Road 96

Road 96 is an adventure title that leans on narrative and atmosphere rather than raw combat physics, yet this Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing still delivers frame rates that range from the merely smooth to the absurdly high. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at every resolution tested, with the 14-core Raptor Lake Refresh processor providing ample headroom to keep the GeForce 40-series flagship fed. This combination sits at rank 152 out of 3713 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.1% of all configurations in the database for this specific game, a strong showing that reflects the high-end nature of both components.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the most dramatic shift occurring between 1440p and 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 392 FPS, which drops to 249 FPS at 1440p and then falls sharply to 132 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, indicating that the rendering load is scaling almost linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a game that is not heavily threaded.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is where the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth start to become the limiting factor. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 147 FPS at 1440p to 78 FPS at 4K, a 47% hit that shows the GPU's compute units are being saturated by the increased pixel workload. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is still able to maintain high enough frame rates to keep the GPU busy, but the gap between the 392 FPS Low result and the 231 FPS High result at that resolution points to the graphics pipeline becoming the primary bottleneck.

Interestingly, the scaling from Medium to Ultra at 4K shows a steep curve: 97 FPS at Medium, 78 FPS at High, and 61 FPS at Ultra. This 37% drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K is more pronounced than the 20% drop at 1440p (183 FPS to 115 FPS) and the 37% drop at 1080p (287 FPS to 181 FPS). The data indicates that the game's Ultra preset includes effects that disproportionately tax the GPU at higher pixel counts, making 4K Ultra a demanding target even for this flagship card.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average is 392 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the game is easily driven at high refresh rates on 1080p displays, even with a modest preset.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which puts it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G. It trails the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 by 0.8% and leads the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 by 0.8%.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM get fully utilized in this game?

A: The data does not include VRAM usage metrics, but the 24 GB capacity and 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are the specifications provided. Given the frame rates, the memory subsystem is not the bottleneck at any tested resolution.

Q: Is the 4K Medium setting playable?

A: Yes, the 4K Medium result shows an average of 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This makes it the recommended preset for 4K displays.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, has an identical average score with a 0% delta, though the RTX 4090 leads the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M by 2.5% and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 by 2.9%.

Q: How does the 1080p Ultra frame rate compare to the 4K Ultra frame rate?

A: The 1080p Ultra average is 181 FPS, while the 4K Ultra average is 61 FPS. This represents a 66% decrease in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K at the highest preset, showing the significant impact of resolution on GPU load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the primary driver of frame rates in Road 96, as evidenced by the measured FPS scaling across resolutions. The GPU's specifications include a boost clock of 2520 MHz, 16384 shading units, and 128 ray tracing cores, all built on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 76,300 million transistors. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for this game's texture streaming needs at 4K.

The data shows that the GPU's performance is consistent with its 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347. The nearest rival in the database, the Intel Arc Pro A60, matches this score exactly with a 0% delta, though the RTX 4090's architecture is far more capable in real-world gaming scenarios. The 2.5% lead over the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M and 2.9% lead over the AMD Radeon PRO V710 highlight the 4090's position as a top-tier option.

At 1080p, the GPU is not the limiting factor, as the 392 FPS Low result shows the CPU is able to feed frames faster than most displays can refresh. However, at 4K, the GPU's compute resources are fully taxed, with the 61 FPS Ultra result indicating that the card is nearing its limits with the most demanding settings. The drop from 132 FPS at Low to 61 FPS at Ultra at 4K demonstrates that the game's higher presets add significant shading and post-processing loads that directly impact the RTX 4090's output.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 392 FPS, while Medium averages 287 FPS with a minimum of 244 and maximum of 330. High settings yield 231 FPS, and Ultra drops to 181 FPS. These numbers suggest that even at Ultra, the system is well ahead of the 144 Hz refresh rate common on 1080p monitors, making this resolution a non-issue for the hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the GPU starting to work harder. Low settings average 249 FPS, Medium averages 183 FPS with a range of 155 to 210, High averages 147 FPS, and Ultra averages 115 FPS. The 115 FPS at Ultra is still comfortably above 60 FPS, making 1440p a sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming with this pairing, as even the most demanding preset stays within VRR ranges.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals a more constrained picture. Low settings average 132 FPS, which is playable but shows the pixel load. Medium averages 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 and maximum of 111, providing a solid 4K experience. High settings drop to 78 FPS, and Ultra falls to 61 FPS, which is just at the edge of 60 FPS gameplay. The 82 FPS minimum at Medium is notable, as it indicates that even in heavier scenes, the frame rate does not dip below playable levels.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 152 out of 3713 tested configurations places it in the top 4.1% of all combos in the database for Road 96. This is a strong result, though it is not the absolute top, suggesting that some other pairings, likely with higher-end CPUs, manage to edge out this configuration at lower resolutions. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 49394, shows it is a capable partner for the GPU, but the 0.8% gap to the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the -0.8% delta to the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 indicate that CPU performance is not the bottleneck.

The GPU's 88th percentile ranking and average score of 60347 are more relevant to the game's performance, as Road 96 is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The fact that the RTX 4090 is 2.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO V710 and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M in synthetic benchmarks, yet still ranks 152nd, implies that the combos ahead of it likely pair the 4090 with even faster CPUs to push frame rates higher at 1080p. The data from this combo shows that at 4K, the ranking is likely higher than at 1080p, where CPU differences matter more.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the Medium preset is the clear choice. The 97 FPS average with an 82 FPS minimum provides a smooth, consistent experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the jump to High only offers 78 FPS, which is a 20% reduction for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in an adventure game. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is playable but leaves no headroom for frame drops, making it a risky choice for a game that may have busy scenes.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset is the best option. The 115 FPS average ensures compatibility with high-refresh-rate monitors, and the 37% drop from Medium to Ultra is worth taking for the visual fidelity, as the frame rate remains far above playable levels. The High preset at 147 FPS is also viable for those who prefer higher frame rates over visual quality, but the data suggests Ultra is the sweet spot for this resolution.

For 1080p, the High preset at 231 FPS is the most balanced choice, as it offers a significant improvement over Medium (287 FPS) in visual quality while still maintaining frame rates that exceed most 240 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 181 FPS is also excellent, and the 392 FPS Low result shows that the system has massive headroom for competitive play or esports titles, though Road 96 is not a competitive shooter. In all cases, the data indicates that this combo can handle the game at maximum settings at any resolution, with 4K Ultra being the only setting that approaches the 60 FPS floor.