ensuring that memory capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor for performance at the measured settings.

Q: How does the Core i3-12100F's single-threaded performance compare to its multi-threaded performance?

A: The CPU's benchmark scores show a significant difference between single and multi-threaded workloads. For example, in Cinebench R23, it scores 1674 in single-core and 11860 in multi-core. This indicates that the processor has strong single-thread capabilities relative to its multi-thread score, which is beneficial for games that often rely on fewer, more powerful cores.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the central component driving frame rates in this configuration. Its specifications are high-end, featuring an AD103 chip on a 5 nm process, with a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz. The GPU's memory subsystem is particularly robust, with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Road 96, an adventure game that does not typically demand extreme memory bandwidth.

The benchmark results show a clear correlation between the GPU's workload and frame rates across different settings. At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080 produces 119 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 87 FPS on Medium, 71 FPS on High, and 55 FPS on Ultra. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing the rendering quality places more strain on the graphics processor. The 71 FPS average at 4K High is a playable result, but the 55 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests that the Ultra preset is the most demanding setting, likely enabling the most intensive effects that even this powerful GPU cannot fully overcome at this resolution.

The GPU's overall strength is reflected in its benchmark scores, with a Passmark G3D score of 34457 and an average benchmark score of 54247, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER, with a delta of just 0.1%, indicating they are essentially peers in raw compute power. In the context of Road 96, the RTX 4080's role is to provide high frame rates at high resolutions and settings. The data shows it is capable of exceeding 100 FPS at 1440p on Medium and High settings, and it even approaches 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, making it a versatile card for this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F, while a more budget-oriented part, plays a crucial role in this system. It is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It features 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Despite its modest core count, its single-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 893.

In Road 96, the CPU's influence is most apparent when the GPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, reaching 354 FPS on Low settings. However, the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (354 FPS to 164 FPS) is more pronounced than the scaling at higher resolutions, suggesting that the CPU is starting to limit the maximum achievable frame rate. The data indicates that the i3-12100F is powerful enough to drive the RTX 4080 to very high frame rates, but it is the component that prevents the system from achieving even higher numbers at lower resolutions.

The CPU's overall performance is ranked in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13494. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core 3 N355, with a delta of 0%, and it is also close to the Intel Core i5-9500, which it outperforms by 0.3%. These scores suggest that while the i3-12100F is not a top-tier processor, it provides a solid foundation for gaming, especially when paired with a high-end GPU. In this specific title, the CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to handle the game's logic and physics, ensuring that the RTX 4080 is consistently fed with data.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations in the benchmark database, the pairing of the Core i3-12100F and RTX 4080 ranks 257th out of 3713 combos for Road 96. This places the system in the top 7% of all tested configurations, which is a very strong result. This high ranking is attributable to the immense power of the RTX 4080, which can compensate for the i3-12100F's lower core count in this title.

The rank suggests that this is a high-performing combo for this game, despite the theoretical imbalance between the CPU and GPU. The data shows that the system can achieve very high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, and it remains playable at 4K. The 257th rank out of 3713 indicates that the majority of tested combos do not perform as well, reinforcing the idea that this is a capable gaming system for Road 96. The combination's strength lies in the GPU's ability to render the game's scenes quickly, while the CPU's solid single-threaded performance prevents it from being a major hindrance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. Here is a detailed breakdown of the average frame rates:

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Low: 354 FPS average.
• Medium: 260 FPS average, with a minimum of 221 FPS and a maximum of 298 FPS.
• High: 209 FPS average.
• Ultra: 164 FPS average.

• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Low: 226 FPS average.
• Medium: 165 FPS average, with a minimum of 140 FPS and a maximum of 190 FPS.
• High: 133 FPS average.
• Ultra: 104 FPS average.

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Low: 119 FPS average.
• Medium: 87 FPS average, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS.
• High: 71 FPS average.
• Ultra: 55 FPS average.

The data shows that the system is capable of very high frame rates at 1080p, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 160 FPS. At 1440p, the frame rates remain high, with all presets exceeding the 100 FPS mark. At 4K, the performance drops significantly, but the system still manages to maintain an average above 55 FPS at the Ultra preset, which is a demanding setting. The Medium preset at 4K provides a comfortable 87 FPS average, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and refresh rate priorities. For users with a 1080p 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, the High preset is recommended, as it delivers an average of 209 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold and close to the 240 Hz target. The Ultra preset at 1080p, which yields 164 FPS, is also a strong choice for those who prioritize visual fidelity and have a 144Hz monitor.

For 1440p users, the Medium preset is an excellent choice, providing an average of 165 FPS, which perfectly matches a 165Hz refresh rate monitor. The High preset at 1440p, with an average of 133 FPS, is also a good option, especially for users with a 144Hz display who prefer higher visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 104 FPS, is still very playable and offers the best visual experience, but it may not be ideal for esports-level competitive play where maximum frame rates are paramount.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the best balance of visual quality and performance, delivering an average of 87 FPS, which is suitable for a 60Hz to 90Hz display. The High preset at 71 FPS is also viable for a 60Hz monitor, but the Ultra preset, at 55 FPS, may be too demanding for smooth gameplay on a high-refresh-rate 4K panel. Therefore, the data suggests that Medium at 4K, High at 1440p, and High at 1080p are the most balanced presets for their respective resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K illustrates the changing bottleneck in the system. At 1080p Low, the system produces 354 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, this drops to 226 FPS, a reduction of 128 FPS. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 119 FPS, a further reduction of 107 FPS. This pattern shows a consistent decline as resolution increases, which is expected as the GPU's workload grows.

The scaling is more dramatic at higher settings. For example, on the Medium preset, the frame rates are 260 FPS at 1080p, 165 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 66%, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. Conversely, at the Low preset, the drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 66% as well, but the absolute frame rates are so high that the CPU's influence is more noticeable at 1080p.

This data suggests that at 1080p, the Core i3-12100F is more likely to be a bottleneck, as the GPU has plenty of headroom to render frames faster, but the CPU cannot keep up. As the resolution increases, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, and the CPU's role diminishes. This is a classic sign of a system where the GPU is the stronger component, and the CPU's 4-core, 8-thread configuration is sufficient for high-resolution gaming but limits maximum frame rates at lower resolutions.