Road 96

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 3587th out of 3713 tested combinations in Road 96. This places the combo in the bottom 3.4% of all recorded system pairings for this game, a position that reflects the significant age and modest performance tier of both components. The CPU itself holds a 71st percentile ranking across all processors in the database, indicating it remains a reasonably capable part for general workloads, but the GPU sits at only the 40th percentile among all graphics cards. The disparity between these two percentile figures is telling: the processor has more headroom than the graphics solution can exploit in this title.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 17177 places it in close company with several rivals. The AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17120, a delta of 0.3% higher. The Intel Core i5-12450H reaches 17239, which is 0.4% above the i5-11400F. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G posts 17278, 0.6% higher, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U trails at 17074, 0.6% lower. These narrow margins show that the i5-11400F sits in a tightly clustered performance band, with no single rival holding a decisive advantage in aggregate compute scores.

For the GPU, the GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 7472 similarly clusters tightly with its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447, just 0.3% lower. The Intel UHD Graphics 750 reaches 7441, 0.4% below. The AMD Radeon R7 350 posts 7425, 0.6% lower, while the Intel Arc A310 scores 7550, 1.0% higher. This grouping places the GTX 1650 among integrated and entry-level discrete solutions, which aligns with the low in-game ranking observed for this combo.

The measured frame rates confirm that the bottleneck in Road 96 shifts heavily toward the GPU as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo achieves playable results on lower presets, but at 4K, even the Low preset drops to 27 FPS average, which is below smooth gameplay thresholds. The data indicates that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming with moderate settings, and it struggles to maintain acceptable performance at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 uses the TU117 chip built on a 12 nm process at TSMC, with 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The GPU has 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. Its base clock runs at 1485 MHz, boosting to 1665 MHz, while memory operates at 2001 MHz with 8 Gbps effective transfer. The 4 GB of GDDR5 memory sits on a 128-bit bus, yielding 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's pixel rate reaches 53.28 GPixel/s, texture rate hits 93.24 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute lands at 2.984 TFLOPS. FP16 performance doubles to 5.967 TFLOPS using the 2:1 ratio.

In Road 96, the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth prove to be limiting factors at higher resolutions. The 4 GB VRAM buffer is modest by current standards, and at 4K resolution, the game's texture and geometry demands exceed what this card can efficiently process. The 128-bit memory bus further constrains performance, as the bandwidth available cannot keep pace with the pixel throughput required at 3840x2160. The measured results show a sharp falloff from 1080p to 4K, with the High preset dropping from 48 FPS to 16 FPS, a 67% reduction.

The GPU's DirectX 12 support at feature level 12_1, along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, means it can run the game's rendering paths without compatibility issues. However, the raw compute throughput of 2.984 TFLOPS is modest, and the card's 40th percentile ranking across all GPUs reflects its position as an entry-level solution from the GeForce 16 generation. The GTX 1650 draws 75 W with no external power connectors, and the suggested power supply is 250 W, which indicates it was designed for budget systems rather than high-end gaming rigs.

The benchmark data shows the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 7880 and its DirectX 11 score of 58, which are consistent with its tier. The card's performance in Road 96 aligns with these aggregate scores, delivering smooth frame rates only at lower resolutions and settings. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 305 further confirms the GPU's limited modern gaming capability.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system heavily limited by the GPU. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 81 at 1920x1080 to 52 at 2560x1440, a 36% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the average falls to 27 FPS, which is a 67% drop from the 1080p figure and a 48% drop from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the GTX 1650's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are insufficient for 4K rendering, even on the lowest quality preset.

At Medium settings, the scaling pattern continues. The 1080p average of 59 FPS drops to 38 FPS at 1440p, a 36% reduction, and then to 20 FPS at 4K, a 66% drop from 1080p and a 47% drop from 1440p. The High preset shows similar behavior: 48 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p (a 38% reduction), and 16 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop from 1080p). The Ultra preset follows the same trajectory with 37 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction), and 13 FPS at 4K (a 65% drop from 1080p).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets suggests that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, rather than settings complexity. The GPU's 128.1 GB/s bandwidth and 4 GB VRAM are the primary constraints, as each resolution increase demands proportionally more memory traffic and pixel processing. The CPU, with 6 cores and 12 threads running at 2.60 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost, does not appear to be the limiting factor at any resolution in this title, as the frame rate drops are uniform regardless of the computational load from settings changes.

