The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs a six-core Intel Core i5-12400 with the top-tier NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, and the benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions but still delivers playable frame rates at 4K. The measured results show a clear pattern: this combination is overkill for 1080p gaming, but the RTX 4090 is strong enough to push even a demanding simulation to high refresh rates at 1440p. The data indicates that the i5-12400, which sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, is the limiting factor in most scenarios, while the RTX 4090, in the 91st percentile of GPUs, has ample headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 314.5 FPS, but this falls to 259.5 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 144.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. However, the most telling comparison is at High settings: 202.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 131.4 FPS at 1440p (a 35% decrease), and then to 76.3 FPS at 4K (another 42% decrease from 1440p).

This scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the Intel Core i5-12400 is the primary constraint. The processor, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, can only feed the RTX 4090 so many frames, which is why the jump from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings only costs 55 FPS. As resolution increases, the load shifts to the GPU, and the RTX 4090's raw power becomes the deciding factor. The 4K results, particularly the 52.5 FPS at Ultra settings, show that this resolution is where the GPU is finally working hard. The data suggests that for this game, 1440p is the sweet spot where both components are utilized effectively, as the 1440p Medium result of 217.5 FPS is still far above what most displays can show.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Long Drive with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 offers the best balance. At this resolution, High settings deliver 131.4 FPS and Medium settings hit 217.5 FPS, both well above the 4K results while still being demanding enough to engage the RTX 4090.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 being held back by the i5-12400?

A: Yes, at 1080p the data indicates a CPU bottleneck. The 1080p Low result of 314.5 FPS and the 1080p High result of 202.3 FPS are likely limited by the processor's single-thread performance, which is 910 in 3DMark. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The average benchmark score of 19,850 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-9700, which scores 19,831 (0.1% higher). It is also within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX and 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-8700.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The jump from Low (259.5 FPS) to Medium (217.5 FPS) is relatively small, but Ultra (95.6 FPS) is less than half of the Low setting. High sits in between at 131.4 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but just barely. The measured 4K Ultra average is 52.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a driving simulation where smooth motion is important. Dropping to 4K High raises this to 76.3 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 64th out of 1,734 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the top 4% of all configurations in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why it performs so well. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. This massive memory pool is more than sufficient for The Long Drive, and the high bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is never a bottleneck, even at 4K resolution.

The GPU's clock speeds are equally impressive, with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, allows for high frequencies without excessive power draw, though the 450 W TDP still requires a robust power supply. The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is overkill for this game, which is why the CPU becomes the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

The benchmark results show that the GPU's role becomes more critical as resolution increases. At 1080p, the RTX 4090 is barely stretched, with Low settings producing 314.5 FPS. By 4K, the GPU is working much harder, and the difference between Low (144.8 FPS) and Ultra (52.5 FPS) at 4K demonstrates the GPU's scaling under load. The 16384 shading units and 512 texture mapping units allow the GPU to handle the increased pixel count at 4K without a catastrophic drop in performance, but the 52.5 FPS at Ultra suggests that even this flagship card has limits in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in The Long Drive. At 4K, the High preset delivers 76.3 FPS, which is the best balance between visual quality and smoothness. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 52.5 FPS, which is too low for a driving game where consistent frame pacing is important. The Medium preset at 4K offers 116.4 FPS, which is excellent, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the extra frames.

At 1440p, the High preset at 131.4 FPS is the recommended option. It provides a smooth experience on high-refresh monitors and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 95.6 FPS is also playable, but the 35.8 FPS gain from dropping to High is substantial. The Medium preset at 217.5 FPS is ideal for competitive play or if you want to future-proof for more demanding areas.

For 1080p, the data suggests that any setting above Medium is wasted. The High preset at 202.3 FPS and Ultra at 144.9 FPS are both far beyond what most monitors can display, but the CPU bottleneck means the GPU is not being fully utilized. The Medium preset at 294.1 FPS is the practical choice for maximum smoothness, although the difference between Medium and Low (314.5 FPS) is minimal. In summary, choose High at 4K for the best visual experience, High at 1440p for the best balance, and Medium at 1080p to avoid unnecessary GPU strain.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 64th out of 1,734 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the 96th percentile of all configurations. This is an impressive result, but the ranking is somewhat surprising given the GPU's performance potential. The RTX 4090 alone scores 66,473 in average benchmarks, placing it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 confirms its top-tier status.

The i5-12400, with an average benchmark score of 19,850, is in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (0.1% higher), Intel Core i7-8700 (0.2% lower), and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (0.4% lower). This suggests that the CPU is not a weak link, but it is not a top-tier processor either. The high combo rank is likely due to the game's simulation nature, which may not be heavily multi-threaded, allowing the i5-12400's single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark to shine.

However, the rank of 64th out of 1,734 means there are 63 other combos that perform better in this game. Given that the RTX 4090 is the fastest consumer GPU available, the limiting factor is clearly the CPU. A stronger processor would likely push this combo higher in the rankings, but the data shows that the i5-12400 is sufficient for a smooth experience at most settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 314.5 FPS, Medium produces 294.1 FPS, High produces 202.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 144.9 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is only 20.4 FPS, but the drop from Medium to High is 91.8 FPS, indicating a significant GPU load increase at that setting level.

At 2560x1440, the results are 259.5 FPS for Low, 217.5 FPS for Medium, 131.4 FPS for High, and 95.6 FPS for Ultra. The scaling from Low to Medium is again modest (42 FPS), but Medium to High drops by 86.1 FPS. This pattern suggests that the High preset introduces effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the numbers are 144.8 FPS for Low, 116.4 FPS for Medium, 76.3 FPS for High, and 52.5 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 28.4 FPS, and from Medium to High is 40.1 FPS. The Ultra preset at 52.5 FPS is the only result below 60 FPS, confirming that this is the most demanding configuration.

The data also shows that the CPU bottleneck is most pronounced at 1080p, where the difference between Low and Ultra is 169.6 FPS. At 4K, the same comparison yields a 92.3 FPS difference, showing that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. For users with a 144Hz monitor, 1440p High at 131.4 FPS is the best option, while 4K users should stick to High settings to maintain 76.3 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset at 294.1 FPS is the maximum useful setting, as anything higher is limited by the CPU.