The Long Drive

# The Long Drive with Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The pairing of Intel's 6-core Core i5-12400F with NVIDIA's flagship RTX 5090 produces a fascinating dataset in The Long Drive, a Driving Simulation title from 2019. The measured frame rates reveal a system that scales dramatically with resolution and settings, but the shape of that scaling curve tells a story about where the bottleneck truly lies. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 318.5 FPS, yet at 4K Ultra it collapses to 53.9 FPS — a massive spread that invites investigation into which component governs each scenario.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling pattern is unusually steep, even for a driving sim with relatively modest visual demands. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings, the average FPS drops from 213.1 to 138 — a reduction of 35.2%. The subsequent jump to 3840x2160 High yields 78 FPS, which is 43.5% below the 1440p figure. This progressive decline is consistent with a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions, as the RTX 5090's raw compute — 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 and 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth — gets increasingly taxed by pixel throughput.

But the Low settings curve reveals a different dynamic. At 1080p Low, the system produces 318.5 FPS; at 1440p Low, it drops to 271 FPS (a 14.9% decline); at 4K Low, it hits 152.6 FPS (a 43.7% drop from 1440p). The relatively modest decline from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at the lower resolution, with the Core i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads reaching their ceiling. The steep drop from 1440p to 4K at Low settings (271 to 152.6 FPS) indicates the GPU begins to take over as the primary constraint once pixel count quadruples.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 150.4 FPS at 1080p, 99.6 FPS at 1440p, and 53.9 FPS at 4K. Each step represents a roughly one-third reduction, which points to a balanced workload where both CPU and GPU contribute meaningfully to the performance ceiling. The fact that 1080p Ultra (150.4 FPS) is only slightly below 1440p High (138 FPS) suggests that the Ultra preset's additional graphical features — likely shadow quality, draw distance, and post-processing — impose a consistent cost regardless of resolution.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 position it as a solid mid-range processor. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 16,518 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,332 in single-core, with a 3DMark max-threads score of 5,912. These numbers place it at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,221.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the 318.5 FPS result exceeds what the GPU alone could drive at that resolution. The RTX 5090 is capable of far higher frame rates in less CPU-constrained titles, so this ceiling points directly to the processor's threading capabilities. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,895 is nearly identical to the max-threads score of 5,912, indicating that the chip's 12 threads are fully utilized. The game appears to scale well with available threads, but the i5-12400F's 6 physical cores still cap performance at around 318 FPS in this title.

Interestingly, the CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K (avg score 19,210, deltaPct 0.1%), the Intel Core i5-1335U (19,167, deltaPct 0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19,364, deltaPct -0.7%). These near-identical average scores suggest that The Long Drive's CPU workload is not particularly sensitive to architectural differences among these processors — the game's physics and simulation logic likely run on a limited number of threads, making single-core performance (2,332 in Cinebench R23) more relevant than raw multi-core throughput.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth: 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, with 21,760 shading units and 170 RT cores. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz drive 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 39,650 in Passmark G3D and 14,411 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it at the 94th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 84,306 puts it just ahead of the RTX 5090 D (84,241, deltaPct 0.1%) and RTX 5050 Mobile (84,171, deltaPct 0.2%).

The VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for The Long Drive, a game from 2019 that likely never anticipated 32 GB of graphics memory. At 4K Ultra, the 53.9 FPS result suggests the GPU is fully engaged with rendering the game's open-world driving environment at maximum detail. The 78 FPS at 4K High versus 120.5 FPS at 4K Medium shows a 35.3% performance gap between these two settings, indicating that High introduces substantial visual effects (likely advanced lighting or shadow techniques) that heavily tax the GPU.

The GPU's Passmark scores reveal an interesting anomaly: DirectX 11 scores 341, DirectX 12 scores 185, and DirectX 10 scores 226. These low absolute values compared to the G3D score of 39,650 suggest that The Long Drive's rendering pipeline may not be fully optimized for the RTX 5090's Blackwell architecture. The game's 2019 release predates the GPU by six years, so driver optimizations for this specific title are likely minimal. The GPU compute score of 26,756 indicates substantial raw compute capability, but the game's engine may not leverage the RTX 5090's full feature set.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in The Long Drive?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 318.5, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 84,306 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 5090 D (84,241) and 0.2% higher than the RTX 5050 Mobile (84,171), but 1.6% lower than the NVIDIA CMP 40HX (85,637).

