The Long Drive

The Long Drive is an unusual title in benchmarking terms: it is a low-poly driving simulation that places almost all of its visual load on object draw distance and foliage density rather than complex shading. The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 produces a set of measured frame rates that reveal a clear performance curve, but one with sharp cliffs between settings presets. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K when image quality is pushed past Medium.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values show that resolution scaling has a disproportionate impact on this combo, far more than what a typical GPU-bound title would exhibit. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 201.4 FPS average. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 134.4 FPS, a 33% reduction. Moving to 4K Low yields 71.6 FPS, which is another 47% drop from the 1440p figure. That steep decline from 1440p to 4K suggests the RTX 4060’s 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor at higher pixel counts, not the CPU.

The pattern holds across all settings. At High preset, 1080p produces 102.9 FPS, 1440p drops to 68.4 FPS, and 4K falls to 38.2 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at High is 34 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 30 FPS — consistent scaling, but the absolute numbers at 4K are below the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 72.4 FPS at 1080p, 47.8 FPS at 1440p, and 29.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is less than half of the 1080p Ultra number, indicating that the GPU’s shading units (3072) and 8 GB VRAM are being saturated by the combination of high resolution and maximum detail settings.

What this means practically: the limiting component shifts depending on resolution. At 1080p, the CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads (boosting to 4.30 GHz) are likely the ceiling for Low and Medium presets, since frame rates exceed 160 FPS. At 4K, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and 8 GB capacity become the bottleneck, especially on Ultra where the average drops to 29.2 FPS. The sweet spot for consistent 60+ FPS lies between 1080p and 1440p, with settings capped at High or Medium.

FAQ

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

A: Only at Low settings, where the measured average is 71.6 FPS. Medium drops to 60.5 FPS, High falls to 38.2 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 29.2 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining above 100 FPS?

A: 1080p is the only resolution that consistently exceeds 100 FPS across multiple presets. Low hits 201.4 FPS, Medium hits 167.7 FPS, and High hits 102.9 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (134.4 FPS) and Medium (112.1 FPS) break the 100 FPS mark.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: The measured average drops from 102.9 FPS to 68.4 FPS, a loss of 34.5 FPS. This is a 33% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Is the RTX 4060’s 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The data suggests yes at most settings, but the 4K Ultra result (29.2 FPS) indicates VRAM pressure or bandwidth limits. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, which appears adequate for 1080p and 1440p but not for maxed-out 4K.

Q: Does the Core i3-12100F bottleneck the RTX 4060?

A: Based on the 1080p Low result of 201.4 FPS, the CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads (with a 4.30 GHz boost clock) are not holding back the GPU at lower resolutions. However, at 4K Ultra, the CPU’s single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 893) is less relevant because the GPU is clearly the limiting factor.

Q: What is the highest settings preset that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Medium, with a measured 112.1 FPS average. High drops to 68.4 FPS, which is still above 60, but Ultra falls to 47.8 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the AD107 chip using TSMC’s 5 nm process, packing 18,900 million transistors into a 159 mm² die. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz drive 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. In The Long Drive’s measured results, the GPU’s role is most evident in the scaling from Medium to Ultra settings. At every resolution, the jump from Medium to Ultra costs roughly half the frame rate: at 1080p, Medium runs 167.7 FPS while Ultra runs 72.4 FPS; at 1440p, Medium runs 112.1 FPS while Ultra runs 47.8 FPS; at 4K, Medium runs 60.5 FPS while Ultra runs 29.2 FPS. This consistent halving suggests that Ultra enables a rendering feature (likely extreme draw distances or dense foliage) that doubles the GPU workload.

The GPU’s memory subsystem is a critical factor. The 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus delivers 272.0 GB/s, which is modest for a 40-series card. The measured 4K results show this limitation: even at Low settings, 4K only reaches 71.6 FPS, whereas 1440p Low hits 134.4 FPS. The 4K pixel count (8.3 million) requires more memory bandwidth per frame, and the 128-bit interface appears to be the constraint. The GPU’s 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are present but likely unused in this game, as The Long Drive is not a ray-traced title.

