Road 96

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Road 96 with this hardware combo?

A: The measured data shows a clear preference for 2560x1440. At Medium settings, this combo delivers an average of 138 FPS, which is high enough for smooth gameplay while maintaining better visual fidelity than 1080p. The 3840x2160 Ultra setting drops to an average of 46 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for a fluid experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19039. It sits within a tight margin of its nearest rivals, being essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (0% delta), and just 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U. The AMD EPYC 7773X is also within 0.3% of the i5-12400F's score.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 40377. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scores 40318, which is only a 0.1% difference, indicating the RTX 5070 is at the edge of a performance cluster.

Q: Are there any settings where the frame rate dips below 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 46. The data also shows that High settings at 4K produce an average of 59 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS mark. Medium settings at 4K, however, push the average to 73 FPS.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 296 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The highest single-frame maximum recorded is 249 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Medium settings.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded performance?

A: The i5-12400F shows strong scaling across thread counts. In 3DMark tests, the score jumps from 909 for single-thread to 5895 for 16 threads, and reaches 5912 for max threads. In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score is 12380 versus 1680 for single-core, showing that the 12 threads effectively utilize the 6 cores.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of frame rates in Road 96, especially at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game's asset streaming at 4K. The GPU's base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz are the key figures for its raw processing throughput, and the measured FPS reflects this capability.

The GPU's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, housing 31,100 million transistors. With 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, the RTX 5070 has the resources to push high pixel rates (201.0 GPixel/s) and texture rates (482.3 GTexel/s). These specifications translate directly into the game's performance, as seen in the measured FPS data.

At 1920x1080, the GPU is not the limiting factor. The data shows that moving from Low to Ultra settings at 1080p reduces the average FPS from 296 to 137. This 159 FPS drop is significant, but the GPU handles even Ultra settings with an average above 60 FPS. The GPU's full potential is more visible at 2560x1440, where it produces 188 FPS on Low and 87 FPS on Ultra, indicating a balanced workload.

The RTX 5070's role becomes more critical at 3840x2160. The 4K data reveals a steeper performance curve as settings increase: 100 FPS on Low, 73 FPS on Medium, 59 FPS on High, and 46 FPS on Ultra. This progression shows that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at 4K, with the Ultra preset pushing the card close to its limits. The GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the ceiling for this game's Ultra 4K workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S family, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. For a game like Road 96, which is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the CPU's role is to ensure that frame times remain consistent and that the GPU is fed with enough data.

Benchmark results indicate the CPU has solid single-thread performance, scoring 909 in 3DMark single-thread and 1680 in Cinebench R23 single-core. This is important for game logic and physics calculations. The multi-threaded scores are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a Passmark multithread score of 19433, which helps with background tasks and any parallel game systems.

The i5-12400F's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core provide a large pool of fast memory for frequently accessed game data. The CPU's 65W TDP and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) make it a mainstream part, and its 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is a capable mid-range processor.

In the measured results, the CPU shows its influence at lower resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 296, which is near the upper limit of what the CPU can feed to the GPU. The data suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU could likely render more frames if the CPU could provide them faster. At higher settings and resolutions, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, and the CPU's impact diminishes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Road 96 with the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is comprehensive, covering three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 296 FPS average
• Medium: 217 FPS average, with a minimum of 184 FPS and maximum of 249 FPS
• High: 175 FPS average
• Ultra: 137 FPS average

The 1080p results show that even at Ultra settings, the combo delivers a high frame rate, well above the 60 FPS threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra is 159 FPS, which indicates that the GPU has headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 188 FPS average
• Medium: 138 FPS average, with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 159 FPS
• High: 111 FPS average
• Ultra: 87 FPS average

The 1440p results show a more balanced workload. The drop from Low to Ultra is 101 FPS, and the minimum frame rate at Medium (117 FPS) is still comfortably above 60 FPS. This resolution offers a strong balance between visual quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 100 FPS average
• Medium: 73 FPS average, with a minimum of 62 FPS and maximum of 84 FPS
• High: 59 FPS average
• Ultra: 46 FPS average

The 4K results show a clear performance cliff. While Low and Medium settings are playable, High settings dip below 60 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46 FPS. The minimum frame rate at Medium (62 FPS) is just above the 60 FPS mark, but High and Ultra do not have recorded minimums, indicating they may dip further.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals how the limiting component shifts across the three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo is CPU-limited. The average FPS at Low settings is 296, which is high, but the scaling from Low to Ultra (296 to 137 FPS) shows that the GPU is still able to process the increased load, while the CPU's frame delivery becomes the ceiling.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS drops are proportional to the increased pixel count. The Low setting average goes from 296 at 1080p to 188 at 1440p, a 36.5% reduction. The Medium setting drops from 217 to 138 FPS, a 36.4% reduction. This consistent scaling indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter at 1440p, as the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at these rates.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more aggressive. The Low setting average is 100 FPS, a 46.8% drop from 1440p's 188 FPS. The Medium setting is 73 FPS, a 47.1% drop from 138 FPS. This steeper decline at 4K shows that the GPU's memory bandwidth (672.0 GB/s) and pixel fill rate (201.0 GPixel/s) are being significantly taxed, and the 12 GB VRAM is likely being used more heavily.

The data suggests a clear bottleneck shift: CPU-limited at 1080p, balanced at 1440p, and GPU-limited at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 46 FPS is a 66.9% drop from 1080p Ultra's 137 FPS, which is expected given the 4x pixel increase, but the GPU cannot maintain the same relative performance at the highest settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice. With an average of 137 FPS, it provides excellent visual fidelity while still delivering a high frame rate. The High preset (175 FPS) is a good alternative if you prefer even higher refresh rates, but the Ultra preset's 137 FPS is already well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset (217 FPS) is unnecessary unless you have a very high refresh rate monitor.

For 2560x1440, the High preset (111 FPS) offers the best balance. It provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (138 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is more than sufficient for most displays. The Ultra preset (87 FPS) is also viable, as it still exceeds 60 FPS, but the 24 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the visual gain for all players. The Medium preset's minimum of 117 FPS is impressive, but High is the recommended starting point.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset (73 FPS) is the recommended setting. It is the only 4K preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS ensuring no major dips. The High preset (59 FPS) is borderline, and the Ultra preset (46 FPS) is not recommended for a consistent experience. If you have a VRR display, High might be acceptable, but Medium is the safest choice for 4K.

Overall, the data indicates that 2560x1440 with High settings is the sweet spot for this hardware combo, offering a 111 FPS average that balances visual quality and performance. The 1080p Ultra preset is also excellent for high refresh rate gaming, while 4K should be limited to Medium settings for a playable experience.