Road 96

# Road 96 with Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 152nd out of 3,713 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the top 4.1% of all systems evaluated for this title. The pairing leverages a CPU that sits at the 72nd percentile among all processors and a GPU at the 88th percentile among all graphics cards, creating a system that delivers high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. Road 96, an adventure game released in 2021, proves to be highly accommodating to this hardware, with even the most demanding preset at 4K maintaining a playable average.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 152 out of 3,713 tested combinations places it comfortably within the upper echelon of systems for Road 96. This position reflects the substantial performance headroom of the RTX 4090, which is the dominant component in this pairing. The CPU's own benchmark profile—an average score of 18,683—places it nearly exactly level with the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18,697 (a delta of -0.1%), and slightly behind the Intel Core i7-1355U at 18,730 (-0.3%). The closest rival below is the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 at 18,811, which the i5-12400 trails by 0.7%, while the Intel Core i3-14100F at 18,519 is 0.9% behind the i5-12400. This clustering indicates that the CPU's compute throughput is competitive with a broad range of other processors, though the differences are small enough that they would rarely dictate real-world gaming outcomes.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 60,347 positions it near the Intel Arc Pro A60, which scores 60,326 (a 0% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 60,140 (0.3% ahead). The RTX 4090 also sits 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896) and 2.9% behind the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58,657). This benchmark data suggests that while the RTX 4090 is a high-end part in general terms, its synthetic scores are not dramatically separated from several workstation-oriented rivals. In Road 96 specifically, however, the measured frame rates show the GPU delivering well over 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the game's rendering demands are well within the card's capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a chip containing 76,300 million transistors across a 609 mm² die. Its clock speeds start at a 2,235 MHz base and reach 2,520 MHz boost, with memory running at 1,313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Road 96's asset streaming requirements at any resolution tested. The card's 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines deliver a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute rated at 82.58 TFLOPS.

In Road 96, the GPU's role is decisive at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rate drops from 132 FPS on Low settings to 61 FPS on Ultra, a reduction that tracks closely with the increased shading and texture work required by higher presets. The card's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are present but largely idle in this title, as Road 96 does not emphasize ray-traced effects or DLSS-based upscaling in the measured data. The 24 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what this game requires, but it ensures zero memory-related stutters even at 4K Ultra. The GPU's benchmark percentile of 88 among all GPUs, combined with its measured performance, confirms that it is the primary driver of the high frame rates observed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the system's performance scales from 1080p to 4K, with clear evidence of a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At 1080p High, the system averages 231 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 147 FPS (a 36% reduction); and at 4K High, it falls to 78 FPS (a 47% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-limited scenario, where each pixel count increase imposes a proportionally larger rendering load. The Low preset shows a similar trend: 392 FPS at 1080p, 249 FPS at 1440p, and 132 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure representing a 47% drop from 1440p.

The Medium preset includes min and max FPS data, which provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 287 FPS with a min of 244 and max of 330. At 1440p Medium, the average is 183 FPS with a min of 155 and max of 210. At 4K Medium, the average is 97 FPS with a min of 82 and max of 111. The min-to-max spread widens at higher resolutions, from 86 FPS at 1080p to 55 FPS at 1440p and 29 FPS at 4K, indicating that frame time variance increases as the GPU nears its limits. The fact that 4K Ultra still averages 61 FPS, while 1080p Ultra reaches 181 FPS, demonstrates that the RTX 4090 can handle this game at any resolution, but the scaling confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces exceptionally high frame rates across all presets. Low settings yield an average of 392 FPS, Medium produces 287 FPS (min 244, max 330), High delivers 231 FPS, and Ultra still maintains 181 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 without creating a bottleneck, as even the lowest preset achieves nearly 400 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of virtually all displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages remain high but show the expected decline. Low settings produce 249 FPS, Medium averages 183 FPS (min 155, max 210), High reaches 147 FPS, and Ultra drops to 115 FPS. The 1440p results are particularly relevant for high-refresh-rate monitors, as even Ultra settings exceed 100 FPS, and Medium easily clears 144 FPS for 144 Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains playable but the GPU's workload becomes apparent. Low settings average 132 FPS, Medium averages 97 FPS (min 82, max 111), High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra drops to 61 FPS. The 4K results show that the RTX 4090 can handle Road 96 at maximum settings with a 60 FPS average, but players seeking higher refresh rates at 4K would need to step down to High or Medium. The Medium preset's min FPS of 82 at 4K indicates that even during demanding scenes, the system stays well above 60 FPS, providing a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports a clear tiered recommendation based on resolution. At 1080p, Ultra settings are the obvious choice, as the 181 FPS average provides a flawless experience on any monitor, and the GPU has ample headroom. At 1440p, Ultra at 115 FPS is also recommended for players with 120 Hz or lower refresh rate displays; those with 144 Hz or 165 Hz panels might prefer High at 147 FPS to maximize smoothness without sacrificing visual quality. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is 32 FPS, which is significant for competitive play, though Road 96 is a single-player adventure where visual fidelity may take priority.

