The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation that launched in 2019, presents an interesting benchmark scenario when paired with the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. The data shows a configuration with substantial headroom, where the performance ceiling varies dramatically based on resolution and quality settings. This analysis examines the measured FPS across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, interpreting what these numbers reveal about the balance between the CPU and GPU in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second reveal a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but with an unusual twist at the extreme settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 316 FPS, which is exceptionally high. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 235 FPS, a 25.6% reduction, and 4K Low produces 131 FPS, which is 58.5% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling is steep, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter even at lower quality presets.

However, the story changes when looking at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 127 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 84 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 47 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33.9%, and from 1440p to 4K is 44.0%. This suggests that at Ultra settings, the game's visual effects are heavily taxing the GPU, with the 4K Ultra result being the most demanding scenario in the data set.

The Medium preset offers the only consistent min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average is 294 FPS with a minimum of 250 and maximum of 339. At 1440p Medium, the average is 194 FPS (min 165, max 223), and at 4K Medium, the average is 108 FPS (min 91, max 124). The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium is a 34.0% drop, which is nearly identical to the Ultra preset's drop. This consistency across presets suggests that resolution scaling is the dominant factor.

The data indicates that this combo is heavily GPU-limited across all tested configurations. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to be sufficient to feed the RTX 4080 even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate exceeds 300 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the 1080p results to plateau regardless of settings, but instead we see a clear progression from 316 FPS at Low to 127 FPS at Ultracars, indicating that the GPU's workload is the constraining variable.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global ranking for The Long Drive, this specific combination of Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 sits at rank 305 out of 3725 tested combos. This places it in the top 8.2% of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the game's relatively modest system requirements compared to more modern titles.

The CPU's performance percentile is 72, meaning it outperforms 72% of all processors in the database. Its average benchmark score of 18683 places it in close competition with several notable rivals. The nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7643, scores 18697, which is only 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18811 (0.7% higher). The only rival that scores lower is the Intel Core i3-14100F at 18519, which is 0.9% behind.

The GPU's performance percentile is 86, indicating it outperforms 86% of all graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 54247 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER at 54209 (0.1% higher). The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (1.1% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S score 55698 and 55757 respectively, representing 2.6% and 2.7% higher scores.

The combination of a top-14% CPU and top-14% GPU results in a top-8.2% ranking in this game, which suggests that the pairing is well-balanced for The Long Drive. The high frame rates observed in the measured data, even at 4K Ultra, support the conclusion that this combo is positioned at the higher end of the performance spectrum for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS is 316, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. This is the maximum measured value across all resolutions and presets.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-12400 bottleneck the RTX 4080 in this game?

A: The data suggests not. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 316 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it achieves 294 FPS. The frame rate scales consistently with resolution and settings, indicating the GPU is the limiting component rather than the CPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 194, while at 1440p Ultra, it is 84. This represents a 56.7% reduction in frame rate when moving from Medium to Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209. This makes the RTX 4080 SUPER 0.1% slower in this database, a negligible difference.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset playable with this configuration?

A: The 4K Ultra preset produces an average FPS of 47. This is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth, but it is still functional for a driving simulation where absolute frame rates may be less critical.

Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 305th out of 3725 tested combinations, placing it in the top 8.2% of all systems tested for The Long Drive.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 316 FPS. The Medium preset averages 294 FPS, with a minimum of 250 and maximum of 339. High settings produce 184 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 127 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 235 FPS. Medium averages 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 and maximum of 223. High settings yield 121 FPS average, and Ultra produces 84 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 131 FPS. Medium averages 108 FPS, with a minimum of 91 and maximum of 124. High settings produce 67 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 47 FPS average.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution follows a predictable pattern, with each step up in quality incurring a significant frame rate cost. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 189 FPS (59.8% reduction). At 1440p, the drop is 151 FPS (64.3% reduction). At 4K, the drop is 84 FPS (64.1% reduction). The consistency in these percentages suggests that the quality settings have a similar relative impact regardless of resolution.

