Road 96

Road 96, an adventure title from 2021, presents an interesting stress test for the combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The benchmark data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but which also exposes the CPU's significant capabilities when the load is shifted to lower resolutions. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the three primary resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of where the bottlenecks lie and how to best configure the game for a smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly indicates the limiting component shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 401 FPS. When the resolution jumps to 1440p, this figure drops to 255 FPS, a substantial reduction. Moving to 4K, the average falls further to 135 FPS. This scaling pattern shows that at lower resolutions, the game is not heavily taxing the GPU, allowing for incredibly high frame rates. The progression from 401 to 255 to 135 FPS demonstrates a performance curve that is heavily influenced by the pixel count.

The trend continues across other settings. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 294 at 1080p, to 187 at 1440p, and finally to 99 at 4K. For High settings, the numbers are 237, 151, and 80 FPS respectively. The most demanding preset, Ultra, sees averages of 185 FPS at 1080p, 118 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The consistent pattern of roughly halving the frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K suggests that the RTX 5090's rendering workload is scaling as expected with the number of pixels, confirming the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system is likely hitting a limit imposed by the CPU or game engine logic, as the RTX 5090 is capable of far more than 401 FPS in less demanding scenarios. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 36% reduction in FPS at Low settings (from 401 to 255), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a 47% reduction (from 255 to 135). This suggests that while the GPU is becoming more of a factor at 1440p, the transition to 4K is where it becomes the definitive bottleneck, as the frame rate drops by nearly half again.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, appears to be more than sufficient for Road 96. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 and a single-core score of 3191, indicate strong processing power. In this game, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p with lower graphical settings, where the GPU is not fully utilized. The fact that the system can reach an average of 401 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to sustain very high frame rates, even if that rate is beyond what most displays can show.

The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz and its architecture likely contribute to its strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for game logic and draw calls. While the data doesn't isolate CPU frame times, the fact that the 1080p Low result (401 FPS) is nearly double the 1440p Low result (255 FPS) points to a scenario where the CPU is no longer the main constraint at the higher resolution. The CPU appears to be a capable partner for the RTX 5090, ensuring that the GPU is the limiting factor at 1440p and above. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 show consistent multi-threaded performance, which helps maintain stable minimum frame rates, as seen in the 1440p Medium result with a minimum of 159 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K displays, the High preset provides the best balance, averaging 80 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for most adventure games, and it is a significant improvement over the 62 FPS average of the Ultra preset. Choosing High over Ultra is a sensible trade-off to ensure smoother motion. The Medium preset at 4K averages 99 FPS, which is also excellent, but High offers a better visual experience for only a 19 FPS cost. The Low preset at 4K, at 135 FPS, is excessively fast and sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game like this.

At 1440p, the High preset is also the standout choice, averaging 151 FPS. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many monitors, providing a very fluid experience. The Ultra preset, at 118 FPS, is also viable for 120 Hz displays, but again, the performance gain from High to Ultra is not worth the 33 FPS drop. For 1080p, the High preset at 237 FPS is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The Ultra preset at 185 FPS is a good option for those who want maximum visual quality, as it still maintains a very high frame rate. The Low and Medium presets are unnecessary at this resolution, as the system is capable of running the game at maximum settings with ease.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 94th out of 3713 tested combos for Road 96. This top 3% placement indicates that this pairing is exceptionally well-suited for this title. The data shows that the system is not being held back by a significant bottleneck, as it delivers high frame rates across all tested settings. This high rank reflects the raw power of the RTX 5090 and the capability of the i5-13400F to keep up with it. The GPU's percentile of 92 among all GPUs and the CPU's percentile of 77 among all CPUs both contribute to this strong overall performance, but the combination's synergy is what pushes it to the 94th spot.

The ranking suggests that for Road 96, this combo is near the top of the pile. While the CPU's individual benchmark average is close to its rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (with a 0% delta), the overall system performance is clearly defined by the GPU's immense power. The fact that the combo is in the top 100 out of over 3700 is a strong indicator that users with this hardware will have an exceptional experience in this specific game, with no apparent weak link in the chain.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 62 frames per second.

Q: At which resolution does the system achieve the highest frame rate?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 401 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the Core i5-13400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p, the system achieves very high frame rates, and the performance drop from 1080p to 1440p indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the 1440p Medium preset?

A: The minimum FPS recorded for this setting is 159 frames per second.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 94th out of 3713 tested combinations for Road 96.

Q: What is the best preset to use for a 4K display?

A: Based on the data, the High preset is recommended, as it provides an average of 80 FPS, which is a better balance than the 62 FPS average of the Ultra preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS, and where available, the minimum and maximum FPS for each tested configuration.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Minimum FPS | Maximum FPS |

|:--- |:--- |:--- |:--- |:--- |

| 3840x2160 | High | 80 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 135 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 99 | 84 | 114 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 62 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 151 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 255 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 187 | 159 | 215 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 118 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 237 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 401 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 294 | 250 | 338 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 185 | - | - |

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant force in this pairing, and its role becomes more critical as resolution and settings increase. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, it possesses a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This is a massive amount of bandwidth that is more than sufficient for Road 96's textures and data at any resolution. The GPU's high texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s are key to its ability to maintain high frame rates when the pixel count increases.

The RTX 5090's benchmark scores are formidable, with a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 334370. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, such as the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (with a 0.3% delta in score), are far behind in terms of raw gaming performance. The data clearly shows that at 4K, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance. The drop from 80 FPS at High to 62 FPS at Ultra is a direct result of the increased pixel shading and effects load on the GPU. This GPU ensures that the only way to achieve higher frame rates is to lower the resolution or the graphical preset, as the CPU is not a limiting factor.