Road 96

Road 96 is an adventure title that leans more on narrative pacing than on raw graphical stress, but the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination still reveal a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets. The data shows a system that is capable of smooth high-refresh gameplay at 1080p, yet struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings, indicating a definitive bottleneck shift as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and consistent across all settings, pointing directly at the GPU as the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 100.4 at 1080p to 65.6 at 1440p, then collapses to 34.8 at 4K. This represents a 65% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload where the RTX 2060 SUPER’s compute and memory bandwidth are saturated by the four-fold increase in pixel count.

The story is similar on the Low preset, where performance drops from 170.1 FPS at 1080p to 110.5 at 1440p and then to 58.3 at 4K. The fact that even the Low preset cannot maintain a 60 FPS average at 4K is telling — it suggests that the rendering resolution, not the quality settings, is the primary hurdle. Interestingly, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is proportionally smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K, which implies that the GPU’s memory bus and shading units hit a wall somewhere above 1440p, making 4K a target only for those willing to accept sub-60 FPS averages.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Road 96, the data suggests that this memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, where the High preset yields 100.4 and 65.6 FPS respectively. However, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 25.6, which is barely a slideshow. The GPU’s boost clock of 1650 MHz and its 2176 shading units are clearly outpaced by the demand of 3840x2160 resolution, especially with the game’s Ultra settings likely increasing draw distances and post-processing effects.

The benchmark results show the GPU holds a 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, scores 19706, a delta of 0.3%, meaning the 2060 SUPER is statistically on par with a much older flagship. This parity explains why the GPU’s performance in Road 96 at 4K is so poor — it is competing with hardware that predates modern rendering demands. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not directly measured in the FPS data, but the sharp drop at 4K suggests that memory pressure or bandwidth limitations are contributing factors, as the GPU’s texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s is insufficient for high-resolution texture sampling.

FAQ

Q: Can the RTX 2060 SUPER run Road 96 at 60 FPS on 1080p with High settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 100.4, well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings averages 65.6 FPS, and 1920x1080 with Ultra settings averages 80.1 FPS, so both 1440p High and 1080p Ultra are viable for 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The frame rate at 4K Ultra is 25.6 FPS, which is extremely low. Given that the CPU has 16 cores and a high boost clock of 5.40 GHz, the data implies the GPU is the limiting factor, as the resolution scaling shows a dramatic drop that is typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

Q: How does the combo rank in Road 96 compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1134 out of 1684 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Does lowering settings to Low at 4K provide a playable experience?

A: At 4K Low, the average FPS is 58.3, which is just below 60 FPS but still playable. This is a significant improvement over the 25.6 FPS at Ultra.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium averages 81.7 FPS, while High averages 65.6 FPS, a difference of 16.1 FPS in favor of Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured results shows a clear gradient. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 170.1 FPS, Medium drops to 126.5, High to 100.4, and Ultra to 80.1. This indicates that the game is well-optimized for lower resolutions, with even the highest settings maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 110.5 FPS for Low, 81.7 for Medium, 65.6 for High, and 49.2 for Ultra. The transition from High to Ultra at this resolution is notable, as it crosses below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that Ultra settings introduce effects that are disproportionately expensive.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more challenging: Low averages 58.3 FPS, Medium 44.1, High 34.8, and Ultra 25.6. None of the settings at 4K reach 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset is nearly unplayable. The scaling from Medium to High at 4K shows a drop of 9.3 FPS, while High to Ultra drops another 9.2 FPS, indicating a consistent performance penalty per quality tier.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global ranking for Road 96, this specific CPU and GPU pairing sits at position 1134 out of 1684 combinations. This places it in the 67th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly two-thirds of all tested combos perform better in this game. The CPU itself, with an average benchmark score of 47282, ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU’s average score of 19774 puts it in the 63rd percentile. The disparity between the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s lower one suggests that the system is held back by the graphics card in Road 96, which is consistent with the resolution scaling analysis.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700KF with a score of 47334 (0.1% higher) and the AMD EPYC 4364P with 47131 (0.3% lower). These differences are negligible, meaning the CPU is not a differentiating factor. The GPU’s nearest rival, the GTX TITAN, scores 19706, which is only 0.3% lower, reinforcing that the 2060 SUPER is a mid-pack performer that struggles with high-resolution workloads.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the data strongly favors 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which averages 80.1 FPS. This provides the best visual quality while staying well above 60 FPS. If the user prefers higher resolution, 2560x1440 with High settings averages 65.6 FPS, which is acceptable for a narrative-driven game. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 81.7 FPS, making it the best balance of resolution and smoothness if frame rates are prioritized.

At 4K, the only playable option is the Low preset at 58.3 FPS, which is close to 60 but may exhibit occasional dips. The Medium preset at 44.1 FPS is borderline, and High at 34.8 FPS or Ultra at 25.6 FPS should be avoided for any serious gameplay. Given that Road 96 is an adventure game with a slower pace, 1440p High at 65.6 FPS is the recommended sweet spot, offering enough detail to appreciate the art style without sacrificing fluidity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3. In benchmark tests, it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and a single-core score of 5505, indicating immense processing power. However, in Road 96, the CPU appears to be underutilized, as the frame rates at lower resolutions are high but still limited by the GPU.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 170.1 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU quickly. Yet, the performance drop at 4K is entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU’s single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4333) is more than sufficient for the game’s logic. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking versus all CPUs means it is not a bottleneck, but the combo’s 1134th rank out of 1684 in-game highlights that the graphics card is the weak link. The fact that the CPU’s nearest rivals show less than 1% performance difference confirms that any frame rate variations in this game are not CPU-driven.