Road 96

Road 96 is a narrative-driven adventure, so the benchmark data here reflects how this specific hardware combination—the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER—handles the game's stylized visuals at various quality levels. The results show a system with massive headroom at lower resolutions, but the game's engine becomes increasingly demanding as resolution and settings scale up. The data indicates that the sweet spot for this pairing depends entirely on your display's resolution and refresh rate, with a clear performance hierarchy that rewards a balanced approach to settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset provides the best overall experience for this combination, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 2560x1440, High delivers an average of 133 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth, responsive gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. This score represents a 29 FPS increase over the Ultra preset at the same resolution, while the visual difference between High and Ultra is typically less significant in an adventure game like this. At 3840x2160, High maintains a playable 70 FPS average, which is well-suited for the game's slower pacing, whereas Ultra drops to 55 FPS, which is getting closer to the threshold where motion clarity can suffer.

The Medium preset is a strong fallback for players who prioritize higher frame rates over maximum visual fidelity. At 1080p, Medium hits 258 FPS, and at 1440p it reaches 164 FPS. These numbers are excellent for competitive or fast-paced play, but given the game's narrative focus, the visual improvements from High are generally worth the modest frame rate cost. The Low preset, while offering the highest frame rates (353 FPS at 1080p and 224 FPS at 1440p), is not recommended for this hardware, as the Core Ultra 7 265 and RTX 4080 SUPER are more than capable of running the game at higher settings without any risk of stutter or lag. The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, presents a significant performance penalty—dropping the 4K average to 55 FPS—and is only advisable if you have a 60Hz display and prioritize image quality above all else.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data strongly points to High as the default recommendation. It offers a 90% performance increase over Ultra at 1440p (133 vs 104 FPS) while maintaining a 27% advantage over Medium at 4K (70 vs 87 FPS, note: High is slower than Medium here, so the recommendation is nuanced). At 4K, the gap between High and Medium is 17 FPS, with High being slower, meaning Medium might be the better choice for 4K if you want to stay above 80 FPS. The decision ultimately hinges on your display's native resolution and refresh rate, but the data suggests that High is the most versatile preset for this combination.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in Road 96?

A: No, the data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The Core Ultra 7 265 features 20 cores and 20 threads with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 353 FPS, which is well beyond what most displays can show, indicating the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU effectively even at high frame rates. The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, which is the expected behavior for a balanced system.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its direct predecessor in this game?

A: The benchmark data for the RTX 4080 SUPER shows its average benchmark score is 54209, with the nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 at 54247, a delta of -0.1%. In practical terms, this means the SUPER variant performs nearly identically to the standard RTX 4080 in synthetic workloads. For Road 96, the performance is more than adequate, with the system achieving 208 FPS at 1080p High and 70 FPS at 4K High, so you can expect a very similar experience on either card.

Q: What is the best resolution to play Road 96 with this hardware?

A: The data suggests 1440p is the sweet spot. At 2560x1440 with High settings, the system delivers 133 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors (120Hz or 144Hz). At 4K, the frame rate drops to 70 FPS on High, which is still playable but not as smooth. At 1080p, the system is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, with frame rates exceeding 200 FPS, which is wasted on most 60Hz or 144Hz displays. Therefore, 1440p High offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance headroom.

Q: Can this system handle Road 96 at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, it can run the game at 4K Ultra, but the average frame rate drops to 55 FPS. This is playable for a narrative adventure game, but it falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer. If you have a 4K 60Hz display, the Ultra preset will provide a stable experience. For higher refresh rates, you would need to drop to High (70 FPS) or Medium (87 FPS) to stay within the 60-90 FPS range.

Q: How does the combo rank against other tested systems for Road 96?

A: This combination of Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 220th out of 2903 tested combos for Road 96. This places it in the top 7.6% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a powerful setup that will handle the game with ease. The high ranking is consistent with the strong individual performance of both components.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Medium and High settings in terms of frame rate?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. At 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 258 FPS on Medium to 208 FPS on High, a 19% decrease. At 1440p, the drop is from 164 FPS to 133 FPS, a 19% decrease as well. At 4K, the decrease is from 87 FPS to 70 FPS, a 19.5% drop. This consistent 19% penalty suggests that High settings impose a similar relative load increase across all resolutions, making Medium a viable option for those seeking maximum smoothness.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern in how performance scales with resolution. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average frame rate on High settings drops from 208 FPS to 133 FPS, a decrease of 36%. This is a significant drop, indicating that the GPU is starting to become more heavily loaded as pixel count increases. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced, with the High preset falling from 133 FPS to 70 FPS, a 47% reduction. This steeper decline suggests that at 4K, the RTX 4080 SUPER is approaching its limits, and the game's rendering demands are outpacing the GPU's ability to maintain high frame rates.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 129 FPS (from 353 to 224, a 37% decrease), and from 1440p to 4K is 105 FPS (from 224 to 119, a 47% decrease). At Ultra, the drops are 59 FPS (from 163 to 104, a 36% decrease) and 49 FPS (from 104 to 55, a 47% decrease), respectively. This consistent ~36% and ~47% reduction across all presets indicates that the performance scaling is primarily driven by the GPU's pixel processing capabilities, not by the CPU or memory subsystem.

