The Long Drive

Opening Paragraph

The Long Drive, a driving simulation released on 2019-09-02, presents an interesting scaling study for the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. The measured data, covering three resolutions and four settings presets, reveals a configuration that is heavily GPU-bound at higher quality settings but transitions to a more balanced workload at lower presets. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows to interpret what the numbers say about system bottlenecks, optimal settings, and the respective roles of the CPU and GPU. The benchmark set comprises 12 distinct data points, with the combo ranking 384th out of 1734 tested combinations in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about the limiting component. At Low settings, the RTX 4070 delivers 282.8 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 184.5 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 103.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 63.5% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at the lowest preset, the GPU is still the primary constraint. The scaling is not perfectly linear, but the trend is unmistakable: as pixel count increases, the rendering load grows faster than the GPU can compensate, pulling average FPS down substantially.

At Medium settings, the pattern continues. The 230.9 FPS at 1080p drops to 152.1 FPS at 1440p, then to 85.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K here is 63.1%, almost identical to the Low preset. This consistency suggests that the RTX 4070's rendering pipeline is the limiting factor across these two presets, with the CPU providing enough headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The delta between Low and Medium at each resolution is roughly 18-19%, which is a modest penalty for the visual improvements offered by the Medium preset.

The High preset shows a steeper decline. At 1080p, the average FPS is 147.1, which is 36% lower than the Low preset at the same resolution. Moving to 1440p yields 95.8 FPS, and at 4K, the frame rate falls to 53.6 FPS. The 1080p-to-4K drop here is 63.6%, again consistent with the other presets. However, the absolute numbers suggest that at High settings, the GPU is working much harder, and the 4K result of 53.6 FPS approaches the edge of what most users would consider smooth. The Ultra preset amplifies this further: 102 FPS at 1080p, 68 FPS at 1440p, and only 37.9 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K reduction is 62.8%, maintaining the same scaling pattern.

What the data indicates is that the RTX 4070's performance scales almost linearly with pixel throughput, and the Ryzen 5 8400F is not the limiting component at any resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 37.9 FPS is particularly telling because it is the only data point below 40 FPS, and the fact that the scaling pattern holds even at this extreme suggests the GPU is saturated. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, appear sufficient to feed the GPU even at 1080p Low where the frame rate exceeds 280 FPS, a scenario that typically exposes CPU limitations in driving simulations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 282.8 FPS, which is far beyond what any standard 60 Hz or even 144 Hz display needs. The Medium preset at 230.9 FPS still offers substantial headroom, while the High preset at 147.1 FPS is more than adequate for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 102 FPS is the only one that dips below 144 FPS, but it remains playable on a 100 Hz panel. For 1080p, the data suggests that High is the sweet spot: it provides a 36% reduction in FPS relative to Low but likely offers significantly better visual fidelity, and the 147.1 FPS average still leaves ample margin.

At 1440p, the recommendations shift. The Low preset at 184.5 FPS is still very fast, but the Medium preset at 152.1 FPS offers a better balance, staying above the 144 FPS threshold for most high-refresh displays. The High preset at 95.8 FPS is the most interesting choice: it is below 144 FPS but above the 60 FPS baseline, making it ideal for users with 120 Hz or 100 Hz monitors who prioritize visual quality. The Ultra preset at 68 FPS is the only 1440p option that falls below 100 FPS, but it remains above 60 FPS, so it is viable for users with 60 Hz panels who want maximum fidelity. For 1440p, the data points to Medium as the best balance, with High as a strong alternative for those with slower refresh rates.

For 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 103.2 FPS is the only option that clears the 100 FPS mark, making it the recommended choice for high-refresh 4K displays. The Medium preset at 85.2 FPS is still smooth, and the High preset at 53.6 FPS is right at the edge of the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 37.9 FPS is below the playable threshold for most users, so it is not recommended for a consistent experience. The data clearly shows that at 4K, users should stick to Low or Medium presets to maintain fluid frame rates, with High being a compromise for those who can tolerate occasional dips.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the entire benchmark set?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 282.8, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: At which resolution does the Ultra preset fall below 40 FPS?

A: The only data point below 40 FPS is the 3840x2160 Ultra preset, which averages 37.9 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K High preset compare to the 1440p High preset?

A: The 4K High preset averages 53.6 FPS, while the 1440p High preset averages 95.8 FPS, representing a 44% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings.

