Road 96

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Road 96 with the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 shows a steep performance curve as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 81.5 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 50.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 38%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 30.8 FPS, which is about 62% below the 1080p Low result.

This scaling pattern reveals that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary limiting component. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is far more capable than the GPU in this pairing. The GPU's 4 GB GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions, where frame buffer demands increase significantly. The RX 570's 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs are simply not enough to maintain playable frame rates at 4K.

Examining the Ultra preset data reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 38.4 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 25.8 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average collapses to 12.1 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 33%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is over 53%. This accelerating decline is characteristic of a GPU that has exhausted its memory bandwidth and shading throughput.

The difference between Low and Ultra at the same resolution also highlights GPU dependency. At 1080p, the gap between Low (81.5 FPS) and Ultra (38.4 FPS) is a factor of roughly 2.1x. At 1440p, the same comparison shows 50.9 FPS versus 25.8 FPS, nearly identical scaling. At 4K, Low produces 30.8 FPS while Ultra produces 12.1 FPS, a factor of 2.5x. This widening gap at higher resolutions suggests that the more demanding settings disproportionately tax the GPU's limited resources.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Road 96?

A: The highest measured average is 81.5 FPS, recorded at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Road 96?

A: At 3840x2160, the best result is 30.8 FPS on Low settings. High settings yield 15.5 FPS, Medium yields 19.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 12.1 FPS. None of these 4K results reach a smooth 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 30158. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 30109, a delta of 0.2%. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30097, also a delta of 0.2%. The NVIDIA Tesla M60 scores 29969, a delta of 0.6%.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for Road 96?

A: The combo ranks 1600 out of 1684 tested combinations, placing it in the lower percentile of all tested systems.

Q: What settings provide the most balanced experience at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium settings deliver 61.9 FPS average, while High delivers 49.3 FPS. Both are playable, but Medium offers a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU's performance influence the FPS results in this game?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K scores 29241 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4128 in single-core, ranking in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. However, the steep FPS drops across resolutions indicate the RX 570 is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The GPU contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. Its base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz. Memory runs at 1750 MHz, translating to 7 Gbps effective on 4 GB of GDDR5.

The memory subsystem is a critical factor in Road 96's performance. With a 256-bit bus width and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, the RX 570 has decent throughput for its era, but the 4 GB capacity is limiting at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that 4K performance is severely constrained, with even Low settings only reaching 30.8 FPS. This suggests that the frame buffer is being exceeded, causing the GPU to rely on slower memory access patterns.

Compute capabilities also play a role. The RX 570 offers 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and matches that for FP16 at 5.095 TFLOPS (1:1). The pixel rate is 39.81 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 159.2 GTexel/s. These figures indicate a mid-range GPU from 2017, which is reflected in its 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score of 30158 puts it nearly even with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, which scores 30109, a delta of just 0.2%.

The RX 570 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, which covers Road 96's API requirements. The GPU's 150 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 6-pin power connector are modest by modern standards. The suggested PSU is 450 W. The card connects via PCIe 3.0 x16, which is sufficient for this workload.

Given the measured results, the RX 570's role in this combo is clearly the bottleneck. The CPU is far more powerful, sitting in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU's age and memory limitations cap the frame rates. At 1080p Low, the GPU can still push 81.5 FPS, but any increase in resolution or settings quickly overwhelms it.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 1600 out of 1684 tested combinations for Road 96. This places the combo in the bottom 5% of all tested systems. The rank reflects the severe GPU bottleneck, as the CPU itself is quite capable.

The CPU's performance context is important for understanding this ranking. The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35684, ranking in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with an average score of 35802 (-0.3% delta), the Intel Core i7-13700T with 35468 (0.6% delta), and the Intel Core i5-14500HX with 35940 (-0.7% delta). This CPU is clearly not the limiting factor.

The GPU tells a different story. The RX 570's average benchmark score of 30158 places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but its nearest rivals in terms of score are surprisingly modern: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109, 0.2% delta), AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, 0.2% delta), and NVIDIA RTX 5070 Mobile (29928, 0.8% delta). These synthetic scores are similar, but the RX 570's 4 GB memory and older architecture make it far less effective in actual gaming workloads.

The combo rank of 1600 out of 1684 suggests that most tested systems outperform this pairing in Road 96. The measured FPS data confirms this: even at 1080p Low, the combo only reaches 81.5 FPS, which is below what many modern GPU pairings would achieve. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, not the CPU's.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 81.5. Medium settings produce 61.9 FPS average. High settings yield 49.3 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 38.4 FPS average. All four settings at 1080p are at least technically playable, with Low and Medium exceeding 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings produce 50.9 FPS average, which is still playable but below 60 FPS. Medium settings yield 36.3 FPS average. High settings drop to 33.9 FPS average. Ultra settings fall to 25.8 FPS average. At 1440p, only Low settings approach a smooth experience, and even that is borderline.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles significantly. Low settings produce 30.8 FPS average, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings yield 19.2 FPS average. High settings drop to 15.5 FPS average. Ultra settings collapse to 12.1 FPS average. None of the 4K results are playable for a game requiring responsive input.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each settings level shows consistent declines. For Low settings, the drop is from 81.5 to 50.9 to 30.8 FPS as resolution increases. For Medium, it is 61.9 to 36.3 to 19.2 FPS. For High, it is 49.3 to 33.9 to 15.5 FPS. For Ultra, it is 38.4 to 25.8 to 12.1 FPS. The pattern is consistent: each resolution step roughly halves the frame rate at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide the best balance, delivering 61.9 FPS average. This exceeds the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining improved visual quality over Low settings. High settings at 1080p produce 49.3 FPS, which is playable but below 60 FPS, while Ultra at 38.4 FPS may feel less responsive.

For users with 2560x1440 displays, Low settings are the only viable option, producing 50.9 FPS average. Medium settings at 36.3 FPS and High at 33.9 FPS are below the smooth threshold, and Ultra at 25.8 FPS is not recommended for gameplay. The data indicates that this combo is not well-suited to 1440p gaming in Road 96, even at the lowest settings.

At 3840x2160, no settings level provides a playable experience. The best result is 30.8 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. Medium (19.2 FPS), High (15.5 FPS), and Ultra (12.1 FPS) are all far from acceptable. Users with 4K displays should expect to lower the resolution or rely on other means to achieve playable frame rates.

The overall recommendation is to run Road 96 at 1920x1080 with Medium settings for the best experience. This provides 61.9 FPS average, which is smooth enough for the game's adventure genre. If visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate, High settings at 49.3 FPS are still acceptable, but Medium offers the best margin above 60 FPS. For users who prefer higher resolutions, the data suggests that 1440p Low (50.9 FPS) is the only playable option, and 4K should be avoided entirely with this hardware combination.