At 4K, the choice depends on the display's refresh rate. For 60 Hz displays, Ultra at 61 FPS is the best option, as it delivers the maximum visual quality while staying just above the 60 FPS threshold. For 120 Hz or higher displays, Medium at 97 FPS is the sweet spot, providing a substantial 36 FPS improvement over Ultra while still looking strong. The High preset at 78 FPS serves as a middle ground for those who want better visuals than Medium but cannot tolerate the frame rate drop to Ultra. The Low preset is not recommended at any resolution for this hardware, as the visual degradation is unnecessary given the performance available at Medium and above.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: For a 60 Hz display, Ultra at 61 FPS average is ideal. For higher refresh rates, Medium at 97 FPS (min 82, max 111) provides the best balance, as it delivers 36 FPS more than Ultra while maintaining smooth frame pacing.

Q: Can this system hit 144 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, at 1440p Medium the average is 183 FPS (min 155, max 210), and even High averages 147 FPS. Both presets comfortably exceed 144 FPS, while Ultra falls slightly short at 115 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 392 FPS, and even Ultra hits 181 FPS. The Intel Core i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep the RTX 4090 fully utilized at this resolution.

Q: How much does the Ultra preset cost in frame rate compared to Low?

A: At 1080p, Ultra reduces the average from 392 FPS (Low) to 181 FPS, a 54% drop. At 1440p, the drop is from 249 FPS to 115 FPS (54% reduction). At 4K, the drop is from 132 FPS to 61 FPS (54% reduction), showing a consistent relative cost.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo in Road 96?

A: The only preset with reported min FPS is Medium: 244 FPS at 1080p, 155 FPS at 1440p, and 82 FPS at 4K. These minimums indicate that the system never drops below 82 FPS at any resolution on Medium settings.

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

A: It ranks 152nd out of 3,713 combinations, placing it in the top 4.1% of all tested systems for Road 96. This high ranking is driven primarily by the RTX 4090's performance, as the i5-12400's benchmark scores are mid-pack among its peers.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 163 mm². Its base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts to 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, with PCIe Gen 5 providing 16 lanes from the CPU. Integrated UHD Graphics 730 is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete RTX 4090.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12400 achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,989 and a single-core score of 2,257. Its Geekbench results show 8,564 multicore and 1,848 single-core. The 3DMark scores scale from 910 (single-thread) to 5,890 (max threads), indicating that the CPU benefits from additional threads up to its 12-thread limit. The PassMark multithread score of 18,747, combined with a single-thread score of 3,456, shows a balanced performance profile. The CPU's percentile of 72 among all processors places it above the median, and its average benchmark score of 18,683 is within 1% of several rival processors, as detailed earlier.

For Road 96 specifically, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as the game's frame rates at 1080p (up to 392 FPS on Low) demonstrate that the i5-12400 can feed the RTX 4090 effectively. The 4K results, where the GPU becomes the limiting factor, show frame rates that are determined by graphics workload rather than CPU throughput. The CPU's 12 threads are more than adequate for this adventure title, which does not exhibit the heavy multi-threaded demands of strategy or simulation games. The 18 MB of L3 cache helps maintain consistent frame times, as evidenced by the narrow min-to-max spreads at Medium settings across all resolutions.