The only preset with complete min/max data is Medium, which shows a consistent pattern of frame times across all resolutions. The minimum FPS values are notably lower than the averages, indicating occasional frame dips during gameplay. At 1080p, the minimum is 250 FPS versus a 294 average (14.9% lower). At 1440p, the minimum is 165 versus 194 average (14.9% lower). At 4K, the minimum is 91 versus 108 average (15.7% lower). This consistency suggests that the frame pacing is predictable across resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a substantial piece of hardware, built on the AD103 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process. It contains 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, with a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². The GPU operates with a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz.

The memory subsystem is robust, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus. The memory clock is 1400 MHz, with an effective data rate of 22.4 Gbps. This configuration yields a total bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for the demands of The Long Drive at any resolution.

With 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, the RTX 4080 has substantial raw compute power. The pixel rate is 280.6 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 761.5 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 48.74 TFLOPS, with FP16 also at 48.74 TFLOPS. The GPU includes 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, though these are unlikely to be heavily utilized in a driving simulation.

The benchmark results show that the GPU is performing in line with its specifications. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 6567. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 214739, and the Vulkan score is 263779. The Passmark G3D score is 34457, with a GPU compute score of 20671.

The 16 GB of VRAM is a significant asset for this game. At 4K Ultra, the game may consume a substantial portion of this memory, but the data does not indicate any memory-related bottlenecks. The frame rates at 4K Ultra (47 FPS) are low enough to suggest that the GPU is fully occupied with rendering tasks, but the consistent performance across resolutions indicates that the VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 10 nm processor from the Alder Lake-S family, featuring 6 cores and 12 threads. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The thermal design power is 65 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700.

The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides a total of 18 MB of L3 cache, which is shared across all cores. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and includes integrated UHD Graphics 730, though this is irrelevant when paired with a discrete GPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows a clear scaling pattern. In 3DMark, the single-thread score is 910, while the 2-thread score is 1692, indicating near-perfect scaling. The 4-thread score is 3012, and the 8-thread score is 4745. The 16-thread score is 5873, and the max-thread score is 5890. This indicates that the CPU scales well up to its 12 threads, with diminishing returns beyond 8 threads.

Cinebench results show a multicore score of 15989 in R23, with a single-core score of 2257. Geekbench scores are 8564 for multicore and 1848 for single-core. Passmark results are 18747 for multithread and 3456 for single-thread.

The CPU's role in The Long Drive appears to be secondary given the high frame rates observed. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 316 FPS, which would require the CPU to process a large number of frames per second. The fact that the frame rate continues to scale with GPU settings suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor, even at these high frame rates. The 6-core/12-thread configuration appears sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4080's output, and the boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides adequate single-thread performance for the game's simulation logic.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the gaming experience with this combo. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 316 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can refresh. Even at 1440p Low, the system achieves 235 FPS, which is still exceptionally high.

The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming. At 1080p Medium, the average is 294 FPS, which is only 22 FPS less than Low, but with significantly better visual quality. At 1440p Medium, the average is 194 FPS, which is still above the 144 Hz threshold for most high-end monitors. The 4K Medium preset produces 108 FPS, which is playable on displays with a 120 Hz refresh rate.

For players with 4K displays, the High preset at 67 FPS is the most balanced option, providing a playable frame rate while maintaining good visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 47 FPS, which may be acceptable for a driving simulation where twitch reflexes are less critical, but it represents a significant quality-to-performance tradeoff.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality across all resolutions. The consistent min/max data for Medium indicates stable frame pacing, with minimums that are only 15% below the average. This stability is preferable to the potential frame time spikes that might occur at Ultra settings, where the GPU is under maximum load.

For competitive or fast-paced driving, the 1440p Medium preset at 194 FPS is the recommended configuration Interests, as it provides ample headroom above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors while maintaining a high level of visual detail. The 1080p Medium preset at 294 FPS offers even more headroom for extreme refresh rate displays, though the visual benefits of 1440p may be preferred by most players.