Q: What is the exact frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 282.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 102 FPS, a difference of 180.8 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests yes, as the frame rate of 282.8 FPS at 1080p Low still shows a consistent decline when resolution increases, indicating the GPU is saturated even at the lowest preset.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 8400F bottleneck the GPU at any measured configuration?

A: No, the scaling pattern is consistent across all resolutions and settings, with no evidence of a CPU-induced plateau, even at 282.8 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the configuration's performance. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 282.8 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire set. The Medium preset follows at 230.9 FPS, then High at 147.1 FPS, and Ultra at 102 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 64% reduction in frame rate, indicating the substantial cost of higher quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 184.5 FPS, representing a 34.8% drop from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset at 152.1 FPS is a 34.1% reduction from its 1080p counterpart. The High preset at 95.8 FPS drops 34.9%, and the Ultra preset at 68 FPS falls 33.3%. These consistent percentage drops across all presets confirm the GPU-bound nature of the workload, as the scaling is uniform regardless of settings.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 103.2 FPS, which is 44.1% lower than the 1440p Low score. The Medium preset at 85.2 FPS is 44.0% lower than its 1440p result. The High preset at 53.6 FPS drops 44.1%, and the Ultra preset at 37.9 FPS falls 44.3%. The near-identical percentage drops from 1440p to 4K across all presets further emphasize that the GPU is the sole limiting factor, with no CPU interference at any point.

The data also shows that the jump from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 35% of the frame rate, while the jump from 1440p to 4K costs another 44%. This compounding effect means that 4K Ultra at 37.9 FPS is less than one-seventh of the 1080p Low score. The combo's rank of 384 out of 1734 tested combinations places it in the top 22% of all tested systems for this game, which aligns with the strong absolute numbers observed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary driver of the results in The Long Drive. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the texture and geometry loads in a driving simulation at these resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, delivers the raw compute power needed to sustain the high frame rates observed. The measured scaling from 1080p to 4K shows that the GPU's rendering pipeline is saturated, as the frame rate drops consistently with increasing pixel count.

The RTX 4070's benchmark scores support its in-game performance. Its PassMark G3D score of 26927 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for a modern driving sim. The GPU's percentile rank of 81 against all GPUs means it outperforms 81% of the database, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (with a deltaPct of -0.6) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (with a deltaPct of -2.2). The RTX 4070's avgBenchmarkScore of 37283 places it in a competitive position, and the data shows it is well-matched to the demands of this game.

The 4K performance is particularly indicative of the GPU's role. At 4K Low, the 103.2 FPS result is respectable, but at 4K Ultra, the 37.9 FPS shows the limits of the 12 GB frame buffer and the 192-bit memory bus. The GDDR6X memory at 21 Gbps effective is fast, but the bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is a potential constraint at extreme resolutions with Ultra settings. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs are also factors, as they determine pixel throughput and texture filtering rates, which are critical in a visually dense driving environment.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, and the data indicates it does not bottleneck the GPU at any measured point. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, the CPU has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core provide sufficient data locality for game logic and physics calculations. The 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC ensure efficient operation, but the key metric here is whether the CPU can keep up with the GPU's frame generation.

The benchmark results for the Ryzen 5 8400F show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a PassMark multi-thread score of 24530. Its single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 951. These numbers suggest the CPU has ample headroom for the per-thread workloads typical of driving simulations. The highest measured FPS in the set is 282.8 at 1080p Low, and the fact that the frame rate does not plateau at this level indicates the CPU is not the constraint.

The CPU's percentile rank of 82 against all CPUs places it above the median, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, has a deltaPct of 0, meaning they perform essentially identically in aggregate benchmarks. The Ryzen 5 8400F also shows a 0.3% advantage over the Ryzen 5 7500F and a 0.1% deficit against the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340. These small deltas suggest that the CPU's performance is well within the expected range for this class of processor, and the game's results confirm that it is not a limiting factor. The 12 threads provide enough parallelism for the game's background tasks, while the high boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance.

In the context of this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data. The measured FPS scaling shows no evidence of CPU saturation, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is pushing nearly 300 frames per second. This indicates that the Ryzen 5 8400F is a capable partner for the RTX 4070 in The Long Drive, allowing the GPU to become the sole determinant of performance across all tested settings and resolutions.