Road 96

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a strong performance profile in Road 96, though the data reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, examining the roles of the CPU and GPU, and contextualizing the results against other tested hardware combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution climbs. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 164 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 104 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K, the average falls to 55 FPS, which is 66% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, which is typical for a GPU-intensive title.

The relationship between Low and Ultra settings further illustrates this. At 1080p, the gap between Low (277 FPS) and Ultra (128 FPS) is 149 FPS, showing that the GPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions. At 4K, the same settings gap narrows to 50 FPS (93 FPS Low vs 43 FPS Ultra). This compression of the settings spread at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the additional pixel workload consumes the performance headroom that was available at 1080p.

The 1440p data points sit neatly between the extremes. Medium settings at 1440p yield 129 FPS, while Ultra drops to 82 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings shows a 47% reduction (129 to 68 FPS), which is consistent with the pixel count increase. This consistency across settings indicates a well-behaved scaling curve with no unexpected bottlenecks or driver anomalies.

The minimum FPS data, where available, reinforces the stability picture. At 4K Medium, the average is 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS, a 15% variance. At 1440p Medium, the average is 129 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS, a similar 15% variance. At 1080p Medium, the average is 203 FPS with a minimum of 172 FPS, again roughly 15% variance. This consistent frame time distribution suggests that the combination maintains a steady performance envelope without sudden drops, even as the average frame rate changes dramatically with resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The CPU’s benchmark scores indicate solid single-thread capability, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4412. These figures place the processor in the 85th percentile against all CPUs, suggesting it has ample processing power for most gaming workloads.

In Road 96, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU-bound scaling, meaning the CPU is not the primary constraint in these scenarios. However, the extremely high frame rates at 1080p Low (277 FPS) do suggest that the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently to reach very high output levels. The Passmark multithread score of 30459 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 indicate that the 10 cores handle multithreaded tasks competently, which is relevant for any background processing or physics calculations the game might offload to the CPU.

The processor’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which has a nearly identical average score (36945 vs 36938, a 0% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, which is 0.2% behind. The Intel Core i9-12900T trails by 0.5%. This clustering means that the Core Ultra 5 225 sits in a very competitive performance tier, and any differences in gaming performance would be marginal in CPU-limited scenarios. The data shows that in Road 96, the CPU’s capability is sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck until frame rates exceed 200 FPS, which only occurs at 1080p with lower settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2475 MHz, and it features 5888 shading units. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 26927 places it in the 81st percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% ahead) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% behind), indicating that the desktop RTX 4070 sits in a competitive mid-to-high range.

In Road 96, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor in frame rate scaling. The 4K results, ranging from 43 FPS at Ultra to 93 FPS at Low, show that the GPU’s rendering capacity is the primary limit at this resolution. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not directly tested in the measured FPS data, but the smooth scaling across settings suggests that memory capacity is not causing any abrupt performance cliffs at these resolution and quality combinations.

The GPU’s FP32 throughput of 29.15 TFLOPS and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s provide the raw compute power needed for the game’s rendering. The measured results show that at 4K Ultra, the combo achieves 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many users target. At 1440p Ultra, the average rises to 82 FPS, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom for high-quality 1440p gaming. The RTX 4070’s performance relative to its nearest rivals suggests that it is a well-balanced GPU for this title, capable of delivering playable frame rates at 1440p with high settings, but requiring settings adjustments for 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, all settings presets produce playable frame rates, with even Ultra achieving 128 FPS. The Medium preset offers 203 FPS, which is a significant jump from High’s 164 FPS, and the data shows that Medium provides a 24% improvement over High. For users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, Medium at 1080p is a strong choice, as it stays well above 170 FPS minimum.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 104 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS standard. The Ultra preset drops to 82 FPS, still playable but with less headroom. Medium at 1440p offers 129 FPS, providing a substantial buffer for demanding scenes. The measured minimum of 110 FPS for Medium at 1440p indicates that even in the most taxing moments, the frame rate remains high. For a balanced experience, High at 1440p appears optimal, as it provides a solid average with no reported minimums below 60.

At 4K, the situation requires more careful consideration. Ultra yields only 43 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for many users. High improves to 55 FPS, still marginal. Medium reaches 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS, which is the first preset to consistently maintain near-60 FPS performance. Low achieves 93 FPS, but this comes with significant visual compromises. The data suggests that Medium is the recommended preset for 4K, as it offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate stability, with the minimum FPS staying above the 60 FPS mark.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 666th out of 2903 tested combos in Road 96. This places it in the top 23% of all combinations, indicating that it performs well above the median. The rank is a holistic measure that considers performance across all settings and resolutions, and the position suggests that this pairing is better suited for this game than a majority of alternatives.

The ranking is particularly strong given the CPU’s position in its own benchmark tier. The Core Ultra 5 225 sits at the 85th percentile among CPUs, while the RTX 4070 is at the 81st percentile among GPUs. The combo’s rank of 666 out of 2903 translates to roughly the 77th percentile, which is slightly lower than either individual component’s percentile. This suggests that the pairing is efficient, but not perfectly optimized for Road 96 specifically. The slight drop from individual component percentiles to the combo percentile could indicate that the game does not fully utilize either component’s strengths, or that the balance between CPU and GPU is slightly skewed for this title.

Compared to the nearest rival combos, the RTX 4070’s performance is roughly on par with the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% difference in GPU score), while the CPU’s closest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0% difference). This means that a system with these alternative components would likely perform nearly identically in Road 96. The ranking data shows that the Core Ultra 5 225 and RTX 4070 combination is a solid, mid-to-high-tier performer, but not an outlier in either direction.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combination is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 277 FPS average
• Medium: 203 FPS average, 172 FPS minimum, 233 FPS maximum
• High: 164 FPS average
• Ultra: 128 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 176 FPS average
• Medium: 129 FPS average, 110 FPS minimum, 149 FPS maximum
• High: 104 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 93 FPS average
• Medium: 68 FPS average, 58 FPS minimum, 79 FPS maximum
• High: 55 FPS average
• Ultra: 43 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions: Low settings provide roughly double the frame rate of Ultra settings. At 1080p, the spread is 277 to 128 FPS; at 1440p, it is 176 to 82 FPS; at 4K, it is 93 to 43 FPS. The Medium preset consistently lands between High and Low, offering approximately 20-25% more performance than High.

The minimum FPS data for Medium settings shows that the game maintains a stable frame rate, with the minimum never dropping more than 15-17% below the average. This consistency is notable, as it indicates that the hardware combination handles the game’s most demanding scenes without significant frame time spikes.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 164 at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: Is the game playable at 4K with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only with reduced settings. At 4K, Medium settings achieve 68 FPS average with a 58 FPS minimum, while High drops to 55 FPS and Ultra falls to 43 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, 0% delta). The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is 0.2% behind, and the Intel Core i9-12900T is 0.5% behind.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648.

Q: What settings should be used for a 60 FPS target at 4K?

A: Medium settings are recommended, as they produce 68 FPS average and 58 FPS minimum. High settings fall to 55 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 666th out of 2903 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the top 23% of all systems tested.