Road 96

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K reveal a workload that scales predictably with pixel count, but the shape of that scaling changes depending on the quality preset. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 drops the average from 266 FPS to 169 FPS, a reduction of roughly 36%. Moving further to 3840x2160 at Low yields 89 FPS, which is about 47% lower than the 1440p result. This steep decline indicates that even at the lowest settings, the rendering pipeline is heavily pixel-bound; the GPU is doing nearly all the work, and the frame rate falls almost in proportion to the increase in pixel count.

At Medium settings, the same resolution steps show 194 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, and from 1440p to 4K is 47%, mirroring the Low preset's scaling almost exactly. This consistency suggests that Medium settings do not shift the bottleneck toward the CPU; the GPU remains the limiting component throughout. The High preset tells a similar story: 157 FPS at 1080p falls to 100 FPS at 1440p (a 36% reduction), then to 53 FPS at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). The pattern is remarkably uniform, which is a strong indicator that Road 96's rendering load scales linearly with resolution across these three presets.

Ultra settings, however, break the pattern slightly. At 1080p, Ultra produces 123 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 78 FPS (a 37% reduction); and at 4K, it falls to 41 FPS (a 47% reduction from 1440p). While the percentage drops are similar, the absolute frame rates are much lower, and the gap between Ultra and High widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Ultra is 34 FPS behind High; at 4K, that gap narrows to 12 FPS. This compression of the gap at higher resolutions suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that become less distinguishable when pixel count dominates the GPU's time budget.

The data indicates that the GeForce RTX 3080 is the limiting component at every resolution and preset combination tested. The CPU, an Intel Core Ultra 5 245, has enough headroom to feed the GPU even at 1080p Low where 266 FPS is achieved; if the CPU were the constraint, we would expect the frame rate to plateau or the scaling to become non-linear at lower resolutions. Instead, the consistent 36% and 47% drops across all four presets point to a purely GPU-bound scenario. For users targeting 4K, the RTX 3080 delivers playable but not high-refresh results, with High averaging 53 FPS and Medium at 66 FPS. At 1440p, High at 100 FPS is the sweet spot for smooth gameplay, while 1080p allows for very high refresh rates on High or even Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy across the four presets. Low is the fastest but sacrifices visual fidelity, producing 266 FPS at 1080p, 169 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. Medium offers a substantial step up in quality while still maintaining high frame rates: 194 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. High is the most balanced preset for this combination, yielding 157 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most demanding, with 123 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K.

For a 1080p display, High is the recommended preset because it delivers 157 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for high-refresh monitors, while Medium at 194 FPS offers diminishing returns in smoothness for a noticeable quality loss. Ultra at 123 FPS is still very playable, but the 34 FPS penalty over High may not justify the visual uplift for most users. At 1440p, High at 100 FPS is the best experience per the measured rows; it hits the 100 FPS mark that many users consider the floor for competitive play, while Medium at 124 FPS is an option for those who prioritize frame rate over fidelity. Ultra at 78 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenes, and Low at 169 FPS is unnecessary given the High preset's performance.

At 4K, the choice becomes a trade-off between smoothness and quality. Medium at 66 FPS is the highest preset that maintains a stable experience above 60 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS recorded. High at 53 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, which may be noticeable in this adventure game. Ultra at 41 FPS is likely too low for comfortable play. Low at 89 FPS is the fastest 4K option, but it sacrifices most of the visual enhancements that make the game's stylized art direction shine. The data suggests that Medium at 4K is the pragmatic choice for this combo, as it provides a playable frame rate while retaining enough quality to appreciate the game's aesthetic.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of an Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 achieves rank 1064 out of 3713 combos for Road 96. This places it in the 71st percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 71% of the combinations in the database. The rank reflects the absolute frame rates measured across all resolutions and presets, and the result is consistent with the individual component standings: the CPU sits in the 90th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 68th percentile among all graphics cards.

The combo's rank is driven primarily by the CPU's strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, which ensures that the GPU is never starved for data. The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which places it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K. This level of CPU performance is more than sufficient for Road 96, which appears to be GPU-bound in every measured configuration. The RTX 3080, with an average benchmark score of 23172, is competitive with the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and NVIDIA P106-100, though those comparisons are based on synthetic benchmarks rather than this specific game.

