Road 96

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination delivers a highly playable experience in Road 96, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling that shifts depending on resolution and settings. The pairing ranks in the 67th percentile of all tested combos, placing it solidly in the upper half of the database. While the CPU is a six-core Coffee Lake part from 2018, the GPU is a modern RDNA 3.0 design, and the benchmark results show that the graphics card is the dominant factor in most scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings six physical cores and six threads to the table, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This is a mid-range desktop processor from the Coffee Lake generation, built on a 14 nm process. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide adequate bandwidth for a game like Road 96, which is an adventure title that does not typically rely on extreme multi-threaded scaling.

In the context of the measured frame rates, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, but not entirely negligible. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 169.6 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that the CPU's six threads are likely keeping pace with the GPU's output. The i5-9400's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 indicate a balanced capability for both threaded workloads and the primary game logic thread. Its average benchmark score of 2305 places it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is a middling performer by today's standards. However, the data shows it does not bottleneck the RX 7600 in this specific title, as the frame rates scale significantly with GPU load changes (from Low to Ultra settings). The processor's six threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, but the performance scaling at higher resolutions suggests the CPU becomes less of a factor as the rendering load shifts entirely to the graphics card.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the clear driver of performance in this pairing. This GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2655 MHz and game clock of 2250 MHz allow it to push a significant amount of geometry and pixel data, which is reflected in its 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs handle the rasterization and texturing duties required by Road 96's stylized visuals.

The benchmark results show that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 26.8 FPS, which is a clear indicator that the 8 GB VRAM and the GPU's compute resources are overwhelmed by the resolution and quality preset. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 16634 and its 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirm it is a solid mainstream performer, but it is not a high-end card designed for 4K Ultra gaming. The data shows a stark contrast: at 1080p Low, the GPU can output 169.6 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, that number drops to 26.8 FPS, demonstrating that the RX 7600 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, where its 8 GB frame buffer and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable and steep drop as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average frame rate falls from 104 FPS to 63 FPS, a 39% reduction. Scaling further to 4K at High settings, the frame rate plummets to 31.7 FPS, which is a 70% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, at Low settings, the frame rate drops from 169.6 FPS at 1080p to 107.7 FPS at 1440p, and then to 60.6 FPS at 4K.

This data strongly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the limiting component in this configuration. The CPU's performance does not degrade with resolution, yet the frame rates drop dramatically, proving the GPU is working harder to fill more pixels. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling; at High settings, the drop from 63 FPS to 31.7 FPS shows that 4K is simply too demanding for this GPU, likely due to the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints. Conversely, the fact that 1080p Low yields 169.6 FPS suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at that resolution, as the GPU is able to render frames quickly enough to reach high frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination is ranked 1140th out of 1684 tested combos in Road 96. This places it in the upper-middle tier of the database, specifically at the 67.7th percentile. This ranking is notable because it shows that while the individual components are not top-tier (the CPU is at the 50th percentile and the GPU at the 63rd), their combination is more effective in this game than the average hardware pairing.

The data suggests that this combo outperforms many others, likely because Road 96 is not a particularly demanding title in terms of CPU requirements, allowing the modern GPU to shine. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which has a similar average score (20146 vs 20258), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 1.3% slower. The CPU's nearest rivals are similar in performance, with the Intel Core i3-10305 being just 0.2% faster. In the context of the game's ranking, this combo sits comfortably above the median, indicating a capable system for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is far from the top performers that would dominate the 4K Ultra preset.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 169.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Road 96?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it reaches 60.6 FPS. At Medium settings, it drops to 44.5 FPS, and at High it falls to 31.7 FPS, making 4K Ultra (26.8 FPS) unplayable.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rival, the RX 7600 XT?

A: The RX 7600 has an average benchmark score of 20258, which is 0.6% higher than the RX 7600 XT's score of 20146, indicating they are very close in overall performance.

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

A: The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p, frame rates vary significantly with settings (from 79 FPS at Ultra to 169.6 FPS at Low), indicating the GPU's workload is the primary constraint, not the CPU's six threads.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among all tested systems in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1140th out of 1684 tested combos, placing it in the 67.7th percentile of all systems tested.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings is 63 FPS, which is a solidly playable result for most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for this combo in Road 96:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 31.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 60.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 44.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 26.8 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 63.0 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 107.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 81.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 52.5 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 104.0 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 169.6 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 124.0 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 79.0 |

The data shows a consistent performance hierarchy: Low settings always yield the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the most demanding. The gap between settings grows with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 90.6 FPS, while at 4K, the difference is 33.8 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is being saturated at 4K regardless of settings, whereas at 1080p, the lower settings allow the GPU to stretch its legs and produce high frame rates.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the sweet spot for this combo. It delivers an average of 81.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while still providing a visual quality boost over Low settings. This resolution and preset combination offers a good balance between fidelity and performance, avoiding the frame rate dips seen at High and Ultra while not sacrificing the game's visual style.

If the user prefers 1080p, the High preset at 104 FPS is an excellent choice, offering a high frame rate and good visual detail. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p yields 79 FPS, which is still playable, but the performance drop of 25 FPS from High to Ultra may not justify the marginal visual gains. For users with 4K displays, the data suggests sticking to Low settings, which provides a playable 60.6 FPS, but even this is borderline. The Medium preset at 4K (44.5 FPS) is a compromise, but it may feel less fluid. Ultimately, the benchmark results indicate that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the Medium or High presets at 1440p providing the most balanced performance-to-quality ratio.