The measured data indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo, and even then, only the Low preset achieves a comfortable 52 FPS average. At 4K, all presets fall below 30 FPS, with the Ultra preset at 13 FPS being effectively unplayable. The scaling pattern strongly suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant frame rate improvements, while the CPU would remain underutilized in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080

At 1080p, the combo delivers its best results. The Low preset averages 81 FPS, providing smooth gameplay with no reported minimum or maximum values. The Medium preset averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, maintaining a consistent frame pacing well above playable thresholds. The High preset averages 48 FPS, which remains playable but shows a noticeable step down from Medium. The Ultra preset averages 37 FPS, which dips below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider the floor for smooth action.

2560x1440

At 1440p, performance drops across all presets. The Low preset averages 52 FPS, still acceptable for most gameplay. The Medium preset averages 38 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS, which crosses into marginal territory where frame drops become noticeable. The High preset averages 30 FPS, which is borderline for playability. The Ultra preset averages 24 FPS, which falls below the standard for smooth interaction.

3840x2160

At 4K, the combo struggles significantly. The Low preset averages 27 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS minimum for acceptable gameplay. The Medium preset averages 20 FPS with a minimum of 17 FPS and a maximum of 23 FPS, indicating frequent drops into slideshow territory. The High preset averages 16 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 13 FPS, both effectively unplayable.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that reliably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p provides a solid 59 FPS average with acceptable minimums. All other configurations either fall below 60 FPS or drop below 30 FPS at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 81 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset remains above 50 FPS, while at 4K, all presets fall below 30 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 7472. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447, which is 0.3% lower. The Intel UHD Graphics 750 scores 7441, 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon R7 350 scores 7425, 0.6% lower. The Intel Arc A310 scores 7550, which is 1.0% higher. These differences are minimal, placing all four cards in the same performance tier.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data does not indicate CPU bottlenecking. The Intel Core i5-11400F ranks at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, while the GTX 1650 ranks at the 40th percentile among GPUs. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent across all settings presets, suggesting the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads provide ample processing power for this adventure title.

Q: What is the most consistent frame pacing configuration?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 shows the most consistent frame pacing among the recorded data, with an average of 59 FPS, a minimum of 50 FPS, and a maximum of 68 FPS. This gives a frame time range that remains within the playable band. The Medium preset at 2560x1440 also has recorded minimum and maximum values (32 to 43 FPS), but the average of 38 FPS is less comfortable. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 shows a minimum of 17 FPS and a maximum of 23 FPS, which is too low for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the i5-11400F's single-threaded performance compare to its multi-threaded performance in relation to this game?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score is 2024, while its multi-core score is 14340, giving a ratio of roughly 7.1x scaling across 6 cores. In Road 96, which is not heavily multi-threaded, the single-core performance is more relevant. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and the PassMark single-thread score of 2981 indicate adequate single-threaded capability. The game's frame rates are more constrained by the GPU than by the CPU's single-thread performance.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever playable with this combo?

A: The Ultra preset only averages 37 FPS at 1920x1080, which is below the 40 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, it drops to 24 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it averages 13 FPS. Based on the measured data, the Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution for this combo.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal configuration for this combo is the Medium preset at 1920x1080. This setting delivers an average of 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. The minimum frame rate stays above the 30 FPS playability floor, and the average is close to 60 FPS, providing a balance between visual quality and smoothness. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 81 FPS average, which is smoother, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the extra 22 FPS when the Medium preset already delivers acceptable performance.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option, averaging 52 FPS. This is playable but does not offer the visual fidelity that most users would expect at that resolution. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 38 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS, which dips below the 40 FPS comfort zone. For users who prioritize resolution over settings, 1440p Low is acceptable, but 1080p Medium provides a better overall experience.

The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely with this combo. Even the Low preset at 3840x2160 averages only 27 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS minimum for acceptable gameplay. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 13 FPS, making it effectively unplayable. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K rendering in this game, regardless of settings.

The High preset at 1080p averages 48 FPS, which is playable but shows a noticeable drop from the Medium preset's 59 FPS. The visual difference between Medium and High in an adventure title like Road 96 may not justify the 11 FPS loss. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 37 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold. Users seeking the highest visual quality should consider that the Ultra preset's 37 FPS may cause noticeable stutter during scene transitions.

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the data supports the Medium preset at 1920x1080 as the primary recommendation. This configuration provides the highest average FPS that remains above 50 FPS minimum, ensuring consistent gameplay without major frame drops. Users with lower tolerance for frame rate variation can choose the Low preset at 1080p for an 81 FPS average, while users who prefer higher visual fidelity can try the High preset at 1080p, accepting a 48 FPS average.