This scaling behavior points to the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265, with its 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock, is more than capable of handling the game's logic and draw calls at 1080p, as evidenced by the 353 FPS result on Low. However, as the resolution increases, the RTX 4080 SUPER's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the constraining factor. The GPU's 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is substantial, but the game's art style at 4K demands more from the rendering pipeline, leading to the observed frame rate drops. The data suggests that for the best experience, players should favor 1440p, where the GPU can still push high frame rates without being overwhelmed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the exact average frame rates measured for this hardware combination in Road 96 at various resolutions and settings. Minimum and maximum frame rate data was only captured for the Medium preset, so those values are included where available.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 353 FPS.
• Medium: Average 258 FPS, with a minimum of 219 FPS and a maximum of 297 FPS.
• High: Average 208 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 163 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 224 FPS.
• Medium: Average 164 FPS, with a minimum of 140 FPS and a maximum of 189 FPS.
• High: Average 133 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 104 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 119 FPS.
• Medium: Average 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS.
• High: Average 70 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 55 FPS.

The Medium preset data provides insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the minimum frame rate of 219 FPS is 85% of the average, indicating very smooth performance. At 1440p, the minimum of 140 FPS is 85% of the average as well. At 4K, the minimum of 74 FPS is 85% of the average, showing that even at lower frame rates, the game maintains a stable frame pacing without severe drops. This consistency is a positive sign for gameplay, as it suggests minimal stuttering. The gap between the average and maximum frame rates is also consistent across resolutions, with the maximum being roughly 15% higher than the average. This data indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER provides a stable and predictable performance profile in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Road 96, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER holds a rank of 220 out of 2903 tested combos. This places it in the top 7.6% of all systems evaluated for this game, which is a strong showing. The high ranking is a direct result of the individual performance of both components. The CPU sits in the 93rd percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 86th percentile of all graphics cards. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a high-end GPU ensures that neither component is a significant bottleneck, allowing the system to achieve the high frame rates observed in the measured data.

The ranking suggests that this setup is more than sufficient for Road 96's requirements. The game, which is an adventure title, does not typically push hardware to its limits as much as a fast-paced shooter or simulator might. The fact that this combo ranks in the top 8% indicates that it will handle the game with significant headroom, even at 4K resolution. For context, the rank is driven by the system's ability to maintain high average frame rates across all settings, particularly the 353 FPS result at 1080p Low. This score confirms the balance between the Core Ultra 7 265's high boost clock and the RTX 4080 SUPER's raw compute power. In practical terms, players using this system can expect a smooth, high-fidelity experience without needing to compromise on settings, placing it well above the median tested system.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 plays a crucial, albeit not dominant, role in the performance of this system in Road 96. The processor features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This high boost clock is essential for gaming, as it allows the CPU to quickly process the game's logic, physics, and AI, which are often single-threaded. The 20 cores also provide ample multi-threading capability for background tasks and any game engine optimizations that can use more cores. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache helps to reduce memory latency, improving data access speeds for frequently used game assets.

In this game, the CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at any resolution. The evidence for this is the frame rate scaling with resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 353 FPS, which is a very high number. If the CPU were a limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates plateau or drop significantly as the GPU load increases. Instead, the data shows a steady decline in FPS as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's benchmark scores support this: its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and single-core score of 5960 place it in the top tier of processors, ensuring it can keep up with the RTX 4080 SUPER's data requests.

The CPU's 65W TDP is relatively low for a desktop processor with this many cores, which means it can maintain high boost clocks without excessive heat generation. This is beneficial for sustained gaming sessions, as the processor is less likely to throttle. The 3 nm process node from TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors, contributes to its efficiency. In the context of Road 96, the CPU's role is to ensure a stable frame pipeline, which it does admirably, allowing the GPU to focus on rendering the game's stylized visuals. The data shows that the Core Ultra 7 265 is not a limiting factor, and its high performance is a key reason why this combo ranks so well for this game.