Within the context of the 3713 tested combos, the 1064 rank is a solid result, but it is not exceptional. The RTX 3080's 68th percentile GPU score, combined with the CPU's 90th percentile score, yields a system that is well-balanced for this title. If the GPU were upgraded, the rank would likely improve significantly, as the CPU has ample headroom. Conversely, a weaker CPU would not meaningfully change the rank, since the game is GPU-limited across all settings. The data shows that this combo is a coherent pairing: the CPU's excess capability ensures consistent frame delivery, while the GPU's performance defines the ceiling.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Road 96?

A: The highest average FPS is 266, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: At what resolution and settings does this combo drop below 60 FPS on average?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 53, and at Ultra settings it falls to 41. The Medium preset at 4K stays above 60 FPS with an average of 66.

Q: How much faster is the 1440p High preset compared to the 4K High preset?

A: The 1440p High preset averages 100 FPS, while the 4K High preset averages 53 FPS, making the 1440p result approximately 89% faster.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in any measured configuration?

A: The only minimum FPS values provided are for Medium settings: 165 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. The lowest minimum is 56 FPS at 4K Medium.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196) and 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228). It is 0.6% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in Road 96?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting component. The consistent frame rate drops across resolutions, even at Low settings, show that the CPU has sufficient headroom to maintain high throughput without becoming a bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It contains 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, and its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory operates across a 320-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The memory clock is listed at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed. The GPU's base clock is 1440 MHz, with a boost clock of 1710 MHz, and it features 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. It also includes 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, with a pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 29.77 TFLOPS.

In Road 96, the RTX 3080's memory configuration is more than adequate for the game's demands. The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for all tested settings, as evidenced by the stable frame rates at 4K Ultra, where 41 FPS is still achievable. The high memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and asset loading do not become a bottleneck, even at 4K resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz is the effective speed under load, and the data shows that the card is consistently the limiting component, meaning it is running at or near its maximum capability.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 23172. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA P106-100 (average score 23249, 0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23250, 0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23273, 0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23276, 0.4% higher). These comparisons show that the RTX 3080's raw compute performance is in line with these cards, although the real-world gaming results in Road 96 are strong, particularly at 1440p where it exceeds 100 FPS on High settings. The GPU's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 ensures full compatibility with modern rendering techniques, which is reflected in the measured frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture and manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm process. It has 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The CPU's TDP is 65 W, and it supports DDR5 memory via a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. The cache hierarchy consists of 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. It is built on the Intel Socket 1851 and offers PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes. The integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 64 execution units.

In the context of Road 96, the CPU's role is to prepare frames and feed the GPU. The benchmark results show no evidence of CPU limitation, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 266 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that would expose any CPU weakness. The Core Ultra 5 245's boost clock of 5.10 GHz, combined with its 14 cores, provides ample single-threaded performance for game logic and draw call submission. The CPU's synthetic benchmarks are strong: it scores 4648 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 32924 in multi-core, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4394 and a multithread score of 38706.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 48995 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (average score 49196, 0.4% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228, 0.5% higher), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, 0.6% lower), and the Intel Core i5-14600K (48618, 0.8% lower). This level of performance is far beyond what Road 96 requires, as the game is clearly GPU-bound. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth ensure that data can be fed to the GPU without stalling, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates. The data indicates that the Core Ultra 5 245 is overqualified for this title, but its headroom means that frame times are consistent and the GPU is the sole determinant of performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates span from 123 FPS at Ultra to 266 FPS at Low. The Medium preset averages 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 224 FPS. High averages 157 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, even the most demanding preset produces a very smooth experience, with Ultra being the only setting below 150 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 78 FPS at Ultra, 100 FPS at High, 124 FPS at Medium, and 169 FPS at Low. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 105 FPS and a maximum of 142 FPS. This resolution represents the sweet spot for the RTX 3080, as High and Medium both deliver frame rates that are suitable for high-refresh displays, while Ultra remains playable for slower-paced adventure games.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 41 FPS at Ultra, 53 FPS at High, 66 FPS at Medium, and 89 FPS at Low. The Medium preset is the only one with a reported minimum, at 56 FPS, with a maximum of 75 FPS. These results indicate that 4K is the boundary for this combo: Medium is the highest preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra require a tolerance for frame rates in the 40-53 FPS range. The Low preset at 89 FPS is a viable option for those who prioritize smoothness over visual quality, but it is unlikely to be the preferred choice given the game's art style. Overall, the measured data shows a well-rounded performance profile, with the GPU's capabilities defining the experience at each resolution and settings level.