Road 96

Road 96, an adventure title from 2021, proves to be remarkably undemanding on the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering extremely high frame rates at 1080p. The measured results show a wide performance envelope, from 41 FPS at 4K Ultra to 261.3 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the primary challenge for this setup is not raw capability but rather selecting settings that balance visual fidelity with the refresh rate of the display.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, clearly identifying the GPU as the limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 158.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 100.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 37%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 54.9 FPS, which is a 65% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a game that is heavily pixel-bound, where the RTX 3080's fillrate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints.

The trend is even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The transition from 1080p (120.5 FPS) to 1440p (76.7 FPS) represents a 36% loss, and the jump to 4K (41 FPS) is a 66% loss from the 1080p baseline. The data indicates that the CPU, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested. The frame rate scaling is near-linear with pixel count, which is the expected behavior for a GPU-limited scenario in this title. Conversely, the scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows the cost of graphical fidelity, with the RTX 3080 having ample headroom at 1080p but being fully saturated at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of over 1,684 tested processor and graphics card combinations for Road 96, this specific pairing of the Core i5-9400 and RTX 3080 holds the 544th position. This places it in the 68th percentile of all tested combos, a solid but not top-tier ranking for this particular game. The ranking is likely held back by the CPU, which sits at the 50th percentile across all CPUs in our benchmark suite, with an average score of 2,305.

The CPU's nearest rivals in our tests are the Intel Core i3-10305 (2,300 average score, 0.2% delta) and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2,295 average score, 0.4% delta), showing that the i5-9400 is surrounded by modern and older parts with similar compute capabilities. Its performance is effectively identical to these chips, meaning the game's frame rates are nearly entirely dependent on the GPU. For the GPU, the RTX 3080 sits at the 80th percentile for all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,787. Its closest competitor is the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35,860, -0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36,101, -0.9% delta). In this game, the combo's final rank is a product of a high-performing GPU being paired with a mid-range processor, resulting in a system that is more than capable for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, but not at the very top of the leaderboard.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 Hz display at 4K, the data shows that Medium settings (64.4 FPS) are the best choice, as they provide a playable frame rate with a significant visual upgrade over Low settings (91.9 FPS). High settings at 4K (54.9 FPS) dip just below the 60 FPS threshold, so Medium is the optimal balance for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings at 4K (41 FPS) are not recommended for a fluid experience.

For 1440p users, the data indicates that High settings (100.7 FPS) offer an excellent experience, comfortably exceeding 100 FPS and providing a substantial boost over Medium (124 FPS) in visual quality. Ultra settings (76.7 FPS) are also viable, maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. The sweet spot for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors is High, as it provides a near 100 FPS average. At 1080p, the RTX 3080 has enough power to handle any setting. Ultra settings (120.5 FPS) are the optimal choice for a 120 Hz display, while High (158.9 FPS) and Medium (191.8 FPS) are ideal for 144 Hz or higher refresh rate panels, with Low (261.3 FPS) being unnecessary unless chasing the absolute maximum frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured average FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo's performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 261.3 FPS, Medium settings yield 191.8 FPS, High settings deliver 158.9 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 120.5 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy, with each step up in quality costing roughly 30-40 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high. Low settings average 170.3 FPS, while Medium settings drop to 124 FPS. High settings produce a respectable 100.7 FPS, and Ultra settings maintain a playable 76.7 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a performance hit of approximately 34-36% across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle with the highest presets. Low settings still manage an average of 91.9 FPS, but Medium drops to 64.4 FPS. High settings fall to 54.9 FPS, and Ultra settings produce just 41 FPS. The performance gap between 1440p and 4K is substantial, highlighting the demanding nature of 4K rendering. The data shows a smooth progression of frame rates, with no anomalies or unexpected results, indicating a stable platform.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align perfectly with the measured results. The GPU is equipped with 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. This high bandwidth is crucial for the 4K resolution results, where the frame rate drops significantly due to the increased memory and pixel throughput demands.

The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz, based on a 1440 MHz base, is typical for the Ampere architecture. The GA102 chip, built on Samsung's 8 nm process, contains 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. The power delivery requirements are substantial, with a 320 W TDP and a suggested 700 W PSU, but this is the price for the performance on display. The benchmark data shows that the RTX 3080 is fully utilized, especially at 4K, where the frame rates scale directly with the computational load. The GPU's performance in this game is consistent with its 80th percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 35,787, which is just 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE. The results confirm that in Road 96, the RTX 3080's raw compute power and memory subsystem are the primary drivers of performance, with the i5-9400 providing sufficient support to avoid becoming a limiting factor.