Q: At which resolution does the CPU become the primary bottleneck?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the 318.5 FPS result is likely CPU-limited, as the 6-core i5-12400F with a 4.40 GHz boost clock cannot push frame rates higher even though the RTX 5090 has more headroom.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, High settings produce 78 FPS while Ultra produces 53.9 FPS, representing a 44.7% performance penalty for the Ultra preset.

Q: How does the Core i5-12400F's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19,221 is 0.1% higher than the Core i7-8700K (19,210) and 0.3% higher than the Core i5-1335U (19,167), but 0.7% lower than the Ryzen 5 7533HS (19,364).

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 271 FPS while Ultra delivers 99.6 FPS, a 172.1% improvement for Low over Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p): The Low preset delivers 318.5 FPS, the highest of any configuration tested. Medium settings reduce this to 294.7 FPS, a 7.5% drop. High settings produce 213.1 FPS, which is 27.7% below Medium. Ultra settings yield 150.4 FPS, representing a 29.4% reduction from High. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a total performance decline of 52.8% across the four presets.

2560x1440 (1440p): Low settings produce 271 FPS, which is 14.9% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings achieve 222.7 FPS, a 17.8% drop from Low. High settings reach 138 FPS, which is 38.0% below Medium. Ultra settings deliver 99.6 FPS, a 27.8% reduction from High. The total decline from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 63.2%.

3840x2160 (4K): Low settings yield 152.6 FPS, which is 43.7% lower than the 1440p Low result. Medium settings achieve 120.5 FPS, a 21.0% drop from Low. High settings produce 78 FPS, which is 35.3% below Medium. Ultra settings deliver 53.9 FPS, a 30.9% reduction from High. The total decline from Low to Ultra at 4K is 64.7%.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For the smoothest experience at any resolution, the Low preset is the clear choice. At 1080p, the 318.5 FPS result is far beyond any display's refresh rate, making this setting ideal for competitive play or extremely high-refresh monitors. At 1440p, the 271 FPS on Low still exceeds 240 Hz displays, while at 4K, the 152.6 FPS Low result comfortably drives 144 Hz panels. The Medium preset offers a balanced alternative: 294.7 FPS at 1080p, 222.7 FPS at 1440p, and 120.5 FPS at 4K — all above 120 FPS thresholds.

The High preset is the most problematic tier. At 1080p, it drops to 213.1 FPS (still excellent), but at 1440p it falls to 138 FPS, and at 4K it bottoms out at 78 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 24.6% performance at 1080p (294.7 to 213.1), 38.0% at 1440p (222.7 to 138), and 35.3% at 4K (120.5 to 78). Given that The Long Drive is a driving simulation where consistent frame pacing matters more than absolute fidelity, the Medium preset represents the sweet spot — it maintains triple-digit frame rates at 4K while providing a substantial visual upgrade over Low.

Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the 150.4 FPS result still clears 144 Hz. At 1440p, the 99.6 FPS average might be acceptable for slower-paced driving, but at 4K the 53.9 FPS result falls below 60 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that Medium at 4K (120.5 FPS) provides a better experience than Ultra at 1440p (99.6 FPS) for most players, given the higher resolution and still-strong frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 34th out of 1,734 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations. This ranking is notable because the CPU is a mid-range 6-core part while the GPU is the flagship of NVIDIA's 50-series lineup. The fact that this combo outperforms the vast majority of alternatives — including likely many with more powerful CPUs — suggests that The Long Drive is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings and resolutions.

The ranking position becomes more impressive when considering the CPU's relative standing. The i5-12400F sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, yet this combo achieves a top-2% rank in this game. This discrepancy indicates that the game's CPU demands are well within the i5-12400F's capabilities, and the RTX 5090's immense GPU resources (32 GB VRAM, 1.79 TB/s bandwidth) are the primary drivers of this high ranking. The GPU's 94th percentile standing among all GPUs aligns more closely with the combo's overall rank.

The gap between the combo's rank (34 of 1,734) and the GPU's percentile (94th) suggests that some combinations with higher-ranked GPUs achieve better results, but the i5-12400F does not significantly hold back the RTX 5090 in this title. The data indicates that for The Long Drive specifically, the CPU choice matters less than the GPU selection, as evidenced by the combo rank being closer to the GPU's percentile than the CPU's. This makes the i5-12400F + RTX 5090 pairing a surprisingly effective combination for this game, despite the apparent imbalance in component tiers.