The Long Drive

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D lands at rank 147 out of 2,934 tested combos in The Long Drive. That places this configuration in the top 5% of all combinations tested, a strong showing that reflects both the raw power of the GPU and the adequacy of the CPU for this particular simulation. The rank is a composite assessment, meaning it balances the measured frame rates at various settings and resolutions against the full field of 2,934 other pairings. Being this high on the list indicates that the system delivers a smooth experience across the board, though the distribution of scores across individual settings reveals some notable bottlenecks that are worth unpacking.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s overall rank of 147 out of 2,934 is impressive, but it is not uniform across all workloads. The data suggests that the ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s dominance at lower resolutions and settings, where frame rates are exceptionally high. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 272 FPS, which is near the top of what any system could deliver. However, when the graphical load increases with resolution and settings, the frame rates drop significantly, which drags the composite score down from what it might otherwise be. The rank reflects the average performance across all measured rows, and the delta between the best and worst cases is substantial, indicating that the system is not equally strong in every scenario. For a driving simulation like The Long Drive, where the environment is vast and open, the high average frame rates at 1440p and 1080p are likely what pushes the rank this high, while the 4K Ultra result, at 56 FPS, is a clear outlier that limits the ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the star of this pairing. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for any current game at any resolution. The GPU has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clocks are high, but the real story is the sheer amount of processing power: 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The chip, GB202, is built on a 5 nm process and contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 D scores a 44,065 in PassMark G3D and a 310,674 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which is 1.6% faster, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which is 2.4% faster. The GPU's role in The Long Drive is to push frame rates to their limits, and the measured data shows it does so admirably at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest that even this behemoth struggles to maintain high FPS at the Ultra preset. The 32 GB VRAM is never a constraint in this game, as even the highest settings do not approach that capacity, but the raw compute power is what drives the high numbers at lower settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Long Drive?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. At High settings, it achieves 146 FPS, while at Ultra it still maintains 101 FPS. In contrast, 4K at Ultra drops to 56 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a driving sim where smoothness is key.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rivals in average score?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its closest competitor, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76,904, which is 1.1% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, which is 1.6% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, which is 2.4% higher.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any measured setting?

A: Yes. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 272 FPS, but at 4K with Low settings, it drops to 158 FPS. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU (Intel Core i5-11400F) becomes the limiting factor, as the GPU is not fully utilized. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, but its max threads benchmark score of 5,652 suggests it cannot keep up with the GPU at very high frame rates.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 254 FPS. At 4K Medium, it drops to 130 FPS. This is a 49% reduction in frame rate, which is a significant scaling cost for the 4K resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of memory useful for The Long Drive?

A: The measured data does not show any memory-related performance drops, as even the highest settings at 4K do not cause a disproportionate frame rate drop compared to lower settings. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than this game needs, so it does not play a role in the results, but it provides headroom for other tasks.

Q: How does the combo's rank of 147 out of 2,934 translate to real-world performance?

A: A rank of 147 means that only 146 other combos outperform this one in The Long Drive. This places it in the top 5% of all tested systems, which is a strong result. The high rank is driven by the excellent frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, where the system consistently exceeds 100 FPS even at Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance: Low settings yield 272 FPS, Medium yields 254 FPS (with a minimum of 216 and maximum of 292), High yields 211 FPS, and Ultra yields 154 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain very high: Low produces 236 FPS, Medium produces 221 FPS (min 187, max 254), High produces 146 FPS, and Ultra produces 101 FPS. At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit: Low produces 158 FPS, Medium produces 130 FPS (min 110, max 149), High produces 81 FPS, and Ultra produces 56 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K is stark, with the Low setting dropping from 272 FPS to 158 FPS, a 42% reduction. The Ultra setting at 4K, at 56 FPS, is the only result below 60 FPS, which suggests that this is the threshold where the GPU is fully taxed. The consistency of the frame rates, as indicated by the min and max values for Medium settings, shows that the system maintains stable performance without major dips, which is crucial for a driving simulation where smoothness is paramount.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that the High preset at 2560x1440 is the optimal choice for this combo in The Long Drive. It delivers 146 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors, and it offers better visual fidelity than Medium. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 101 FPS, is also viable for those who prioritize graphics over frame rate, as it remains above 100 FPS. At 4K, the High preset at 81 FPS is playable, but the Ultra preset at 56 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. For players with a 1080p monitor, the High preset at 211 FPS is a good choice, as it provides high frame rates without the visual downgrades of Low or Medium. The Medium preset, with its minimum FPS of 216 at 1080p and 187 at 1440p, offers a good safety margin against frame drops, but the average FPS is close enough to High that the visual upgrade is worth the small performance cost. Overall, the High preset at 1440p strikes the best balance, offering high visual quality and frame rates that are more than sufficient for competitive or casual play.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F, with 6 cores and 12 threads, has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It is built on the Rocket Lake architecture and has 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 14,340 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,024 in single-core, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 16,908. Its average benchmark score is 17,177, placing it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in average score are the AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% faster), the Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% slower). In The Long Drive, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data, and the measured results indicate that it becomes a limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 272 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 158 FPS. This difference is not due to the GPU, as the RTX 5090 D is powerful enough to handle 4K, but rather the CPU's ability to process the game's physics and AI at higher frame rates. The CPU's 12 threads are sufficient for the game's workload, but its single-thread performance, while decent, is not high enough to sustain frame rates above 200 FPS at 1080p. The data indicates that the CPU is a bottleneck at the highest frame rates, but it does not prevent the system from achieving excellent performance at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling of FPS from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component at each resolution. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 272 FPS at 1080p to 236 FPS at 1440p, a 13% reduction, and then to 158 FPS at 4K, a 33% reduction from 1440p. This pattern suggests that the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p and 1440p, as the frame rates are so high that the GPU is not fully saturated. At Medium settings, the drop is more pronounced: 254 FPS at 1080p, 221 FPS at 1440p (a 13% drop), and 130 FPS at 4K (a 41% drop from 1440p). The larger drop from 1440p to 4K indicates that the GPU is starting to become the bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the drop is even steeper: 211 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p (a 31% drop), and 81 FPS at 4K (a 45% drop from 1440p). This confirms that as settings increase, the GPU's workload grows, and the RTX 5090 D becomes the limiting factor. At Ultra settings, the drop from 1440p to 4K is significant: 101 FPS to 56 FPS, a 45% reduction. This indicates that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is entirely saturated, and the frame rate is determined by the GPU's raw compute power. The data clearly shows that the CPU is the bottleneck at lower resolutions and settings, while the GPU takes over at higher resolutions and settings. For this combo, the sweet spot is 1440p at High or Ultra, where both components are balanced and the frame rates are high enough for a smooth experience.