The Long Drive

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER pairing in The Long Drive produces a predictable bottleneck shift as resolution climbs, but the data reveals the CPU holds the reins even at 4K. This combo ranks in the 92nd percentile (315th out of 3725 tested configurations), a strong result that masks a significant imbalance: the GPU is clearly capable of far more, but the processor limits peak frame rates in lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not as catastrophic as expected, indicating a CPU-bound scenario at lower resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 183 FPS at 1920x1080 to 121 FPS at 2560x1440, a 34% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K (3840x2160) drops the average from 121 FPS to 67 FPS, another 45% decrease. This scaling pattern shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is being progressively more utilized as pixel count rises, yet the 4K result of 67 FPS still suggests the processor is preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

The Low settings data makes the CPU limitation even more apparent. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 314 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it manages 234 FPS. Even at 4K Low, the average remains a high 130 FPS. The difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low is a 59% drop, but the absolute numbers are so high that they confirm the engine's rendering load is light. The more telling comparison is between Low and Ultra at the same resolution: at 1080p, Low yields 314 FPS while Ultra drops to 127 FPS, a 60% reduction. At 4K, Low produces 130 FPS while Ultra falls to 46 FPS, a 65% reduction.

The Medium settings provide the only min/max data in the pack. At 1080p Medium, the average is 293 FPS with a minimum of 249 and maximum of 337. At 1440p Medium, the average is 193 FPS (min 164, max 222). At 4K Medium, the average is 107 FPS (min 91, max 123). The narrowing gap between resolutions at Medium settings compared to Low indicates that the graphics card is taking on more work, but the CPU still dictates the ceiling.

The real bottleneck revelation comes from comparing the 1080p and 1440p results. At Low, the difference is 80 FPS (314 vs 234). At High, the difference is 62 FPS (183 vs 121). At Ultra, the difference is 44 FPS (127 vs 83). These diminishing gaps suggest that as the GPU workload increases, the CPU has more headroom to feed frames, but it never becomes the primary limiter. The 4K Ultra result of 46 FPS is the only point where the GPU is clearly the constraining factor, as the pixel throughput demand overwhelms the rendering pipeline.

CPU Role

The Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its Alder Lake architecture uses a 10 nm process. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 11860 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1674 in single-core. The single-thread performance of 1674 is the more relevant figure for The Long Drive, which appears to rely on fewer threads based on the FPS behavior. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 and 8-thread score of 4026 are also notable, as they show scaling up to 8 threads but with diminishing returns.

The percentile ranking (68th vs all CPUs) places this chip in the upper-midrange, but its nearest rivals tell a specific story. The Intel Core 3 N355 scores 13492 (0% delta), the Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452 (0.3% faster), and the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594 (0.7% slower). The i5-9500 is a 6-core processor from an older generation, and matching it with a 4-core part shows that single-thread speed matters more than core count here. The PassMark single-thread score of 3444 reinforces this.

The L3 cache is 12 MB shared, which is modest but adequate for this workload. The memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, paired with dual-channel bandwidth, means the CPU can feed the GPU without a memory bottleneck. The TDP of 58 W is low, but this does not translate to a performance handicap in this game. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the 314 FPS average is likely near the CPU's maximum frame generation capability, as the GPU (which is far more powerful than the CPU) would otherwise push far higher numbers.

The 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and 2-thread score of 1659 indicate that the CPU's strength is in its two highest-performance cores. This is typical for a 4-core part, but it means that The Long Drive's engine, which appears to use 2-4 threads effectively based on the FPS behavior, is a near-ideal match. However, the Cinebench R20 single-core score of 703 and multicore of 4981 show that the CPU is not a high-end part; it simply has enough single-thread grunt to keep up with most scenarios in this game.

FAQ

Q: Why does the FPS drop so much from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The FPS drops from 183 (1080p) to 121 (1440p) to 67 (4K). This scaling suggests the RTX 4080 SUPER is being progressively utilized more, but the 4K result indicates the CPU still limits peak performance. The GPU has the raw power (as shown by its 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput), but the processor's 4 cores and 8 threads cap the frame generation rate.

Q: Is the Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: Yes, particularly at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 314 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit. The GPU's benchmark scores (PassMark G3D 34245) vastly exceed what the CPU can feed at these resolutions. At 4K Ultra (46 FPS), the GPU becomes the primary limiter due to pixel throughput demands.

Q: What is the best setting to use with this combo for a balance of quality and performance?

A: Based on the data, 1440p High at 121 FPS or 4K Medium at 107 FPS are the sweet spots. The 4K Medium result (107 FPS) is smooth and uses the GPU's 16 GB memory effectively, while the 1440p High result (121 FPS) offers high refresh rate potential. The 1080p Ultra (127 FPS) is also viable but does not leverage the GPU's resolution capabilities.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209 average, which is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 (54247, -0.1% delta). It is 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828) and 2.7% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698). These are all close results, but the SUPER's 16 GB GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth give it an edge in texture-heavy scenes.

