Road 96

# Road 96 — Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The benchmark data for Road 96 with this combination shows a system that comfortably exceeds playable frame rates at every tested resolution, but the scaling pattern reveals a clear GPU-bound workload that softens as resolution drops. Across all twelve measured configurations—four settings levels at three resolutions—the average frame rates range from 57 FPS at 4K Ultra to 367 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this pairing delivers headroom for high-refresh monitors at lower resolutions while maintaining smooth performance at 4K with appropriate settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a predictable but steep decline that confirms the GPU as the limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the system produces 217 FPS at 1920x1080, dropping to 138 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 73 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 47% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K—a consistent halving pattern typical of pixel-count scaling.

The Low settings row shows an even steeper curve: 367 FPS at 1080p, 234 FPS at 1440p, and 124 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 36%, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 47%, suggesting that at Low settings the CPU begins to assert more influence at lower resolutions, where the RTX 5080 has less work to do. At 1080p Low, the 367 FPS figure approaches the practical ceiling of most displays, and the scaling curve flattens less than at higher settings, indicating a growing CPU contribution.

Medium settings follow a similar pattern: 269 FPS at 1080p, 171 FPS at 1440p, and 91 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 36% and 47% respectively, mirroring the Low settings curve closely. Ultra settings produce the most linear scaling: 170 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K, with drops of 36% and 47%—identical proportions to the other presets.

Looking at the 4K-to-1080p ratio across presets, Low settings scale by a factor of 2.96x (367 vs 124), Medium by 2.96x (269 vs 91), High by 2.97x (217 vs 73), and Ultra by 2.98x (170 vs 57). The striking consistency of these ratios—all near 3x—indicates that the scaling behavior is governed almost entirely by pixel throughput, with the CPU maintaining a consistent frame delivery capability across the resolution range. The limiting component at 4K is unambiguously the GPU, as frame rates scale almost exactly with pixel count.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 brings substantial hardware to Road 96: 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, with base and boost clocks of 2295 MHz and 2617 MHz respectively. The GPU contains 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operation units, backed by 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is rated at 56.28 TFLOPS, with matching FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio.

These specifications translate directly into the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the system holds 57 FPS average, which sits above the 30 FPS floor but below the 60 FPS threshold many players target. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at any tested configuration—even at 4K Ultra, the game's demands stay well within the memory allocation, and the bandwidth figure of 960.0 GB/s provides ample headroom for texture streaming and scene complexity.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its positioning: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637, Geekbench OpenCL score of 235901, and Vulkan score of 255450. The PassMark G3D score of 36565 places the RTX 5080 in the 87th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 56083. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S (0.6% higher average score), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.7% higher), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (2.2% lower), showing that the RTX 5080 sits in a competitive performance band.

The clock behavior matters for Road 96 specifically. With a boost clock of 2617 MHz, the GPU sustains high frequencies under load, which benefits the game's frame pacing at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low, the 367 FPS result indicates the GPU is capable of extremely high throughput, but the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads become the more relevant factor in pushing beyond that threshold.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across settings, and the choice of preset depends heavily on the target resolution and display refresh rate. At 4K, the Ultra preset delivers 57 FPS average, which falls short of 60 FPS—the threshold for smooth gameplay on standard 60 Hz displays. The High preset at 4K produces 73 FPS, a 28% improvement over Ultra, and this configuration appears to be the sweet spot for 4K displays. The Medium preset at 4K yields 91 FPS, which would benefit players with 90 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, while Low at 4K reaches 124 FPS—sufficient for 120 Hz displays.

At 1440p, the situation is more forgiving. Ultra settings achieve 108 FPS, comfortably above 100 FPS for high-refresh gaming. High settings at 1440p reach 138 FPS, and Medium hits 171 FPS. For players with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, while Ultra remains viable for those prioritizing image quality over maximum frame rate.

At 1080p, all presets exceed 170 FPS, with Ultra at 170 FPS, High at 217 FPS, Medium at 269 FPS, and Low at 367 FPS. The recommendation here is straightforward: use Ultra settings if visual fidelity is the priority, as even the heaviest preset maintains a frame rate well above the refresh rate of most monitors. For competitive play or maximum smoothness on 240 Hz displays, the Medium preset at 269 FPS provides nearly 60% more frame rate than Ultra while still offering a reasonable visual step down.

