Road 96

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a strong performance profile in Road 96, a narrative-driven adventure title where frame pacing and consistency matter more than raw compute extremes. The measured data indicates this combination handles the game’s demands with significant headroom across most settings, though the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K can push the system to its limits. This analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU contributions, answers common questions, and provides settings guidance based strictly on the benchmark results.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which provides a solid foundation for gaming workloads. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 18 MB L3 cache. This configuration is well-suited for a game like Road 96, which does not demand extreme multi-threaded throughput but benefits from responsive single-core performance and consistent frame delivery.

The benchmark data shows the i5-12400F achieves a single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark, a multicore score of 5912 in 3DMark max threads, and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518. In the context of Road 96, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The measured frame rates at 1080p with Low settings reach 279.6 FPS, indicating the CPU is not a bottleneck at that resolution. Even at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate drops to 43.1 FPS, the bottleneck shifts almost entirely to the GPU, as evidenced by the CPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at lower graphical loads.

The i5-12400F sits in the 77th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K, which scores within 0.1% of the i5-12400F, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, which is 0.7% behind. These close margins suggest that the i5-12400F is well-positioned in its performance tier, offering enough compute headroom for Road 96’s adventure gameplay. The data shows that at 1440p High, the combo achieves 106.7 FPS, and at 1080p High, it reaches 165.6 FPS, both of which are well above the thresholds where CPU limitations would typically appear. The core count of 6 and thread count of 12 provide ample parallelism for the game’s background tasks, but the primary driver of the final frame rate is the GPU’s rendering capability.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Road 96, which is not a VRAM-intensive title, allowing the GPU to focus its resources on rendering the game’s stylized visuals.

The RTX 4070’s compute capabilities include 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a FP32 throughput of 29.15 TFLOPS. The benchmark results show the GPU scores 26927 in Passmark G3D and 14720 in Passmark GPU Compute, placing it in the 81st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which is 0.6% ahead, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, which is 2.2% ahead. The GPU’s performance in Road 96 is directly reflected in the measured FPS data: at 1080p Low, it achieves 279.6 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 127.3 FPS. This demonstrates a wide performance envelope, with the Ultra preset at 4K (43.1 FPS) being the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

The shift in frame rates across resolutions and settings highlights the GPU as the primary performance determinant. At 1440p Medium, the combo achieves 127.7 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 80.4 FPS. Similarly, at 4K Medium, the average is 69.5 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 43.1 FPS. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 can comfortably handle Road 96 at high frame rates up to 1440p Ultra, but 4K Ultra demands more than the GPU can deliver for a smooth experience. The 12 GB VRAM capacity ensures no memory-related stutters, even at 4K, but the raw shading power limits the Ultra preset at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with High settings is 165.6 FPS, which is well above the standard 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest CPU rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K’s score of 19210, and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U’s score of 19167.

Q: What is the lowest measured frame rate for this combo, and at what settings does it occur?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 43.1 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra preset. This is the only tested configuration that falls below 60 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 have sufficient VRAM for Road 96 at 4K?

A: The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The benchmark data shows no indication of memory-related performance issues, suggesting the VRAM capacity is adequate for Road 96 at 4K.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 279.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 127.3 FPS. This represents a performance difference of approximately 152.3 FPS between the two settings.

Q: What is the percentile rank of the RTX 4070 compared to all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 4070 ranks in the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver excellent performance, with the High preset providing 165.6 FPS and the Medium preset at 201.7 FPS. The Ultra preset still achieves 127.3 FPS, which is more than sufficient for a smooth experience. For players prioritizing the highest visual fidelity at 1080p, the Ultra preset is recommended, as the frame rate remains comfortably high.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 106.7 FPS, while the Medium preset reaches 127.7 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 80.4 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold. The data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance at 1440p, as it maintains over 100 FPS while providing a higher level of detail than Medium. The Low preset at 176.3 FPS is unnecessary unless chasing extremely high refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the High preset achieves 53.4 FPS, which is slightly below the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset reaches 69.5 FPS, providing a playable experience with better visual fidelity than Low. The Ultra preset at 43.1 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay, as the frame rate dips below acceptable levels. For 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it offers a 69.5 FPS average, which is above 60 FPS and provides a reasonable visual upgrade over Low (90.9 FPS). The Low preset is viable for players who prioritize frame rate over visuals, but Medium is the best overall experience at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 448th out of 1684 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the top 26.6% of all configurations. This rank reflects the system’s ability to deliver high frame rates across most settings, with the primary limitation being the GPU’s performance at 4K Ultra. The CPU’s 77th percentile rank and the GPU’s 81st percentile rank indicate a well-balanced pairing, where neither component severely bottlenecks the other in this title.

The measured data shows that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, where it consistently exceeds 100 FPS on High settings. At 4K, the system remains capable but requires a reduction to Medium settings to maintain a playable frame rate. The rank of 448 out of 1684 suggests that many other combos outperform it, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs, but the i5-12400F and RTX 4070 pairing offers a strong performance-per-dollar proposition within the tested dataset. The nearest CPU rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, performs within 0.1% of the i5-12400F, while the nearest GPU rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, is only 0.6% ahead, indicating that this combo is competitively positioned among its immediate peers.