The Long Drive

# The Long Drive with AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a remarkably broad performance envelope in The Long Drive, ranging from a silky 358 FPS at 1080p Low to a playable 47 FPS at 4K Ultra. This pairing ranks 223rd out of 3,725 tested hardware combos in this driving simulation, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations. The data shows a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the Ryzen 9 7900X's 12 cores and 24 threads ensure that even at 1080p Low, where frame rates exceed 350 FPS, the processor never becomes a bottleneck that caps performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a classic story of GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the system produces 358 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 131 FPS — a 63% reduction in performance as pixel count rises. This steep falloff indicates that the RTX 4080's rendering throughput is the primary constraint at lower settings, where the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames.

Moving to High settings reveals an even more pronounced scaling penalty. The 1080p High result of 184 FPS falls to 121 FPS at 1440p and then to 67 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure represents just 36% of the 1080p performance, showing that the gap widens as settings increase because the GPU must handle both higher resolution and more complex shading work. The intermediate Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 294 FPS at 1080p, 194 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K.

The Ultra preset delivers the most dramatic scaling curve. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 127 FPS, which drops to 84 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 47 FPS in 4K. This 63% loss from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings mirrors the Low preset's scaling, suggesting that once the GPU is saturated with compute work, the resolution becomes the dominant factor. The data indicates that the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient across all resolutions, as there are no anomalous drops that would suggest VRAM capacity issues.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, provides the graphical muscle for this configuration. Its boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz drive 9,728 shading units across 304 texture mapping units and 112 raster output pipelines. The memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves more than adequate for The Long Drive's open-world environments.

Benchmark results place the RTX 4080 at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,247. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54,209 — a mere 0.1% difference, meaning the two cards are effectively performance twins in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X sits slightly ahead at 54,828 (1.1% faster), while the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and Radeon 8060S lead by 2.6% and 2.7% respectively in aggregate benchmarks.

In The Long Drive specifically, the GPU's role becomes evident when examining the measured FPS data. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider ideal. However, dropping to 4K High yields 67 FPS, and 4K Medium produces 108 FPS. This shows that the RTX 4080 can handle 4K gaming in this title, but only if settings are moderated. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567 and PassMark G3D score of 34,457 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which aligns with the game's engine demands.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Long Drive at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but not at maximum settings. The measured data shows 67 FPS at 4K High and 108 FPS at 4K Medium, while 4K Ultra drops to 47 FPS. For smooth 4K gameplay, High or Medium settings are recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest competitor in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54,247 on average, which is just 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% faster, while the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB leads by 2.6%.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate gaming in this title?

A: At 1440p Medium, the system produces 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS, making it suitable for 165 Hz displays. For even higher refresh rates, 1080p Medium hits 294 FPS with a 250 FPS minimum.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM capacity ever become a limiting factor?

A: The measured data shows no indication of VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops across any resolution or settings combination. The 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth appears sufficient for all tested scenarios.

Q: How does this hardware combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 223rd out of 3,725 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the top 6% of all hardware combinations tested for this game.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X a bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 358 FPS, and even at 1080p Ultra it maintains 127 FPS. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads provide ample processing power to avoid limiting frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates: 358 FPS on Low, 294 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 250 and maximum of 339), 184 FPS on High, and 127 FPS on Ultra. These figures demonstrate that at 1080p, even the most demanding preset remains far above the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution ideal for competitive play or maximum refresh rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the RTX 4080 continues to impress. Low settings produce 235 FPS, Medium follows at 194 FPS (minimum 165, maximum 223), High delivers 121 FPS, and Ultra manages 84 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is particularly notable for its consistency, as the minimum frame rate of 165 FPS means the system can drive high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors without dipping below their refresh rate. Even at 1440p Ultra, the 84 FPS average remains comfortably playable for most users.

At 3840x2160, the system shows its limitations at the highest settings. Low settings still produce a strong 131 FPS, and Medium achieves 108 FPS (minimum 91, maximum 124), which is excellent for 4K gaming. High settings drop to 67 FPS, still playable but noticeably below the 4K Medium result. Ultra settings bottom out at 47 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold but remains workable for slower-paced driving simulation gameplay. The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier at 4K costs roughly 35-40% of the frame rate compared to the previous tier.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X serves as the processing backbone for this configuration, featuring 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture. With a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz, this Raphael-series chip provides substantial single-thread performance — a critical factor for game engines that rely heavily on primary thread execution. The 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency, while the dual-channel DDR5 memory interface delivers 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

Synthetic benchmarks paint a picture of a high-end processor. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29,300 and single-core score of 2,016.5 demonstrate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities. The Geekbench multicore result of 19,267 and single-core score of 2,617 further validate this. In 3DMark tests, the CPU achieves 12,536 with maximum threads and 1,093 in single-thread testing. PassMark results show a multithread score of 51,406 and single-thread score of 4,238.

The Ryzen 9 7900X ranks at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53,288. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7313P (0.2% faster), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (0.3% slower), Intel Xeon 634 (0.6% faster), and Intel Core i7-14700F (0.6% slower). These closely matched scores indicate that the 7900X sits at a performance plateau shared by several server and desktop processors.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 358 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to saturate even the RTX 4080's capabilities. The fact that 1080p Ultra (127 FPS) is nearly double the 4K Ultra (47 FPS) result suggests that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, not CPU limitations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data allows for clear recommendations based on display capabilities and performance preferences. For 1080p users with high refresh rate monitors (240 Hz or above), Medium settings provide the best balance, delivering 294 FPS with a minimum of 250 FPS — ensuring consistent frame delivery above even the most demanding refresh rates. Ultra settings at 1080p still produce 127 FPS, which is adequate for 120 Hz displays, but the Medium preset offers more headroom.

At 1440p, the Medium preset emerges as the sweet spot. The 194 FPS average with a 165 FPS minimum aligns perfectly with 165 Hz monitors, providing a smooth experience without wasted performance. For users with 144 Hz displays, High settings at 121 FPS offer better visual quality while staying close to the refresh rate. Ultra at 84 FPS is playable but may not fully utilize high-refresh-rate panels, making it a choice for users prioritizing visual fidelity over smoothness.

At 4K, the Medium preset delivers the best experience at 108 FPS, which is suitable for 100 Hz displays and provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. High settings at 67 FPS remain playable for users with 60 Hz monitors, though the lower frame rate may introduce some judder on higher refresh rate panels. Ultra settings at 47 FPS should only be considered by users who prioritize maximum visual quality and can tolerate sub-60 FPS gameplay. The data clearly shows that Medium at 4K offers the best performance-to-visual trade-off for most users, with High as a viable alternative for those seeking improved image quality without sacrificing playability.