Road 96

Road 96, an adventure title from 2021, presents a unique challenge for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination. The measured frame rates across all presets and resolutions indicate that this pairing is overwhelmingly powerful for this title, often delivering frame rates that far exceed display refresh rates. The data shows a system that is never stressed at lower resolutions, with performance scaling patterns that point to the GPU as the primary scaling component as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across four presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. For users prioritizing the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1920x1080 yields an average of 353 FPS, which drops to 224 FPS at 2560x1440 and 119 FPS at 3840x2160. However, the visual fidelity of Road 96 benefits significantly from higher settings, and the performance headroom is substantial enough to recommend a more balanced approach.

At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 208 FPS, which is over twice the refresh rate of most standard monitors. The Ultra preset at this resolution still achieves 163 FPS, indicating that even the most demanding settings leave ample performance on the table. The Medium preset, with a measured average of 258 FPS and a minimum of 219 FPS, offers a compelling middle ground, ensuring that even the most complex scenes maintain a frame rate well above 200 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 133 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 164 FPS with a minimum of 140 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 104 FPS, which is still smooth but begins to approach the threshold where high-refresh-rate displays might not be fully saturated. For 1440p users, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining an average frame rate that comfortably exceeds 120 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape changes considerably. The High preset averages 70 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset at this resolution averages 119 FPS, suggesting that users who prioritize frame rate over visuals at 4K should opt for this setting. The data indicates that for a balanced 4K experience, the Medium preset offers the best trade-off between visual quality and performance, maintaining an average above 85 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combination?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 353 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Does the combination maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average frame rate is 55 FPS, which is playable but below the 60 FPS threshold often considered ideal.

Q: How does the performance at 1440p High compare to 4K High?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average frame rate is 133 FPS. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate drops to 70 FPS, representing a significant reduction.

Q: Is there a preset that guarantees a minimum frame rate above 140 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 has a measured minimum frame rate of 140 FPS and an average of 164 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 353 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 163 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of over half when moving to the highest settings.

Q: Does the minimum frame rate data suggest any stability concerns?

A: The only presets with recorded minimum frame rates are Medium at all resolutions. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 74 FPS, at 1440p it is 140 FPS, and at 1080p it is 219 FPS. These values are all within a reasonable range of their respective averages, indicating stable performance.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a predictable pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 208 FPS at 1080p to 133 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 75 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the average drops further to 70 FPS, a reduction of 63 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the workload increases with pixel count.

The Low preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with averages of 353 FPS at 1080p, 224 FPS at 1440p, and 119 FPS at 4K. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is 234 FPS, which is a 66% reduction. This steep decline at lower settings suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates, but the GPU's rendering workload becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases.

The Medium preset follows a similar trend, with averages of 258 FPS at 1080p, 164 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 94 FPS drop, while from 1440p to 4K it is a 77 FPS drop. The Ultra preset shows the smallest absolute drops, with 163 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p, and 55 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as even the Ultra preset achieves 163 FPS. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor, with the frame rate scaling inversely with pixel count. The consistent scaling pattern across all presets confirms that this is a GPU-limited scenario at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i7-13700K and RTX 4080 SUPER deliver exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset averages 353 FPS, the Medium preset averages 258 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS and a maximum of 297 FPS, the High preset averages 208 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 163 FPS. The data shows a monotonic decrease in frame rate as settings increase, with the difference between Low and Ultra being 190 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains high but shows a clear step down from 1080p. The Low preset averages 224 FPS, the Medium preset averages 164 FPS with a minimum of 140 FPS and a maximum of 189 FPS, the High preset averages 133 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 104 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 120 FPS at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates begin to approach more conventional levels for demanding titles. The Low preset averages 119 FPS, the Medium preset averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, the High preset averages 70 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 64 FPS at 4K.

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the minimum of 219 FPS is 85% of the average, indicating stable performance. At 1440p, the minimum of 140 FPS is 85% of the average, and at 4K, the minimum of 74 FPS is also 85% of the average. This consistency suggests that the combination handles this game without significant frame time spikes.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination is ranked 328 out of 3713 tested combos for Road 96, placing it in the top 8.8% of all tested configurations. This high ranking reflects the substantial performance headroom this pairing offers for this particular title.

The CPU component, the Intel Core i7-13700K, has an average benchmark score of 46881, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with an average score of 46971 (a delta of -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 with a score of 47022 (a delta of -0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX with a score of 46654 (a delta of 0.5%), and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 with a score of 46653 (a delta of 0.5%). These tight deltas indicate that the i7-13700K performs nearly identically to its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average benchmark score of 54209, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 with a score of 54247 (a delta of -0.1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X with a score of 54828 (a delta of -1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB with a score of 55698 (a delta of -2.7%), and the AMD Radeon 8060S with a score of 55757 (a delta of -2.8%). The GPU's performance is essentially identical to the non-SUPER RTX 4080, while being slightly behind the higher-scoring AMD alternatives.

The combination's rank of 328 out of 3713 suggests that while it is a high-performing system, it is not at the absolute top of the leaderboard for this game. The measured frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions, indicate that other combinations may offer even higher performance, but the data confirms that this pairing is more than sufficient for a smooth Road 96 experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its synthetic benchmark scores. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 30745, while the single-core score is 2116. The Geekbench multicore score is 19429, and the single-core score is 2529.

In the context of Road 96, the CPU's role is primarily to ensure that the GPU is not starved of data. The measured frame rates at 1080p, particularly the 353 FPS average at Low settings, indicate that the CPU is capable of driving extremely high frame rates. The PassMark multithread score of 45887 and single-thread score of 4333 further confirm the CPU's capability to handle the game's logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for an adventure game like Road 96, which is unlikely to utilize all available threads. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as the frame rate scaling pattern follows the GPU's workload rather than the CPU's capability. The 3DMark scores, including 12412 for max threads and 1136 for single-thread, indicate strong performance across both multi-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, with memory running at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). These specifications contribute to its substantial rendering capabilities, as reflected in its benchmark scores.

The GPU's role in Road 96 is clearly the primary scaling component as resolution increases. The frame rate drops from 353 FPS at 1080p Low to 119 FPS at 4K Low, a reduction of 234 FPS. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases with pixel count. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than adequate for this title, as the game's requirements are unlikely to approach this capacity.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 34245 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for Road 96's rendering pipeline. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 219065 and Vulkan score of 260075 demonstrate the GPU's compute capabilities, though these are not likely to be heavily utilized in an adventure game. The GPU's 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores provide ample processing power for both rasterization and any ray-traced effects the game might employ.

The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K where the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. This indicates that the GPU's raw rendering throughput is the primary constraint on maximum settings at 4K, while the CPU has sufficient headroom to support higher frame rates if the GPU could deliver them.