The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation from 2019, presents an interesting workload for the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily dependent on settings and resolution, with performance scaling that clearly defines the role of each component. This analysis walks through the benchmark results to determine the optimal configuration, the limiting factors, and how this specific pairing ranks against other tested hardware combinations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for settings presets, with the most balanced experience found at Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 148 average FPS, which is a substantial jump from the 93 FPS of High settings and more than double the 64 FPS of Ultra. The Medium preset also has the only complete min/max FPS data across all resolutions, showing a range of 126 to 171 FPS at 1080p, indicating consistent frame pacing. This makes Medium the sweet spot for maintaining high refresh rate gameplay without the performance collapse seen at Ultra.

While Low settings produce the highest frame rates (180 FPS at 1080p, 119 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K), the visual quality trade-off is significant. The data suggests that Low is only necessary for 4K gaming, where it is the only preset that achieves a playable frame rate above 60 FPS. High settings are viable at 1080p (93 FPS) and 1440p (61 FPS), but the 1440p result is borderline for smooth gameplay, and the 4K High result falls to 34 FPS, which is not recommended. Ultra settings are the most demanding, producing only 64 FPS at 1080p and dropping to 42 FPS at 1440p and 23 FPS at 4K.

For the best overall experience, Medium settings are the clear choice. It offers a 59% performance increase over High at 1080p (148 vs 93 FPS) and a 131% increase over Ultra (148 vs 64 FPS). The pattern holds at 1440p, where Medium delivers 98 FPS compared to 61 FPS on High and 42 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, Medium provides 54 FPS, which is playable and significantly better than the 34 FPS of High and 23 FPS of Ultra. The data indicates that Medium is the highest preset that maintains playable frame rates across all three resolutions, making it the recommended choice for this hardware combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is a desktop-class GPU built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The RTX 5050's 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 13.17 TFLOPS.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor in The Long Drive's performance. The benchmark data shows a sharp performance cliff when moving from Medium to High settings at 4K, where average FPS drops from 54 to 34. This 37% performance loss is more pronounced than the settings difference alone would suggest, indicating that the 8 GB VRAM buffer may be exceeded at High/Ultra presets in 4K. The GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Medium settings but become a bottleneck at higher presets where texture data and draw distances increase.

The RTX 5050's benchmark scores place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 17326 and an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (0.6% lower score), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (1% lower), and AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% higher). The RTX 5050's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334 provide additional context for its compute capabilities. In direct comparison, the RTX 5050 sits between these rivals in raw benchmark performance, but its real-world gaming results in The Long Drive are heavily influenced by the 8 GB VRAM ceiling at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the RTX 5050 delivers 148 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 98 FPS at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and 54 FPS at 4K (a 64% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is consistent with the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, with the 4K resolution requiring four times the pixel throughput of 1080p.

The scaling is even more dramatic at High settings. The RTX 5050 produces 93 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p (a 34% drop), and 34 FPS at 4K (a 63% drop from 1080p). The consistent 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p across both Medium and High settings suggests that the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor, rather than CPU or memory bandwidth constraints. At 4K, the performance degradation accelerates, with High settings falling to 34 FPS — a 63% loss from 1080p — indicating that the 8 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth are insufficient for 4K at higher quality presets.

Low settings show the best resolution scaling, with 180 FPS at 1080p, 119 FPS at 1440p (a 34% drop), and 66 FPS at 4K (a 63% drop). The 4K Low result is notable because it is the only 4K preset that exceeds 60 FPS, suggesting that at Low settings, the workload is more balanced between CPU and GPU, allowing the RTX 5050 to maintain playable frame rates even at 4K. The data clearly shows that 1080p is the optimal resolution for this GPU, with 1440p being viable at Medium settings, and 4K requiring Low settings for acceptable performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: Medium settings provide the best balance, delivering 148 average FPS with a minimum of 126 and maximum of 171 FPS. This is 59% higher than High settings (93 FPS) and 131% higher than Ultra settings (64 FPS), making it the highest preset that maintains a comfortable margin above 144 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Long Drive?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which achieves 66 average FPS. Medium settings produce 54 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, while High and Ultra settings fall to 34 FPS and 23 FPS respectively, which are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest rivals in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035, placing it in the 66th percentile. It is 0.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153), 1% slower than the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237), and 1.6% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713).