Q: Can this combo achieve 4K 60 FPS in The Long Drive?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings (107 FPS) or Low settings (130 FPS). At High settings, the 4K average is 67 FPS, which is above 60 but with no min/max data to guarantee stability. At Ultra, the 4K average drops to 46 FPS, which is not playable for a 60 FPS target.

Q: Does the CPU's boost clock of 4.30 GHz matter for this game?

A: Yes. The single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 score of 1674) is driven by the boost clock, and the game's engine appears to rely on 2-4 threads. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1659 and 4-thread score of 2859 show that the CPU can deliver high frame rates when few threads are active, but it cannot sustain those rates when more threads are needed.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration ranks 315th out of 3725 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the top 8.5% of all tested systems. This is a strong result for a 4-core CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The ranking suggests that the game is not heavily multi-threaded, as the i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to place this combo in the 92nd percentile.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core 5 120UL (0.7% lower avg score) and Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% higher). These are all mid-range parts, and the fact that this CPU competes with them while paired with a top-tier GPU indicates the GPU does most of the heavy lifting. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 4080, is only 0.1% faster in synthetic benchmarks, meaning the SUPER variant offers minimal performance uplift in this title.

The rank of 315 is impressive, but it also reveals a ceiling. There are 314 combos that perform better, and these almost certainly include CPUs with higher single-thread scores. The data suggests that upgrading the CPU would yield a higher rank, as the GPU (which ranks 86th percentile vs all GPUs) is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo's 46 FPS is likely near the GPU's limit, but the overall rank is driven by the 1080p and 1440p results where the CPU caps the FPS.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with 10240 shading units, 80 RT cores, and 320 tensor cores. It has a boost clock of 2550 MHz and 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The FP32 throughput is 52.22 TFLOPS, which is substantial for a 320 W TDP card. This GPU ranks in the 86th percentile vs all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 54209 is near-identical to the RTX 4080 (54247, -0.1% delta).

In The Long Drive, the GPU's role becomes dominant only at 4K Ultra, where the 46 FPS average indicates the rendering pipeline is saturated. At 4K Medium, the 107 FPS average shows the GPU has headroom, but the CPU still prevents higher frame rates. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as no memory-related stutter is indicated in the data (the min FPS values at Medium settings are within 15% of the average).

The GPU's clock behavior is stable, with a base of 2295 MHz and boost of 2550 MHz. The memory clock of 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective) provides the bandwidth needed to feed the 256-bit bus. The PassMark G3D score of 34245 and DirectX 12 score of 134 show that this GPU handles modern APIs well, though The Long Drive may use older DirectX 11 paths. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 260075 indicates strong compute capability, which could be relevant for the game's physics simulation.

The GPU's 112 ROPs and 320 TMUs are the key units for this game's texture and pixel work. At 4K Ultra, the 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate is likely the limiting factor, as the game's draw calls and alpha blending demand more ROP throughput. The data shows that the GPU is capable of 314 FPS at 1080p Low, but the CPU cannot feed it enough frames to reach that ceiling in most scenarios. The GPU is effectively underutilized at 1080p and 1440p, which is why the combo's rank (315th) is lower than the GPU's percentile rank (86th) would suggest.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 314 FPS at Low, 293 FPS at Medium (min 249, max 337), 183 FPS at High, and 127 FPS at Ultra. The Low to Ultra gap of 187 FPS (60% reduction) shows the GPU is handling the extra settings without issue, but the CPU's frame generation limit is visible in the High and Ultra results, which are lower than the GPU's potential.

At 2560x1440, the results are 234 FPS at Low, 193 FPS at Medium (min 164, max 222), 121 FPS at High, and 83 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is now 151 FPS (65% reduction), which is similar to 1080p. The 1440p High result of 121 FPS is identical to the 4K High result of 67 FPS only in proportional terms (121 is 65% of 183, and 67 is 55% of 121), but the absolute numbers show the GPU is taking on more work as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are 130 FPS at Low, 107 FPS at Medium (min 91, max 123), 67 FPS at High, and 46 FPS at Ultra. The Low to Ultra gap is 84 FPS (65% reduction), and the 4K Ultra result of 46 FPS is the only data point where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The 4K Medium result of 107 FPS is notable because it exceeds the 1080p Ultra result of 127 FPS by only 20 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle 4K at medium settings as well as the CPU can handle 1080p at ultra.

The Medium settings provide the only variability data. At 1080p, the min is 249 and max is 337, giving a range of 88 FPS (30% of average). At 1440p, the min is 164 and max is 222, a range of 58 FPS (30%). At 4K, the min is 91 and max is 123, a range of 32 FPS (30%). This consistent 30% variance across resolutions indicates that the game's frame time spikes are proportional, likely due to the CPU's thread scheduling or the game's asset streaming, not the GPU's memory bandwidth.