The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs a 6-core Intel Core i5-10400F with the flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, creating a stark contrast between a mid-range 2020 processor and a top-tier 2022 graphics card. The benchmark data shows a configuration that is heavily influenced by the GPU but constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions, making it a study in bottleneck dynamics within a Driving Simulation genre.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound performance at higher resolutions and CPU-bound behavior at lower ones. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 50.2 FPS, while dropping to 4K High raises the average to 73.1 FPS. The jump from 4K High to 4K Medium is significant, reaching 118.7 FPS, and 4K Low pushes the frame rate to 147.6 FPS. This scaling suggests that at 4K, the RTX 4090 is the primary driver, with settings changes having a substantial impact on the load placed on the graphics card.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates improve dramatically. The Ultra preset hits 96.9 FPS, while High reaches 133.3 FPS. The most telling figures come from the lower settings: Medium produces 190.4 FPS, and Low hits exactly 200 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is only 9.6 FPS, which is far smaller than the 29.2 FPS gap seen between the same settings at 4K. This compression indicates that the CPU is beginning to limit performance, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs even when graphical load is reduced.

At 1920x1080, the bottleneck becomes even more apparent. The Ultra preset still manages 140.7 FPS, but the High preset jumps to 177.7 FPS. Medium and Low settings yield 218.6 FPS and 231 FPS, respectively. The difference between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is only 31 FPS, despite a 2.25x increase in pixel count. This relatively small delta suggests that the Intel Core i5-10400F is hitting its ceiling around the 200-230 FPS range, unable to feed the RTX 4090 with enough frames at lower resolutions. The data indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, while the CPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution scales down to 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a combo rank of 214 out of 1734 tested combinations. This places the pairing in the top 12.3% of all tested combos, which is a strong showing given the CPU's age relative to the GPU. The rank reflects that while the processor is not a top-tier part, the sheer power of the RTX 4090 boosts the overall experience significantly.

The CPU itself sits in the 73rd percentile when compared to all other processors in the database. Its average benchmark score is 14168, placing it near the AMD EPYC 7552, which scores 14115 and is only 0.4% slower. Interestingly, the i5-10400F is slightly faster than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which scores 14277 (a -0.8% delta), and the Intel Core i5-8500, which scores 14332 (a -1.1% delta). These close margins in synthetic tests suggest that the Comet Lake chip still holds its own in general compute tasks, though it relies on its 6 cores and 12 threads to do so.

The GPU, by contrast, is a powerhouse. It ranks in the 91st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733, -0.4% delta) and the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66127, 0.5% delta), which are professional-grade cards. The fact that the RTX 4090 is ranked 214th overall, despite being paired with a CPU that is in the 73rd percentile, underscores that the graphics card is doing the heavy lifting in this configuration, particularly in scenarios where the game is not CPU-limited.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process node. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. This processor supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, offering a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s.

In the context of The Long Drive, these specifications explain the performance ceiling observed at 1080p. The game's driving simulation logic and physics calculations are likely single-thread or lightly-threaded, relying heavily on the CPU's core speed. The i5-10400F's single-thread benchmark scores are modest: 688 in 3dmark_single_thread, 146 in Cinebench R15, and 2541 in Passmark. These scores are adequate for 60 FPS gaming but struggle to maintain frame rates above 200 FPS consistently.

The multi-threaded performance is more robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 12115. This suggests that the 12 threads are useful for background tasks and for games that can leverage multiple cores, but The Long Drive appears to be more dependent on single-core throughput. When paired with an RTX 4090, the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, as evidenced by the relatively small FPS gains when dropping from High (177.7 FPS) to Low (231 FPS). The data points to a processor that is capable, but not exceptional, for high-refresh-rate gaming at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The combo delivers an average of 133.3 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552's score of 14115.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's performance consistent with its place in the market?

A: Yes, the GPU ranks in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473, placing it well above the majority of graphics cards.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 231, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the combo perform better at 4K Ultra or 1440p Ultra?

A: It performs significantly better at 1440p Ultra, producing 96.9 FPS compared to 50.2 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process node. It features a massive 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The GPU's core configuration is immense, with 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. It also includes 128 RT cores and 512 Tensor cores, enabling advanced ray tracing and DLSS features. The base clock is 2235 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and it has a TDP of 450 W.

In The Long Drive, the RTX 4090's role is clear at 4K resolution, where it is the primary performance driver. The transition from 4K Ultra (50.2 FPS) to 4K High (73.1 FPS) shows a 45.6% improvement, demonstrating that the GPU is fully utilized and responds directly to graphical fidelity changes. The 4K Medium setting, producing 118.7 FPS, and 4K Low, at 147.6 FPS, further confirm that the GPU has ample headroom when the CPU is not the bottleneck.

The GPU's compute capabilities are reflected in its synthetic benchmarks, including a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 317684. These scores, along with its 91st percentile ranking, indicate that the RTX 4090 is more than capable of handling the rendering demands of a driving simulation at any resolution. However, when the resolution drops to 1080p, the GPU's potential is unrealized, as the CPU's limitations cap the frame rate. The data suggests that for this game, the RTX 4090 is best paired with a stronger CPU to fully exploit its capabilities at lower resolutions, though at 4K, it provides a smooth experience even on Ultra settings.