The data suggests that the most balanced experience across the board is the High preset. At 4K it delivers 73 FPS—playable on 60 Hz and 72 Hz displays—while at 1440p it reaches 138 FPS and at 1080p it hits 217 FPS. This preset provides consistent performance across all resolutions without the frame rate penalties of Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates progress as follows: Low settings produce 124 FPS, Medium produces 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and maximum of 104 FPS, High produces 73 FPS, and Ultra produces 57 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 67 FPS, representing a 54% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lightest to the heaviest preset.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 234 FPS, Medium at 171 FPS with a range of 146 to 197 FPS, High at 138 FPS, and Ultra at 108 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 126 FPS, a 54% reduction that mirrors the 4K scaling. The Medium settings at 1440p show the widest measured variability in the entire dataset, with a 51 FPS gap between minimum and maximum frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low at 367 FPS, Medium at 269 FPS with a range of 229 to 309 FPS, High at 217 FPS, and Ultra at 170 FPS. The absolute spread is 197 FPS, with Low delivering more than double the frame rate of Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p exhibits a 80 FPS range between minimum and maximum, indicating some frame pacing variance even at these high frame rates.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings, the data shows consistent proportional relationships. At Low settings, 1080p delivers 196% of the 1440p frame rate and 296% of the 4K frame rate. At Ultra settings, 1080p delivers 157% of the 1440p frame rate and 298% of the 4K frame rate. The Low-to-Ultra ratio at each resolution is remarkably stable: 2.96x at 4K, 2.17x at 1440p, and 2.16x at 1080p—indicating that the settings scaling is consistent regardless of resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 224th out of 3713 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations in the benchmark database. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both components, though it is notably the rank is specific to this game and this pairing.

The CPU component, the Intel Core i5-14400F, holds an 83rd percentile ranking among all processors with an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher average score), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower), and Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher). This tight clustering suggests the i5-14400F sits in a well-populated performance tier where small differences separate competitors.

The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, ranks in the 87th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 56083. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S (0.6% higher), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.7% higher), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (2.3% higher), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (2.2% lower). The RTX 5080's 87th percentile GPU ranking is slightly higher than the CPU's 83rd percentile, suggesting the GPU contributes more to the overall combo ranking.

Given that the combo ranks 224th out of 3713, the pairing performs better than the individual component percentiles might suggest, indicating that the i5-14400F and RTX 5080 work effectively together in Road 96 without significant bottlenecking at the tested resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo in Road 96?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 367 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 234 FPS, and at 4K Low it reaches 124 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Road 96?

A: Yes, at 4K Medium settings the average is 91 FPS, and at 4K High it is 73 FPS. However, at 4K Ultra the average drops to 57 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 5080's memory configuration affect Road 96 performance?

A: The 16 GB GDDR7 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient capacity and throughput for all tested settings, with no evidence of memory-related performance limitations in the measured frame rates.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the lowest and highest settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 234 FPS while Ultra averages 108 FPS, a difference of 126 FPS. The Medium preset averages 171 FPS with a minimum of 146 FPS and maximum of 197 FPS.

Q: How does this combo's ranking compare to its component percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 224th out of 3713 tested combos, which places it in the top 6%. The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile and the GPU in the 87th percentile among all tested components.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the 367 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, and the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads become more relevant. The consistent scaling ratios across resolutions indicate the GPU limits at 4K, while the CPU contributes more influence at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides 10 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process with Raptor Lake architecture, includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. Its 65 W TDP and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 give it broad platform compatibility, while the 20 MB L3 cache helps with game data locality.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14400F delivers strong multi-threaded performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and single-core score of 3055, a Geekbench multi-core score of 11268 and single-core score of 2058, and a PassMark multi-thread score of 25470. The CPU's average benchmark score of 32279 places it in the 83rd percentile, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower).

The relationship between the CPU and the measured frame rates in Road 96 is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 367 FPS result approaches the practical limit of what the CPU can feed to the GPU, as the GPU's pixel throughput would theoretically allow even higher frame rates. The 4.70 GHz boost clock provides the single-thread performance that Road 96's adventure gameplay likely relies on for game logic and physics updates.

The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Road 96's workload, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates at 4K where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. At 1440p and 1080p, the CPU maintains frame delivery without introducing visible stutter, as the Medium settings show minimum frame rates of 146 FPS at 1440p and 229 FPS at 1080p—both well above playable thresholds.

The i5-14400F's 20 MB L3 cache and dual-channel memory support contribute to its ability to sustain high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. The processor's position in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, combined with its tight clustering against rivals like the Ryzen 7 6800HS and Core i7-12800H, indicates that it provides a balanced foundation for the RTX 5080 without becoming a limiting factor in this game at any tested resolution.