The Long Drive

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for The Long Drive with the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 shows a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 202.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 137.2 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 73.3 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 64% reduction in FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is substantial but leaves the game playable even at the highest resolution on the lowest preset.

The Medium preset tells a similar story: 166.5 FPS at 1080p falls to 108.3 FPS at 1440p, and then to 60.6 FPS at 4K. High settings show 103.3 FPS at 1080p, 70.1 FPS at 1440p, and 35.8 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, starting at 71.9 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 49.1 FPS at 1440p, and falling to 26.2 FPS at 4K.

The scaling pattern reveals that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the 202.5 FPS result suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond typical refresh rates. However, the sharp drop to 73.3 FPS at 4K Low — a 64% reduction — indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are being pushed hard by the pixel count. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is particularly telling: 73.3 FPS versus 26.2 FPS, a 47.1 FPS difference that underscores how much headroom the GPU has at lower settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 3000 series, based on the Zen 2 architecture codenamed Matisse. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The processor has a 32 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB L2 cache per core, with a 7 nm process node from TSMC. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 696 in 3dmark, with multithreaded performance reaching 4605 in the 16-thread test and 4603 at max threads.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where frame rates are highest. The 202.5 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the Ryzen 5 3600 is not the bottleneck at this setting. However, driving simulation games often have physics and world-simulation threads that can stress the CPU. The processor's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045 and single-core score of 2124 indicate balanced performance that should handle the game's logic without major issues.

The Ryzen 5 3600's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, has an average score of 18150, which is only 0.1% higher than the 3600's 18129 average. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS scores 18101, 0.2% lower, and the Ryzen 5 1600 scores 18158, 0.2% lower. This grouping shows the 3600 sits in a tight performance band, meaning CPU-related frame pacing should be consistent with these comparable processors.

At 4K, the data indicates the CPU is less of a factor. The frame rate drops from 73.3 FPS at Low to 26.2 FPS at Ultra, a shift that aligns with GPU load rather than CPU limitations. The 12 threads and 4.20 GHz boost clock provide sufficient headroom for the game's simulation tasks, particularly given the 65 W TDP and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is 2460 MHz, with 3072 shading units and 24 RT cores. Its Passmark G3D score is 19545, placing it in the 66th percentile among all GPUs.

The RTX 4060's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, has an average score of 23321, which is 0.6% lower than the 4060's 23181 average. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 23338, 0.7% lower, while the Intel Arc B580 scores 23021, 0.7% higher. The AMD Radeon 760M scores 22999, 0.8% higher. This tight clustering suggests the RTX 4060 performs near the median of its peer group in general benchmarks, but in The Long Drive, its specific strengths and weaknesses become apparent.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor at 4K Ultra. The measured 26.2 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra indicates the card is overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and high settings. The 17 Gbps effective memory speed and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the 128-bit bus becomes a limiting factor. The data shows that at 1440p Ultra, the card manages 49.1 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra, it falls below 30 FPS.

The RTX 4060's 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are notable, but The Long Drive's rendering demands at 4K Ultra exceed what this GPU can deliver smoothly. The card's 115 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU indicate it is a mid-range power draw, but the performance at 4K Ultra suggests it is better suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 202.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo fall below 30 FPS?

A: The combo drops to 26.2 FPS at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings, which is the only measured configuration below 30 FPS.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: 1080p Low delivers 202.5 FPS, while 4K Ultra delivers 26.2 FPS, making the 1080p result approximately 7.7 times higher.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 137.2 FPS, while High settings produce 70.1 FPS, a difference of 67.1 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K in this game?

A: The data shows 4K High yields 35.8 FPS and 4K Ultra yields 26.2 FPS, suggesting the 8 GB VRAM is not sufficient for smooth 4K gameplay at higher settings.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average score of 18129, while the Intel Core i5-11400 has 18150, a 0.1% difference, making them effectively equal in average performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 103.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 166.5 FPS is also excellent, and even Ultra at 71.9 FPS remains playable. For users seeking maximum visual fidelity at 1080p, Ultra is viable, but High offers a better balance with a 31.4 FPS improvement over Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset produces 108.3 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. High settings at 70.1 FPS are still smooth for most users, but Medium provides a significant 38.2 FPS advantage. Low settings at 137.2 FPS are ideal for competitive play or high refresh rate monitors, while Ultra at 49.1 FPS is borderline and may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 73.3 FPS is the only configuration that provides a consistently smooth experience. Medium at 60.6 FPS is right at the edge of playability, while High at 35.8 FPS and Ultra at 26.2 FPS are not recommended for serious gameplay. For 4K users, the Low preset is the clear choice, as it offers the best playable experience without compromising too much on visual quality given the game's art style.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce the highest average FPS at 202.5, followed by Medium at 166.5, High at 103.3, and Ultra at 71.9. The difference between Low and Ultra is 130.6 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset places substantial strain on the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute values. Low settings deliver 137.2 FPS, Medium delivers 108.3 FPS, High delivers 70.1 FPS, and Ultra delivers 49.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 88.1 FPS, reflecting the increased resolution's impact on all settings.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings produce 73.3 FPS, Medium produces 60.6 FPS, High produces 35.8 FPS, and Ultra produces 26.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 47.1 FPS, showing that even at 4K, the settings have a substantial impact on performance.

The overall trend across all resolutions is that Low settings provide roughly double the FPS of Ultra settings. The combo's rank of 999 out of 1734 combos in The Long Drive indicates it sits in the middle of the performance distribution for this game, with the data showing it is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K with higher settings.