Road 96

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 257th out of 3,713 tested combos in Road 96, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a narrative-driven adventure title, indicating that the pairing delivers well above-average performance without being an absolute top-tier outlier. The rank reflects a system that can handle the game's stylized road-trip visuals with substantial headroom, though it does not sit at the very apex of the leaderboard where extreme overclocking or flagship parts dominate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 257 out of 3,713 tested configurations places it in the 93rd percentile of all tested systems for Road 96. This is a notably high position, driven by the RTX 4080's raw rasterization power and the Core Ultra 5 245's capable single-threaded performance. The data shows the pairing is not bottlenecked in a way that would drag it down the list; instead, it consistently produces frame rates that outstrip the vast majority of systems tested with this game.

Benchmark results indicate that the combination's standing is largely a function of the GPU's ability to push high frame rates even at demanding settings, as evidenced by the measured FPS data. The CPU, while not a flagship, provides enough throughput to avoid limiting the GPU at most settings and resolutions. The delta between this combo and the top-ranked systems is not detailed in the data, but the percentile positioning suggests that moving up the ladder would require a more powerful GPU or a CPU with higher multi-threaded throughput for any CPU-bound scenarios. The rank is a clear signal that this is a high-end pairing, though not the absolute fastest available.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the high frame rates observed. The card features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a substantial memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. This is more than sufficient for Road 96's texture data and scene complexity, preventing memory bandwidth from becoming a limiting factor at any tested setting. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, allows it to sustain high throughput in the game's rendering workloads.

The RTX 4080's benchmark scores underline its strength. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 34,457 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. In Road 96 specifically, the GPU's role becomes clear when observing the scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1440p High, the combo delivers 133 FPS, and at 4K High, it drops to 71 FPS. This scaling shows the GPU is the primary driver of performance, as the frame rate drops proportionally with the increase in pixel count, a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The card's 9728 shading units and 112 ROPs are well-utilized, ensuring that the game's stylized visuals are rendered without stutter.

The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average benchmark score that is 0.1% higher, indicating that the 4080 is essentially at parity with its direct successor in synthetic tests. This close margin suggests that in Road 96, the performance difference between the two would be negligible, and the 4080's 16 GB VRAM is ample for the game's maximum settings at 4K, as evidenced by the 55 FPS average at Ultra 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 plays a supporting but crucial role, ensuring the GPU is fed with data without becoming a bottleneck. This processor features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. For a game like Road 96, which is not heavily multi-threaded, the CPU's strong single-core performance is more relevant than its multi-core throughput. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4,648 points demonstrates the processor's ability to handle the game's primary simulation and logic threads efficiently.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,924 points, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. However, in Road 96, the data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor. Evidence for this comes from the resolution scaling; when moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 209 to 133, a 36% decrease. This drop is consistent with the GPU having to render more pixels, not with the CPU running out of headroom. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain similar across resolutions.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is tight. It lags the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G by 0.4% and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 by 0.5% in average benchmark scores, while leading the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%. These margins are minimal, indicating that the Core Ultra 5 245 is competitively positioned. In Road 96, this means it provides a consistent platform that does not introduce frame pacing issues or stutter, allowing the RTX 4080 to operate at its full potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance rank for this CPU and GPU combo in Road 96?

A: The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 257th out of 3,713 tested combos for this game.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4080 compared to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, making them effectively equivalent in performance.

Q: At what resolution does the combo achieve the highest frame rate?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 354 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as frame rates scale significantly with resolution, dropping from 209 FPS at 1080p High to 71 FPS at 4K High.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo in the measured data?

A: The only minimum FPS recorded is 74 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. Other resolution and setting combinations do not have min FPS data.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the RTX 4080?

A: The RTX 4080 has a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, provided by 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear and predictable pattern of scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average frame rate is 209 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High reduces this to 133 FPS, a 36% drop. At 4K (3840x2160) High, the average further drops to 71 FPS, a 47% decrease from the 1440p figure and a 66% decrease from 1080p. This steep decline is a textbook example of a GPU-bound workload, where the rendering resolution directly dictates performance.

The data confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this scenario. If the processor were limiting, the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p would be much closer, since the CPU's workload does not increase proportionally with resolution. Instead, the consistent drop in FPS as resolution increases indicates that the RTX 4080 is being pushed harder at each step. This is further supported by the fact that at 1440p Low, the combo achieves 226 FPS, which is still high but shows that the GPU has more headroom when the pixel count is lower, allowing the CPU to potentially become more relevant.

At the extreme end, 4K Ultra delivers 55 FPS, showing that even this high-end GPU is challenged by the most demanding settings at the highest resolution. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is also telling: 119 FPS at Low, 87 FPS at Medium, 71 FPS at High, and 55 FPS at Ultra. This linear progression demonstrates that the GPU is the sole arbiter of performance, with each preset level adding a similar amount of graphical load. The combination of resolution and settings scaling strongly suggests that for the best visual fidelity, users must accept a lower frame rate, but the system has ample power for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of what to expect at each preset level, and the recommendations should be guided by the refresh rate of the display. For a standard 60 Hz display, 4K Ultra is viable, with an average of 55 FPS, but it will occasionally dip below 60 FPS. For a smoother experience at 4K, the High preset offers an average of 71 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS, making it the safest choice for a locked 60 FPS experience with high visual quality.

For users with 1440p monitors, the options are more generous. The Ultra preset at 1440p achieves an average of 104 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays and provides the best visual fidelity. If aiming for even higher frame rates, the High preset at 1440p delivers 133 FPS, which is ideal for 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 165 FPS, with a minimum of 140 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on 165 Hz displays.

At 1080p, the combo is overkill for most scenarios, with the Ultra preset providing 164 FPS and High providing 209 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 354 FPS, which is only useful for extreme high-refresh-rate displays or competitive play, but the visual compromise is significant. The most balanced recommendation for a high-refresh-rate 1080p display is the High preset, which offers a substantial frame rate advantage without sacrificing the game's artistic quality. In summary, the sweet spot for this combo in Road 96 is High settings at 4K or Ultra settings at 1440p, offering the best balance of visual fidelity and smooth performance.