The RTX 4060’s passmark G3D score of 19545 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (0.6% faster) and the Intel Arc B580 (0.7% slower). This midrange positioning explains why the card handles 1080p and 1440p well but falls short at 4K Ultra. The 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is sufficient for the game’s simple geometry, but the memory bandwidth per pixel is the deciding factor at high resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 201.4 FPS average, Medium produces 167.7 FPS, and High produces 102.9 FPS. Ultra drops to 72.4 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold but represents a 57% reduction from Medium. The data indicates that 1080p is entirely GPU-bound at Low and Medium, with the CPU’s 8 threads (3DMark 8-thread score of 4026) likely sufficient to feed the GPU at these frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance curve shifts downward significantly. Low settings average 134.4 FPS, Medium averages 112.1 FPS, and High averages 68.4 FPS. Ultra falls to 47.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The gap between Medium and High at 1440p is 43.7 FPS, the largest single-preset jump in the entire dataset. This suggests that High enables a rendering mode that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM struggles to accommodate at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low settings average 71.6 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Medium averages 60.5 FPS, sitting right at the edge of acceptability. High averages 38.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 29.2 FPS — both are effectively unplayable for a driving simulation that requires responsive input. The 4K Low result of 71.6 FPS is notable because it is only 14 FPS higher than the 4K Medium result, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is saturated even at Low settings.

The overall pattern shows that the RTX 4060’s 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is the hard ceiling at 4K. The GPU’s 48 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but falls short of what 4K Ultra demands. The 8 GB VRAM is not necessarily exhausted, but the 128-bit bus limits data throughput regardless of capacity.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU+GPU combinations for The Long Drive, this pairing ranks 996th out of 1734 total combos. That places it in the 42.6th percentile, meaning roughly 57% of tested combos perform better. This ranking reflects the balanced but midrange nature of both components: the Core i3-12100F sits in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs (with an average benchmark score of 13516), while the RTX 4060 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs (with an average benchmark score of 23181).

The CPU’s nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (0.1% faster), the Intel Core i7-1250U (0.4% slower), and the Intel Core i7-7700K (1.8% slower). The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (0.6% faster) and the Intel Arc B580 (0.7% slower). These small deltas indicate that both components are performing exactly as their specifications suggest — no unexpected headroom or deficiency.

The ranking of 996 out of 1734 is heavily influenced by the 4K results. If the database weighted only 1080p performance, this combo would likely rank much higher, given the 201.4 FPS Low result. The 4K Ultra figure of 29.2 FPS drags the overall score down, as it is below the 30 FPS minimum for most playability standards. For users targeting 1080p or 1440p gaming, this combo is competitive; for 4K enthusiasts, it falls short of the top half of tested systems.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of frame rate and visual quality depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, the Medium preset is the best choice: 167.7 FPS average provides a large cushion above the 60 FPS threshold, and the visual upgrade from Low is substantial given the game’s draw-distance-heavy rendering. High is acceptable at 102.9 FPS, but the 65 FPS difference between Medium and High suggests diminishing returns for the GPU workload. Ultra at 72.4 FPS is playable, but the halving from Medium indicates a disproportionate cost.

For 1440p, Medium is the clear winner at 112.1 FPS. This provides smooth gameplay with headroom for frame time spikes. Low at 134.4 FPS is even smoother but sacrifices visual fidelity. High at 68.4 FPS is borderline — it stays above 60 FPS, but the 43.7 FPS drop from Medium is steep. Ultra at 47.8 FPS should be avoided unless the user prioritizes visuals over responsiveness.

For 4K, the data presents a dilemma. Low at 71.6 FPS is the only preset that offers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium at 60.5 FPS is technically playable but leaves no headroom for dips. High (38.2 FPS) and Ultra (29.2 FPS) are not recommended for actual gameplay. The pragmatic choice for 4K is Low, accepting the visual simplicity of the game’s art style in exchange for playability.

The overarching recommendation is to cap settings at Medium for any resolution above 1080p. The measured data consistently shows that Medium is the last preset before performance collapses — at 1080p, the drop from Medium to High is 64.8 FPS; at 1440p, it is 43.7 FPS; at 4K, it is 22.3 FPS. This pattern indicates that the Medium preset is the designed sweet spot for this hardware combination, balancing the CPU’s 4 cores and the GPU’s 8 GB memory capacity. Users with 1080p displays can push to High for better visuals, but anyone prioritizing frame rate stability should stay on Medium.