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697), 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730), and 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811). It is 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519).

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM on the RTX 5050 a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests yes, particularly at 4K resolution. The performance drop from Medium (54 FPS) to High (34 FPS) at 4K is a 37% reduction, which is more severe than the settings change alone would explain, indicating that the 8 GB VRAM buffer is likely exceeded at higher presets in 4K.

Q: What is the FPS penalty for moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 148 at 1080p to 98 at 1440p, a 34% reduction. This is consistent across settings presets, suggesting the GPU's pixel throughput is the primary limiting factor at these resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process by Intel. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory and has PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-thread 3DMark score of 910 and a multi-thread score of 5890, with Cinebench R23 scores of 2257 (single-core) and 15989 (multi-core).

In The Long Drive, the CPU's role is evident in the frame rate behavior at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 180 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame rate capability. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the driving simulation's physics and AI calculations, but the 4.40 GHz boost clock and single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 910, Geekbench single-core of 1848) are the key factors for maintaining high frame rates.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 18683 places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% higher score), Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% higher), AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (0.7% higher), and Intel Core i3-14100F (0.9% lower). The i5-12400's Passmark multithread score of 18747 and single-thread score of 3456 indicate balanced performance, but the data shows that the RTX 5050 becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 180 FPS result suggests the CPU can push frame rates high enough to fully utilize the GPU's capabilities, but at 4K, the GPU's pixel throughput and VRAM are the clear bottlenecks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear pattern of performance degradation with increasing resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo delivers 180 FPS at Low settings, 148 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 126 and maximum of 171), 93 FPS at High, and 64 FPS at Ultra. This represents a 64% performance drop from Low to Ultra, with the largest single-step decline occurring between Medium and High (a 37% reduction from 148 to 93 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly across all settings. Low settings produce 119 FPS, Medium delivers 98 FPS (with a minimum of 83 and maximum of 112), High falls to 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 65% (from 119 to 42 FPS), but the absolute numbers become more critical for gameplay. The 1440p Medium preset is the only configuration that maintains a comfortable frame rate above 90 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below 61 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5050's limitations become apparent. Low settings achieve 66 FPS, which is the only playable 4K result. Medium settings produce 54 FPS (with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 62), which is borderline playable. High settings drop to 34 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 23 FPS. The 4K results show a 65% performance drop from Low to Ultra (66 to 23 FPS), with the Medium to High transition causing a 37% reduction (54 to 34 FPS), which is the sharpest single-step decline in the entire dataset.

The data also reveals that the minimum FPS values, where available, are within 16-17% of the average. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 126 FPS (85% of average), and at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 83 FPS (85% of average). At 4K Medium, the minimum is 46 FPS (85% of average). This consistent 85% ratio suggests stable frame pacing across all resolutions at Medium settings, with no severe frame time spikes.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 1771 out of 2934 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the 40th percentile of all tested hardware configurations. This ranking reflects the combo's performance profile, which is strong at 1080p and 1440p Medium settings but falls behind at higher resolutions and quality presets.

The combo's ranking is influenced by both components. The RTX 5050's 66th percentile GPU ranking is offset by the i5-12400's 72nd percentile CPU ranking, but the GPU's 8 GB VRAM limitation at 4K and the performance cliff between Medium and High settings prevent the combo from ranking higher. The data shows that the combo is competitive with systems featuring GPUs like the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (which has a 1.6% higher average benchmark score) but falls short of systems with higher-end GPUs that can maintain playable frame rates at 4K.

In the context of The Long Drive specifically, the combo's 1771st rank out of 2934 suggests that while it is not a top-tier configuration, it is also not in the bottom tier. The 1080p Medium result of 148 FPS and 1440p Medium result of 98 FPS are solid, but the 4K results (54 FPS at Medium, 34 FPS at High) pull the overall ranking down. The combo's position in the middle of the pack is consistent with the GPU's 66th percentile ranking and the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking, indicating that the components are well-matched for 1080p and 1440p gaming but not for 4K.