The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs the Intel Core i5-12400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, a combination that places 40th out of 1,734 tested configurations. This result reflects a substantial CPU-GPU pairing where the processor's six cores and 12 threads interact with a 32 GB GDDR7 buffer to produce frame rates that range from 318.7 FPS at 1080p Low to 51.4 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data indicates that this game scales predictably with resolution and settings, but the relationship between the two components is not uniform across all test points.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 318.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's performance compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84,306, which is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5090 D and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6600, while being 1.6% behind the NVIDIA CMP 40HX.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairings?

A: The combo ranks 40th out of 1,734 tested combinations in The Long Drive.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between 1080p Low and 4K Ultra?

A: The difference is 267.3 FPS, with 1080p Low producing 318.7 FPS and 4K Ultra producing 51.4 FPS.

Q: What is the processor's percentile ranking compared to all CPUs?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 ranks in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,850.

Q: How much faster is the CPU in multi-threaded workloads compared to single-threaded?

A: In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score is 15,935, which is approximately 7.1 times the single-core score of 2,249.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and the memory operates at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate suggest it is capable of handling high-resolution workloads, and the measured data confirms this: at 4K High settings, the combo still produces 79 FPS average.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the RTX 5090 is likely not fully utilized, as the CPU may become the bottleneck, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are heavily taxed. The 32 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what this game likely requires, meaning capacity is not a limiting factor here; instead, raw shader throughput and memory bandwidth drive the frame rates at higher settings. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs, based on an average benchmark score of 84,306, places it near the top of the hierarchy, but this does not translate to proportional gains in The Long Drive due to the game's engine characteristics.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear pattern of frame rate reduction as resolution increases, but the severity depends on the settings preset. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 318.7 FPS to 152 FPS, a reduction of 166.7 FPS (approximately 52%). At High settings, the drop is from 209.2 FPS to 79 FPS, a reduction of 130.2 FPS (approximately 62%). At Ultra settings, the drop is from 147.2 FPS to 51.4 FPS, a reduction of 95.8 FPS (approximately 65%).

These percentages indicate that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough (209.2 FPS at High) to suggest the CPU is the primary constraint, since the RTX 5090 should be capable of much higher output. At 4K, the frame rates drop to levels where the GPU's rendering workload becomes the dominant factor. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep: at High settings, 140 FPS drops to 79 FPS, a 43.6% reduction, which aligns with the increase in pixel count. This suggests that while the GPU is powerful, The Long Drive's engine becomes GPU-bound at higher resolutions, and the CPU overhead is less relevant.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 40th out of 1,734 tested combinations places it in the top 2.3% of all configurations tested. This is a strong showing, but it is notable that the rank is not higher, given that the RTX 5090 is among the most powerful GPUs available. The data suggests that the Core i5-12400, while competent, may be holding back the GPU at lower resolutions, preventing the combo from reaching the top tier. The CPU's average benchmark score of 19,850 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, which scores 19,831 (a 0.1% delta), and the Intel Core i7-8700, which scores 19,894 (a -0.2% delta). This indicates that the i5-12400 is not an outlier in CPU performance, and its 77th percentile ranking reflects a mid-range processor paired with a top-tier GPU.

The rank of 40 suggests that many other combos, likely those with higher-end CPUs, achieve better frame rates in this game. However, the measured FPS values are still high enough to deliver smooth gameplay at most settings, particularly at 1440p and below. The gap between this combo and the top-ranked ones is not quantified in the data, but the rank implies that there are 39 configurations that produce higher average frame rates, which could be due to faster processors reducing CPU bottlenecks.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 18 MB of shared L3 cache, and its 10 nm process node is older than the GPU's 5 nm process. The CPU's benchmark scores show a strong scaling from 2 threads (3dmark score of 1,692) to 8 threads (4,745), but the gain from 8 to max threads is modest (4,745 to 5,890), indicating that the six physical cores are the primary resource. In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score of 15,935 is 7.1 times the single-core score of 2,249, which reflects efficient multi-threading but also highlights that single-thread performance is a limiting factor.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's role is likely most significant at 1080p Low and Medium settings, where frame rates exceed 292 FPS. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 318.7 FPS, but this is likely CPU-limited, as the RTX 5090 could theoretically push much higher. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking means it is faster than 77% of all CPUs, but it is not in the top tier, and this is evident in the frame rates. At 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 273 FPS, which is still high, but the reduction from 1080p suggests the GPU is starting to become a factor. The CPU's cache configuration (18 MB L3) and dual-channel memory support (DDR4, DDR5) are adequate, but the boost clock of 4.40 GHz is modest compared to higher-end rivals.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low at 318.7 FPS, Medium at 292.3 FPS, High at 209.2 FPS, and Ultra at 147.2 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 26.4 FPS, from Medium to High is 83.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 62 FPS. This shows that High settings incur a significant performance penalty compared to Medium, likely due to increased draw distances or effects.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low at 273 FPS, Medium at 220.8 FPS, High at 140 FPS, and Ultra at 97.5 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is approximately 14.3% for Low, 24.5% for Medium, 33.1% for High, and 33.8% for Ultra. This indicates that higher settings are more sensitive to resolution increases, as the GPU workload grows faster than the pixel count alone.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are: Low at 152 FPS, Medium at 124 FPS, High at 79 FPS, and Ultra at 51.4 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is 44.3% for Low, 43.8% for Medium, 43.6% for High, and 47.3% for Ultra. These consistent reductions near 45-47% align with the 2.25x pixel increase from 1440p to 4K, but they are less than that ratio, suggesting the GPU's efficiency at lower utilization levels. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only setting where the average frame rate falls below 60 FPS, which may be a concern for high-refresh-rate displays. Overall, the data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring reduced settings to maintain high frame rates.