Road 96

Road 96 is a stylized adventure title, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 shows a clear narrative about how the game scales with hardware. The measured results across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a practical look at where this combo excels and where it begins to struggle, particularly at the highest visual demands.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and finally to 3840x2160 reveals a predictable but steep performance curve. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 198.5 FPS, which drops to 130.6 FPS at 1440p—a 34% reduction in frame rate for a 78% increase in pixel count. Moving to 4K at Low settings yields 68 FPS, which is a 48% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the resolution scaling is aggressive, but the frame rates remain playable.

The more telling data comes from the Ultra preset. At 1080p, the average is 93.2 FPS. At 1440p, this falls to 58.3 FPS, a 37% decrease. At 4K, the Ultra preset produces just 28.5 FPS, which is a 51% drop from 1440p. This steep decline at 4K Ultra highlights that the RTX 4060 becomes the limiting factor at this extreme combination. The data suggests that 4K gaming is only viable with this setup when using Low settings (68 FPS) or possibly Medium (48.9 FPS), while higher presets push the system into sub-30 FPS territory, which is generally considered too choppy for smooth gameplay.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Ultra is 53% slower than Low (93.2 vs 198.5 FPS). At 4K, Ultra is 58% slower than Low (28.5 vs 68 FPS). This indicates that the GPU's compute resources are being taxed more heavily by the Ultra preset's effects at higher resolutions, confirming that the rendering pipeline, not the CPU, is the bottleneck in these scenarios.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock of 2460 MHz and 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance position this card as a capable 1080p and sometimes 1440p performer. In Road 96, the GPU's role is evident in the scaling from Medium to High to Ultra. At 1440p, the jump from Medium (92.1 FPS) to High (74.5 FPS) costs 19% performance, while the jump from High to Ultra (58.3 FPS) costs another 22%. This progressive degradation suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the 8 GB VRAM or the shading units.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 23181. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, scores 23321, which is 0.6% higher. This close margin indicates that the RTX 4060 is competitively positioned, but not a standout performer in raw compute. The 4K results, particularly the 28.5 FPS at Ultra, underscore that the card's 48 ROPs and 96 TMUs are insufficient for extreme resolutions with maxed settings. The 8 GB VRAM is likely a contributing factor at 4K Ultra, where texture quality and draw distances can exceed this capacity, leading to the observed performance cliff.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Road 96 smoothly at 4K?

A: Only with reduced settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 68, which is playable. At 4K Medium, it drops to 48.9 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 42.5 FPS. Ultra is not recommended, as it produces just 28.5 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for a consistent 60+ FPS experience?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings yields 74.5 FPS, and 1920x1080 with High settings yields 117.5 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS target, 1440p High is the highest quality preset that comfortably exceeds this threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181. The AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23321, which is 0.6% higher. The Intel Arc B580 scores 23021, which is 0.7% lower. This places the RTX 4060 in the middle of a tight pack.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost in Road 96?

A: At 1080p, Ultra provides 93.2 FPS, which is playable, but it is 25% slower than High (117.5 FPS). At 1440p, Ultra drops to 58.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The visual gains from Ultra are not reflected in the frame rate data, suggesting High is a better balance.

Q: What does the combo rank tell us about this setup?

A: This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 977 out of 1684 tested combos for Road 96. This places it in the lower-middle range, indicating that while it can handle the game, many other configurations deliver higher average FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system hits 198.5 FPS, which is very high. The CPU, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz and 20 threads, is unlikely to be the bottleneck here. The GPU's 66th percentile score suggests it is the primary limiter as settings increase.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the standout choice. It delivers 74.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, and it avoids the heavy performance penalties of Ultra. At 1080p, High is also excellent, providing 117.5 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The data shows that Medium at 1440p (92.1 FPS) is a viable alternative for those who prioritize frame rate over fidelity, but High offers a significant visual upgrade for only a 19% performance hit.

Avoid Ultra at 1440p and above. The 58.3 FPS at 1440p and 28.5 FPS at 4K are below playable thresholds for most users. If 4K is a requirement, Low settings (68 FPS) are the only option that provides a playable experience. Medium at 4K (48.9 FPS) might be acceptable for slower-paced adventure games, but it is not ideal. For most users, sticking to High at 1080p or 1440p will provide the best experience, as the jump to Ultra does not justify the substantial frame rate drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a wide range of performance across presets. Low settings produce an average of 198.5 FPS, Medium yields 144.6 FPS, High delivers 117.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 93.2 FPS. The step from Medium to High is a 19% reduction, while the step from High to Ultra is a 21% reduction, indicating consistent scaling.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 130.6 FPS on Low, 92.1 FPS on Medium, 74.5 FPS on High, and 58.3 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant across all presets, ranging from a 34% decrease on Low to a 37% decrease on Ultra. This resolution is where the RTX 4060 starts to show its limits with higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the results are 68 FPS on Low, 48.9 FPS on Medium, 42.5 FPS on High, and 28.5 FPS on Ultra. The 4K resolution severely impacts performance, with even Low settings struggling to maintain a high frame rate. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 13%, while the gap between High and Ultra is 33%, showing that Ultra is particularly demanding at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091. The CPU ranks at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35355. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, scores 35336, a mere 0.1% difference, indicating this processor is on par with newer mid-range parts.

In Road 96, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 198.5 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1043) is sufficient to feed the GPU. The 20 threads and 25 MB of L3 cache provide ample headroom for the game's logic and physics. The data shows that as resolution increases, the frame rate drops uniformly across presets, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU is not the bottleneck here, as even at 4K Low (68 FPS), the processor is likely not breaking a sweat. The 125W TDP and 5.00 GHz boost clock ensure that the CPU can handle the game's demands without being a limiting factor.