Road 96

Road 96, an adventure title from 2021, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The data places this specific combination in the 52nd position out of 1684 tested combos, placing it in the top 3.1% of all tested systems for this game. This high percentile ranking is expected given the components involved, but the measured frame rates reveal that the experience is heavily influenced by settings and resolution, with the CPU often acting as a significant bottleneck at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 52 out of 1684 combos indicates that this pairing is exceptionally well-suited for Road 96, delivering performance that surpasses the vast majority of other hardware configurations tested. This top-tier placement is a direct result of the RTX 4090's raw graphics power, which is among the highest in the database. However, the ranking does not tell the whole story about the balance of the system. The Intel Core i5-12400F, while a capable processor, is not in the same performance tier as the GPU. The processor's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332, are solid, but they are not at the extreme high end. This imbalance becomes apparent when analyzing the frame rates across different resolutions; the GPU’s dominance is most evident at 4K, while the CPU's limitations are more noticeable at 1080p. The data suggests that this is a combination where the GPU is the primary driver of the high rank, but the CPU prevents it from achieving even higher frame rates in less demanding scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed performance leader in this pairing. Its specifications are formidable: 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a massive 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process and contains 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs. These specifications translate into a high raw compute capability, with a FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS. The GPU’s percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 91, and its average benchmark score of 66473 is nearly three and a half times higher than that of the CPU. In Road 96, this power is directly reflected in the frame rates, particularly at 4K resolution. For example, at 4K High settings, the GPU is pushing an average of 79.1 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it manages 96.7 FPS. The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, allow it to handle the game's visual load with ease. The data clearly shows that the RTX 4090 is not the limiting factor in this system for Road 96; it has ample headroom to spare, even at the highest resolutions tested.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark data reveals a classic pattern of scaling as resolution changes, but with an interesting twist. The most telling comparison is between 1080p and 4K at the same settings. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 233.4 FPS at 1080p to 79.1 FPS at 4K, a decrease of over 66%. This steep decline indicates that the workload is shifting significantly onto the GPU as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is likely the primary bottleneck, as it cannot feed frames to the GPU fast enough to utilize its full potential. This is evidenced by the relatively "low" 233.4 FPS at 1080p High; a system with a more powerful CPU could potentially push this number higher. As the resolution increases to 1440p and then to 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the frame rates become more representative of the GPU's raw performance. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings (148.7 FPS to 79.1 FPS) shows a more uniform drop, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-limited, while at 4K, it is GPU-limited, with 1440p being a transitional point where the balance shifts more towards the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system shows its highest frame rates, but also demonstrates the CPU bottleneck. With Low settings, the average FPS is 392.5, a figure so high it is likely beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. However, the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is telling: 392.5 FPS (Low) drops to 285.8 FPS (Medium), then 233.4 FPS (High), and finally 179.7 FPS (Ultra). This shows that even as the GPU workload increases, the CPU is still managing to keep up, but the frame rate ceiling is clearly being approached. At 2560x1440, the pattern continues, with the average FPS ranging from 249.9 (Low) to 118.4 (Ultra). The High setting at 1440p yields 148.7 FPS, which is a very playable number. The most demanding scenario is at 3840x2160 (4K). Here, the RTX 4090's power is fully utilized, and the CPU bottleneck is relieved. The average FPS at 4K ranges from 132.2 (Low) to 60.7 (Ultra), with High settings producing a solid 79.1 FPS and Medium producing 96.7 FPS. The data shows a consistent and predictable performance curve across all resolutions, with the frame rate decreasing as both resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combination depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For users with a 4K display, the High preset is the best choice for a premium experience, delivering an average of 79.1 FPS. This is high enough for smooth gameplay on most screens. The Ultra preset at 4K is also viable, with an average of 60.7 FPS, which is perfectly playable for a story-driven adventure game like Road 96. However, the Medium preset at 4K offers a significant performance boost to 96.7 FPS with only a modest visual compromise, making it an excellent choice for those who prioritize smoothness above all else. At 2560x1440, the High preset is an excellent option, achieving 148.7 FPS, which is well into high-refresh-rate territory. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with 118.4 FPS, is also highly recommended for users with 120Hz or 144Hz monitors, as it provides a great balance of visual quality and performance. For 1080p displays, the system has so much performance that even the Ultra preset, at 179.7 FPS, will be limited by the monitor's refresh rate. In this case, the High preset at 233.4 FPS is arguably the best option, as it offers a near-identical visual experience to Ultra while providing far more headroom. The Low preset is unnecessary for this game on this hardware, as even the most demanding settings provide a playable experience at 4K and excellent performance at lower resolutions. The data suggests that users should prioritize the High preset at 4K and the Ultra preset at 1440p to get the most out of this hardware combination.